Is there an air bag located behind the drivers side "A-pillar" in the R52? I know there are bags in the seats, and on the instrument carrier on the passenger side....

I am kinda disappointed in the "lack of engine monitoring" gauges in the car....I have the NAV system, and all I have are "idiot lights" for engine health. By the time the little red light comes on, it's basically too late to react to the problem

I want to mount 4 gauges to the car to actually see what the engine is doing. I want a boost gauge, volt meter, mechanical oil pressure, and mechanical water temp gauges......my thought was to get a universal pillar gauge mounting pod and put it on the drivers side A-pillar.....but if there is actually an air bag back there......then I need to rethink my plans. With the speedometer and tachometer both mounted on the steering column, my choices are limited. I put a couple gauges next to my tach in the R52, boost & volt meter, but I would like more in the R52

My '04 R53 actually has the pillar that says "Air Bag" on it......and I'm not sure if there is one back there either.....

So is there an air bag behind the plastic pillar molding in the R52??

Bryan

 

No Airbag in the windscreen pillar.

Doesn't all the gauge info come from the engine management computer/ obd2 ? You could send it all to one multifunction screen (under the center switches seems a good spot), or else Ive seen bluetooth versions that show this on your phone.

https://new.minimania.com/part/G2NMA...th-Or-Wireless

 

OK, thanks for letting me know about the "no airbag in the pillar".......at least on my R52.......curious as to why my R53 says "Airbag" on both A-pillars.....unless it's just for advertising

I'm sure all the info I want comes from the ECU.....but I have tried a number of the "bluetooth" versions and I can't get any of them to work on my phone......and I am "old school", I like gauges, the round mechanical 2" kind that I can actually see.....I also thought about putting some under the center switches....but I don't like looking down at the floor.

Still thinking on what to do......thanks again

Bryan

 

R53 has head airbags. I imagine with the beefed up A pillar and lack of roof for the vert that wasnt a design option.

 

My R53 says it also has one in the steering wheel? I don't think my R52 does, because I can honk the horn with the center of steering wheel

Bryan

 

R53 has side curtain and seat airbags.
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I cant honk my horn at all:( There is a clock spring type connector so pushing the center if the steering wheel should activate the horn switch. The center of my steering wheel seems very soft, Ive wondered in the past if the airbag is actually present. One of these days Ill get around to taking it all apart and finding out whats going on. For now I shout and use , er , sign language (you know the ones) to communicate with my fellow road users

 

 

Don't press directly in the center. If you look closely at your steering wheel, you'll see horn icons embossed on the black plastic, at the left and right outside the center silver ring. Press in those areas.

 

Wish it was that simple. Doesnt matter where I push, there is no sound. Thought I had tracked it to the burned out horns, but they replacements still didnt fix it. I need to check out the ground return and maybe get to the horn relay on the back of the footwell fuse panel. If the relay isnt bad then its on to taking the airbag off and check the "clockspring", which isnt a cheap part:(

Im considering bypassing all that and just wiring an "arming switch" type setup to the horn using the blank next to the TPWS reset button... I'll tell people its for the ejector seats:D

 

Unhook the battery and pull the airbag off, something is missing or not hooked up right. BTW the JCW steering wheel thats in that post is nla, but we have other options and more soon.

http://www.billswebspace.com/MiniR53...stallation.htm