Getting Rid of the Seat Belt Chime

[LWN]

First off don't flame me for defeating a safety feature, the blinking lights on the dash serve that purpose just fine and less annoyingly. My 4th Gen did not have an audible warning (just the lights) and I lived through 120K miles of driving it.

I tried all of the recipes for disabling the audible seat belt chime on other threads without success. Finally, I called the dealer's service dept, the good news is they said that if the manual lists it as "customizable" they will do it, the bad news is that they wanted $52.80 to turn the key and punch a few buttons in the secret sequence. The service guy suggested that I talk to my salesman to get it done for free. The sales manager setup an appointment for tomorrow morning. We'll see how it goes and if I can learn anything about the process.

I asked my dealer to disbale the seatbelt chime before I took delivery - no problem, no questions asked, they just handled it. I'm sure most dealers will do it for a nominal cost, if not for free, as it is a customizable setting.

 

[mrslate63]

I asked my dealer this morning about this, and he said it CAN be done, but they wouldn't do it citing liability concerns. Guess I can't blame them.

Mine said the same thing. I call BS. Why would Toyota make it a programming option if there was a liability concern. Any lawsuit would fall right back in Toyota's lap for allowing it to be an option.

It has to be THE most annoying seat belt reminder chime I have ever heard. Heck it would be a better horn than the OEM version!

 

[nashman69g]

Show them the f-ing owners manual...If it's in there, they should do it. I think they just are spouting off BS to avoid doing anything!! Just getting a little raged by these A-holes.:rant:

 

[philsey]

...... It has to be THE most annoying seat belt reminder chime I have ever heard.

+1 On a recent road trip the wifey kept getting stuff from the back seat, requiring she undo her SB. Man!! Like to drive me ape sh*t.

...... Heck it would be a better horn than the OEM version!

Now that's funny right there.

 

[chmura]

I had a 2007 Lexis IS250 and I disabled the audible seat belt chime after 2 weeks of ownership. It was a special sequence you had to do. I'm pretty sure the 2010 4runner has a special sequence also. Someone just needs to ask the dealer and post it on here. Its not worth paying for, it takes less then 1 minute to do.

 

[FlyNavy]

I had it disabled in combination with the first oil change. No questions, comments or additional charge.

 

[I AM SAM]

Denver Dealership did mine for 55 and I also had them turn off the lock and unlock beep when you hit the keyless remote….sneeky sneeky

 

[mpaquette]

I've never heard mine make the seatbelt noise. Does it have to be in drive to make the noise?

 

[semperfly]

dealer here in northwest florida would not remove my seatbelt chime for "liability reasons"

 

[Ryan_S]

dealer here in northwest florida would not remove my seatbelt chime for "liability reasons"

What is wrong with people these days?

Stupid person to dealer that disabled the chime: "OMG I didn't wear my seatbelt because it didn't remind me, now I'm dead. That is YOUR fault!"

Helpful, newly jaded, dealer: "Well then, I'm never helping people again. I'm going to make up some BS policy that will cover my a$$."

:redbrick::redbrick::redbrick::redbrick::redbrick::redbrick::redbrick::redbrick:

 

[mikeync]

Well I am one of those with a dealer that refuses to turn off the Seat Belt Chime. It is especially annoying as if you put anything in the passenger seat (front) -- I know I know but that is my problem -- then it goes off as well......

So dealer said we need Toyota's approval. Toyota didn't reply to my first email so I wrote again earlier this week.

Bad news - the reply sucks. For those of you that have had your dealers do it - congrats. For the rest of us - SOL

We are sorry for any confusion or misunderstanding regarding the information found in your 2010 4Runner Owner's Manual. The customization feature for disabling the seat belt warning buzzer is only available for Canadian vehicles. Toyota may not assist with disabling the seat belt buzzer for U.S. vehicle as it is a safety feature for the U.S.

 

[nashman69g]

well that just blows...

 

[Tgrds]

Denver Dealership did mine for 55 and I also had them turn off the lock and unlock beep when you hit the keyless remote….sneeky sneeky

+1

LOl... as a follow up to my post earlier in this thread. I just had the local North Idaho dealer shut off both the driver and passenger side seat belt chimes, as well as, the chimes for remote lock and unlocking of the doors. No charge for this and complementary car wash thrown in as well. :thumb3:

I do feel bad for you guys in those not so friendly states/dealer...! :ybrick:

 

[pinktaco]

still no DIY way?! is it even possible to do it yourself like the older toyotas / scions?

 

[NYOH55]

still no DIY way?! is it even possible to do it yourself like the older toyotas / scions?

I don't think there is, the guy at my dealership had to link into the cars computer to make the changes.

I would recommended trying a different dealership, ask for a technician and try to get him to do it on the side. I asked for some other customizable options first while sitting in the car with the tech, and then showed him the seatbelt chime option in the manual and he did it for me.

 

[Mtn.Rush]

still no DIY way?! is it even possible to do it yourself like the older toyotas / scions?

Nope Dealer only.

 

[mikey's2010SR5]

I just wait till it goes off by itself. takes about 20 seconds

 

[nah2323]

We need to source the program somehow. I have the full BMW setup here, can do all of this stuff at home on my laptop. I'd love to be able to have that same functionality with my Toyotas

 

[SeattleMike]

We need to source the program somehow. I have the full BMW setup here, can do all of this stuff at home on my laptop. I'd love to be able to have that same functionality with my Toyotas

You need Techstream Lite.

Techstream Lite allows Techstream diagnostic software to run on your PC (see minimum PC requirements) to service Toyota, Scion, and Lexus vehicles. Techstream Lite is an inexpensive alternative to the full TIS techstream system and provides factory level support for Toyota/Scion/Lexus vehicles.

and $995 for a yearly Professional subscription :cheers:

 

[RNA352]

On behalf of a friend, I asked the service manager at my local dealership last summer if they'd be willing to disable the chimes on a highlander. The response was "We can't, it's against the law."

Then last week when I was negotiating deal I told the salesman that having those chimes turned off was a precondition of me buying from them - he ran back to Service and upon return the reponse was "Not a Problem!"

In retrospect, I probably should have gotten authorization to disable in writing. It's a shame that this topic even has to exist.