What is this warning light?

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Care, Maintenance & Troubleshooting' started by lex, Dec 21, 2023.

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  1. lex

    lex 2005 Prius, always garaged

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    Getting around to calling additional shops now, but it's late. Not sure if Midas goes into such repairs. The rental is a sensible solution, given our options at this stage.
     
    #21 lex, Dec 22, 2023
  2. rjparker

    rjparker Tu Humilde Sirviente

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    You need an independent shop, not a franchise. Ideally a shop that specializes in hybrids even if it is a low overhead place because they would have Techstream and often have parts cars.

    Sams hybrid specialist.jpeg
     
    #22 rjparker, Dec 22, 2023
    Last edited: Dec 22, 2023
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  3. lex

    lex 2005 Prius, always garaged

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    We managed to find and visit such an independent shop specializing in hybrids this morning, one of two in the city. I shared our diagnostic, code 55, but when connected to their code reader it was something different – see attached photo (if it uploads). First they thought it was a driver's side air bag and it seemed he was indicating on the left side of the seat, lumbar height. He ran codes on a second device and began pushing forcefully down on passenger side seat – maybe only the passenger side, I'm not sure. Then the airbag warning light went off. He offered up that seat leather hardens over so many years and interferes with the mechanism. Applying leather conditioner to soften it is recommended. I'll add that once done with that he said $100 for the diagnostic, then, a moment later, "It's christmas, no charge."

    But I'm concerned about the apparent discrepancy between what we determined here on the forum and what the shop found.

    Update: The photos of their diagnostic readers show: DTC, B182 ("side squib, right...."); and the second reader: B1801/51, but I'm not sure if he was scrolling through at that point. He also checked out the tire pressure sensors by tapping a device to the side of the tire and shared that the driver's side tire sensors are the ones that are out.

    Thoughts?
     
    #23 lex, Dec 23, 2023
    Last edited: Dec 23, 2023
  4. ChapmanF

    ChapmanF Senior Member

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    Woop, my bad; that was right. I glanced too quickly in the manual for the 55 codes and saw "Front Driver Side" and just automatically thought the main "driver side" airbag, the one in the wheel. But your technician was right, those codes are for the driver "side airbag"—the one that lives in the outboard edge of the driver seat back. The bag in the wheel would have been 51 or 53 (it has two squibs, for high or low force).

    Sorry for steering you wrong, and glad the technician checked again. (This kind of thing is why I so often try to get people to look in the manual—Toyota Service Information and Where To Find It | PriusChat—and not just count on me not having goofed.)

    Ok, that's weird, the passenger seat, you say? That should've been 56. (I double-checked this time!)

    There isn't really a 'mechanism' to the airbag squibs that the hardened leather would affect. They just sit there for years doing nothing, or go boom when the ECU says to. There may be an electrical connector plugged in there, and maybe the hardening leather puts some cockeyed force on it? Seems a way they would have avoided building it, though.

    Anyway, if the code doesn't come back, so far so good. If it does come back, I would just focus on the tests in the manual for that "side airbag".

    Again, sorry I mistook driver "side airbag" for "driver side" airbag.
     
    #24 ChapmanF, Dec 23, 2023
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  5. lex

    lex 2005 Prius, always garaged

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    I saw him pressing on that outboard edge of the driver's seat back and the passenger seat bottom. 'Mechanism' wasn't the right word choice, but yes, he's asserting that the hardened leather interferes with the forces involved. I'll go ahead and clean the seats then soften the leather with Mcguiar's leather conditioner (surprisingly never applied to the seats in the car's life to date).

    I'll move this to another thread, but am curious on two points: what to use to clean light tan leather before conditioning; and for the two defective tire pressure sensors, is that something I can order online and then take to Costco or a tire shop for the install?

    Happy holidays…
     
    #25 lex, Dec 23, 2023
  6. rjparker

    rjparker Tu Humilde Sirviente

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    In my area Costco charges $60 per sensor, parts, labor and setup, installed. A day of two ago someone claimed Walmart provided one installed for $30.

    It is possible to buy sensors online and have a local tire shop install them. I paid $15 each for the physical installation. It is important to write down each serial number.

    With Techstream you can then write the specific serial numbers in but finding a tire shop with the Toyota write (relearn) capability at a good price will probably send you to Costco. Autel sells some TPMS scanners/relearn devices but they are several hundred or more.

    Either way it’s far less than a dealer charges.

    Autel TPMS Scanner/Relearn


    TPMS Sensors I Use for Toyota 4 for $36
    Amazon.com: ACLONG TPMS Tire Pressure Sensor for Toyota Lexus Scion, 315MHz TPS Tire Pressure Monitoring System Sensors Carmy Corolla Highlander Sienna Replacement PMV-107J, 42607-33011, 42607-33021, 4 PCS : Automotive

    Techstream Screen with Unique IDs /Serial Numbers
     
    #26 rjparker, Dec 23, 2023
    Last edited: Dec 23, 2023
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  7. lex

    lex 2005 Prius, always garaged

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    Imagine that Costco or Walmart would require we purchase the sensors through them that they install, however, that's really a great deal at the latter. Either way, I believe the dealership may have quoted >$500 some time ago, which put us in the camp of we'll-just-monitor-it-with-a-tire-pressure-g gauge.
     
    #27 lex, Dec 23, 2023
  8. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    i never cared about tpms when it was just a warning light, but now that our cars show individual tire pressures, i like it.
     
    #28 bisco, Dec 24, 2023
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  9. lex

    lex 2005 Prius, always garaged

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    Which model year did individual warnings for each specific tire appear, or do you mean there's an actual readout from the cabin as to what each tire's pressure is at? That would indeed be nice. Ours is 2010, trim level V.
     
    #29 lex, Dec 24, 2023
  10. ChapmanF

    ChapmanF Senior Member

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    Even in the 2010 the sensors transmit the actual pressure and temperature from inside the tires. It's just the display that only gives you one dumb yellow light.

    A suitable OBD-II device, like a ScanGauge II with recent-enough firmware, can give you an in-cabin display of the pressures.
     
    #30 ChapmanF, Dec 24, 2023
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  11. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    It didn’t on my 2012, but on our 2024 hycam, there’s a screen on the display behind the steering wheel that shows all four tires and the pressure in each, and it’s accurate according to my gauge.
    I know Toyota has had it in different models over the years, but I’m not sure if/when Prius got it
     
    #31 bisco, Dec 24, 2023
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