Front Bench Center Airbag – Safety Request

[pilarczykm]

As someone on the waitlist, I'm incredibly excited about the Scout Traveler — especially the front bench seat option. My daughter was thrilled when I told her she could sit between us on road trips.

That excitement comes with a safety question: are there plans to include a center airbag for the middle front passenger when the bench seat is selected? Looking at pre-production images, the center cubby area appears large enough to potentially accommodate this feature if redesigned for it.

Protecting every passenger in every seat matters deeply to me. I'd love to know if this is already in the works, or if it's something the team would consider.

 

[speedrye]

This definitely matters for me as well. I'm okay with a wider passenger airbag that'll serve the middle person, or they could have it come out of the top of the dashboard for the center person. So long as there's an airbag there, I'm good.

My FJ passenger airbag comes out of the top of the dash for the passenger:

 

[Logan]

As someone on the waitlist, I'm incredibly excited about the Scout Traveler — especially the front bench seat option. My daughter was thrilled when I told her she could sit between us on road trips.

That excitement comes with a safety question: are there plans to include a center airbag for the middle front passenger when the bench seat is selected? Looking at pre-production images, the center cubby area appears large enough to potentially accommodate this feature if redesigned for it.

Protecting every passenger in every seat matters deeply to me. I'd love to know if this is already in the works, or if it's something the team would consider.

100% agree.

And not just front airbag for the person in the front middle. I've recently been more attuned to the center airbags intended to help reduce injury in a side impact, having just recently lost a family member to a car accident.

So yes, please, be very safe.

 

[cyure]

As someone on the waitlist, I'm incredibly excited about the Scout Traveler — especially the front bench seat option. My daughter was thrilled when I told her she could sit between us on road trips.

That excitement comes with a safety question: are there plans to include a center airbag for the middle front passenger when the bench seat is selected? Looking at pre-production images, the center cubby area appears large enough to potentially accommodate this feature if redesigned for it.

Protecting every passenger in every seat matters deeply to me. I'd love to know if this is already in the works, or if it's something the team would consider.

Welcome to the community! Just an FYI, the current Traveler and Terra that you are seeing are not pre-production. They are one of a kind, hand built with many 3-D printed parts concept vehicles. It has been stated they are 85% of what we will see in the production vehicles.

A great follow is @Jamie@ScoutMotors He keeps us updated on things and answers questions that we have.

I found one answer he provided about the size and placement of the screen and why it was done that way for airbags and safety with the bench seat.

Welcome again!

Post in thread 'Center Screen'

Feb 5, 2026

Actually, the bench seat option and the required clearance (plus airbag deployment) dictated the rectangular screen more than anything.

• Jamie@ScoutMotors

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[Jamie@ScoutMotors]

Yes. There will be airbag protection for the entire bench seat.

 

[J Alynn]

Yes. There will be airbag protection for the entire bench seat.

Thanks Jamie. Appreciate the clarity though I assume crashes will require no matter what as it is an occupant seat

 

[mrgold35]

I don't know the details of the Scout safety systems like collision mitigation braking system, Adaptive Cruise Control with low speed follow, lane keeping assist with steer assist, road or lane departure mitigation with steering wheel assist, traffic sign recognition, forward collision warning, front/seat/knee/curtain airbags, front/rear parking sensors, rear radar for passenger/traffic monitoring when backing up, blind spot information, auto dim side mirrors, or 360 degree surround view cameras.

My Acura vehicles have a 2 stage air bag deployment for low speed and higher speed front end collision. It also has a weight sensor in the front passenger seat and disables the passenger air bag for anything under X lbs (and no passenger airbag deployment at 0 lbs). I'm not 100% sure of the minimum weight to activate passenger airbag; but, you get a passenger airbag disabled if it registers something there under weight. Acura/Honda recommends a person sit in the back seat if they get the "front passenger airbag off" warning. My son would see the airbag off warning when he placed his backpack on the passenger seat when he drove to his H.S.

I also have seatbelt pretensioners to pull you back into the seat in a collision to create more space for the air bag to deploy. I don't know if my Acura rear seats have seat belt pretensioners? I sometimes get a pretensioner seat belt tug if the Collision Mitigation Braking System (CMBS) is engaged at one of its several levels of increasing activation levels (visual warning lights, audible waring sounds, seatbelt tug, slight/moderate braking, full on panic braking with full pretensioner seatbelt activation). Seat belt pretensioners must be replaced if a collision happens with front airbag deployment (not 100% sure with curtain or inside seat side air bags activates pretensioners).