Techno79

I've read a number of posts about whether rear side air bags (not the rear curtain air bags) should be disabled or not when you have little ones in car seats. My question is, if I did decide to disable them, is this something I can do myself or can it only be done by taking it to a BMW garage? I hope it is something I can do myself (similar to how I can disable the front passenger air bag using the key switch in the glove box).

TIA

jgt

I'm not sure if it can be done by coding but how do you disable the front passenger air bag?

Techno79

There is a key switch in the glove box. You need to insert your car key and turn it to disabled. It's always safer to have the car seat on the rear seat but it's nice to have the option of having it on the front seat if really needed. If you do have it on the front seat then the passenger air bags needs to be disabled.

turboawd

are you talking about the 5 series? i was not aware of a key to turn off the airbag. as far as i know, the weight sensor in the seat, turns the airbag on and off, and the notification light by the sunroof switch, lights up on startup.

these cars are designed for rear car seats......i dont think deactivating the rear airbags is a good idea.

burak

why would you disable an air bag?

Techno79

I'm going on the information here: http://www.childcarseats.org.uk/choosing/airbags.htm

The 'Child Passenger' section does say it is best to disable rear side air bags if the air bags would extend into the zone of the baby's car seat. I would need to find out if it does but was pre-emptively finding out if the rear side air bags could be disabled as easily as the front passenger one.

I've attached a picture of the front passenger disable switch in my glove box. I thought this was a standard feature.

See the section 'Child Passengers' specifically point 3:

norsecarnut

Wow, that's cool! No, in the US we are not allowed to think for ourselves. We have to be treated like children and be safe from hurting ourselves. Besides, here in the US, we get to sue anyone who allows us to do something bad to ourselves.

MrTantrum

Regarding side curtain airbags impacting a child in the back seat, you must ask yourself what the result is of a side impact collision with and without the airbag. Personally, it seems logical to me that a side curtain airbag would always be beneficial in preventing either the car seat or the child slamming up against the window. I've personally been in a side impact collision in the passenger seat and slammed my head up agains the window, and it was not a pleasent experience. There are many variables to consider, but you should definately research the cons vs. the pros before making such a decision.

Techno79

I think we are talking about different air bags. There are rear curtain air bags (which you are referring to), there are also rear side air bags that are housed in the rear door panels. In the UK the rear curtain air bags are a standard option where as the rear side air bags are an optional extra. The rear curtain air bags deploy much higher up and is extremely unlikely affect a baby/child car seat. However, the rear side air bags could affect it depending on how far they deploy. I would need to find out for sure but as I mentioned before, I'm pre-emptively trying to find out how the rear side air bags (ones in the door panel) can be disabled should I find out that they would affect the car seat.

burak

Ah children... Well I'm single and no kids so I never actually thought about that. Good call