I just purchased a certified pre-owned 2008 S80 and I just now noticed the roof indicator showing that the Passenger Airbag is off. The car does not have a PACOS switch. The manual only says this "If the car is equipped with a front passenger
airbag, but has no switch (PACOS, Passenger Airbag Cut Off Switch), then the airbag is always activated." A Contradiction. The manual does not address the situation where the car is indicating that the airbag is off, even though the manual says it can't be. The shop I bought it from says something just worked itself loose and all is fine and to bring it in for them to look over. I don't like that answer and I fear they will just turn the light off or make it go away without fixing it as they risk me returning the car if something is really wrong. I will call another dealer for a second opinion, however I was wondering what folks here think. Is the passenger airbag really off right now? Is this an indication of a bigger problem or just a nuisance electrical/mechanical thing? Thanks much.

 

Fire it up and then sit in the passenger seat. It'll turn the airbag on. It's so you don't end up deploying the passenger bags when there is no passenger present. There is some sort of sensor in the seat.

 

JTapper, thanks much for the info, makes so much sense after reading your post. I followed the simple instructions and sure enough it works. No one has ridden in the passenger seat yet, so I had no idea. My manual makes no mention of it. Nicest car I had driven until now was a Civic, so I am kind of new to this car with useful options stuff, but I am gettig used to it

 

You'll never buy another civic.

 

Works out since a majority of the time these cars are repairable even in an accident hard enough to deploy the bags. The cost to replace the bags is so high, that you could have a repairable car, but the cost of the replacement bags will push it into being totaled. It's also a safety thing in case you have kids in the front seat. You have to have a passenger heavy enough for the bag to deploy safely.