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Errant seat belt alarm

Discussion in 'Gen 5 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by Will B, Apr 20, 2024.

  1. Will B

    Will B Active Member

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    Starting yesterday I get a seat belt alarm for the middle seat in the back. With no-one in the back at all or or with a person in the passenger side and belted, I get the alarm saying that there is a person in the middle seat and they are not wearing the seat belt.

    The temporary workaround is simple, I'm just plugging in the middle seat belt to silence the alarm, but clearly the middle seat "butt sensor" isn't working--ugh.

    Any suggestions on something to try before lugging it to the dealer? They are a pain to deal with, so hoping there is a smart suggestion that could avoid the trip. Might be another reason to get the maintenance manuals.

    will
     
    #1 Will B, Apr 20, 2024
  2. Jabog6

    Jabog6 Junior Member

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    Mine did that once because one of my kids undid the belt while the car was in motion. (Nobody was actually sitting in that seat - long story). Even after I stopped on the side of the road, put it in park, etc, the beeping did not stop. I clicked it back up, the beeping stopped and I went on. Like you, I also thought the sensor was defective. After I got to my destination, turned the car off, and undid the belt before the next drive, and everything is back to normal.

    Bottom line: the car really did not like having the belt undone while driving, and even stopping on the side of the road didn’t help. Maybe you did a similar thing?
     
    #2 Jabog6, Apr 20, 2024
    Will B likes this.
  3. HacksawMark

    HacksawMark Active Member

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    I experienced a middle rear seat alarm a while back. In-laws were riding in the rear and mother-n-law put her purse on the middle seat which caused the alarm.

    Did you have anything on the rear seats when it happened?
     
    #3 HacksawMark, Apr 21, 2024
  4. Will B

    Will B Active Member

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    @Jabog6 : ooh, that may be the case, I did try removing the belt after moving. I will try again with a completely clean start. THANKS! Here's hoping that is the issue. I will report back.

    Will
     
    #4 Will B, Apr 21, 2024
    Jabog6 likes this.
  5. BiomedO1

    BiomedO1 Senior Member

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    It's probably what's known as a "latched alarm". Alarm won't stop unless issue is rectified and acknowledged or next power down, power up cycle. The power down cycle will reset everything and repole sensors status.
     
    #5 BiomedO1, Apr 21, 2024
  6. Will B

    Will B Active Member

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    @Jabog6 was right! It was a 'memory" issue! For the first alarm my passenger likely put some pressure on the middle seat. For the second alarm the belt was attached when I shifted into drive and I removed the belt while just stopped by the side of the road while still on "D".

    Yay, saved a dealer visit, thanks! What happened to the simpler days when the alarm was simply butt sensed and no belt without all this memory stuff? I suppose it is better? But certainly not intuitive.

    Will
     
    #6 Will B, Apr 23, 2024
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