hello chaps, noobie here.

i've currently got a '00 toledo tdi which i love but i've just started a family including a dog so i need something bigger.

i've set my heart on an octavia tdi and what i need to know is is it possible to switch off the airbags? the car will be for my wife who sits quite close to the wheel but the main reason is so we can put the child seat upfront.

the car i'm currently looking at is a 2003 SKODA OCTAVIA 1.9 TDi Elegance 5dr Diesel Estate. that said, it'd be really helpfull to know which models have this option.

thanks very much,

mike.

It was an option on the Octavia, you might get lucky and find it had a switch but I don't think it is particularly likely, think it cost about £50 for the option. Seat seem to fit them as standard, though it does only turn off the passenger airbag. I think you can get the airbag turned off using VAG COM but I'm not sure if this could affect your insurance.

If the child seat isn't rear facing you could just push the passenger seat as far back as you can when the sprog is in the car.

vag com? is that software for a laptop? i could run the risk of it switching back on when i unplug the battery...

so is a switch something i could get fitted aftermarket or was it only done in the factory?

i suppose my other option would be to remove/unplug the bag. where are the side bags located? would i need to get rid of them too?

cant switch the bags off in my toledo but my dad has a 53 plate car the same (he liked mine so much he had to get one newer!) and that has the switch... perhaps i should swap the cars while he's not looking:P

thanks:thumbup:

Sorry, VAG COM is software that works like the software the dealers have, you can use it to check and clear errors or change settings in the car. You could unplug the airbag but it would cause an error which would turn off all the airbags and turn on the airbag light on the instruments as the car would think something is wrong. This could cause a problem come MOT time, maybe, I'm not sure. I don't think you can get the switch added, at least not officially, there are people on here who would know like Lummox).

My wife has a Leon and that has the switch, very useful when the kids were small. My octy doesn't which was a bit of a pain sometimes. But then it is better to keep the kids in the back from a safety point of view apparently.

The elegance has two airbags in the dash, one each side, and also on the outer sides of the front seats where the airbags badges are, that's it I think.

As far as VAG COM goes, the full cable/software costs about £250 and you need to have some idea of what you are doing with it, especially meddling with the airbags. If you look in the VAGCOM forum on here there is a list of people who have it who could sort you out for a few beer tokens if there is anyone near you. Also there are some links to the website of Ross Tech who make VAGCOM which will explain what it does. You might also be able to find an independent VW/Skoda specialist who could sort it for you.

Airbags are not an MOT failure. My wife's Golf had a fault on the airbags, and the light was constantly on. Didn't fail its MOT at all.

thanks again.

thats alot of airbags... mind you, the ones in the seats shouldn't cause a problem.

andrew is right, its not an mot failure but there is talk of it becoming one of the checked items, not entirely sure how they'd check it though?

vagcom... could almost be a feminine product... vagisil springs to mind:O.

cheers,

mike.

Any switch is for passenger side only.

IIRC deactivating the drivers airbag knowingly is an offence. There are plenty of vids on youtube to show here why sitting too close isnt a good thing with or withour an airbag.

Ribs being pushed through your heart and lungs being 2 good reasons. You also halve your survival rate in many crashes too.