My dealer told me that an airbag deactivation kit is available it the U.S. for the S2000. He said this is directly from Honda U.S. Is this the same as an airbag on/off switch? Have any owners deactivated their airbag to carry small children in the S2000?

My child is 36 pounds and still sits in a car seat. Any solutions so he and I can enjoy my new S2000 together? Please offer your helpful suggestions and thanks in advance!

Louie

 

i doubt honda has a kit for deactivating air bag. there are a few after market switches you can buy, but you have to get approval from national highway safety before a switch could be installed. if you can find an original honda kit, let us know. i think your dealer was just bullshitting you.

 

Louie,

I have a four-year-old and had to have an airbag on/off switch installed in my S2K before she could ride in it. Here's the procedure I had to go through:

1. Go here: http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/

2. Click on "Air Bags"

3. Scroll down a bit and click on "On-Off Switch Request Form"

4. Print the form out, and mail it to this address: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
Attention: Air Bag Switch Request Forms
400 Seventh Street, S. W.
Washington, D.C. 20590-1000

5. It'll take about a week to ten days to get your permission slip back (You need this to go to an installer. They will not do the job without it.)

6. Go here: http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/airbags/referral.html

7. Scroll down to the installers (they don't have a number for Honda customer service) Call all of the installers until you find one in your area (I used "Airbag Service" and they were spectacular).

8. It cost about $350.00 to have one installed, and the installer will order the parts for you (the parts were included in the price in my case).

9. There's no better feeling in the world than sharing your S2000 with someone you love. My daughter loves tooling around town with me with the top down.


Hope this helps.

-Vincent

 

It's good to hear that can be done.
Airbags can be good and can be bad as most of us know.
How about removing the passenger airbag completly? I have also been considering putting a screen there and that wouldn't be such a great thing to put there if the airbag goes off and launches the screen into someone's face at 200mph.
Also, do you know if we can legally replace our factory airbag steering wheel with a non-airbag aftermarket one and still drive it around in the US?

 

Vincent,

Very nice summary of the process. I'd like to see this in the FAQ's.

 

Robert,

My understanding is you must first have permission from the NHTSA before you do any modifications to your airbag set-up. You cannot remove your airbags just because you want to. You must have a valid reason (ie, you are to short and the airbag will cause harm to you, or like in my case, you have a child you wish to drive in the car).

Dlq04,

Thanks for the support, I've submitted it for consideration!

-Vincent

 

Vincent Vega:

Thank you for the excellent information. However, here in Canada (Saskatchewan), I am in the middle of nowhere and the list of potential installers would not be anywhere near me. Any suggestions (other than driving the car to the U.S. hehe)?

I have already made application to our governing body (Transport Canada/equivalent to NHTSA) for permission to deactivate the airbag. I am just looking for a recommended kit and a reputable installer who would do it for me.

Again, thank you for the info! I'll keep this board posted on what I find out. This way, it'll help Canadian S2000 owners (with kids) out.

Louie

 

I have a 4 year old and a 6 year old and, I can't see how it would
be dangerous if they are properly buckled into a 5 point child seat.
I understand the danger of being too close to the bag when it inflates.
If the seat is all the way back they won't get near the bag!

I've read the other posts regarding this. I've yet to hear a reason
why this would be dangerous!

 

MajorHavoc:

You are making a good point. I was going to place my 4 year old son in his 5 point car seat which would be placed according to the instructions of the owners manual. However, two points:

1. There is no suggested place to anchor the child seat with the child seat tether (do you cut the plastic mesh and feed the tether strap through to anchor it to the passenger seat track?

2. According to Transport Canada, if the occupant is 25 cm from the airbag, he/she risks injury. Now, if they are properly restrained, will they encrouch on this distance of 25 cm, PROBABLY not. However, in a hea- on collision, would the momentum carried the restrained child AND seat into this distance, esp. if no tether strap is used? Also, is there risk of injury to arms or legs that encrouch within that 25 cm area?

I don't know/ I don't have the answers. My only concern is for the safety of my child and the children of other S2000 owners who may want to drive their children around. I hope other owners can share some insight into this controversial area. There has already been discussions on whether or not turn the airbag off or not when carrying young children.

Thanks again for your comments.

Louie