Yukon Man....Take a chill pill dude,

I only used the word rant because 1) it seems like what you were doing and 2) the "why rant" was because you went off for no reason (IE you weren't provoked, usually 1 & 2 go together). In other words I'm trying to keep you blood pressure down.

You said.... "I'll be damned if my kids are in more danger in the front seat of my very large truck than any kids in the back of a little econobox mini van or car. Has anyone seen what happens to a little mini van when it gets hit from the side? I have and I know my truck will sustain far far less damage in the same collision."

I took that as you were saying your kids would be safer in the front seat of a SD than the back of a minivan. I think I sort of agreeed with you except that the airbag prohibits this. Maybe I got lost in some of the double negatives. It wouldn't be the first time.

I also stated that I didn't think it was the gov. fault for Ford not putting in the switch. They could have done it if they wanted to, it's just cheaper not to. EC-101.

I also pretty much agreed with you on gov. in our lives. BTW I voted for Bush, Dole, Bush, Reagan, Reagan..to young for others.

Now what did we disagree on?

Rob

 

rob_n_houston,

Ok, You Da Man! Keep up the good voting record! Maybe we can get the Senate back too. I appologize for being a little flagrant with my opinion. I guess we both agree on this. By the way, don't take my post personal. I wrote it with a smile.

I don't know if the Feds have anything to do with Ford not installing the switch in the front, probably not, I don't know. But where the Fed. Gov. comes in is the fact that we can't just install a shut-off switch ourselves. Can we? I don't think so. V10Man's first post here supports this claim. If anyone knows we can for sure let us know. To my knowledge we have to show need to disable the air bag. That's what PO's me.

Ok, I didn't keep my fingers off the keyboard.

 

Actually I forgot a Bush in the middle. Although I might have missed that one because our deer gun season opens the first weekend in November. Sometimes I stay out the first week. Yes I'm a gun toter to.

I don't know why all the paperwork to. Could be because airbags are required in most vehicles these days I think (another good thing I guess). Who knows?

It also seems to me no one wants to mess with the airbag system(at home). Seems like it would be easy to trace the hot wire going to the bag and install a toggle switch. With a manual I bet I could run a bypass on mine in less than an hour.

Good Luck,
Rob

 

Any good DIY book should tell you exactly how to disarm the air bag. It's an absolutely necessary first step in any electrical work inside the vehicle, or anything requiring disassembly of anything near the air bag. A mechanic can get killed if the bag detonates.


-- J.S.

 

Has anyone had any luck in obtaining a switch for the airbag in the SD crew cab? I too found out after the fact that the switch was not an option in the crew cab, but was available in the extended cab. I had already obtained my "permission" slip from the Federal Gov't (apparently even they were unaware that the switch was not available to us crew cab owners) to have it installed but have been unsuccessful at both my dealer and Ford Customer Assistance Center. I was told by Ford that unless there was more demand then it would not become available, so COMPLAIN, COMPLAIN to FORD MOTOR Co. at 1-800-392-3673

 

You know, I just ordered the 02 model of the crew cab this week and realized that it didn't have the switch yesterday. This does really suck. However, when I moaned about it, someone else told me that some states, such as Louisiana, don't allow children in the front seat (if there is a back one) anyway. Anyone else heard of this?

 

DON'T LET THE GOV. GET YOU DOWN. PULL THE FUSE FOR THAT SIDE.

 

I have to carry four little ones, ages three to five. I was hoping that Ford would come out with a crew-cab that the rear seat could be faced to the rear, if desired. Seems like it would be safer, to me, especially for the small kids. Does this idea seem crazy?

 

[font size="1" color="#FF0000"]LAST EDITED ON 27-Sep-01 AT 07:10 PM (EST)[/font][p]I tried to post the places, but there must be a limit on how much you can post at a time in one post. Try:
http://www.crownvic.net/cgi-bin/ubbcgi/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic&f=1&t=006962

Check my last post(I'm Deputy). That's all the info. If that link doesn't work let me know and just list your state and I can try to post the places in your area.

 

Hello evreryone. I own the Airbag Service franchise in Knoxville, TN. The reason only reg cab and extra cabs come equipped with a P/S on-off switch is for liability reasons. If it were up to the manufacturers, there would be no switches at all. Any vehicle that has the ability to seat a small child or infant in a full back seat, which is by far the safest place, there is no switch required. These requirements are mandated by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) [www.nhtsa.com] . They can also give you approval to have a switch installed in any vehicle if you meed the requirements. I install lots of them in police cruisers to prevent injury to the officer if the laptop terminal is in the deploynent zone.
As for the suggestion to pull the fuse for the passenger bag, that is not possible. The fuse/fuses disable the entire system. Trust me, if you are in a crash that is severe enough to deploy the airbag system in a full sized p-up, YOU WANT THEM TO BE THERE!
Some new production vehicles have "smart systems" that will automatically disable the portion of the system that is not occupied by a qualifying size/weight occupant. Until that is standard equipment, you can always go to [www.airbagservice.com] and see where the closest franchise is to you.

Hope this helps,
Neil Gibson