Disabling pass airbag in '97 TJ

You should be able to go to your local dealer and have them install a airbag cutoff switch. It usually takes some paperwork and may take some pressure as dealerships can be reluctant to put one in. But in the long run that is the best way.

No dealership will do it. No one else will either. I tried that.

--Bryan

As long as the fuse removal completely inactivates the system, I'm fine. Thanks to both of you who answered.

--Bryan

I do believe Jerry was 100% correct on that statement.

I referred to a relay for them once and was corrected by Jerry. I have not found Jerry to be often wrong on technical issues with Jeeps and there are 'sure' enough folks around here to correct him if he was.

Meanwhile you can get a factory defeat switch for the passenger side on the early TJ's.

Mike

86/00 CJ7 Laredo, 33x9.5 BFG Muds, 'glass nose to tail >

My 99 TJ had a key-activated disconnect.

Carl

You can go to the NHTSA Website and download a PDF file that you complete and carry to the local dealership, where they will install a switch that you use to disable the passenger side airbag whenever you need.

YOU are precisely the person for which the PDF was created, you have a vehicle with no back seat, and are forced to have a child ride in the front seat. Pick-up trucks of that year had the switch to turn the airbag off and on, but Jeeps did not have it, even though they were offered for sale without a back seat.

That is wrong, the dealership MUST do it. Go to the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration website for the official word on this important matter. DO NOT listen to bullshit from the dealer. Download the PDF, and carry it to the dealer and get the job done right, which protects your liability at the same time.

Yes, and that key activated switch can be applied to earlier models if one visits the National Highway traffic Safety Administration website.

One thing I forgot to mention was that you will protect yourself better if you have the dealer install the cutoff switch versus just pulling the fuses. If you have personal injury protection (PIP) or medical coverage for your person as part of your insurance (most people do) your insurance company will not pay out for your injuries.

Also, if you are hit by someone else, thier insurance company will not pay out for your injuries if your airbag is disabled. It's a liability you don't want to take.

Make the dealer install the switch.

Carl

Wrong. They don't have the authority to require a dealer to disable an airbag.

You should know what you're talking about before spewing bullshit.

True.

It is a DOT Regulation 49 CFR 571/595

only exempts the dealership from the statutory prohibitionagainst modifying safey equipment.

The airbag is a SERIOUS hazard to a child, and a Jeep Wrangler was offered without a back seat, therefore the NHTSA mandates that the passenger airbag cutoff be made available to anybody that asks, and has a vehicle that fits the need (one without a back seat). The NHTSA has a PDF form that one simply prints out at home and takes to an authorized dealer. The dealer can then install a kit -- I assume there is a cost involved, but I don't know or care. The PDF is a liability waiver.

Sorry if I am posting at the incorrect location in the thread,

This is the link to the NHTSA Website that gives the particulars for when, why, and how an airbag can be disabled.

It seems the rules have changed a bit since I read them last. Formerly, one could download or locally print a PDF, and take the form to the dealership to get a bypass switch installed. Now, it appears one can essentially do the same thing, but must directly petition the NHTSA to get permission to do it. It appears the feds want greater understanding/oversight of the process and the participants.

Bottom line, the NHTSA certainly does have the authority to require a dealer to disable an airbag, especially in the situation concerning a Jeep Wrangler, where the vehicle can be used without a back seat AND a child is riding as a passenger in the front seat, OR where there are more child passengers than be accomodated by the back seat so one child must be a passenger in the front seat.

Serious hazard or not, there is nothing that says a dealer must disable the airbag.