Passenger Seat Not Detecting Passenger?

[RivianPioneer]

I have my new R1S for three weeks now, and while I don’t have a passenger in my front passenger seat daily, a few times now, when I have had someone in the front seat, I have noticed that the car interimittently has not detected a person in the front seat, which means the passenger’s side airbag was deactivated, and the passenger side climate controls were inaccessible. The former issue is of more concern to me, of course. I reached out to Rivian, and they indicated that the seat sensor is designed not to detect a passenger unless that passenger is over 110 pounds, and since I advised them that the passenger was over 110 pounds, they suggested that I soft reset the vehicle and see what happens. It seems like the issue still exists. I was honestly surprised to learn that the sensor requires 110 pounds before it deems whatever is in the front sheet to be a passenger - seems to me that there are adults that are 110 pounds or less that can sit in the front seat. Second, and more importantly, has anyone else experienced this issue? If so, has anyone been able to resolve it and how if you did?

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[seatosummit]

Inserting/removing the seatbelt in the passenger seat sometimes solves this in the very rare circumstances my GF and I have seen this.

 

[Mobius1]

This is a daily occurrence for me. There are multiple threads reporting this issue and I have yet to find any that have been resolved.

 

[RivianPioneer]

This is a daily occurrence for me. There are multiple threads reporting this issue and I have yet to find any that have been resolved.

I looked for threads on this so I’m surprised to hear that there are more threads but happy (I think) to hear I’m not alone with this. I have to guess that part of the problem is the sensitivity is way too high. Why should it be any more than 60 pounds, if not less? 110 pounds with the sensor not being in a good location probably means that it doesn’t trigger if someone’s not sitting just right and they’re even heavier than that.

 

[Dark-Fx]

I looked for threads on this so I’m surprised to hear that there are more threads but happy (I think) to hear I’m not alone with this. I have to guess that part of the problem is the sensitivity is way too high. Why should it be any more than 60 pounds, if not less? 110 pounds with the sensor not being in a good location probably means that it doesn’t trigger if someone’s not sitting just right and they’re even heavier than that.

It's legal to have a child seat in the front in a booster if all the other seats are occupied with similar aged children, or you have extenuating circumstances. I don't know who these people are that are driving around with 6 kids in boosters, but regulations are what they are and Rivian has to follow them

 

[Mobius1]

I looked for threads on this so I’m surprised to hear that there are more threads but happy (I think) to hear I’m not alone with this. I have to guess that part of the problem is the sensitivity is way too high. Why should it be any more than 60 pounds, if not less? 110 pounds with the sensor not being in a good location probably means that it doesn’t trigger if someone’s not sitting just right and they’re even heavier than that.

Past couple of days, my wife has been unable to adjust to a position, which will enable the airbag. She is getting upset with me for not making sure Rivian fixes it ??‍. When I try to schedule an appointment, the earliest now is January 31st. It seems that they aren’t putting any urgency on this issue.

 

[RivianPioneer]

Past couple of days, my wife has been unable to adjust to a position, which will enable the airbag. She is getting upset with me for not making sure Rivian fixes it ??‍. When I try to schedule an appointment, the earliest now is January 31st. It seems that they aren’t putting any urgency on this issue.

Seems like we are in the same boat. I’m betting their very low sensitivity setting is the culprit based upon my experience with the car, what Rivian told be about the weight necessary to register a passenger in the front seat, and from the responses I’m receiving.

 

[racekarl]

the problem is the sensitivity is way too high. Why should it be any more than 60 pounds, if not less

This has also been covered on the the other threads, but the gist is this this weight limit is correct and expected, and is in fact written into federal law.

An airbag going off in the face of someone who weighs less than 110 pounds is LESS SAFE than the airbag not deploying. They are disabled because that's the desirable outcome, not because it's a mistake.

All that being said, it does seem anecdotally like the R1 sometimes disables airbags when they should be enabled, my only point is that the 110 lb threshold is the law and for good reason.

It could also be noted that the 110 lb threshold is pretty high because airbags have been traditionally designed almost exclusively for adult male bodies, but that's a story for another day...

 

[RivianPioneer]

This has also been covered on the the other threads, but the gist is this this weight limit is correct and expected, and is in fact written into federal law.

An airbag going off in the face of someone who weighs less than 110 pounds is LESS SAFE than the airbag not deploying. They are disabled because that's the desirable outcome, not because it's a mistake.

All that being said, it does seem anecdotally like the R1 sometimes disables airbags when they should be enabled, my only point is that the 110 lb threshold is the law and for good reason.

It could also be noted that the 110 lb threshold is pretty high because airbags have been traditionally designed almost exclusively for adult male bodies, but that's a story for another day...

If that is truly the case, seems ridiculous, but it is what it is. it’s still a problem the way their software works because when the vehicle doesn’t detect someone in the seat, the climate controls are disabled on the passenger side. That needs to be fixed.

 

[VSG]

It could also be noted that the 110 lb threshold is pretty high because airbags have been traditionally designed almost exclusively for adult male bodies, but that's a story for another day...

110lb is specifically chosen because that is the 5% percentile adult female body weight. So no, not biased for males at all. That makes the weight low enough to cover the vast majority of adults and high enough to cover the vast majority of children who might be injured or killed by the airbag deploying.

 

[Adventusaurus]

Past couple of days, my wife has been unable to adjust to a position, which will enable the airbag. She is getting upset with me for not making sure Rivian fixes it ??‍. When I try to schedule an appointment, the earliest now is January 31st. It seems that they aren’t putting any urgency on this issue.

I don’t see service fixing it tbh. I have had this since I got my truck 15+ months ago, and opened a ticket. They inspected it and said its working as designed.

 

[Mobius1]

I don’t see service fixing it tbh. I have had this since I got my truck 15+ months ago, and opened a ticket. They inspected it and said its working as designed.

That’s what I’m expecting as well. I had originally cancelled an appointment for this, after reading all of the comments. Now it’s on the same ticket as some panel adjustments, figured it’s worth a try, so I can report back that they said they can’t do anything. Did you have to take it in or did they send out mobile service? Some here have said they got mobile, but I was told mobile can’t handle this.

 

[Adventusaurus]

That’s what I’m expecting as well. I had originally cancelled an appointment for this, after reading all of the comments. Now it’s on the same ticket as some panel adjustments, figured it’s worth a try, so I can report back that they said they can’t do anything. Did you have to take it in or did they send out mobile service? Some here have said they got mobile, but I was told mobile can’t handle this.

Like you it was on the laundry list so it was going in anyway. My wife is pretty light so when she reclines the seat it goes off, or sometimes when she is sitting normally even.

 

[Oldsmobile_Mike]

My wife is 110 lbs. If she sits wrong in the seat or reclines too far, the sensor turns off. Annoying. May ask when I go for service next week. They'll probably suggest having her sit in a booster. ?

 

[Dark-Fx]

My wife is 110 lbs. If she sits wrong in the seat or reclines too far, the sensor turns off. Annoying. May ask when I go for service next week. They'll probably suggest having her sit in a booster. ?

Maybe she needs to eat more than granola

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