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side air bags

Discussion in 'Generation 1 Prius Discussion' started by ronlewis, Jan 27, 2024.

  1. ronlewis

    ronlewis Active Member

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    Well, heck, last month I didn't even know side air bags was an option on these cars, and now I see that one of my cars has them. The only way to tell that I noticed, if the little sticker is gone, is by the thicker yellow cable underneath. Seeing that, I think I've seen it before on one or more of the other Prii I've had. Dang it, I've probably thrown some away. I bet they're worth money. Anyone ever try to swap them over to another car?

    Ditto with the nav systems. I've had cars, thrown away cars without checking. Now, I know that there's a box under the passenger seat, and I've think I've seen one of those before too.

    LOL. Of course, no one cares about the nav systems, but a collector might. The buttons on the dash are useless otherwise. I have touchscreens too, but you can't replace them without breaking the dash.
     
    #1 ronlewis, Jan 27, 2024
  2. Tombukt2

    Tombukt2 Senior Member

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    I'm not sure about the Gen 1 but in the generation two the side airbags they're right there in the a pillars You just popped that piece of plastic off when you're changing the dash pad to do the speedometer or the CM monitor and the airbags are staring at you they're white they're held on with one or two 10 mm bolts and the cord with the yellow plug on the end so yes they will unplug and you can put them in the tool box in the shop or throw them on the floor and when you find a car that for some reason you think you want to put side air curtains on they will bolt in whether the plug will be there not as the next part of the journey but where they mount to there's always that threaded boss or two there for them to screw into but the car may or may not have the plugs in that area for the side curtains.
     
    #2 Tombukt2, Jan 27, 2024
  3. ChapmanF

    ChapmanF Senior Member

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    Sounds like you're thinking of the side curtain airbags. I don't think Gen 1 had those.

    Later years of Gen 1 did have side airbags, which are under the upholstery of the front seat backs.

    Later generations have those too.
     
    #3 ChapmanF, Jan 27, 2024
  4. Tombukt2

    Tombukt2 Senior Member

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    So the ones in the seat are actually the side airbags are curtains or what have you Cool well you're not going to really change those out because they're going to tear the seats up when they go off right? That's why these things don't get mitigated because once you need new seat upholstery and all this and that that's generally worth more than the car is I remember one time working at the dealer we had to get a seat for a celica GTS baby supra . That seat was about $4,000 and it had no airbags in it or nothing was like a Japanese copy of a modular recaro seat of the time which is about 1985.
     
    #4 Tombukt2, Jan 27, 2024
  5. ChapmanF

    ChapmanF Senior Member

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    The ones in the seat backs are called the side airbags.

    The ones running from the A pillars up into the roof over the doors, those are called the side curtain airbags.
     
    #5 ChapmanF, Jan 27, 2024
  6. ronlewis

    ronlewis Active Member

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    Did they make side curtain airbags for Gen1s? I didn't know either existed until reading here, then discovered one of my cars has the side bags, and I thought I'd seen the yellow cable on another(s) car and not noticed what it meant. I pretty much always pull the seats when I detail these cars. Sure enough, someone I sold one to came by for a replacement taillight, and while chatting with her, I noticed the "side air bag" sticker on her driver's seat. I should have charged her another few dollars for that car. And she dented the bumper! Grrrrrrr.

    I was trying to see if it was feasible to swap these seats into another car. Looks like there's a side sensor under the pillar trip, but I don't know what else, or how the wiring works. I also know where some seats with side bags are, but the fabric is pretty dirty. I wonder how hard it would be to swap the bag hardware or cushions, or anything to make those work.
     
    #6 ronlewis, Feb 10, 2024
    Last edited: Feb 10, 2024
  7. Tombukt2

    Tombukt2 Senior Member

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    Don't know but running the wiring for the seats airbags if you didn't have them would be challenging You would need a donor car to get probably the complete system out of I don't imagine you could just splice in the connectors for the seat airbags and have all that work without the proper computer and the rest of the chassis wiring whatever the car body style was able to be had with swapping it over would probably be relatively time-consuming and would it be worth it who knows
     
    #7 Tombukt2, Feb 10, 2024
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