AIR BAG Warning??

I have a 2005 tacoma,this morning when i started the truck a redl ight came on in the Tachometer,looks like the guy seatbelted in and a red circle in front of his face,im assuming this is a air bag light,does any one know for sure,ever have the same light come on in your truck,what did you do to fix it, maintainance time? If i dont take it to the stealership right away will it blow up in my face,thanks for any info any one can provide,

 

I have the same problem and took it to toyota but they wana charge me 100 bucks to diagnos the problem then charge me even more to fix it

 

Sadly when the airbag light comes on the system needs attention, obviously, but also it most likely will not work when the light is on.

The airbag light is one of the only lights you can't clear with a reset of the codes or disconnecting the battery. You could pull the light itself ...

It's one of the only things I wouldn't mind paying for. Going solo in a truck without the airbags is one thing but I would feel terrible putting anyone in the passenger seat, or my kids in the back without the side curtains (2009)

 

I agree fightnfire,i was just courious if any one has had the light come on and what was the cure and cost to fix it,

PS i live one mile from Marysville, ......................California.

 

Damn you clock-spring!

 

x2, and if that's it, start saving up. From what I've read from others, it's not a cheap fix.

 

It is a chronic failure on all Tacomas (it seems)... This is a true defective part, unlike the stupid gas pedal chop they are hounding us all to do.

 

Truck is going into the stealer ship friday $395 for parts and labor,i was told if the light is on then your air bags will not deploy in the case of an accident,im fixing mine.

 

I just had my clocksprinf fixed the other day. $80 for the diagnostic,$300 for parts and labor. Luckily i have a badass extended warranty and only had to pay my $100 deductible.

fun fact...I paid $2100 for my aftermarket extended warrant and have had $2300 in repairs. even with all of my $100 deductiles i came out ahead. Ive had alot of shit fixed.

 

Thanks wippersnapper for that info, ,mine is at the dealer now and they called , total price to repiar is $480,im not sure if ill have them do it or im going to call an independant mechanic shop,, and to those who have the airbag redlight on in your dash, when it is on your air bag systen is not working and will not deploy if in an accident,

 

Back in 2008 or ? when my 2005 Tacoma's light came on, my dealer said they could not guarantee the air bags would work, if the light is on... safe answer... Thety never said for sure it wouldn't work.

You see the wires are damaged in the steering column, but are they just sensor wires or do they actually have anything to do with the air bag working in a collision?

 

woah wait a min this is just stupid.

they were never deployed and yet they now, all of a sudden, don't work?

sounds like a faulty module, could be wrong though

 

I dont know enough about what the spiral cable does with the air bags,i just know they told me when your light is on the air bags wont deploy,so im having mine changed,although i left it at the dealer all day and they said they would have it done before 5 pm , they didnt,.if they dont do it tommarrow ill find another mechanic and the price went up on me because of the diagnostic. I had told them i read that its the spiral cable/clock spring,the service guy said well then ill change that , but asked me if i wanted it to be diagnosed, i told him if you can make the light go out and the air bags work by taking a tire off of it ill be satisfied,other wise maybe you should diagnose it and fix it right, Im not having a good day lol.

 

I just got a quote for a Clock Spring (also known as the Spiral Cable) from TRDparts.com. If you fill in your VIN number they can identify the exact clock Spring. The one for my 2006 TR5 doublecab, 6 cyl, is $215 U.S. (ompared to a $500+ price quoted by my Canadian Toyota Dealer!!!). Plus the dealer wanted $170 labour, but if you search out the forum on "Airbag Light on" go to the second page and look up the "FBConvert" article he gives very detailed instructions on removing the wheel and getting the Clock spring out.
I am going to try it, and see if I have to replace the Clock Spring - I was pulling on some of the plugs behind the blanks on my dash looking for Fog Light plugs, and have a faint hope that i might have just unplugged the Clock Spring - I doubt it, but if I can prove that I can do it myself, at least when I get the clock spring I'll know what I'm doing!!!
Will keep you posted...

 

I emailed my dealers service rep. about this. Mine's been doing the same thing. They tried to fix it twice & both times they said nothing was wrong when they checked it out. After emailing a link from this forum the cable was ordered.

 

Hey ya'll! Airbag warning went on in our truck on an airport run...called the Lake Charles dealer and some idiot woman ( I am a woman) told me to PULL OVER IMMEDIATELY and get the truck TOWED to the dealership. She advised that my airbag could deploy at any time...obviously, I continued driving my husband to the airport in HOuston and called the national Toyota 1-800 and was told that the bag WOULD NOT deploy but to get into a dealer and have them plug it up and diagnose the sensor...so, passed a dealership in Baytown, TX and googled and called in and got Shane in Service at Community Toyota. SHane is a gem. Shane scheduled an appointment and after I pitched Lovee out in the International Departures curb at IAH, I booked it back to Baytown and tossed the keys to Shane. Shane plugged me up and told me it looks like a spiral cable. He instructed me to take the diagnosis to Lake Charles Toyota and have them order the part and do the service. So this is when it gets RICH...call into Lake Charles Toyota who REFUSE to accept the diagnosis that was done at the authorized certified whatever dealership in Baytown--wanted me to pay for ANOTHER diagnosis (Baytown was free) and then quoted me $100 MORE than what Baytown wanted....Needless to say, I am driving 1hour, 45 minutes to Baytown and having Community perform the service Friday...But I find it amazing that I am seeing and hearing about these sensors failing and it makes you think that there is a problem here, as my airbag has never been deployed and why would something like that fail? No one can answer my question, but the service and the people in Lake Charles leave sooooooooooooo much to be desired. We purchased and extended maintenance program for our Taco in NC and EVERY TIME we go in for oil change and, when needed, tire rotation, they look at the little coupon from our book and immediately say they cannot honor this...we ALWAYS end up standing there when I tell them to make a phone call and after anywhere from 15-45 minutes later, I get to leave the dealership...(Can't CALL when the truck is being serviced to confirm all this...nope! Have to waste MORE of my time and do it when I am STANDING THERE!!!) and am handed a laundry list of crazy crap that they say is URGENT--like $168 to change in interior cab air filter..so lesson learned, when it quacks like a duck....shop around and check other dealerships--free diagnosis for a sensor is huge and I will never buy or do business with any dealership who charges for this...tell you what--treat me nice, diagnose the problem for "free", EARN my trust and business and the layer in the damn DIAGNOSIS FEE in the final bill....but to have to come off the hip to then get socked with a $400 air bag sensor replacement is insult to injury....and to be told to PULL OVER IMMEDIATELY AS THE AIR BAG COULD GO OFF (Deploy was too much of a word for her) AT ANY TIME IS simply ridiculous and I do not appreciate hysteria and scare tactics....thoughts? comments??

 

William & Sarah, welcome to the wonderful world of mixed messages!!!
To me, in an ideal world, Toyota would consider a recall on airbag Spiral Cables (aka Clock Springs) based on so many faulty ones, and the inherent danger that this failure causes (although not to the degree of potentially deploying at any second).
Then, their next step should be to send out a directive to all dealerships setting the procedure for diagnostic services (either free or not free, but at least consistent); then fix a price for their parts so that we know that a Toyota part is the same price in any part of the Country; and also that there are standard "book rates" for speciifc jobs.
OK now I will return to my naive belief that there really is an easter bunny, and that it's the tooth fairy who keeps stealing granny's false teeth and leaving $32.00 in the jar on her bedside table!!!
Cheers everyone...

 

My dealer replaced my spiral cable today under warranty on my 09Tacoma Sport SR5. I see no difference in the airbag light display. It was dim before the cable was replaced, still dim. Dealer states they cleared the codes. How do i know if everything is working correctly? Twice before they checked the codes, cleared them & said everything was fine. Prior to this the passenger light would come on intermittently

 

sounds like a clock spring, ~$500 fix ($250 part, $250 install). pretty shitty, but nobodys found a real way around it yet and you kinda just gotta bite the bullet if you want your airbags working.

 

As you've seen, this is a problem with MANY tacos. There's a 90% chance it's the clock spring. If you have some ability, you can change it yourself (I need to change mine and will when I get the gumption). part is around $250 at the dealer, haven't found an aftermarket replacement yet.