car seat in the front?

[kuruma]

So, tomorrow we need to transport 3 children under 6 in the car for the first time (emergency foster care has kicked in). We've been given three car seats (only one of which is isofix). Because of the width of the seats, we can't fit them all across the back seat. One has to go in the front.

I thought it would be easy to disable the front passenger airbag but the toggle is greyed out in settings. Is it illegal to disable it in the UK? Can we therefore not have a front facing car seat in the front passenger seat?

The manual is ambiguous as far as I can tell so any advice would be appreciated.

Cheers

 

[Irata]

It's rear facing that needs the airbag off.

With front facing, move the seat as far back as you can.

 

[Alex987854]

The airbag should turn off with a child in the seat, however

 

[Irata]

The manual states never use child safety seats in the front, which isn't possible in this case. So that's a personal decision.

From the perspective of the law, it's rear facing that needs the airbag off.

 

[kuruma]

thanks everyone for your replies. You can tell how many times I've had kids in the car!

We're not going to risk it if we can't disable the airbag which I assume isn't possible from the lack of responses to that effect. We'll just have to draw straws to see which one stays in the garage when we have to go out...





... just kidding

 

[Tiger]

It is probably fully automatic Airback passenger side

If you don't have enough weight on it, the airbag is automatically disabled.

Actually, from (Model 3) user manual:

When a child is seated in the front passenger seat (even when the child is seated in a child safety seat or booster seat), you must disable the passenger front airbag to prevent it from injuring the child if a collision occurs. Touch Controls > Safety & Security > Passenger Front Airbag, and before driving, ensure the passenger airbag status on the top of the touchscreen indicates that the airbag is off (see Passenger Front Airbag Status on page 48).

If seating a child in the front passenger seat is legally permissible in your market region, it is the driver's responsibility to ensure that the passenger front airbag is OFF.

WARNING:If seating a child in the front passenger seat is legally permissible in your market region, never seat a child in a child safety seat or a booster seat on the front passenger seat when the airbag is active. Doing so can cause serious injury or death

 

[kuruma]

Yeah .. the trouble with the user manual is that it is clearly impossible to follow if the toggle is greyed out. Seeing as how putting a child in the passenger seat is legal in the UK, it would make sense that we can toggle the airbag on and off as required.

As it is, it means that the M3 is preventing us from all getting in the car together. Well that and borrowed car seats that came with the foster kids...

 

[Alex987854]

Yeah .. the trouble with the user manual is that it is clearly impossible to follow if the toggle is greyed out. Seeing as how putting a child in the passenger seat is legal in the UK, it would make sense that we can toggle the airbag on and off as required.

As it is, it means that the M3 is preventing us from all getting in the car together. Well that and borrowed car seats that came with the foster kids...

I've had another look and found this. Might work if the child seat isn't made of lead.

 

[nufan]

Kuruma: was it greyed because you had someone heavier than 45kg in the seat when you tried it? The car intermittently bugs me about a seatbelt when I have shopping on the passenger seat - that table effectively states it can measure weight for those criteria posted by Alex, so if someone >45kg was sat there when you tried it... (apologies if that’s already occurred to you).

An aside: Not challenging it, but out of just not knowing, anyone know the mechanics of why the airbag is a danger to a front-facing child in that seat in a child seat?

Is it head-height not being where the airbag is aimed and the child going underneath? Or something to do with the deployment vs a child with less mass = a large acceleration on the child’s brain or something? Or being smothered by being smaller than the design-target?

 

[nufan]

Or, reading Tiger’s link, didn’t have someone >9kg? Bet you have to be between the thresholds to have the option (although I may lose my money there...)

 

[nufan]

I just tried it this morning - the control was greyed out until I put pin-to-drive in (didn’t need to engage Drive). I had a 20kg passenger who may or may not have been detected by the car. I had them jump off the seat and it seemed not to change the control’s availability - hope that helps you.

 

[CMc1]

It’s only greyed out if NOT in park. Must be in park to enable / disable airbag (for some reason last few loaners have had passenger airbag disabled)

 

[kuruma]

eureka!​

So, get this, when the car is parked, it's not in Park. How stupid is that?

I was leaning over the passenger seat trying to toggle the switch. If you sit in the driver's seat (with the charge cable unplugged) the car will go into Park if you press the brake. So, there are a number of things that need to be in play before the car self-indentifies as in Park even if it's parked. Yeesh...

Once the knows it's in Park, you can toggle the airbag off.

The Easter holidays are now looking a lot more livable.

Thanks so much everyone for your help here.

 

[janolsen]

Eureka. You have to press the brake while parked to enable airbag on off, then car will show on screen that your car is in P. Even though it has been in P all along.

How crazy is this, not intuitive and not something I found in the manual.

 

[janolsen]

Eureka. You have to press the brake while parked to enable airbag on off, then car will show on screen that your car is in P. Even though it has been in P all along.

How crazy is this, not intuitive and not something I found in the manual.

 

[init6]

It's probably because the car is not powered on until you press the brake pedal:

Starting​

When you open a door to enter Model 3, the touchscreen powers onand you can operate all controls. To drive Model 3:

1. Press the brake pedal - Model 3 powers on and is ready to drive.

 

[kuruma]

so the manual should really read

1. Press the brake pedal - Model 3 powers on and is ready to tell you what you already know: it's parked

 

[spdpsba]

eureka!​

So, get this, when the car is parked, it's not in Park. How stupid is that?

I was leaning over the passenger seat trying to toggle the switch. If you sit in the driver's seat (with the charge cable unplugged) the car will go into Park if you press the brake. So, there are a number of things that need to be in play before the car self-indentifies as in Park even if it's parked. Yeesh...

Once the knows it's in Park, you can toggle the airbag off.

The Easter holidays are now looking a lot more livable.

Thanks so much everyone for your help here.

No, when the car is parked - you have to give it few minutes for it to automatically go into park otherwise it will be in hold position - ready to move (which is a good idea - remember school drop offs etc., you don’t need the car to go into park for those few minutes)

But if you want the car to go into park as soon as you stop - press the right stalk it will go into park immediately - then you can disable the airbag.

 

[init6]

so the manual should really read

1. Press the brake pedal - Model 3 powers on and is ready to tell you what you already know: it's parked

That's implied in the very next line of the manual

 

[spdpsba]

Eureka. You have to press the brake while parked to enable airbag on off, then car will show on screen that your car is in P. Even though it has been in P all along.

How crazy is this, not intuitive and not something I found in the manual.

You don’t have to.

But you have to put the car in park - just stopping the car doesn’t automatically put the car in park mode immediately - you have to wait few minutes for the car to go into park mode. As mentioned before this set up is very helpful in school drop offs etc., where you don’t want the car to go into park mode but just to be on ‘hold’ then you can just move the car without again having to change to D (drive)