Turning Off the Passenger Airbag in an '06 Prius

I'd like to turn off the passenger-side airbag in my 2006 Prius. I have a dual swing arm laptop mount that rises from the seat bolts on the passenger side seat and the apparatus sits clearly in front of the airbag. To help give a visual of what I'm talking about, some pictures of the laptop mount can be found here.

For safety's sake, I need to turn off the airbag to prevent the possibility of crushing the passenger's chest or face in the event of a frontal collision. Can anyone help me? I'm trying to avoid a trip to the dealership as they can be pretty hesitant to do something like this. (Which is understandable, but in my case, I need to have this modification done.)

Thanks!
Bryan

 

Update: I just stopped by a Toyota dealership and the service manager said it would be illegal for them to turn it off. I showed him the laptop mount and just how dangerous it would potentially be if the airbag fired. He agreed, but said they could get in trouble if they turned off the airbag. I can understand why Toyota would not want to turn off the airbag, but I doubt that it is "illegal" to do so.

If there is anyone that can help me out, it would be greatly appreciated (even if it was privately through email and completely off-the-record). As it stands now, having the airbag on is a serious detriment.

Thanks,
Bryan

 

I guess I should have given some background with my post. I'm a full-time storm chaser and I'm on the road for the next 6 weeks.

You are absolutely correct. If there is nobody in the front seat, then the airbag will not go off. Right now, I'm chasing solo, but my wife will join me in a couple of weeks. I'm looking to disable the airbag once there are two of us in the car.

As long as you're not in an accident where the cabin is crushed into you, I don't think it will cause serious damage. (provided you're wearing a seat belt, which we always do)

Absolutely not. Anytime I have to use the trackpad or type, or do anything that requires heavy focusing on the screen, I pull completely off the road. I do have a mapping application that I glance at, but it's no different than having a nav. I would never try to "use" the laptop while driving down the road.

In my opinion, for my particular application, I feel an airbag would do more harm than good...which is why I'm trying to find a way to turn it off (for the next 6 weeks).

Bryan

 

Storm chasing can be done very safely, if you know what you're doing and make sound decisions. Unfortunately, recent videos of folks driving into tornados can lead people to believe that we're all a bunch of yahoos looking for a thrill.

When I storm chase, I do so very cautiously. And I do it for 2 reasons:

1) As a public service. I'm always in direct contact with the NWS (National Weather Service) and I provide them with ground truth compared to what they are seeing on radar. This helps the NWS issue warnings and gives people more lead time, which can help save lives. And occasionally, they may not issue a warning based on what I'm seeing, which helps to reduce the false alarms. I also carry a full array of first responder equipment in my Prius (it really can hold a lot of gear) so I can abandon the chase and help rescue people and provide first aid if they are adversely affected by a tornado or other damaging event.

2) The other reason I do this is fine art stormscape photography. The majority of supercell storms take place away from populated areas and they are strikingly beautiful. For me, there is nothing greater than capturing the power of mother nature.

So while yes, there are associated risks, such as lots of driving and lightning (these are the biggest two), I go to great lengths to minimize these risks and I take this activity very seriously. Which is why I want to turn off the passenger airbag (only during the chase season). It's also a very important piece of minimizing our risk.

Bryan