2005 Toyota Prius: airbag warning light

Filed Jun 24, 2020 · Airbags, Brakes · 150,000 miles · AL

When I go to hit the brakes the car won't stop and the rear end makes noise and raises up. The ABS and brake lights are one as well as maintenance required and SRS airbag light. The master alarm buzzer is on and won't go off. Brakes engaged without hitting the brake causes rim to overheat and brake fluid gets extremely hot. Also sometimes when tap on the brakes they will lock up and you will go sliding sideways or tap the brakes and they straight to the floor. Also the brake actuator starts whining noise and won't go off even if the car is turned off. Don't have documentation from a mechanic but can send video of driving it.

Filed Dec 16, 2018 · Airbags, Brakes · 280,000 miles · OH

Takara recall - currently have an airbag light onon my instrument cluster. Brake actuator recall - the 'brake' light, vsc, ABS, and brake symbol lights are all on indicating an issue with the brake actuator. I did receive a recall notice about this issue in the past, but the recall said if I wasn't experiencing any issues to ignore the recall. That recall expired on december 31, 2017. As this affects the safe operation of the car, I feel this should be addressed by toyota as well as the air bag issue.

Filed Aug 17, 2017 · Airbags · 150,000 miles · NY

Air bag light started staying on though intermittent. Noticed it went away if steering wheel was turned. I just had the dealership confirm it is the clockspring.

Filed Aug 19, 2015 · Airbags, Electrical · 65,000 miles · MT

Tl* the contact owns a 2005 toyota prius. While driving at approximately 25 MPH, the air bag warning light illuminated on and off. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic. The technician diagnosed that the main wiring harness needed to be replaced and not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 65,000.

Filed Mar 16, 2015 · Airbags · 93,674 miles · MN

The airbag indicator light on the dashboard of my prius came on and would not go off. On 3/14/2015, I took the prius to a dealership for a diagnostic check. I was told by the technician that both the drivers and passenger side squib airbag harness would need replacement at a cost of $4,373.07. There was no accident or any outside force to cause the problem. It appeared out of the blue when I started the car on the morning of 3/11/2015. The car is otherwise in near perfect condition.

Filed Jul 17, 2014 · Airbags · 36,000 miles · AR

The airbag warning light came on and would not go off about 3 or 4 years ago, so I took it to the toyota dealer who did something and reset it. It stayed off for about a year or so then came back on. I took it back to the dealer again who said the diagnostic said it was malfunctioning and that I needed to bring it back to replace some expensive part. I was on the way back to the dealer, when the light went out. The tech did the diagnostic again and said there was nothing wrong with it. The light stayed out for about another year or so and came on again a couple of weeks ago and won't go out . This time however, I have also noticed that the top of the dash on the passenger side has been pushed upward under the "SRS air bag" phrase. This is concerning since the same thing has happened in the exact same place on the other 2005 prius that I own . I contacted toyota corporate who responded that there are no recalls on my cars and that for the most part, my cars were out of warranty. The rep said that she would document my report and that I should take them back to the dealer for inspection. This is the same dealer that has not been able to figure out what is wrong with this car the first two times. Meanwhile, I am driving around in a car that may or may not have working airbags because I need to get to work.

Filed Mar 19, 2014 · Airbags, Electrical · 97,448 miles · CA

On 2/27/14 the SRS indicator light in our vehicle lit up causing us to review the owner's manual, which recommended immediate service. Per technical service bulletin t-sb-0042-11, this issue was caused by failure of the wiring harness, which was diagnosed with scanner code b1826. According to the tsb, the design/material fault can occur in 2004-2009 priuses. The fault, according to a toyota service advisor, results in a failure of the air bag system. To address the condition, "an updated wire harness must be installed." the cost to repair this design fault is $2,500. And up depending on if one or both sides of the wiring harness has to be replaced. Because this safety related defect needed to be addressed at once we paid to have the vehicle repaired but expressed our view to the toyota personnel that the defect should have been covered by toyota. We feel that this defect should have been the subject of a recall. Calls to the gm of the dealership have not been returned.

Filed Sep 10, 2013 · Airbags · 178,000 miles · SC

The air bag warning light came on while driving. We took the car in to check for the cause and they told us the wiring harness was bad and it would have to be replaced and that the air bags would not work because of a problem (of which they were already aware) with the wiring harness. A defect in the wiring harness - their words- would cost about $2000.00 to replace. They are aware that this has been occurring in these vehicles, but as of yet there has been no recall or offer to correct the problem. If this isn't a safety issue, I don't know what would be. Please address this issue.

Filed Feb 21, 2012 · Airbags, Steering · 109,000 miles · CA

Tl* the contact owns a 2005 toyota prius. The contact stated that at engine startup, the SRS warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where the contact was advised that the steering wheel needed a replacement spiral cable. The manufacturer was contacted. The vehicle was repaired. The failure mileage was 109,000 and the current mileage was 109,500. Updated 03/06/12

Filed Nov 25, 2011 · Acceleration, Steering · 27,773 miles · IN

Tl* the contact owns a 2005 toyota prius. The contact stated that while driving approximately 70 MPH with the cruise control activated, he applied the brake pedal in an attempt to deactivate the cruise control. The cruise control would not deactivate and the contact had to manually deactivate the cruise control system. The contact also stated that he heard a snapping sound coming from the steering wheel while attempting to park at 5 MPH. This failure occurred the day after the cruise control failure. The steering wheel then became loose and the contact completely unable to steer the vehicle. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer for a diagnostic test. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 27,773 updated 12/12/11 *bf the consumer stated the SRS and all the steering wheel mounted controls were disabled. Updated 05/31/12 the consumer contacted an automotive systems analysis company, who inspected the vehicle and determined the steering issue was caused by a catastrophic failure of the upper steering intermediate shaft. The upper steering intermediate shaft was decoupled from the electric power steering column output spline. A careful examination of the decoupled components revealed that for an extended period of time, the upper steering intermediate shaft had not been properly installed on the spline output of the power assist column, which allowed a metallurgical failure on the interior of the upper steering intermediate shaft, which consequently allowed separation of the shaft from the electrical steering power assist column. Updated 05/13/13*dt

Filed Aug 9, 2011 · Airbags · 80,000 miles · CA

Tl* the contact owns a 2005 toyota pruis. The contact stated that there was a recurring failure with the air bag warning light illuminating. The vehicle was taken to the dealer several times for the failure where the front passenger seat was replaced twice but to no avail. The dealer then cleared the error codes but that also did not correct the failure. Next, the wiring harness and main computer were replaced yet the failure persisted. The contact believed the failure to be a manufacturing defect. The failure mileage was 80,000 and the current mileage was 107,000.

Filed Nov 16, 2009 · Airbags · 12,000 miles · SC

Tl*the contact owns a 2005 toyota prius. The air bag warning light illuminated intermittently. The dealer made four attempts to diagnose the failure. The air bag under the passenger seat was disconnected; however, the warning light continued to illuminate. The vehicle is being repaired by an authorized dealer. The VIN was not available. The failure mileage was 12,000.