2014 VOLVO XC90 airbag disable

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 feet7 inches (140 cm) be seated in the rear seatof any vehicle with a passenger's side frontairbag, and be properly restrained. Childrenshould always be seated in child restraintsappropriate for their size and weight. Forchild safety recommendations, seepage 38. The Occupant Weight Sensor (OWS) is designed to meet the regulatory requirementsof Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard(FMVSS) 208 and is designed to disable (will not inflate) the passenger's side front airbagunder certain conditions. The OWS works with sensors that are part of the front passenger's seat and seat belt. Thesensors are designed to detect the presenceof a properly seated occupant and determineif the passenger's side front airbag should beenabled (may inflate) or disabled (will notinflate). 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 frontseat,
• the system determines that an infant ispresent in a rear-facing infant seat that isinstalled according to the manufacturer'sinstructions,
• the system determines that a small childis present in a forward-facing childrestraint that is installed according to themanufacturer's instructions,
• the system determines that a small childis present in a booster seat,
• a front passenger takes his/her weight offof the seat for a period of time,
• a child or a small person occupies thefront 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 sidefront airbag is disabled. The PASSENGER
AIRBAG OFF indicator lamp is located in the
overhead console, near the base of the rear-view mirror.
NOTE
The PASSENGER AIRBAG OFF indicator
lamp will illuminate for a short period of time when the ignition is turned on to con-firm it is functional. When the front pas-senger's seat is not occupied (empty seat)or in the event that the passenger's sidefront airbag is enabled (may inflate), thePASSENGER AIRBAG OFF indicator lamp
will be off.
However, if a fault is detected in the sys- tem: • 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 thatthe passenger's side front airbag willnot deploy in the event of a collision.
• In this case, the safety systems andOccupant Weight Sensor should beinspected by a trained and qualifiedVolvo service technician as soon aspossible.
WARNING
•Never try to open, remove, or repair any components in the OWS system.This could result in system malfunc-tion. Maintenance or repairs shouldonly be carried out by a trained andqualified Volvo service technician.
• The front passenger's seat should notbe modified in any way. This couldreduce pressure on the seat cushion,which might interfere with the OWSsystem's function.
The OWS is designed to disable (will not inflate) the passenger's side front airbagwhen a rear facing infant seat, a forward-fac-ing child restraint, or a booster seat isdetected. The
PASSENGER AIRBAG OFF indicator lamp will illuminate and stay on toremind you that the passenger's side frontairbag is disabled (see the following table).
Passeng- er's seatoccu-pancystatusOWS indicatorlight sta-tusPasseng- er's sidefront air-bag status
Seat unoc- cupiedOWS indi- cator light
is not
lit
Passenger's side front air-bag disabled
Seat occu- pied by lowweightoccupant/ object AOWS indi- cator light
lights
up
Passenger's side front air-bag disabled
Seat occu- pied byheavy occu-pant/objectOWS indi- cator light
is not
lit
Passenger's side front air-bag enabled
A
Volvo recommends that children always be properly restrained in appropriate child restraints in the rear seats.Inrare situations when the seat belt is not properly fastened,some child restraints may not be detected by the OWSbecause there is very little weight on the vehicle seat cush-ion. In these cases the passenger's side front airbag maybe disabled, but the PASSENGER AIRBAG OFF indicator
lamp will not be lit. Do not assume that the passenger'sside front airbag is disabled unless the PASSENGERAIRBAG OFF
indicator lamp is lit. Make sure the child
restraint is properly installed (turn the vehicle off, removethe child restraint from the vehicle and reinstall the restraintfollowing 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 eventof a collision anytime the system senses thata person of adult size is sitting properly in thefront 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 possi-
ble that the person isn't sitting properly in theseat. 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 person's legs comfortably extended.
3. Restart the vehicle and have the person remain in this position for about twominutes. This will allow the system todetect that person and enable the pas-senger's frontal airbag.
4. If the PASSENGER AIRBAG OFF indica-
tor lamp remains on even after this, the

01 Safety
Occupant Weight Sensor 01
30
person should be advised to ride in the rear seat.
This condition reflects limitations of the OWSclassification capability. It does not indicateOWS malfunction.
ModificationsIf you are considering modifying your vehiclein any way to accommodate a disability, forexample by altering or adapting the driver'sor front passenger's seat(s) and/or airbagsystems, please contact Volvo at: In the USA Volvo Cars of North America, LLC Customer Care Center1 Volvo DriveP.O. Box 914 Rockleigh,New Jersey 076471-800-458-1552 In Canada Volvo Cars of Canada Corp. National Customer Service9130 Leslie Street, Suite 101Richmond Hill, Ontario L4B 0B91-800-663-8255
WARNING
• No objects that add to the total weight on the seat should be placed on thefront passenger's seat. If a child isseated in the front passenger's seatwith any additional weight, this extraweight could cause the OWS systemto enable the airbag, which mightcause it to deploy in the event of a col-lision, thereby injuring the child.
• The seat belt should never be wrappedaround an object on the front pas-senger's seat. This could interfere withthe OWS system's function.
• The front passenger's seat belt shouldnever be used in a way that exertsmore pressure on the passenger thannormal. This could increase the pres-sure exerted on the weight sensor by achild, and could result in the airbagbeing enabled, which might cause it todeploy 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 fol-low these instructions could adverselyaffect the system's function and result inserious injury to the occupant of the frontpassenger's seat:
• The full weight of the front seat pas- senger should always be on the seatcushion. The passenger should neverlift him/herself off the seat cushionusing the armrest in the door or thecenter console, by pressing the feet onthe floor, by sitting on the edge of theseat cushion, or by pressing againstthe backrest in a way that reducespressure on the seat cushion. Thiscould cause OWS to disable the frontpassenger's side airbag.
• Do not place any type of object on thefront passenger's seat in such a waythat jamming, pressing, or squeezingoccurs between the object and thefront seat, other than as a direct resultof the correct use of the AutomaticLocking Retractor/Emergency LockingRetractor (ALR/ELR) seat belt (seepage 39).
• No objects should be placed under thefront passenger's seat. This could

01 Safety
Child safety01
39
WARNING
•Do not use child safety seats or child booster cushions/backrests in thefront passenger's seat. We also rec-ommend that children under 4 feet7 inches (140 cm) in height who haveoutgrown these devices sit in the rearseat with the seat belt fastened.
• On hot days, the temperature in thevehicle interior can rise very quickly.Exposure to these high temperaturesfor even a short period of time cancause heat-related injury or death.Small children are particularly at risk.
Child seat should always be registered. See page 40 for more information.
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 keepthe 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 manufactur- er'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 beltwill now be locked in place. This function isautomatically disabled when the seat belt isunlocked and the belt is fully retracted.
WARNING
Do not use child safety seats or child booster cushions/backrests in the frontpassenger's seat. We also recommendthat children who have outgrown thesedevices sit in the rear seat with the seatbelt properly fastened.
Volvo's recommendations
Why does Volvo believe that no child should sit in the front seat of a car? It's quite simplereally. A front airbag is a very powerful devicedesigned, by law, to help protect an adult. Because of the size of the airbag and its speed of inflation, a child should never beplaced in the front seat, even if he or she isproperly belted or strapped into a child safetyseat. Volvo has been an innovator in safetyfor over seventy-five years, and we'll continueto do our part. But we need your help. Pleaseremember to put your children in the backseat, 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 seriousinjuries during certain types of accidents.Volvo recommends that you do not dis-connect the airbag system in your vehi-cle.
• Volvo strongly recommends that every-one in the vehicle be properly restrained.
• Volvo recommends that ALL occupants(adults and children) shorter than 4 feet7 inches (140 cm) be seated in the back