How to disable seat belt chimes

This ^....takes 10 minutes. Theres a thread on here with step by step directions. It is permanent unless you solder it back on.

 

i was just reasoning to a post. a bit extreme, yea. i am like you i want to disable at my discretion, like the minute i pull into a parking lot and have to back into a parking space. i do not need that strap in my way nor do i need the beep beep.

 

So, I hate for this to be my first post, but what is the forum for if not to get community help to solve the problem.

I am not interested in debating the dealership about why I want it disabled, but for the sake of the community here I will offer my explanation.

1. I work out of my truck, and that means conference calls etc.
- I generally pull over when the conversation requires thought that would distract me.
- In this scenario, I do not want the chime to to ring when I unbuckle to reach into the back seat or what not. It is a fair and just reason and none of the dealer's business.
- I am also concerned that if I load the back seat or passenger seat with something, it may trigger a seat belt alarm. This is intolerable, but as I have had the truck for a week, no one seems to be able to explain how it all works.

2. I have a neck condition that prevents me from looking over my shoulder to back up.
- The camera works well sometimes other times it is a washed out mess. I must unbuckle to look behind me.
- This is a real issue for me. Again, none of the dealership's business.

3. Toyota is cheating the system.
- For all the talk about (its the law), and whatever garbage the tech adviser spews about why they can't, Toyota receives 2+ point lift for having a disable feature on the NHTSA's rating system. They are gaming the system because having a policy where dealerships can opt out means they should not be given this high of rating. This is a very very big deal and a huge no, no. I finally have it in writing that Toyota lets dealers decide and this will retro actively drop the Tacoma, and 4Runner from the highest level.

4. The NHTSA uses this system and has conducted numerous studies.
- Their opinion is that user annoyance is a real concern, and the danger to users permanently altering the vehicle with seat belt alteration, speaker removal, etc. poses a much higher risk to safety than simply allowing user choice.
- They also hypothesized that users will opt for vehicles with lower ratings if it means less annoyance.
- The big one that got me is that a user disable feature, can be turned on if situations change, the vehicle changes hands etc.

There is a good article for anyone who is interested, or if you cant sleep, this will help.
https://www.nhtsa.gov/sites/nhtsa.dot.gov/files/811097.pdf

 

So....

At my 10,000 mile service I asked the dealer to turn off the driver AND passenger seat belt warning sounds and also set the turn signal flash count to 6 instead of the default 3 flashes. The service advisor said he wasn't sure if turning off the seat belt chime was a setting they could change, and I assured them it was an option on their programming system. When the service was complete I was pleasantly informed that they DID TURN OFF BOTH CHIMES. They were actually surprised when they realized they had that option but they NEVER suggested that they would not do it. I'm really liking my Toyota dealer and their service department!

 

I think comparing the act of disabling a chime with disabling the belt itself doesn't represent the same risk. Does your state require use of seatbelts? If yes, then the reminding chine is just a reminder.

 

Disabling an airbag or seatbelt is disabling a safety device, diabling a chime that warns you to use a safety device is disabling a chime. Not the same

 

Hey dude who is buying my truck, I turned off the seatbelt chime, so visit the dealer to turn it back on .

Dude who is buying my truck, "Why the hell would I do that"?

 

Dealer: "For liability reasons we can't turn it off".
Me: ."For liability reasons you can't charge to turn it on"

 

You don't need a dealer to do this. The Carista app or TechStream will do this at home for you. If you already have a BT OBD adapter, you can get a limited free subscription to Carista, disable both, customize all the other settings, and be done before you were done typing that post?

If you are in the Seattle area, I have a Carista subscription for a couple more weeks and would do it for free.

 

Nice write up OP. No one wants a seat-belt chime. Only an idiot would care if it broke.

 

I think I've said before that I would do this for free for South Carolina peeps near Florence using Techstream.