OK so I had to do some data logging this morning and I had the audacity to place my surface pro on the passenger seat. Well Mr. 992 Porsche turbo S didn’t like that one bit. He commenced yelling at me that the passenger airbag was now activated and the passenger was not wearing his seatbelt. Mr. 992 would not shut up about it until I picked up the surface pro and put it on my lap. Then the alarm cleared. Well of course I tried again and once again it wouldn’t put up with it. I am all for you guys telling me I’m doing something wrong but I can’t think for the life of me what it is. When I spent eight straight hours in the car after I picked it up and was breaking it in I put many things on that seat like water bottles and sunglasses and such. It never did that. Do you suspect the surface pro was just enough weight to make the car think there’s a passenger? Yes I checked the manual.

 

I would suspect it was the electronics and not the weight.

I had a car once where my cell phone would set off the passenger occupancy sensor.

 

Weight, I’ve put 2 cellphones in the seat and it’s set off the sensor.

the dealer can program the seat for a higher weight threshold.

 

It’s a safety setting based on weight. Dealer will not change this.

 

Is it confirmed that the airbags are based on weight solely & not some other type of sensors?

The reason I ask:

When my 4 year old sits on the passenger seat without a booster with the car running (pulling out of the garage to wash it it or to park it in the garage) the Airbag is ON 100% of the time. This had me worried I wouldn’t be able to take him driving.

However when I put on the booster seat on which adds additional weight and he sits on the booster the Airbag is OFF 100% of the time.

This has happened multiple times.

 

That's odd as the added weight should turn the airbag ON not OFF.

FWIW, your 4 year old's booster should not be in the front seat. You really don't want to see the aftermath of an airbag deployment in that scenario.

 

Yes it’s very weird which is why I asked if there are other sensors. I’ve read other manufacturers have advanced sensors that can tell the difference between a person and a 50 pound bag of sand for instance. Maybe Porsche has these in the 992 which is why OPs laptop sets of the airbag sensors as well?

I don’t have back seats so the front is the only legal place the booster can go

I also check to make sure the Airbag is OFF every ride before even pulling out of the driveway as well as several times during the ride. If it ever turns on you better believe I’m putting on the hazard lights and immediately pulling over. I also only drive on quiet back roads with my little guy. I can count on one hand how many cars we pass on our drives so the likelihood of a frontal collision is extremely low.