Have you thought about just removing the fuse from fuse-panel?
I also have a '97 and my old Dealer in CA recommended to me that I remove
the fuse when either off-roading or take my son with me...in the front seat.
(I have the Club Cab so he's mainly in the back unless i'm going to the
grocery store....then he's up front.)
- Bernd
-----Original Message-----
From: owner-dakota-truck@buffnet.net
Subject: DML: Passenger air bag and infant car seat
I have to start taking my 5 month old daughter to daycare in my 97 Dakota. I
have to put her in the front passenger seat in her car seat and I want to
disable my airbag for her safety.
I went to my local dodge dealership yesterday (Barrett Dodge, Athens, Ga.)
and
spoke with the service dept. I asked him if there was a kit to upgrade my
97 so
that I could manually turn the air bag on and off. He immediately informed
me
that I have to get a waiver from the NTSB to have it disconnected. Then I
would
have to find a dealer to disconnect it, and I wouldn't find one due to
liability
reasons. I again advised him that I didn't want to just disconnect or cut
the
wires, that I was wanting to put a disable feature in mine like the 98 and
newer
trucks so that it would still be active if I have an adult passenger. He
then
said he was not aware of any retro-fit available, but again went into a huge
dissertation about needing the waiver first. I then asked him to forget
about
the damn waiver for just a moment and tell me my options about the air bag.
He
then had the gall to tell me that it was a catch-22. I then got pretty
pissed,
while I was standing there holding my daughter and told him very sternly
that my
daughters safety was not a catch-22. I then walked out so pissed that I
decided
to wait a day before writing this so it wouldn't have to have a NC-17
rating.
Here's my question:
Has anyone ran into this situation before on a 97 Dak? If so how did you
remedy
it. After being in law enforcement for almost 12 years, I don't want to
commit
a "Federal offense" but I have got to do something. Any replies on here or
privately will be welcomed.
My options I'm aware of now are:
1. Strip a wrecked 98+ Dak out of a salvage yard and try and retro fit it.
2. Cut the wires and totally disable it
3. Accidentally set the damn thing off while I put on the 3" body lift I
purchased from Erika Ipes and super glue the cover back in place.
Or lastly....4. Run the truck into something and set it off....this was my
wife's idea of which I promptly told her it wasn't an option...i.e....both
air
bags go off, and I have to repair front of truck.
Sorry for the long post, but this is very important to me. Any ideas on
how to
fix this problem will be welcomed and will stay confidential due to
liability
reasons. lol
Thanks,
Mel Janousek
97 Dak, CC, 4X4 with Tuff Country 5.5 lift, 33" BFG's and other mods
www.superskunks.com
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Fri Jun 20 2003 - 11:59:10 EDT