Airbag woes - 2004 Prius

A short in the seat? Need to replace the whole seat? doesn't sound right. If you really had to replace the seat getting a used one should only cost a few hundred bucks.

To me thats kinda like saying there is a short in under the hood causeing the check engine light to be on, and them saying you have the replace the Engine and the transaxel to make the light go off.

 

Ugh. There are weight sensors in the seats that help determine whether or not airbags should deploy, and even at what speed they should deploy. This is important to get fixed because in the event of an accident, the airbag that you need the most may not deploy at all.

This is probably not something that should be or even could be repaired, unless it is something obvious like a broken wire. Your best bet is to find a repair shop that also does collision work. They will be able to locate a salvage seat and make sure that the airbag system is working properly. Salvage seats are cheap, about $200-$250. You might be able to get out the door for less than $500.

The picture below, from a 2005 Sequoia Limited, shows why you should get this fixed. I was in that seat a couple of weeks ago when we were hit on the driver's side. If the airbag system had been malfunctioning at the time, the torso airbag would not have deployed and I'm sure my injuries would have been severe.

 

red airbag light go off, we were informed that there was likely a short in the seat, and that we'd have to replace the seat for $2600

That price is crazy, I have one of those seats in storage for when I resell my car-my seat is in pieces though.

The problem with buying a seat from salvage, what if the problem is somewhere else? I don't know how much the dealership tested out your seat.

Are you asking how to troubleshoot the air bag in the seat?

 

There are auto repair shops in larger cities like Baltimore that specialize in electrical repair, they also would be more open to using salvage parts than a dealer, calling around and asking would be reasonable

Be sure to report back if/when you do get this fixed, where the problem was.

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A Toyota dealer will NOT install a salvage seat. Go to car-part.com and search for a seat near you. Then either put it in yourself, have a mechanically inclined friend help you, or take it to an independent shop after getting recommendations from other Toyota-driving friends. Installation is a piece of cake, disconnect the 12V battery, remove four bolts holding the seat to the floor, and disconnect a couple wiring harnesses. If the airbag light is still on, then the tech that did your initial diagnosis couldn't figure out what the problem really was and quoted a $2600 fix in hopes that you would go somewhere else. Sorry to mention that possibility, but it is one of the realities in a dealership, that technicians don't want to waste time on diagnosis because they don't get paid for it.

 

Was your vehicle in an accident?

Which seat is being shorted?

The drivers seat has no weigh sensor in it.

The passenger seat does have an occupancy weight sensor.

Did the dealership hookup with their scan tool ?
If yes what is the diagnostic code.

Most likely what is being shorted is the seatbelt or the
connector hooking up the airbag inside the seat itself.
Check for the connectors underneath the seat.

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