Disabling or removing the knee airbag, 2014 Focus.

[Laurence MacNeill]

(BEFORE YOU GIVE ME CRAP about disabling my knee airbag, PLEASE READ the entire post! Thank you.)

I just bought a new Ford Focus Titanium, and it comes with a knee-airbag (an airbag that goes off underneath the dashboard to protect the driver’s knees in the event of a crash).

This is not a good thing for me — I’m handicapped and require hand-controls to drive. Right now I have a temporary set of hand-controls installed, but the permanent ones that I need to install will be mounting on a cross-piece just underneath and behind the location of the knee airbag. If it goes off, its probably going to break the hand-controls, possibly resulting in flying metal shrapnel, or even causing the hand-controls to “floor” the accelerator, neither of which is a good thing.

So, I need to remove or disable the knee airbag in this car.

Removing the airbag is easy — just disconnect both battery terminals, wait 5 minutes for the capacitor to discharge, pop off the panel under the dash, unplug the airbag, remove a few screws and it’ll come right out.

The PROBLEM is that the airbag light will be on after I remove the knee airbag, because the computer is no longer getting a signal from that airbag (this is the same problem I would have if I installed a switch, by the way — the computer isn’t expecting that airbag to be switched on and off).

I need to fool the computer into thinking the airbag is still there. I’ve read that sticking a resistor across the terminals of the plug will accomplish this — however the value of the resistor varies from vehicle to vehicle. And I’m sure as hell not going to stick a Volt-Ohm Meter across the terminals of the airbag itself — that’s a good way to make it explode in my face. Which I’d like to avoid at all costs.

So, does anyone know the value of the resistor I need to use in a 2014 Ford Focus Titanium to trick the computer into thinking the airbag is still installed? I’d imagine it’d be the same as any Ford Focus from 2012 to 2014, but I’m not 100% certain of that.

Thanks for any help y’all can provide.

Topic

[Kevin Criswell]

I agree you need it disabled.

Try this, before doing your self contact your local dealer and the manufacturer. Often certain safety devices can be overridden legally when the client/operator is disabled and the safety devices are more likely to harm the operator than save them.

Now the reason I say that is they can disable it at the control module end, but it requires special tools and there are security codes involved. If they disable it and you get in an accident your insurance is less likely to baulk at “illegal” modifications. Insurance companies often have clauses int hem that “let them off the hook” for your medical costs if you knowingly and willingly disabled a safety device. You could get into a accident and end up not having anything covered just for unhooking that airbag.

See if this site helps any
http://www.safercar.gov/Vehicle+Shoppers/Air+Bags/ON-OFF+Switch+Requests

Only authorized dealers and repair shops can install ON-OFF switches and can do so only with an authorization letter from NHTSA. If you are interested in having an air bag ON-OFF switch installed in a vehicle you own or lease (check with the leasing company first to see if installing an ON-OFF switch would violate the terms of your lease), you will need to:

Read NHTSA’s brochure, “Air Bags & On-Off Switches: Information for an Informed Decision” or request a copy by mail.
Download the form or request a copy by mail.
Before filling out the form, ensure you have read the brochure carefully: you may decide that an ON-OFF switch is not appropriate for you.
If you decide to request an ON-OFF switch, you will need to certify on the request form that you have read the brochure and that you (or other occupants of your vehicle) fall into one or more of the high-risk groups for the air bag(s) for which you request a switch.
Fill out and submit the request form to NHTSA at the following address:
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
Attention: Air Bag Switch Requests
1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
Washington, DC 20590-1000
For a faster response, write your phone number on the form and fax it to: 202-493-2833 or 202-366-6916. For questions, call the Air Bag Division at 202-366-0296 or e-mail Derrick.Lewis@dot.gov.
If the form is properly and completely filled out, NHTSA will then send you an authorization letter that you can take to your dealer or repair shop.
In most cases, you can expect a response back to your request within one week from the date your request is received by NHTSA — and not longer than two weeks.
Check with your auto dealer or repair shop to see if an ON-OFF switch is available for your vehicle and how much the switch will cost. If a switch is available and the dealer or repair shop is willing to install it, give the authorization letter directly to the dealer or repair business. After the dealer or repair shop installs the ON-OFF switch, they will return a form along with the authorization letter to NHTSA, indicating the work has been done for you.

[Kevin Criswell]

BTW:

The reason I am pushing you to have a shop do it, is the authorization basically releases “everyone” from liability. You let someone borrow your car and they are injured due to the disabled bag it come back on you.

Our shop has done the authorized on/off switches. Our first customer got the authorization on his second car, the first he unplugged the airbags on himself and his insurance company fought him hard to deny his claims. He hired a mediator and was able to reach an agreement, but it was far less than he should have normally gotten.

[valde]

Dealer is better option course of legality.

But if you have to do it yourself. Normally airbags are only couple of ohms. Brobably 4.7ohm resistor will fool it. You can check airbags resistance with ohm meter. Just use digital meter with low measuring current. Airbag ecu is doing it all the time anyway. I have done it many times just to find faults with airbag systems.

[Laurence MacNeill]

Raistian77:

Thanks for your reply. I definitely see what you’re talking about — it honestly never occurred to me that my insurance company would come back and deny an injury claim because of an absolutely necessary modification that I would make to prevent an injury. But I guess lawyers will be lawyers, and insurance companies will always do what they can to get out of paying a claim…

I hate bureaucracy. I had hoped to simply disable this thing and get on with it… But I guess it won’t be that easy… Gotta love the lawyers and politicians who have made everything so difficult “for our own good.”

Thanks for the NHTSA link — I’ll begin there, and get the dealer involved. Ford does have a program called Ford Mobility that provides you with a $1,000 stipend if it’s necessary that the car be modified to accommodate a disabled driver — maybe I can get them to pay for the on/off switch, since I won’t be requesting a check from them for the actual hand-controls themselves. Or I hadn’t planned on it, anyway. Heck, with all this bureaucracy, I might have to get these things professionally installed, and just have Ford pick up the whole tab. Unless it’s more than $1,000 to have it done, which I can’t see happening — even at $100 per hour for labor, it doesn’t take 10 hours to install these things. I can do it in three, and I’m crippled. 🙂

I’ve installed my permanent hand-controls in every car I’ve owned since 1991, which was the last time I paid to have them installed in a car. I’ve definitely never had to get the manufacturer, dealer, and Federal government involved before. LOL.

Thanks again for your reply.

[Laurence MacNeill]

Valde:

Thanks for your reply. I did think about chancing it with my digital VOM — but it still scares the heck out of me thinking of sticking those leads up in there. 🙂

I also thought about just buying a large pack of various-sized resistors and trying multiple values until the airbag light didn’t come on…

But like you and Rastian77 both have said — going through the dealer is probably my best bet for the sake of liability and legality.

Thanks.

[Bill]

I really don’t think the air bag has enough force to damage your hand controls. After all they aren’t filled with explosive gases. They don’t want them to break your knees.

If you insist, going through the dealer is the only option in my opinion. You will be signing your life away before they will do the job. I have heard of cases where Lawyers had to get involved.

[EricTheCarGuy]

Honestly, I don’t think you’ll be able to install a resistor and fool the computer. I could be wrong, but I think it’s a lot of work for nothing. I don’t think that the service manual would list a resistance reading because checking the resistance could cause the airbag to deploy. That would not be a good thing. The resistance might be listed somewhere however. Perhaps in the service manual. As mentioned, there are a lot of legal issues you’re dealing with here. Those may prove more of a challenge than fooling the airbag computer. I’ll admit that I’m at somewhat of a loss on this one. I am curious as to how it turns out however.

[Laurence MacNeill]

Well, apparently if I want to do it myself, I have to jump through about 3 dozen legal hurdles — including getting lawyers involved — in order to relieve the dealer and manufacturer of the liability they’d incur by simply telling me how to do it. (Ridiculous!).

The dealership service department won’t touch it — they won’t even TALK to me about it — until we get the dealership’s legal counsel involved. And contacting the manufacturer directly has resulted in a “you need to talk to your dealership” reply, which is pretty much what I expected anyway.

I can go pay a professional hand-control installation shop to install a brand-new set of hand controls — apparently they’re licensed by the Feds to legally modify any airbag system that will interfere with the hand-controls. The dealership and manufacturer won’t even be involved at all, so they have no issues with me choosing this route — in fact, it’s what they’ve been recommending all along. But it’s going to cost me $1,548.74 at the professional shop, which I’d rather not have to spend (obviously).

The hand-control-installation shop won’t install the controls I already own (which would save me about $1,200!), because of their liability concerns — they won’t install controls they didn’t sell, because their insurance company won’t let them. Imagine if an old hand-control breaks, and I can’t stop the car, and the resulting accident kills someone else or myself — they’d be taking on that liability, and their insurance company won”t allow that.

Ford has a program called Ford Mobility Motoring, and they will reimburse me $1,000 of the $1,548.74, thus bringing my total cost down to $548.74…

So, my choice now is months of legal wrangling (and probably a bunch of lawyer fees), or $548.74 and it’s done. I’m choosing the $548.74. They’ll be doing the install next Wednesday (the 22nd). I’ll post some pics on Thursday the 23rd, if anyone is interested.

Thanks for all the replies.

[Laurence MacNeill]

[quote=”wysetech” post=85079]I really don’t think the air bag has enough force to damage your hand controls. After all they aren’t filled with explosive gases. They don’t want them to break your knees.[/quote]

The problem is where the hand-controls are attached to the car, vs. where your knees would be before the bag deploys.

The hand-controls need to attach to the car right where the knee airbag is currently located. Even if I could figure out a way to attach them to the car without removing the knee airbag, they’d be located less than an inch from the place where the airbag deploys — that’s where airbags exert the most force, within the first two inches or so of their opening. It’s more than enough force to kill a person, were they that close — it’ll be more than enough force to break these aluminum hand-controls. Or at least bend them to the point where they might “floor” the accelerator pedal, which would be a very bad thing.

[valde]

[quote=”EricTheCarGuy” post=85174]Honestly, I don’t think you’ll be able to install a resistor and fool the computer.[/quote]

I think you wrong. Many internet sites give instructions how to bypass airbag warning light when installing seats without side airbag or installing airbag less steering wheel. It’s always just to install resistor. Electrically airbag is nothing more than resistor. At least most of airbags are.

But I’m with you on legalities.

[george gonzalez]

The simplest solution is to go to Radio Shack and buy a 25 ohm variable resistor. They’re on sale right now. Adjust it until the airbag light stays off.

BTW: you can safely measure an airbag if you use a digital ohmmeter. These push like 1 milliamp through the airbag, which is at least 1000 times less than what’s needed to heat up the fuze.

[valde]

[quote=”grg8888″ post=85290]BTW: you can safely measure an airbag if you use a digital ohmmeter. These push like 1 milliamp through the airbag, which is at least 1000 times less than what’s needed to heat up the fuze.[/quote]

I already said it.

[quote=”valde” post=84966]Just use digital meter with low measuring current. Airbag ecu is doing it all the time anyway. I have done it many times just to find faults with airbag systems.[/quote]

[dan]

if anyone gave you crap in this situation id blow a head gasket, with the odd places they are putting air bags these days it doesn’t suprise me at all that air bags are located in the area of the knee bolsters. some car forums are full of a bunch of asses that think they run the place, you wont find that here…

anyhow if you want my input if it doesnt pose any risk too you i would simply install your controls on your vehicle, i don’t think going through all the trouble too remove the air bag is worth it with all the legal issues… and personally from my experiences of having a air bag going off in my face i don’t know as it will damage anything that bad.

got too love these new vehicles, before you know it they will have head rest air bags.

[george gonzalez]

Another angle is don’t bother, many cars are effectively “totalled” after the airbags go off. If you take the accident damage, plus the cost of new airbags, it’s very often more than the vehicle is worth.

[Kevin Criswell]

Guys, his hand controls pass within a few inches of the knee bolster.

You REALLY don’t want an airbag going off with shrapnel right in front of it.

BTW, I think his are the permanently designed units (the pic above is a portable unit) and they are setup really close to the bolster, if an airbag goes off right there it could drive the controls into him or jam up the accelerator.

edit
this is probably more like what he is getting installed

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