Is it possible to drive rig without the passenger seat?

[masphx]

Sounds like a dumb question but I'm concerned about the airbag system. Im sure the seat is hooked up to that sensor and driving without the seat might trigger a warning.

I have an arb fridge i would like to attempt to mount in that area where the seat now sits.

 

[AuSeeker]

I don't know the answer to your question for sure if the airbag warning would trigger if the seat pressure sensor was unplugged, but one way to find out is to unplug the connector and see.

 

[Ed_C]

There's a seat sensor, it's basically a simple weight-activated switch. You could probably leave it unplugged since the seatbelt and airbag ECUs will just assume nobody is sitting there.

Isn't there an airbag in the seat though? With that bypassed you will definitely get a airbag code or two. Doing so may cause the passenger side curtain airbag to not deploy during an accident. There is a way around it, but you will need a good multimeter or access to the service manual to get resistance values of certain components.

 

[970mtnrunner]

I used to do this a lot when I had an 05 Tacoma, but never tried it in my 4runner.
I would take the passenger seat out on long road trips with my 110lb chocolate lab to give him some more room. Had the airbag light on the dash when the seat was out. Went away when i put the seat back in. Have no idea if it deactivated the whole system or just passenger side.

 

[TheFauxFox]

Since OP has an 03 chances are he doesn't have any seat mounted side airbags. You can check if you do by looking on the outside front seat bolsters, if you have a tag saying something like "SRS Airbag" then you got 'em.

Removing the seat doesn't deactivate the whole system, the light lights up to tell you that something is wrong with the airbag system, not to tell you that the airbags are deactivated. In the case of a crash my guess is the passenger airbag won't go off at all because the system isn't getting a reading from the seat weight sensor. I wouldn't be worried, OP. :thumb:

 

[hearno]

Yea if the SRS light is on, those other bags aren't going to deploy. That has always been my understanding. It's a red light and not amber for a reason.

Supplemental Restraint System (SRS) Warning Light

 

[masphx]

Unfortunately it does say srs side airbag on the side of the seat. Stupid loaded Limiteds. So i guess my plan of a fridge in the spot of the seat is dead unless i want to drive without airbags (which i dont).

 

[masphx]

Bumping this as Im considering this again. Remove the seat and put an arb fridge in its place for a three week road trip.

 

[Auditechnician]

The dash warning will come on dash. The PODs (passenger occupancy detection system) is monitored by the airbag control module, as is the side airbag. The function of the dash mounted passenger airbag will be turned off. The remaining airbags in the vehicle SHOULD remain operative....however I’m not a Toyota tech, so I’m not 100percent sure if that’s Toyota’s deployment strategy. Please don’t use my info as gospel. Additionally the removal of the seat may set a hard fault that would need to be cleared by Toyota or some higher function professional scan tool, even after the seat is reinstalled. There may also be a plug in “bypass” as would be used by a dealership for diagnosis, or a bypass “emulator” such as the one listed in this link for a BMW https://www.youcanic.com/guide/bmw-passenger-seat-mat-occupancy-sensor-bypass

 

[A/V1]

Since OP has an 03 chances are he doesn't have any seat mounted side airbags. You can check if you do by looking on the outside front seat bolsters, if you have a tag saying something like "SRS Airbag" then you got 'em.

I don't know why you're saying because it's an '03 he probably doesn't have seat mounted airbags. I've got an '03 and I've got airbags in the seats. It even has power windows! :biggrin2:

 

[woodman60]

Sounds like a dumb question but I'm concerned about the airbag system. Im sure the seat is hooked up to that sensor and driving without the seat might trigger a warning.

I have an arb fridge i would like to attempt to mount in that area where the seat now sits.

I had my passenger seat out of my 2005 SR5 for several days when I was letting the carpet dry out. Passenger airbag light comes on, but did not need to be reset. Once the seat was back in everything was normal again.

 

[masphx]

Woodman60. So you have airbags on the side of your seat?

Anyway, thanks for all the advice. I decided to keep the seat in and just set my arb fridge on top of it. Easy.

 

[Johns06yota]

Woodman60. So you have airbags on the side of your seat?

Anyway, thanks for all the advice. I decided to keep the seat in and just set my arb fridge on top of it. Easy.

There is a way around it from what I’ve heard. I know of some people on YouTube that so the other airbags were still usable they took several resistors and put in place of the connector until they had a new airbag. It seems to trick the system into thinking there is something there when there isn’t

 

[TheFauxFox]

I don't know why you're saying because it's an '03 he probably doesn't have seat mounted airbags. I've got an '03 and I've got airbags in the seats. It even has power windows! :biggrin2:

They were an option from 03-07 and standard from 08+, when I was looking for my runner it was damn hard for me to find any with the SAB's at all, and especially from 03 and 04. Not a lot of early adopters it seemed... Just anecdotal evidence though