Can I turn off my front passenger airbag? 2007 W164

[Bert_W164]

Hi,

Before I set off mass anxiety, no I'm not planning on putting a child in the seat. Last week travelling back home, the Mrs and newborn sat in the back along with one of the cat carriers strapped into the seat belt.

My other cat is a big boy, and all seat belts to secure his carrier were in use in the rear, I tried to turn off the front passenger airbag off, but found no option. I strapped his carrier into the passenger seat and completed my journey.

Just wondering what is best practice in this scenario, we'd be devastated if something went wrong and we had a collision and could have done a better job in carrying our furball.

So questions:
- can a front passenger airbag be turned off without any weird workarounds (e.g. removing the sensor from under the seat)
- what is the best thing to do in this case when carrying an adult, a child (has her own isofix seat in the rear) and two cat carriers?

The boot as you can imagine is filled with baby stuff! Though if it's better to strap the carrier's down in the boots and carry some cargo in the cabin, that's fine with me.

Cheers.

 

[clk320x]

Don’t ‘MB’ child seats have a fancy transponder type device that ‘talks’ to your car and disables the airbag?

Perhaps get one and remove said transponder and attach it to your cat carrier

 

[Bert_W164]

Don’t ‘MB’ child seats have a fancy transponder type device that ‘talks’ to your car and disables the airbag?

Perhaps get one and remove said transponder and attach it to your cat carrier

Yes, I read that online as my car has an indicator of the passenger seat bag status I was hoping there's an in car function that I've missed, but seems the transponder may be my only option.

 

[markjay]

Some manufacturer's allow the manual disabling of the front passenger airbag using a switch (or a key) located near the door hinges (so that it can't be disabled or enabled while the car is moving). But a far as I know Mercedes-Benz never had such a feature fitted to any of their cars.

As for the Mercedes-Benz, my undertanding (correct me if I am wrong) is that for the transponder to work, the car needs to be fitted with option 'U18 AUTOMATIC CHILD SEAT RECOGNITATION (AKSE).' This is regardless of the "passenger airbag off" amber light - all cars are fitted with that, even cars that do not have the AKSE option.

 

[markjay]

That said.... if the cat is inside the carrier, the carrier is secured by the seatbelt, and the seat is moved all the way back, then I don't really see an issue in the unlikely event that the airbag will deploy?

 

[Bert_W164]

That said.... if the cat is inside the carrier, the carrier is secured by the seatbelt, and the seat is moved all the way back, then I don't really see an issue in the unlikely event that the airbag will deploy?

And this is why I seek reassurance from you good people

 

[KillerHERTZ]

That said.... if the cat is inside the carrier, the carrier is secured by the seatbelt, and the seat is moved all the way back, then I don't really see an issue in the unlikely event that the airbag will deploy?

There are stickers saying this can cause death or injury. A baby seat doesn't act the same as a person sitting in the seat.

As above, MB ones auto disable the airbag IIRC

 

[markjay]

EDIT

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

Congratulations to you all on the birth of your new baby!

As suggested a transponder salvaged from a Mercedes child car seat with AKSE is the way to go.

I’ve sold several Mercedes child seats with AKSE and each time they’ve been bought by people who remove and sell on the transponder separately: I assume they make more money selling in this way.

 

[andy27168]

Hi,
Ebay turned up a few offerings buy a cheap seat and remove the transponder or just buy the transponder and fix it to the cat carrier somewhere on the base of it.

MERCEDES CHILD SEAT TRANSPONDER for sale | eBay

Find great deals on eBay for MERCEDES CHILD SEAT TRANSPONDER. Shop with confidence.

www.ebay.co.uk

 

[Bert_W164]

Cheers chaps, off to the bay I go.