How much weight needs to be in the passenger seat in order for the air bag to arm? I had a 20 year old girl in the passenger seat and the air bag light was on the entire ride. Kind of scary considering shes an adult and the air bag would not have gone off if we had been in an accident.

I believe the standard is 60lbs.
If she wasn't sitting properly or using the seat belts correctly, this could also cause the airbag light to illuminate.
BTW we are talking about the one on the dash and not the one in the instrument panel right?

yes, it was the one on the dash

Actually, I think it's higher, like either 80 or 120lbs. I'm leaning towards 120lbs due to smaller women and children having issues with an airbag going off in an accident like that.

If there is a woman in the passenger's seat, the airbag light will come on.

Sometimes I can't help myself.

Bad dog! No kibble for you!

Same thing happened with my Gal. Not sure what the weight sensor is but this doesn't happen all the time. Figure over time the seat will soften (only a couple days old and sat on maybe 4 times)and that wont happen

.."weight sensor".. I mean not sure what weight sets it off...

Well the FSM wasn't any help. No weight given.
But the belt tensioner sensor also plays a part in this. So it appears that if the person sitting in the passenger side is not belted properly then this could also trigger the Airbag off switch, especially if the occupant is petite

I have a Friend that is 110 LBS and when she sits all the way back in the seat the light in the dash comes on, but when she sits in the center of the seat the light goes off.

This is giving me a headache as well - I have a brand new (three weeks) 2007 Xterra S and the darn passenger side airbag won't get activated when my wife seats in the passenger seat. It's definitely a weight sensor issue since it works for me and it works for her when she picks additional weight (like a backpack) while seated.

My guess is that my wife's weight is right in the limit. Yes, she's thin and not heavy, but come on, she's 35 years old, mother of two, and not short. I think it is a safety issue that the airbag is not getting activated. And there's no way to override the stupid sensor and activate the airbag regardless of what the sensor says.

I brought it up to the Nissan dealer today but their response was what I was expecting. Something along the lines of "We follow the law. Perhaps her weight is the problem. If it works for you then there's nothing wrong with the vehicle."

So, I guess I need to do some research on this. I am trying to find what exactly the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration requires from car makers. I want to know if there really is a minimum weight that allows them to deactivate the airbag if below that threshold.

This issue is seriously affecting the WAF (wife acceptance factor) to the point that she doesn't want to ride in the X because of safety concerns. Had I known about this issue before buying the vehicle I would definitely have factored it in somehow in my purchase decision process.

In the meantime, if anyone has any ideas I'll be very happy to hear about them.

Thanks!

Age and how many children the person has, has no bearing on if the light should come on or not. It's a height/weight thing. If the person is not heavy enough, it can be worse to have the airbag go off. Just be sure to she wears her seatbelt.

Or...have her eat some more.

I don't think the seat belt has anything to do with it as if I sit in the passanger seat even without a seatbelt, the light still goes out.