disabling/removing steering airbag

hammerhead · Post by **hammerhead** » Mon Oct 02, 2006 9:18 pm

G'day..help needed removing or disabling on a Subaru momo wheel,Im worried if ill unscrew the 2 torx screw on the side, bag might pop out.what is the best option? cheers

AndrewT · Post by **AndrewT** » Wed Oct 04, 2006 10:27 am

I beleive there is a fuse or some wires you can cut which will disable it.
Why would you want to disable it tho?

Lapsed · Post by **Lapsed** » Wed Oct 04, 2006 11:09 am

Legally you cannot remove an airbag from a car that is ment to have one.

twc · Post by **twc** » Thu Oct 05, 2006 4:19 pm

Take it to someone who is AUTHORIZED AND KNOWS WHAT THEY ARE DOING.
Have heard of guys who tried to alter /change steering wheels for one reason and another and been very seriously hurt when the bag has gone off and rammed their faces etc into very immoveable parts of their cars.

waggaclint · Post by **waggaclint** » Thu Oct 05, 2006 7:48 pm

if your just removing it and putting it back on....just disconnect the battery and wait for 5mins and you can pull it off then without it going off....
But if your not sure id get a mechanic to do it for ya....
use caution if ya gonna do it your self as they can be dangerous if ya dont no what ya doing....

wagonist · Post by **wagonist** » Tue Oct 10, 2006 1:29 pm

I changed the standard airbag wheel on my Toyota to another factory leather one using the original airbag.

Step by step:

disconnect battery (not 100% necessary, but a bit of a safety recommendation)
remove the plastic cowling around the steering column
identify the plugs that go to the airbag part of the wheel.
These will run from a round plastic piece behind the wheel down. They will look different because there is a spring loaded part
undo these plugs. I'd suggest from lying on the floor & wear some hearing protection just in case.
The plugs have extra pins in them so that when they are undone, spring loaded bits touch the other normally active pins to help drain the static.
walk away from the car & leave it stand. The recommended time for the static to drain is 30 minutes, but I'd add a buffer just to be safe.
undo those torx screws you have mentioned before
gently pull the airbag assembly out
there will most likely be another plug or 2 hidden behind the bag which will look the same as those previously undone. Undo these now.
put airbag assembly gently to one side
remove steering wheel as per a normal one now.

Installation is the reverse of dismantling, though you don't need the static drain period.