Airbag deactivation device

[shadowbox]

I recently bought a CPO'd 2004 Boxster S. It has the airbag deactivation bar and belt buckle. Does that mean I can put a Porsche child seat in and it will deactivate the airbag when buckled in? Or is there some programming that might need to be done at a dealer? Also, anyone know where to get a used Porsche Junior Child Seat? Tried ebay but no luck...Thanks!

P.S. Anyone know why Porsche installed such a convoluted airbag deactivation device? My previous Audi had a keyed switch in the glove box. And my BMW has a button. Pretty simple.

[SD987]

Or is there some programming that might need to be done at a dealer?

If you have it installed the electric circuit should already have been prepared.

Buy the seat and insert the belt into the lock mounted on the metal crosspiece. Air bag warning light blinks for ten seconds when the ignition is turned on to let you know it's been deactivated.

Suncoast has the seats, new, for 150-190 which seems pretty reasonable for a Porsche babyseat that looks comfortable as hell - (seatbelts in Guards Red and Side Bolsters from the GT3):

http://www.rennlist.com/tequip/boxster/childseats.htm

FYI, I have neither a 986 or a baby.

[mach schnell]

Shadowbox - Britax is the maker of the Porsche child seat and you can find these on eBay or kid's r us, etc - its the exact seat as the Porsche, but cheaper (guess you pay alot for the Porsche logo). Britax is one of the best seats on the market - however, Recaro makes awesome seats (both safetywise and looks) and if you ask any car seat specialist (child development expert, etc) will tell you that they are incredible seats. You can also find these on eBay or child retailers.

For my 987, I had the dealer install the deactivation kit after I bought the car - the 987 model now uses a switch located inside the dash, inside the driverside door that deactivates the airbag using the ignition key - a little messge lights up on the center console. No more bars or devices in the seat, etc - its very nice, but I always have to remember to turn the airbag back on when an adult rides in the car with me.

[shadowbox]

Thanks for the helpful posts guys.

I guess the guy who had the car before me had the deactivation device installed. I tried inserting the regular belt into the buckle. It is a different size so it won't lock but it will deactivate the airbag if held in during ignition. The airbag flashes for about several seconds then goes out. This, according to the owner's manual, means the airbag has been deactivated. (Not sure why Porsche couldn't have put a deactivated warning in the information screen at start up. That would be safer and clearer.)

I have Britax seats for my other cars, and would love to be able to use one for my Boxster, but I need the special size belt extension to lock into the deactivation device. Only the porsche seats come with that attachment. Although, I'm sure they use a standard seat belt clip thingee, it would hard to find the right one.

[98Boxster98]

The 986 child seat deactivation schemes for the 986 and 987 are different in their approach for Porsche to extract an additional $400 to $600 from their customers with kids. The 986 method consisted of a deactivation bar mounted at the base of the passenger seat and the dealer with the PS2 would "re-program" the car to recognize that the deactivation bar was present. When the special belt at the base of the Porsche child seat (made by Britax) was inserted, the passenger air bags are deactivated (10 second airbag blink.) In the 986 days, if you bought the $400 dollar child seat package, the dealer would install it for "free."

I have seen elsewhere on the internet that people had fabricated their own special belt buckle but being a newbie to the Porsche scene at the time, I chose not to take any risks with the kiddie passenger.

The 987 approach requires the installation of the key operated deactivation switch on the passenger side of the dashboard. The passenger airbags are manually deactivated with this 987 approach. However, I believe this allows the use of any child seat available on the market (Although Porsche is pretty proud of its child seats in the Tequipment section of its website.) I think I read somewhere that the dealers charge $600 dollars for the 987 deactivation switch and installation.

Below is a screen capture from the www.rennlist.com website showing the 986 child seat and deactivation bar (on sale!) Note the 996 part number.

[98Boxster98]

987 passenger airbag deactivation. Note the 997 part number.