Disabling rear airbag?

[Capt.Canuck]

I recently purchased an 2006 S4 sedan.

My 4-year old son rides in a car seat on the driver's side in the rear.

There is a warning on the rear door about the airbag being unsafe for small children.

Should I be disabling the rear airbag? If so, how do I do it?

TIA.

[charliemike]

I haven't tried with a car seat as I don't have kids but is it not possible or unsafe to put him inthe middle?

[Capt.Canuck]

I haven't tried with a car seat as I don't have kids but is it not possible or unsafe to put him inthe middle?

I can't...my hockey sticks are in the ski bag 24/7 (I play a lot).

[charliemike]

I can't...my hockey sticks are in the ski bag 24/7 (I play a lot).

Ok.

[Cyrix9445]

I'd imagine that you could just unplug it and wire in a resistor in its place, but you would have to find out what resistance it would need to prevent a MIL

[...Mark...]

Ok.

Fine how about this one. I have 2 year old daughter and we are expecting our second child next month, as a result i will have 2 child seats in back.

I was wondering the same thing.

[WhatADream]

Fine how about this one. I have 2 year old daughter and we are expecting our second child next month, as a result i will have 2 child seats in back.

I was wondering the same thing.

take it to the dealer, they can disable it

[caitovS4]

Just curious - have you checked the owner's manual about the rear air bags and car seats?

I'd have to imagine with all the liability and regulated safety warnings, there'd be some recommendation in there.

[Capt.Canuck]

Just curious - have you checked the owner's manual about the rear air bags and car seats?

I'd have to imagine with all the liability and regulated safety warnings, there'd be some recommendation in there.

Funny you should ask...I'm still waiting on my English owner's manual to come from the dealer. I purchased a CPO vehicle from a Quebec-based dealer and I guess the prior owner had tossed the English manual. But I'd imagine you're correct, there must be some information in there about the issue.

[caitovS4]

Since you got me thinking (I've got a 3yo), I just checked the manual.
There's definitely extensive coverage on child seats and air bags but I couldn't find anything that says you shouldn't put a car seat on the rear sides.

In fact if you use the latch system, it's designed for them to be placed on the sides.

I also checked the airbag warning on the door and there was nothing about rear airbags and children. Of course that could be a difference between US and Canadian law.

[s4buckeye]

Kids will generally be fine with rear airbags. Side airbags are nowhere near the same design and force as front passenger "frontal" airbags.

http://www.edmunds.com/ownership/saf...3/article.html

[UberDave]

Kids will generally be fine with rear airbags. Side airbags are nowhere near the same design and force as front passenger "frontal" airbags.

http://www.edmunds.com/ownership/saf...3/article.html

Yep. The real danger is from the front airbags if you let them ride in the front, never a good idea until they are at least 100 pounds.

[Capt.Canuck]

Good stuff, thanks for the helpful information gentlemen.

[JCOROAS]

This is a very interesting thread. I am expecting my first child in a couple of months and took my A4 Avant wagon to my dealership to have the optional rear seats torso airbags (which I chose to get when buying the car) disabled so I can install the car seat.
The service department was happy to oblige, but called me later in the afternoon to say they didn't have the computer code needed to disabled the airbags and SHOCKINGLY the tech. department of Audi Canada refused to give them the code!
After I made numerous calls to complain, the bottom line is this: Audi Canada has refused to provide the code to disable the rear seat airbags on the grounds that THE AIRBAGS ARE SAFE! This despite clear recommendations by Transport Canada that you never place a child in a car seat behind an active airbag. And...despite the fact that the airbags are optional and don't even exist in most cars. Of course, the story was completely different when I purchased the vehicle...they told me several times to bring the car back to have the airbags disabled when we decided to have children.
I am utterly stunned by Audi's actions in this case. I have referred the matter to Transport Canada and complained vigorously (to say the least) to Audi.
Any similar experiences out there? Any thoughts?
I'm furious!

[40valve]

This is a very interesting thread. I am expecting my first child in a couple of months and took my A4 Avant wagon to my dealership to have the optional rear seats torso airbags (which I chose to get when buying the car) disabled so I can install the car seat.
The service department was happy to oblige, but called me later in the afternoon to say they didn't have the computer code needed to disabled the airbags and SHOCKINGLY the tech. department of Audi Canada refused to give them the code!
After I made numerous calls to complain, the bottom line is this: Audi Canada has refused to provide the code to disable the rear seat airbags on the grounds that THE AIRBAGS ARE SAFE! This despite clear recommendations by Transport Canada that you never place a child in a car seat behind an active airbag. And...despite the fact that the airbags are optional and don't even exist in most cars. Of course, the story was completely different when I purchased the vehicle...they told me several times to bring the car back to have the airbags disabled when we decided to have children.
I am utterly stunned by Audi's actions in this case. I have referred the matter to Transport Canada and complained vigorously (to say the least) to Audi.
Any similar experiences out there? Any thoughts?
I'm furious!

Do they specify which airbag though? There is a huge difference, like stated earlier, between front impact bags and side curtains as they do not deploy toward the passenger but rather come down/across the window like a curtain. Someone correct me if I'm wrong.

[Cyrix9445]

Do they specify which airbag though? There is a huge difference, like stated earlier, between front impact bags and side curtains as they do not deploy toward the passenger but rather come down/across the window like a curtain. Someone correct me if I'm wrong.

I think the airbag that they are talking about is the optional side impact airbags that come out of the rear seat, not the curtains.

[DolphinV8]

you should be able to reprogram your airbag control module with a vag-com.

[charliemike]

Fine how about this one. I have 2 year old daughter and we are expecting our second child next month, as a result i will have 2 child seats in back.

I was wondering the same thing.

I don't care what you do with it. Put nine kids and a llama back there if it makes you happy.

[JCOROAS]

Do they specify which airbag though? There is a huge difference, like stated earlier, between front impact bags and side curtains as they do not deploy toward the passenger but rather come down/across the window like a curtain. Someone correct me if I'm wrong.

I'm referring specifically to the airbags installed in the back of the seats. They deploy into the faces/torsos of the rear passengers. They are not in the armrest, they're in the back of the front seats. The car also has the rear curtain airbags, but I'm far less worried about those.

[JCOROAS]

you should be able to reprogram your airbag control module with a vag-com.

What's a vag com? The dealership says it can reprogram the airbags to disable them, but without the code supplied by Audi Canada, it could take them 2 days! And of course, at $75/hour for the work...could get very expensive. Audi Canada actually suggested I take the car to "any old mechanic" and get them to do it "on the side"...perhaps even just removing the airbag.