On-off airbag switch

I would think that the impact with your steering wheel will be much more severe than impact with the airbag. The seat belt will also give you a nice jolt.

 

i have never heard of one. i suppose a good car electronics shop might be able to install something.

until then, stay right, drive slow and defensively! maybe get some pedal blocks and move the seat all the way back.

 

It is 100% illegal to disable the air bag system anywhere in the United States. No shop will do it for liability issues. If you happen to find someone skanky enough to disable your SRS system and you are involved in an accident your (or the other party's, or both) insurance company are almost guaranteed not to pay a dime.

Having said that, you can't possibly be the only person in the USA with this disability. Perhaps some research is in order to see what others in similar situations have done.

If I was in your shoes, I'd sell my Prius and buy a 1988 Volvo, which is the safest car you can drive that doesn't have an airbag.

 

Toyota Motor Sales (U.S.A.) has an FAQ answer that says to ask your Toyota dealer, but this may apply only to mainland dealers. If you haven’t already checked with Big Island Toyota, it might be worth a call, just to see if they have, or could get, any information. You might also ask Servco Pacific, the Toyota distributor for Hawaii.

Pro-gard Products is one of several firms offering aftermarket airbag switches that meet NHTSA’s requirements for key operation, indicators, and so on, but it’s not clear if any of these is compatible with Prius cars.

I certainly don’t have the expertise to question your physician’s judgment about the physiological effects of an impact. If I were in your situation, before deciding to modify your car, though, I’d want to be sure that the advice isn’t based on an outdated or incorrect understanding of how the airbags work.

In the New Car Features book (more info) for 2004 (also applicable to 2007), Toyota writes, “The Dual-stage SRS airbags are standard equipment for the driver and front passenger seats. In the event of a severe frontal collision, the airbags function with the seat belts to help reduce the impact on the driver’s and front passenger’s head and chest.” They explain what dual-stage means: “In this system, when the front airbag sensors and airbag sensor assembly detect the front collision, the airbag sensor assembly judges the extent of impact, driver seat position and whether or not the driver and front passenger seat belts are fastened, thus making the airbag inflating output optimum by delaying the inflating timing of the 2nd initiator and the 1st initiator.”

In other words, the airbags fire to reduce the impact on the occupants, do so only when necessary, and unlike first-generation airbags, use their full force only when conditions require it.

Without reading the instructions you found, it’s hard to say. If any of the airbag modules is disconnected, the center airbag sensor—the computer for the airbag system—detects this and turns on the warning light, which the Hawaii inspection manual (PDF; see page 17, last item under Occupant Protection) says to check.

With a resistor of a suitable value connected instead of an airbag module, however, the computer wouldn’t detect any problem. This is one technique used by unscrupulous sellers of vehicles with missing airbags.

If an inadvertent airbag deployment would be unusually dangerous for you, I’d urge you not to attempt any modifications yourself. Anyone working on or near the airbag system should read, understand, and follow the precautions in the Supplemental Restraint System section of the Repair Manual (more info).

I’d respectfully disagree, for two reasons:

• As @Laura G. kindly mentioned, NHTSA has a program to authorize the installation of airbag ON-OFF switches. The website has links to the brochure (PDF) and request form (PDF); the regulations are in 49 CFR Part 595.

• The “make inoperative” provision, 49 U.S.C. § 30122, applies only to a “manufacturer, distributor, dealer, rental company, or motor vehicle repair business,” not to individuals working on their own vehicles.

If you know of a statute, regulation, or case holding otherwise, I’d be grateful for a citation.

 

Sorry about the radiation treatments!

I'm glad that there are ways to legally disable the airbags, but I have to agree with @jb in NE and recommend that you rethink disabling them. Modern airbags deploy differently than they did in 1991, IIRC although I do not remember when they moderated the activation.
I'd close the loop on that for your 07 and see if the SRS in a newer car might not be better than not using airbags and/or seat belts at all.
If you have the ability to get a newer car - I'd look into that, although I certainly understand why medical bills and your location might make keeping your current car more appealing.

Modern cars, even your 07, have multiple airbags and not just the ones that pop out of the steering wheel and dash.
Some of these offer a level of protection in side impact and roll-over collisions that I would want to retain - even if it meant a slightly increased risk of aggravating an existing medical condition, and who knows?
You may want to offer somebody else a ride, someday.

Risk management is kinda big in the military.
The FIRST thing that they hammer into you is that it's NOT risk avoidance.
That's because there's no such thing.

I'd gather some more information before pulling the trigger on disarming the SRS.

Good Luck!!
Heal well.

 

I would expect an adaptive driving aids dealer to have the most familiarity with this. The same shops that do right-side drive pedals for postal cars and hand controls and chair lifts for physically disabled drivers.

Good luck!