If no one is in the passenger seat, the "pass. airbag off" light is NOT lit. When someone does sit in it, it comes ON. Isn't this the reverse of how it should function?
if they are light, like under 100 lbs, then it will come on. if no one is in the seat, the light is off.
there are other situations for the light to come on. check out the owners manual (page 99 for the 2005 models). it has a complete description of the pass. airbag light operation.
no, the airbag only activates if the person is properly sitting in the seat and meets the minimum weight requirement. part of the occupant classification system. the airbag systems are getting smart nowadays.
there are many sensors in new airbag systems these days.. there is a seat postion sensor (detects if they are too close to the dash to deploy) seat belt angle sensor (how tall the occupants shoulders are) weight distribution /amount of weight sensors(how they are positioned in the seat -uneven or whatnot- and must be a certain weight for full deployment) all of the impact sensors obviously..and the airbags have 2 "quibs" (i dont know why they are called that.. they just are) they are for stages of deployment... normally an airbag comes out at about 200 miles per hours instantly inflating and deflating due to the 2-3 in holes cut in the bags from the factory. each quib controls the stage (force of deployment) when activated... you dont need a full force airbag hitting granny in the head cause she slammed into a lightpole in a parkinglot...
ohh and the people that make the rockets for NASA design and build almost all airbags produced.