Cause

Object or fitting under the seat loading the sensor

Something stored, wedged or bolted under or beside a passenger seat, taking weight that the occupant classification system reads as part of the occupant. The system weighs the seat to decide how the passenger airbag should behave — adult, child, child restraint or empty — so anything loading it corrupts a safety decision.

A bag pushed under the seat, a toy, a subwoofer, an aftermarket bracket or a seat-mounted accessory is enough. So is a seat-back organiser loaded heavily, or a footwell packed for a long journey.

It is free to check and it is the first thing to check, because the alternative diagnoses all involve dismantling a seat. Clear the space, then have the system recalibrated — the stored classification may need resetting even once the object is gone.

Typically an easy fix. Often worth checking before paying anyone to look.

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Codes this can cause (3)

Codes where this is a likely explanation first, rather than merely a possible one.

Information, not instruction

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Have anything you intend to act on checked by a trained person against the manufacturer's own procedure for your vehicle. Nothing here replaces that procedure.

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