Seat Covers and the 2005 MINI

Sections: DIY | Official News | R50 (Coupe) | R52 (Conv.) | R53 (Coupe) Feb 25th, 2005 13 Comments

Here’s some important information for all those with US spec MINIs built after 1/05 (from an internal MINIUSA bulletin):

The MINI Cooper and Cooper S production 01/05 and forward will have an OC3 mat in the passenger seat. Therefore the seat covers and sheepskin seat savers are not to be installed on the passenger seat of these models.

mini

What is an OC mat? OC means Occupant Classification. Due to new NHTSA regulations, under certainly conditions, the passenger airbag must be suppressed. The OC mat works with pressure sensors below the passenger seat trim. Bt evaluating the weight on the front passenger seat, the system detects whether or not the seat is occupied by a child in a child-restrained system or an adult. When a child is seated in a child-restrain system or with an empty seat, the airbags are deactivated on the passenger side. When an adult is traveling in the front seat, the passenger airbags remain active.

It’s worth noting that the same recommendations are given to aftermarket seats covers as well.

These new regulations are also partly responsible for the new advanced airbags which we posted about a few months ago.

Written By: MF Staff

Jim Z

Does this mean that it it illegal for a private individual to install a seat cover, or just the dealer?
http://www.jwardell.com/mini/ Josh Wardell

I know they have to officially cover the bases, but I hardly think a seat cover will add weight or interfere with the system. At least the new passenger air bag button/light will let you know if it’s been deactivated or not…just make sure it is functioning the same as before the cover was installed.
aleks

FYI those warnings are intended to protect the public and make sure that vehicles are used properly. I would not install any seat covers at all on any MINI built from january 05 on. If any of you have ever seen the sheepskin seat covers, you know they are quite heavy, so its no suprise they could activate the system inadvertently.
Ken

I know that in some cars there are air bags in the side of the seat. Is that the case in the mini too? anyway if there is a cover over that surface it will just screw up the depolyment of the airbad.
Nervous

I’m with Ken. Not that I would want to cover the leather, but I would believe that seat covers would hinder the seat airbags, anwyay – OC mat, or not.
RB

Huh, for a while was the site using a serif font and now it’s back to a san serif font?

Was it just my browser, Safari, screwing up? What ever it was I’m glad it’s back to the original font.
http://motoringfile.com Gabe

It was Safari holding onto an old cache. Our css style was down for about 30 minutes the other night and it seems that some using Safari are finding that their browser has cached that style (go figure).

To everyone:

As I’ve said on and off since Monday – If you use Safari please hit refresh to see the new MotoringFile design tweaks.
RB

I hit the mother until it was punch drunk. I thought the changes were in the font.

Thanks for the explanation.
http://motoringfile.com Gabe

LOL – that’s the only way to hit refresh in Safari :) I love the thing but it does have a few cache issues.
RB

Does anybody else see Crusader Rabbit in that picture?

http://theimaginaryworld.com/crusader.html

++RB
indygomini

Some seat cover manufacturers do address the presence of side airbags when they design their covers, including special seams that will allow the airbags to deploy properly without interference (Wet Okole is one that comes to mind for the MINI.) The weight sensors itegrated into seat bottom cushions are new, and I would expect that some accomodation can be made for these as well.

I suspect that MINI USA is just guarding against potential legal liability with their warning, which is only smart business. If they didn’t, someone, somwhere in the U.S. would no doubt slap the tanned husk of a dead sheep over their seat, and file suit crying “I wasn’t warned!” if their airbag malfunctioned due to said dead sheep.

Personally, I think that a self-deactivating passenger front airbag is a good thing- and not just because some people endanger their kids by putting them up front when they’re still too small. This system helps reduce repair cost in the event of a collision, since it keeps the passenger airbag(s) from deploying to protect a non-existent occupant. At the $800 to $1000+ that many airbag modules cost to replace, plus the fact that the passenger airbag on many cars is designed to fracture the windscreen when it deploys (not sure on the MINI, though), airbag deactivation can save a substantial amount. This could translate into lower collision insurance rates- which is something I’d welcome!

Too bad they put the airbag activation indicator where the clock belongs, though.
Michael Burchill

… I thought it was illegal for children under the age of 9 (or 10?) to sit in the front seat anyway – with or without restaint system.
roland aber

now that six months have gone by since the recall of the seat covers, what is the statis of MINI redesigning a cover to work on a 2005 MCS Conv.?

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