Volvo S80 Owner's Manual page 24

Occupant Weight Sensor
Occupant Weight Sensor (OWS) indicator light
Disabling the passenger's side front
airbag
Volvo recommends that ALL occupants
(adults and children) shorter than 4 feet 7
inches (140 cm) be seated in the back seat of
any vehicle with a front passenger side air-
bag, and be properly restrained for their size
and weight. See also the child safety recom-
mendations on page 33.
The passenger's side front airbag is automat-
ically enabled/disabled by the Occupant
Weight Sensor (OWS), a system that moni-
tors the weight of the person or object in the
front passenger's seat. The system consists
of a silicone-filled bag located under the pad-
ding in the front passenger's seat cushion, a
control module located under this seat, and a
seat belt tension sensor, located on the out-
board side of the seat.
The OWS system continuously monitors the
pressure on the front passenger's seat cush-
ion and the tension applied to the seat belt.
Based on this data, OWS assesses the
weight of the occupant or object in the front
passenger's seat. This information is trans-
mitted to the SRS system control module,
which enables or disables the passenger's
side front airbag accordingly, as indicated in
the table on page 24.
If the system is functioning normally, the sta-
tus of the front passenger's side airbag
(enabled/disabled) will be shown by the OWS
indicator light as explained in the table on
page 24. The OWS indicator light is separate
and in addition to the SRS warning light in
the instrument panel.
NOTE
When the ignition is switched on, the OWS
indicator light will go on for up to 10 sec-
onds while the system performs a self-diag-
nostic test.
However, if a fault is detected in the system:
• The OWS indicator light will stay on
Safety in the passenger compartment
• The SRS warning light (see page 19) will
come on and stay on
• The message PASS. AIRBAG OFF SER-
VICE URGENT will be displayed in the
information display.
WARNING
If a fault in the system is detected and indi-
cated as described, be aware that the pas-
senger's side front airbag will not deploy in
the event of a collision. In this case, the SRS
system and Occupant Weight Sensor
should be inspected by a trained and quali-
fied Volvo service technician as soon as
possible.
WARNING
• Never try to open, remove, or repair any
components in the OWS system. This could
result in system malfunction. Maintenance
or repairs should only be carried out by an a
trained and qualified Volvo service techni-
cian.
• The front passenger's seat should not be
modified in any way. This could reduce
pressure on the seat cushion, which might
interfere with the OWS system's function.
01 Safety
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