anyone disconnect the passenger airbag?

snomobile

snomobile

New member
Hubby just home after quad bypass surgery hospital wants passenger side airbag turned off. My dealer will not touch it instead told me to contact Toyota Care. Did a quick search but did not find any info for us 5th gen owners.
If there is such a thread, I apologize for reposting. Dont want that airbag to deploy with him in the truck, it would NOT be good.
Thanks:sobbing:
 
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I'm not a doctor, but logical thought dictates that a person that just had surgery on their chest would also not want up to 50G's load applied by a seatbelt across the chest either which could happen in a front end crash. Actually ANY crash could be detrimental to his surgery, with or without airbags or seatbelts. Glad he is ok!
 
I think I'm with the belief that an airbag, while it may do some damage, will be less than a seatbelt. If the airbag is a concern, I would agree, ride in the back seat. Recovery shouldn't take too long. It wouldn't be hard to disconnect the airbag, you will have a light turned on the dash. I'm sure you will want it re-connected after recovery. THIS is more of an issue. In theory, plug it back in and it is good to go. In reality, only a certified bodyshop can assure that it is safe and will go off if needed.
 
Yeah, don't think I'd be messin' with the airbags. If you screw it up, it'll be big bucks to fix. Other possibility is it might not work when you need it to. And I'd bet dollars-to-donuts, no dealer or shop will disable it -- I sure wouldn't.
 
There most likely is not a way, at least none where a dealership will touch it. Cars with back seats do not have passenger side airbag deactivation. I never understood why this is, but that seems to be maybe some gov rule or something.

The airbag is the least of worries compared to the seat belt. I would consult the doctor on this issue, and/or find a forum for people with similar health history and see what they have done and were told.
 
Thanks!!
We thought of that as well just ride in the back seat. It is the request of the hospital and his surgeon that told me it must be disconnected, How ever if the dog is in the back seat that presents another problem! I want to do whatever it takes so that he can heal correctly and safely! If I find a way to get it: disconnected will post the info for others in these same shoes. :bluejump:
 
snomobile said:
Thanks!!
We thought of that as well just ride in the back seat. It is the request of the hospital and his surgeon that told me it must be disconnected, How ever if the dog is in the back seat that presents another problem! I want to do whatever it takes so that he can heal correctly and safely! If I find a way to get it: disconnected will post the info for others in these same shoes. :bluejump:
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just unplug it. you will have an air bag light on your dash. its a small red light which isnt annoying to see during night driving as would a yellow one (ex check engine light. it will set a trouble code for open circuit on passenger airbag in the airbag ecu but will not cause harm to the system itself. dont do it with the key on at all. repair manual usually tells you to disconnect the negative on the battery when doing so but i never have.
 
heres a small pic for you
 

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you may not have to disconnect both connectors on the side of airbag but the main connector that they both lead to.

this will require glovebox removal
 

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snomobile said:
How ever if the dog is in the back seat that presents another problem!
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How so? Put the dog in the 'dog pound' (far back) where he belongs! I would NOT disconnect the airbag, just have him ride in back.

What if you ever take anyone else for a ride in the 4R and the air bag is disabled during a cash, yikes! This is not something you will be turning on/off a few times a day with the complexity of it.

I would strongly suggest getting a 2nd and 3rd opinion before disabling the airbag if you are dead set on it.

This thread gives me the chills!
 
I am impressed there is a way! many people look (for other cars) but seems there is never a way to do so.

Now that it has been established it can be done, I wonder about any liability type items that would occur if something were to happen.

But despite what the doc said, the seat belt will put much more pressure than the airbag, the seat belt would be my concern, I guess you could just do without the cross strap part of it.
 
I'm wondering what the nationality of the physician was. In a lot of other countries there is a switch that allows you to turn off the front passenger airbag because of baby carriers that are placed in the front seat. I think every modern car in the European market is required to have that feature. Of course that doesn't cover the seat mounted SIDE airbags that the OP is referring to but, I'm not quite sure how those would play a role?

Either way, moving the patient to the back seat would be an option that doesnt require messing with the connectors in the car which would be a MAJOR issue in case of accident litigation in this country (USA).

All interesting food for thought.. glad to hear the OP hubby is doing well though.

Okki
 
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You will want to follow the service manual procedure for disconnecting the air bag - as in disconnect the battery for a few minutes. The airbag sensors and circuits are live whether the car is running or not, and they have a tendency to go off if tampered with while under power.

The other option: bypass the passenger present sensor to make it believe there isn't anyone sitting there. This will also turn off the knee and the side airbags on that side.

Okki said:
I'm wondering what the nationality of the physician was. In a lot of other countries there is a switch that allows you to turn off the front passenger airbag because of baby carriers that are placed in the front seat. I think every modern car in the European market is required to have that feature. Of course that doesn't cover the seat mounted SIDE airbags that the OP is referring to but, I'm not quite sure how those would play a role?

Either way, moving the patient to the back seat would be an option that doesnt require messing with the connectors in the car which would be a MAJOR issue in case of accident litigation in this country (USA).

All interesting food for thought.. glad to hear the OP hubby is doing well though.

Okki
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Outside of northern Europe and north America, wearing a seatbelt while a passenger is taken as an insult to the driving skill of the driver.

In the US, yes, never underestimate peoples' willingness to try to make others pay for their own bad decisions.
 
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jessandjamie said:
This may sound dumb but is there a fuse you could just pull? Its the wifes car and shes not home right now to check.
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It's usually the ECU main fuse. The vehicle won't run right without it.

Also think about whether you want EVERYONE in the car to have higher chance of injury in a collision, as opposed to just one passenger. Just sayin'.
 
wonder what kinda implications disabling the airbag would have in the event of an accident?

say, if the air bag was disabled and the person was injured. i don't suppose insurance would cover his or her claim and pay for the medical associated with said injury?
 
Theslammer21 said:
im sure you could unplug the yellow connector under the seat in which would not see the occupant classification sensor.
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I haven't taken the time to look it up (nor will I ), but I'm betting the default is "airbag on" if you disconnect that plug.
 
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