Air bag sensor recall for 2016 Prius

The recall letter was a bit odd.

At a quick glance I thought they wanted me to bring my car in. Then reading it more slowly it sounded like they only want me to come in it the warning light does not operate properly.

In otherwords they might fix it for free if the warning light stops working, otherwise they might charge me for the inspection?

Not exactly how I would have written the letter, but I am sure a great deal of thought went into it.

Excepts below.

———————————————————————————————
What should you do?

<snip>

This is an important Safety Recall

If the Airbag Warning Light (1) does not illuminate or (2) illuminates or remains illuminated after the few second check period, your front or side/curtain airbags may not operate in a crash. Please contact your local authorized Toyota dealer promptly for diagnosis and appropriate repair. If the warning lamp illumination is related to the condition covered by this Safety Recall, the inspection and potential repair will be performed at no charge to you.

 

Looks like recall timing was good for my January 2016 purchase with 75k on the odometer.

My airbag light is now stuck on — I think this just started, but I suppose I could have not noticed it being on for a while.

 

Is there a time limit to bring it in or we can wait say 10 more years then do it?

 

Not sure but the letter shared by Electro said the Toyota will absorb $250 towards towing (I imagine this is so their customers will not be forced to drive to the dealer with this defect) so you could wait until you get a flat tire and then call the dealer to send a truck for free and have them fix your air bags and tire at the same time.

 

You’re driving a Toyota, not a Lexus so more than likely “hell no”. I don’t think they even gives you a loaner for your inconvenience.
I’m planning to wait a bit for others to get theirs fix first. Hopefully by that time there will be plenty inventory so the dealer won’t be telling me “have to order the parts” like the parking brake recall.

 

Surprised me too — but the letter to the dealer said that they would not only cover the tow, but reimburse $35 per day for a rental.

My concern is that this will require one visit for the diagnosis, and a second for them to bring in the parts.

Balancing the possible risk to my life for airbag issuesvs the risk of driving 2x to the dealer plus lost time make me wonder if your 10 year time frame makes sense.

 

Good advise. Since my airbag warning light is staying on now, I plan to take it.

 

On the contrary, I’d wait awhile for the tech to know exactly what he is doing after doing 10, 20...then you bring it in. You don’t want to be the first in line.

 

But you do not want the airbag system to malfunction without you knowing either.

 

Not possible. Think about what you’re saying

 

I meant before a crash. Obviously if they did not deploy during a crash and you survived, you would know.
If you did not survive, your family would be the ones regretting that the system malfunctioned.

 

I visited the dealer on this earlier today.

First off, my airbag warning light never stayed on.

Fortunately I figured this out before embarrassing myself at the dealership.

Unfortuantely, my normal reticence does not apply on Prius Chat so I will embarrass myself here.

So here goes: 99% of the time my dash shows an orange light saying Air Bag Off. Why the word “Passenger” is not illuminated, God only knows. But let that be.

Anyway, the day I got my recall notice I had my wife in the passenger seat so (naturally) the Air Bag On light lit up in scary red.

You can guess what happens next. Confirmation Bias reared it’s ugly head and I panicked!!!!!

Took me days to figure out why that “warning” light never went back on.

ANYWAY...

The dealers need to test the car with special software (thanks for the documentation E-Genie) before they will even order parts.

My car showed a clean bill of health and I was sent on my merry way.

 

The Passenger sign is not lit much like the radio button names are not lit on my Trim 2.

 

I took my car in to the dealership today for the airbag sensor recall. They checked it out and found the sensor to be trouble-free - NOT an issue. I am now recall-free!