Cause
Faulty passenger airbag disable switch
The key-operated switch, usually in the end of the dashboard where the door covers it, that deliberately turns the passenger airbag off.
It exists for one reason: a rear-facing child seat must never sit in front of a live airbag. A rear-facing seat puts the child's head exactly where the bag emerges, and a deployment there is not survivable. On vehicles without occupant classification, this switch is the only way to make that seat usable.
A fault here is dangerous in both directions, which is unusual and worth stating plainly. If the module reads the switch as off when it is on, an adult travels with no airbag and never finds out. If it reads on when the switch is off, a rear-facing child seat sits in front of an armed airbag — and the driver has done everything correctly and been told it is safe.
The disable indicator lamp is the only confirmation the switch was obeyed, which is why the two are monitored separately and should always be read together.
While this fault is stored, do not rely on the switch. A rear-facing child seat should travel in the back — which is where it belongs in any case.
Typically specialist work. Needs equipment or training most home workshops do not have.
Codes this can cause (1)
Codes where this is a likely explanation first, rather than merely a possible one.
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