After you make your purchase at a Honda dealership in Los Angeles, chances are one of the first things you will notice is the sheer volume of lights behind the dashboard. Some of these are fairly well-known, like lights for checking the engine and low oil pressure. However, others aren’t as apparent, even to drivers with experience. One good example here is the airbag light, also known by its formal name, the supplemental restraint system light (SRS). If you’re concerned about what will happen and what you need to do when the light turns on, here’s a full understanding of what it means, why it turns on, and what you need to do.
What Does The Airbag Light On Your Honda Odyssey In Los Angeles Do?
The name supplemental restraint system exists because it’s designed to check the condition of your airbags, the supplemental restraints. Your seatbelts are the primary restraint systems, and there are other lights to warn you if you forgot to put yours on. The restraint system uses several sensors to determine major changes in vehicle speed that happen in a period of time smaller than a second. When these conditions happen and the sensor is stripped, it sets off the airbag, causing it to deploy to lower the chance of you having traumatic injuries. If the light turns on, something is causing the system not to work properly.
If you’re not exactly sure what light you should be looking at, just run a test by starting your vehicle, and looking at all the lights that flash on briefly. The one you are looking for should resemble a person that’s buckled up and sitting in a seat, with a large circle in front of them. Outside of that initial flash, there are a few reasons why the light may come on.
One of the more urgent reasons it can happen is due to a flaw or problem with the airbag clockspring. This clockspring is a mechanism inside the steering wheel that lets it move around without disconnecting from parts like the airbag, horn, and electric system. If the clocksprings start to wear over time, they could end up falling down. When this happens, the airbag isn’t able to deploy in the event of a collision, presenting a major risk.
Sometimes, the culprit is the sensors on your front passenger seat. With a modern vehicle, the front seats generally have sensors built in that determine whether someone’s actually sitting in it or not. If you need to constantly adjust the seat or certain objects roll below it, you could end up causing damage to the sensor wires. If that happens, then again, the airbags may not deploy when a collision happens. If you’re not sure what’s happening and need a quick way to find if the sensors are working, the best course of action is looking at the light that’s labeled, “passenger airbag off.” Most vehicles have this, and you’ll generally see it when someone isn’t in the passenger seat, but as soon as someone sits down, it will turn off.
Another source of trouble could be the system battery either dying or getting damaged somehow. Each restraint system runs on a battery separate from the main battery, but it gets its charge from that main battery. This means if the second battery loses its charge, the SRS light could turn on.
Something else to note is that even though the SRS light is focused primarily on the airbag system, in some cases, fiddling with seat belts too much could cause the light to turn on. Ideally, the front seats of a vehicle should always have a seat belt switch system in place. Sometimes, this can get triggered by accident if small debris or dirt gets into the belt when it goes into the buckle. If something gets stuck in the buckle, this could cause the system to send a false warning, which in turn, causes the SRS light to go on.
In the event of a small collision, even if airbags weren’t needed, the SRS light may still light on. This is because crash sensors can rarely get triggered even when airbags don’t deploy. This doesn’t happen very often, but if you’re running out of ideas as to why the SRS light is illuminated, this may explain why.
How To React To The Light Turning On
In the event, if the SRS light turns on while you’re driving, this can be a pretty big shock, as it means that you have an issue with your airbag system. In some cases, the cause could be minor, like something interfering with it, but in other scenarios, things can be far more serious. To know which situation is which, you can’t rely on your own theories or hunches. Reach out to a mechanic or your local car lot in order to have the issue addressed.
Note that technically, you can continue to drive a vehicle after the SRS light goes on, but it’s recommended that you don’t. If you were to get in a collision while driving, there’s a chance that your airbags won’t deploy. Should that happen, you and your passengers run a high risk of being thrown forward, potentially out of the car. This could easily lead to serious injuries or fatalities. Even if you consider yourself to be a safe driver, and not at risk of entering a collision, this doesn’t mean that you can account for every driver on the road.
Because of this, if you see an issue, it’s best to move as quickly as you can. Begin by checking out the buckle to see if there’s anything blocking the seatbelt. Next, look under both front seats to ensure the wire stays connected. If you see no problems there, the best course of action is to bring the vehicle to a professional for service. There’s no need to cause unneeded risk.
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