Airbag Re - Initialization

Ok, I have searched the strings. Lots of stuff on the airbags and SRS, but I did not find the problem I saw on the wifes Prius today.

Over the weekend, we went out of town. During the trip I noticed that my wife who is not a petite gal was seated normally in the passenger seat and that the "Airbag Light" OFF indicator light was lit. I mentioned it to her, and she said she has seen it change from off to on at different times, but did not get very detailed.

We stopped about halfway throught the trip to take a break. I got in the passenger seat with the car in "Ready" mode. I noticed that at no point did I ever see anything except the "OFF" indicator light lit. I try bouncing in the seat, ON light would not come on. So I read the manual, and of course saw something isn't just right.

Got back after the trip, went to Prius Chat of course, as well as Toyota's website that we are registered to and researched researched. Then today I went to Tejas Toyota who does the service work for me. Will, the service writer plainly saw the "OFF" light lit, and did say "I have seen this before, it is not normal, and yes, with the "OFF" light lit, the airbag is disabled".

Anyway, I signed the dotted line for the diagnostic charge, and had a seat. Will comes by a little later and he says you are ready to go, and there is no charge. I asked him what was wrong. He said that they had to re initialize the airbag system, and then everything started working correctly.

Now when you get in it, the "OFF" light is off if no one is sitting in the passenger seat. If you get in the seat, the "ON Light" comes on, and the passenger seat belt will illuminate until you fasten the belt - all which is normal operation.

I am hoping Patrick Wong or some of the other geeks here on PC can give me an idea of what they think is going on. We just bought this car in March, and have been fixing things here and there that I think the selling dealer overlooked trying to save a buck. But I don't want to knock anyone or burn bridges, so I won't go there.

I have researched all of the different modes for the light in the owner's manual. Gen II Prius descriptions of different modes did not show the situation that the car was in in all reality. According to the manual, the car was thinking a little kid or child's seat was in the car, but that the seat belt was buckled. Well, the seat was empty, nothing underneath and the seat belt was not buckled. If the system was working right, the "OFF" should not have been illuminated.

That is why I am looking for the extra input from Patrick and others. I imagine it is something trivial, but it did strike me funny that the system had to be re initalized. Will the service writer also asked me about the 12 V battery, if it had ever been changed. I said, "No, not than I am aware of." He said, "Hmmm, that would explain why we had to re initialize. I am now wondering if I need to get the 12 Volt Battery replaced as I have seen all the threads about that over and over...

Thanks again everyone.

 

Thanks for the info seilerts. I hope my wife did not buy one that was bumped around by another driver.

Will, the service rep did mention that there was a weight sensor. Like other's here, I too learned of that before I took the car in. I also checked to make sure all four connectors were plugged in. They all appeared to be good, but I did not unplug and replug them.

I do appreciate the feedback as that is what I am looking for!