2011 VOLVO XC90 airbag disable

01 Safety
Seat belts 01
20
Using seat belts
G020104
Adjusting the seat belt
Volvo, the inventor of the three-point seat belt,
urges you and all occupants of your vehicle to
wear seat belts and ensure that children are
properly restrained, using an infant, car, or
booster seat determined by age, weight and
height.
Volvo also believes no child should sit in the
front seat of a vehicle.
Most states and provinces make it mandatory
for occupants of a vehicle to use seat belts.
Seat belt pretensionersThe seat belts are equipped with pretensioners
that reduce slack in the belts. These preten-sioners are triggered in situations where the
airbags deploy. The front seat belts also
include a tension reducing device which, in the
event of a collision, limits the peak forces exer-
ted by the seat belt on the occupant.
Buckling a seat beltPull the belt out far enough to insert the latch
plate into the receptacle until a distinct click is
heard. The seat belt retractor is normally
"unlocked" and you can move freely, provided
that the shoulder belt is not pulled out too far.
The seat belt retractor will lock up in the fol-
lowing situations:
•if the belt is pulled out rapidly
•during braking and acceleration
•if the vehicle is leaning excessively
•when driving in turns
•if the Automatic Locking Retractor/Emer-
gency Locking Retractor (ALR/ELR) is acti-
vated
NOTE
Each seat belt (except for the driver's belt)
is equipped with the ALR/ELR function,
which is designed to help keep the seat belt
taut. ALR/ELR activates if the seat belt is
pulled out as far as possible. If this is done,
a sound from the seat belt retractor will be
audible, which is normal, and the seat belt
will be pulled taut and locked in place. This
function is automatically disabled when the
seat belt is unbuckled and fully retracted.
See also page 38 for information about using
a seat belt's ALR/ELR function to anchor a
child seat.
When wearing the seat belt remember:
•The belt should not be twisted or turned.
•The lap section of the belt must be posi-
tioned low on the hips (not pressing against
the abdomen).
•Make sure that the shoulder belt is rolled
up into its retractor and that the shoulder
and lap belts are taut.
Unbuckling the seat beltTo remove the seat belt, press the red section
on the seat belt receptacle. Before exiting the
vehicle, check that the seat belt retracts fully
after being unbuckled. If necessary, guide the
belt back into the retractor slot.

01 Safety
Occupant Weight Sensor 01
28
Disabling the passenger's side front
airbag
G027050
Occupant Weight Sensor (OWS) indicator light
Volvo recommends that ALL occupants (adults
and children) shorter than 4 feet 7 inches
(140 cm) be seated in the rear seat of any vehi-
cle with a passenger's side front airbag, and be
properly restrained. Children should always be
seated in child restraints appropriate for their
size and weight. For child safety recommen-
dations, see page 37.
The Occupant Weight Sensor (OWS) is
designed to meet the regulatory requirements
of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard
(FMVSS) 208 and is designed to disable (willnot inflate) the passenger's side front airbag
under certain conditions.
The OWS works with sensors that are part of
the front passenger's seat and seat belt. The
sensors are designed to detect the presence of
a properly seated occupant and determine if
the passenger's side front airbag should be
enabled (may inflate) or disabled (will not
inflate).
The OWS will disable (will not inflate) the pas-
senger's side front airbag when:
•the front passenger's seat is unoccupied,
or has small/medium objects in the front
seat,
•the system determines that an infant is
present in a rear-facing infant seat that is
installed according to the manufacturer's
instructions,
•the system determines that a small child is
present in a forward-facing child restraint
that is installed according to the manufac-
turer's instructions,
•the system determines that a small child is
present in a booster seat,
•a front passenger takes his/her weight off
of the seat for a period of time,
•a child or a small person occupies the front
passenger's seat.The OWS uses a PASSENGER AIRBAG OFF
indicator lamp which will illuminate and stay on
to remind you that the passenger's side front
airbag is disabled. The PASSENGER AIRBAG
OFF indicator lamp is located in the overhead
console, near the base of the rearview mirror.
NOTE
The PASSENGER AIRBAG OFF indicator
lamp will illuminate for a short period of time
when the ignition is turned on to confirm it
is functional. When the front passenger's
seat is not occupied (empty seat) or in the
event that the passenger's side front airbag
is enabled (may inflate), the PASSENGER
AIRBAG OFF indicator lamp will be off.
However, if a fault is detected in the system:
•The OWS indicator light will stay on
•The SRS warning light (see page 23) will
come on and stay on
•The message PASS. AIRBAG OFF
SERVICE URGENT will be displayed in the
information display.

01 Safety
Occupant Weight Sensor01

29
WARNING
•If a fault in the system is detected and
indicated as explained, be aware that
the passenger's side front airbag will
not deploy in the event of a collision.
•In this case, the safety systems and
Occupant Weight Sensor should be
inspected by a trained and qualified
Volvo service technician as soon as
possible.
WARNING
•Never try to open, remove, or repair any
components in the OWS system. This
could result in system malfunction.
Maintenance or repairs should only be
carried out by a trained and qualified
Volvo service technician.
•The front passenger's seat should not
be modified in any way. This could
reduce pressure on the seat cushion,
which might interfere with the OWS sys-
tem's function.
The OWS is designed to disable (will not inflate)
the passenger's side front airbag when a rear
facing infant seat, a forward-facing child
restraint, or a booster seat is detected. The
PASSENGER AIRBAG OFF indicator lamp willilluminate and stay on to remind you that the
passenger's side front airbag is disabled (see
the following table).
Passeng-
er's seat
occu-
pancy sta-
tusOWS indi-
cator light
statusPasseng-
er's side
front air-
bag status
Seat unoc-
cupiedOWS indica-
tor light
is not
lit
Passenger's
side front
airbag disa-
bled
Seat occu-
pied by low
weight
occupant/
object
A
OWS indica-
tor light
lights
up
Passenger's
side front
airbag disa-
bled
Seat occu-
pied by
heavy occu-
pant/objectOWS indica-
tor light
is not
lit
Passenger's
side front
airbag ena-
bled
AVolvo recommends that children always be properly
restrained in appropriate child restraints in the rear seats.In
rare situations when the seat belt is not properly fastened,
some child restraints may not be detected by the OWS
because there is very little weight on the vehicle seat cush-
ion. In these cases the passenger's side front airbag may be
disabled, but the PASSENGER AIRBAG OFF indicator lamp
will not be lit. Do not assume that the passenger's side front
airbag is disabled unless the PASSENGER AIRBAG OFFindicator lamp is lit. Make sure the child restraint is properly
installed (turn the vehicle off, remove the child restraint from
the vehicle and reinstall the restraint following the child
restraint manufacturer's instructions) and that the
PASSENGER AIRBAG OFF indicator lamp is on, or move
the child restraint to the rear seat.
The OWS is designed to enable (may inflate)
the passenger's side front airbag in the event
of a collision anytime the system senses that a
person of adult size is sitting properly in the
front passenger's seat. The PASSENGER
AIRBAG OFF indicator lamp will be off and
remain off.
If a person of adult size is sitting in the front
passenger's seat, but the PASSENGER
AIRBAG OFF indicator lamp is on, it is possible
that the person isn't sitting properly in the seat.
If this happens:
1. Turn the vehicle off and ask the person to
place the seat back in an upright position.
2. Have the person sit upright in the seat,
centered on the seat cushion, with the per-
son's legs comfortably extended.
3. Restart the vehicle and have the person
remain in this position for about two
minutes. This will allow the system to
detect that person and enable the pas-
senger's frontal airbag.
4.
If the PASSENGER AIRBAG OFF indicator
lamp remains on even after this, the person
should be advised to ride in the rear seat.

01 Safety
Occupant Weight Sensor 01
30
This condition reflects limitations of the OWS
classification capability. It does not indicate
OWS malfunction.
ModificationsIf you are considering modifying your vehicle in
any way to accommodate a disability, for
example by altering or adapting the driver's or
front passenger's seat(s) and/or airbag sys-
tems, please contact Volvo at:
In the USA
Volvo Cars of North America, LLC
Customer Care Center
1 Volvo Drive
P.O. Box 914 Rockleigh,
New Jersey 07647
1-800-458-1552
In Canada
Volvo Cars of Canada Corp.
National Customer Service
175 Gordon Baker Road
North York, Ontario M2H 2N7
1-800-663-8255
WARNING
•No objects that add to the total weight
on the seat should be placed on the
front passenger's seat. If a child is
seated in the front passenger's seat
with any additional weight, this extra
weight could cause the OWS system to
enable the airbag, which might cause it
to deploy in the event of a collision,
thereby injuring the child.
•The seat belt should never be wrapped
around an object on the front passeng-
er's seat. This could interfere with the
OWS system's function.
•The front passenger's seat belt should
never be used in a way that exerts more
pressure on the passenger than normal.
This could increase the pressure exer-
ted on the weight sensor by a child, and
could result in the airbag being enabled,
which might cause it to deploy in the
event of a collision, thereby injuring the
child.
WARNING
Keep the following points in mind with
respect to the OWS system. Failure to follow
these instructions could adversely affect the
system's function and result in serious injury
to the occupant of the front passenger's
seat:
•The full weight of the front seat passen-
ger should always be on the seat cush-
ion. The passenger should never lift
him/herself off the seat cushion using
the armrest in the door or the center
console, by pressing the feet on the
floor, by sitting on the edge of the seat
cushion, or by pressing against the
backrest in a way that reduces pressure
on the seat cushion. This could cause
OWS to disable the front passenger's
side airbag.
•Do not place any type of object on the
front passenger's seat in such a way
that jamming, pressing, or squeezing
occurs between the object and the front
seat, other than as a direct result of the
correct use of the Automatic Locking
Retractor/Emergency Locking Retrac-
tor (ALR/ELR) seat belt (see page 38).
•No objects should be placed under the
front passenger's seat. This could inter-
fere with the OWS system's function.

01 Safety
Child safety 01
38
WARNING
•Do not use child safety seats or child
booster cushions/backrests in the front
passenger's seat. We also recommend
that children under 4 feet 7 inches
(140 cm) in height who have outgrown
these devices sit in the rear seat with the
seat belt fastened.
•On hot days, the temperature in the
vehicle interior can rise very quickly.
Exposure to these high temperatures
for even a short period of time can
cause heat-related injury or death.
Small children are particularly at risk.
Automatic Locking Retractor/
Emergency Locking Retractor (ALR/
ELR)
To make child seat installation easier, each
seat belt (except for the driver's belt) is equip-
ped with a locking mechanism to help keep the
seat belt taut.
When attaching the seat belt to a child seat:
1. Attach the seat belt to the child seat
according to the child seat manufacturer's
instructions.
2. Pull the seat belt out as far as possible.3. Insert the seat belt latch plate into the
buckle (lock) in the usual way.
4. Release the seat belt and pull it taut around
the child seat. A sound from the seat belt
retractor will be audible at this time and
is normal.
The belt will now be locked in place.
This function is automatically disabled
when the seat belt is unlocked and the belt
is fully retracted.
WARNING
Do not use child safety seats or child
booster cushions/backrests in the front
passenger's seat. We also recommend that
children who have outgrown these devices
sit in the rear seat with the seat belt properly
fastened.
Volvo's recommendationsWhy does Volvo believe that no child should sit
in the front seat of a vehicle? It's quite simple
really. A front airbag is a very powerful device
designed, by law, to help protect an adult.
Because of the size of the airbag and its speed
of inflation, a child should never be placed in
the front seat, even if he or she is properly bel-
ted or strapped into a child safety seat. Volvo
has been an innovator in safety for over sev-
enty-five years, and we'll continue to do ourpart. But we need your help. Please remember
to put your children in the back seat, and
buckle them up.
Volvo has some very specific
recommendations:
•Always wear your seat belt.
•Airbags are a SUPPLEMENTAL safety
device which, when used with a three-
point seat belt can help reduce serious
injuries during certain types of accidents.
Volvo recommends that you do not dis-
connect the airbag system in your vehicle.
•Volvo strongly recommends that everyone
in the vehicle be properly restrained.
•Volvo recommends that ALL occupants
(adults and children) shorter than 4 feet
7 inches (140 cm) be seated in the back
seat of any vehicle with a front passenger
side airbag.
•Drive safely!