Hey guys, I noticed that my passenger airbag light is never lit and I'm wondering if that is a problem in my car. When I start the car, it will light for a few seconds and then switch off, presumably indicating that the passenger airbag is active. I always thought the airbag is only active when there is somebody or something of sufficient weight on the passenger seat. I'm usually driving alone with nothing on the passenger seat; should my light be on (airbag off) in this scenario?

EDIT: Never mind. I should have read the manual before posting. It states "If the front passenger seat is empty, the passenger’s front airbag will not deploy and
the indicator will not come on." page 52.

 

When I buckle in my metal thermos bottle the indicator is on. If the bottle is just laying there in the same spot on the seat but the seat belt is not buckled then the indicator is off...

 

On any given day, my backpack weighs ~25 lbs. When I put it in the passenger seat, the light goes on to tell me that the airbag is off. When there's nothing/nobody in the seat, the light is off completely. I almost think the light is meant to warn you that if there's someone small in the seat, the airbag is not going to deploy, so you can make your seating changes accordingly because it definitely senses when there's something in the seat, even if it's not substantial enough to warrant deploying the airbag to protect them/it.