Air Bag Light

Unfortunately I don't have any advice for you - because I am in the same boat. The air bag light on the dash came on Friday. I scheduled an appointment for today (Monday) to have the dealer check it out.

This was what they came up with: "need to replace the no. 2 floor wiring harness (right side)". The part is $591 / and the labor is $1735. In total, a bit less than yours, but still pretty tough. I plan to give a call to a couple other dealerships around and see what their rate (labor) would be.

I see on line folks talking about (and even videos about) ways to reset the air bag light - but I am not sure if this is the proper way to handle the situation. And we are just out of warranty - date wise we are still in, but mileage wise we are 6000 out.

On a final note, I am curious if other folks are having or have had this issue - if the problem is happening often with the "wiring harness" then is may be something that Toyota should take car of ..... wishful thinking!

 

Wait....this should be a warranty issue.....
I'd call Toyota corporate ...and if they don't help...an attorney...

 

here's an update on my comments above - from yesterday- regarding the air bag light.

this morning I fiddled around under the seats, and I do mean fiddled - just moving some wires gently around. and did the same under the steering column. this may premature to say it's a lastin thing, but ... the air bag light now goes off after five or six seconds. curious.

When my wife heads home for lunch today and I will check in with her to see if the light has continued to stay off - if it has, I will be canceling the work on the car. keep you fingers crossed.

 

Give it a shot, it's worth a try.

A couple side notes - I am in Austin as well and go to Champion Toyota. Not sure which dealership you are going to.

Also, I rang the service manager (got his voice mail) and told him that our air bag light was now going off so I was going to skip the work. I mentioned that I had moved some wires around. When he rang back a couple minutes later he told me that he had talked to the technecian who said that he understood what I had done and that I would be back. Meaning that the light would come back on .... we'll see. The service fellow made the above comment lightly, but in my opinion, the customer service aspect of this conversation could have been much better.

 

I realize I'm in the wrong forum here, but I just noticed this on my 2012 hatchback. I rarely have passengers in my car. Yesterday I had a passenger, and the air bag light came on and stayed on. But after I dropped the passenger off and continued alone, it went off. I'm not sure if this is an issue or not. I've never seen the light come on before. I guess I'll just keep an eye on it.

 

Are you talking about the "passenger air bag" indicator light, or some sort of trouble indicator? The passenger air bag light shows that weight has been detected in the passenger seat, so the passenger air bag is now active. That is normal operation.

Tom

 

Oh. Thanks. And ick!

 

Over in the Prius c forums there are complaints about the passenger airbag indicator always being on - but in the c it changes from "Air Bag Off" to "Air Bag On" so there's no confusion about what it's doing.

 

The manufacturer sets the pay rate for warranty work & it is less than retail. Diagnostic time pays $0. Tracking down a "random" electrical problem can be a very time consuming PITA that nobody wants to pay for. The dealer's solution is to quote an outrageous price for the job so that the customer just goes away.

How much were/are you willing to pay to have someone crawl around your car & jiggle a wire? What if he spent 3 hours testing any number of circuits before jiggling the wire? If you were an employee at the dealership how much should you have been paid to fix your car? Would you prefer to work on your car with it's problem or a car with a mechanical problem that is a better paying job?

 

I am also going to Champion Toyota, just bought my 2010 certified used and the airbag light went on. Took it in and the computer said "floor wiring harness" so I left it there. All covered by my warranty, but I'm very troubled that this may be a "thing" with Champion? Or with 2010 Prius cars? They said they are waiting for the part, which is on back order.

 

I noticed my light came on today. I didn't read this post but did vacum the drivers seat area before the light came on. When i got home i used a flashlight to look around under my seat and jiggle the wires. Sure enough the light now is off. I am in the wrong forum too.

 

This may be a different problem, but one time after my passenger sat down and the light said Air Bag Off. I asked her to exit and renter the car and the Air Bag turned On. I've only noticed this issue once, but I don't often have a passenger with me.

 

Had the exact same problem on my '05. SRS airbag light stayed on after start up. Jiggling wires under the passenger seat seemed to solve it and narrowed it down to a single wire connector that hangs beneath. Explained what I found to Toyota (and got a case ID).

It was almost out of warranty but just couldn't find the time to bring it in to get it fixed. Ultimately I just cinched a plastic wire tie real tight around the connector. Lasted a few years before the light came on again, vacuuming under the seat as a previous poster experienced. Was about to re-do the wire tie thing again, but then an Oak Tree fell on the car a few weeks ago.

Now have a v. If that light comes on in this one a) gonna be pissed they haven't addressed the root cause (it's been a known issue for many years), and b) will immediately take it in to be fixed. Not doing the wire tie thingy again.

Who's to say that if you're in an accident, that connection is a "weak link" regardless of what you've done to keep the light off.

>>> Get it fixed proper is my advice. <<<​