Passenger Seat Seatbelt Sensor Sensitivity

[czeetah]

OK. Annoying.

Put my 7" Nexus tablet on passenger seat and the passenger seatbelt warning light and beeper start going off.

If I move to far back of seat it's OK. But in center nope.

Seems a little over sensitive.

Anyone else?

 

[IndigoBlueWagon]

I noticed this on the loaner '12 Passat we had from our local dealer. My dog (26 lbs.) set off the sensor and I had to buckle the seat belt behind him. He doesn't set if off on my '12 Golf. Odd.

 

[yehaman]

Yes, if I put my briefcase on the wrong spot it sets mine off as well

 

[czeetah]

I just looked up the specifications

Nexus 7 weighs 10 ounces.

That's a tad over a half pound!

 

[BadWolf]

Yup. iPad in my 13' Passat sets off the seatbelt warning

 

[pedorro]

My iPhone 4S does so also -- seems to me it is electronic interference rather than weight.

 

[PassatSE4me]

I have a work bag and tablet on my front seat all the time and have never had the warning go off. The only time it does go off is if someone is sitting there. Guess I got lucky.

 

[Spyke]

I can put my laptop, my iphone, my samsung galaxy on my 2013 and no warning light.

BUT

If I plug the laptop or whatever, I've got the warning light! So its interference between the charging cords or current flow and the seat weight sensor.

 

[Palouse]

My backpack with a 13" MacBook Pro and more does not set of my sensor.

 

[ChadS99SVT]

This is normally ONLY a problem if your devices are plugged in.

Something sets of the magnetic field sensor or something like that.

OP was your device charging at the time?

 

[czeetah]

This is normally ONLY a problem if your devices are plugged in.
Something sets of the magnetic field sensor or something like that.
OP was your device charging at the time?

Yes, running music and nav.

Though I just got this windshield mount for 7" tablet in last night from Amazon

So hopefully it won't be an issue any more

Seems to hold 7" tablet nicely.

 

[ChadS99SVT]

Post a picture of that mounted. 7" sounds obnoxious on the windshield lol.

 

[czeetah]

Post a picture of that mounted. 7" sounds obnoxious on the windshield lol.

Will do.

Nice thing is with one set of short legs and one long it also holds my iPhone 5 in upright

So I can swap between the two!!

Thought about getting a CD slot mount instead but didn't want to block dash vents and/or phone controls

 

[VeeDubTDI]

The electronics in your phone/tablet interfere with the sensor and make it think the seat is occupied. This has been tested and documented in other threads.

http://forums.tdiclub.com/showthread.php?t=382344

 

[czeetah]

Post a picture of that mounted. 7" sounds obnoxious on the windshield lol.

Here you go.

Quite reasonable. Wouldn't want it there ALL THE TIME but it will be handy for road trips when a big GPS is useful!

 

[unixb0y]

I just buckle the passenger seat belt. It doesn't happen to me every day.

 

[N4TECguy]

Noticed the same problem with my HTC One Max the other day. A 5.9 inch phone should not set off that sensor...

 

[VernK]

It's not the weight, it's the electrical field of the device that sets off the sensor. I'm not sure if that's by design (i.e. sensing when something alive is in the seat) or just a consequence of the method they use to sense weight, but there it is.

Yours
Vern

 

[phat02jetta]

I've had a pound of lunch meat and a loaf of bread set it off numerous times, so it's not just electronic devices.

 

[VeeDubTDI]

Fortunately there are other places in the vehicle to store stuff. The floor, the back seat, the trunk, side pockets, center console, etc. None of these locations have those pesky occupancy sensors.

 

[Sharky]

I've had a pound of lunch meat and a loaf of bread set it off numerous times, so it's not just electronic devices.

my 8lbs Chihuahua sets it off as well. Must be combination of weight or electronic devices.

 

[VeeDubTDI]

my 8lbs Chihuahua sets it off as well. Must be combination of weight or electronic devices.

Now that you mention dogs, I have never noticed the airbag light come on when my 35 lb. Shiba Inu is in the passenger's seat. I'll have to pay more attention next time.

 

[MichaelB]

Now that you mention dogs, I have never noticed the airbag light come on when my 35 lb. Shiba Inu is in the passenger's seat. I'll have to pay more attention next time.

My 40lb Golden doodle puppy sets it off every time he is in the passenger seat. Kind of annoying but you get used to it. It stops after a while.

 

[VeeDubTDI]

Maybe our Saudi Arabian codine is suppressing alerts and that's why I don't notice it.