Father of 3

I am about to do the airbag on/off switch in both of my cars (94 325i and 97 993 Cab). My daughter has been nagging me to get this done so she can ride in style. She's only 8!

Wondering from those who have gone through with this where they put the keyed switch and how they liked their choice. One, obvious place is in glove compartment but don't want to lose too much space. Thanks for any input.

Frank 993 C4S

Here's a close up of the switch in the glove compartment of my 993.



Here's a better shot with the leather bound owners manual pouch - fits perfectly as long as the switch is mounted sideways.



Note: Don't keep the key in the switch when you close the glove compartment. Glosing the door could reactivate the airbag which (when done while the ignition is on) will give you the dreaded airbag warning light which has to be cleared by your dealer - don't ask me how I know.

Father of 3

Thanks Frank. Wasn't sure if I'd loose too much space putting it there. So long as factory folder fits, I'd probably be okay with that location.

Crimson Nape Racing

I put mine on the bottom of the glovebox so it wouldn't take up any space and I didn't have to drill any holes. You do have to kind of contort yourself to check if it's on or off - unless you have aluminum floormats and then you can see the reflection of the light.

solsrch

I'm with Frank. Mine is on the side of the glove box; works great.

seege

Congratulations on the new car. I didnt realize until now that you had made the purchase. Did I miss the thread with the pics and the story? I think it's mandatory

Father of 3

I've been delinquent here. I will do the obligatory intro to my car and thank all who helped me, including you seege!

I'm still looking for the thread, or PM on the details of your transformation as well!

Jean

Yes Seege, I heard your car is a beast, can you post details, pics and mods please.

Dave Crellin

Are you fitting the switch yourself, or getting it installed professionally? and did you go to the effort of getting the approval fax from the NHTSA (sp) ?

FlyYellow

who made that switch?

Father of 3

Switch is from sensible solutions, mentioned many times on Rennlist. I am not putting switch in myself though I've read its not a difficult install. I don't want to mess with the airbag. The NHTSA approval was surprisingly fast to get. I used the form off of the airbagonoff website and received approval within a week. Install cost is $80 per car, which is not bad given the guy will drive to my house from Laguna Nigel. Switches cost around $140 each. IMO, this is a very good alternative to the Porsche seat that diables the airbag as you can use it with any seat or none at all.

Paul E. Dodd

Not to mention that even if you have the Porsche seat (I do, but currently mounted in the back seat) you'll find that only '97 and '98 993's have the harness under the seat to disable the airbag. No need to ask how I know if you look at my .sig. Grumble, grumble...

Paul

Solitude

I have a 97. Anyone have a picture on how I can disable the air bag??

Father of 3

Ray, you have two options basically. One, you can buy the Porsche seat that is identical to the Britax Starriser but costs about $300 more. With this seat you are able to disable the airbag. The Britax does not allow for this. The second option is to get this airbag on/off switch installed. The company is called Sensible Solutions and can be found at www.airbagonoff.com. There have been plenty of posts on this topic in the past and others who have used this switch. Mine are on order but have not arrived yet. I've outlined the costs above, at least for me as the installers are independent contractors who are recommended by Sensible. PM me if you want the info. I've read in past threads of others who have done the install themselves. It sounded simple. Do a search and PM that person if you want info on wiring diagrams etc. I'm gonna pay the $80 to make sure it works. I wouldn't want to be wrong on this one.

Paul E. Dodd

Ray,

On the Porsche seat there is what essentially looks like an extra seatbelt buckle (but a different shape) on a strap attached to the bottom of the seat. On '97s and '98s there should be a matching receptacle underneath the passenger seat that this buckle plugs into. When plugged in, the airbag is disabled. Of course, all you really need is the buckle, but it probably can't be obtained separately. My understanding is this feature was added in '97 when this part of the wiring harness was commonalized with the Boxster. FWIW, I paid $286 for the convertible infant seat (not the booster), which is also a twin to a Britax model (don't remember the model name but it was about $180). But this seat has since been discontinued (actually it had been discontinued when I bought mine but they still had one in stock at Boardwalk).

Paul