Diy: Airbag Bypass For Iq

October 24, 2012

The stock iQ steering wheel is a nice one and other than the red stitching that matches nothing in my car I like it. That being said, I wanted to modify my interior so I added an NRG Innovations Short Hub and Steering Wheel. When an aftermarket hub and wheel is used in the iQ (or any vehicle) the airbag light will stay on since the airbag has been removed. This DIY will show you how to make your own bypass to turn the airbag light off.

AT THIS POINT I MUST TELL YOU THAT YOU FOLLOW THESE DIRECTIONS AT YOUR OWN RISK. MY CAR IS NOT A DAILY DRIVER AND I DO NOT RECOMMEND THE REMOVAL OF AIRBAGS IN VEHICLES THAT ARE DRIVEN ON HIGHWAYS.

That being said, here is the DIY.

You will need:

20 gauge wire

Two (2) 3ohm 1.25 volt resistors

Solder

Soldering iron

Heat shrink tubing

Electrical tape

Mini size male connectors

Wire strippers

Small long nose pliers

DISCONNECT YOUR Battery AND WAIT 15 MINUTES BEFORE WORKING ON YOUR AIRBAGS.

Did I mention to DISCONNECT YOUR BATTERY AND WAIT 15 MINUTES BEFORE WORKING ON YOUR AIRBAGS?

Cut two pieces of wire from the 20 gauge wire and solder the ends...

Solder one end of each wire to the 3 ohm resistor...

Solder the other end of each wire to the mini male connectors...

Use the heat shrink tubing and cover the resistor and any exposed wire at the mini male connector end...

You may also add a larger diameter heat shrink tubing to the top of the "U" to keep the leads from spreading...

This is the airbag connect that was previously attached to the steering wheel hub...

Connect the mini male connectors to the smaller of the two holes in each slot.

Use electrical tape to secure the leads to the airbag connector to prevent them from coming loose...

Now reconnect your battery and start up the car. Your airbag light will be out.

Just in case you skipped to the end of this DIY let me mention again...DISCONNECT YOUR BATTERY AND WAIT 15 MINUTES BEFORE WORKING ON YOUR AIRBAGS!

October 24, 2012

Why would it not be safe on the highway??

There is a much easier way but in the interests of safety I will not devulge how.

October 24, 2012

Why would it not be safe on the highway??
There is a much easier way but in the interests of safety I will not devulge how.

The driver airbag has been removed along with the stock steering wheel. Some would consider that less safe.

October 25, 2012

Probably one of the most dangerous piece of "advice" I have ever seen posted on an internet forum.

Despite your disclaimer about it not being your "daily driver" (whatever that means) you have disabled a major safety feature or your vehicle. Unless it never goes on the road with other traffic the statement is meaningless.

If you (or more importantly) anyone else is injured behind the wheel of this car I hope you have a good lawyer. Good luck with your insurance company as well.

October 25, 2012

Air Bags do also get switched off and disabled in the UK.

Infact if you fit a Baby Seat in the front you have a Switch to do that.

If you had a child on a Booster Seat in the front of an iQ say.

be aware of seat airbags tho.

A pregnant person in the front seat and they may or may not want the air bag Off.

Toyota Off Roaders & many others might well have the air bags disabled.

(Otherwise they could deploy when being used off road, when you do not want them to.)

* We had a post on here last year with a Major T Bone accident and none of the 9 airbags deployed & Toyota were not interested, as they said they would have worked if needed.

Looked like hey were needed by most of us on here i think.

We can still buy new cars without Air Bags, or buy cars with Air Bags and no Air bag fault light showing and yet there are no airbags installed, because the Insurance Company does not always pay for them to be replaced after accidents.

Air bags might save your life, i would not always take it for granted that they are fitted,

working, fuse might be pulled, Inhibited, or removed.

Airbags have Use By dates and lots of old Ford Granadas etc are driving about with Air Bags that may not work and actually the New replacement bags on a Ford Dealers shelf someplace are probably also out of date.

Life is full of little risks.

george

October 25, 2012

Switching off the passenger air bag is a manufacturer fitted option for infants travelling in the front passenger seat. It is reasoned (and tested by NCAP) that the deployment of an airbag may actually do more harm than good to a child strapped (relatively securely) into a child seat.

This is a million miles from actively disabling the air bag from the driver’s position using cutters, bits of wire and a soldering iron.

I really hope the OP knows enough about the design of the iQ airbag deployment software such that he is confident that has not introduced a fatal error into the logic and now none of the air bags work.

I guess to only way to test this is to hit something head on whilst travelling at 70 mph. Still, at least the light on the dashboard has gone out.

Software and sensors stop air bags going off every 5 minutes in Off Road vehicles going over rough terrain. As far as I am aware you are not given the option to turn them all off. By any manufacturer. Ever.

The ability to buy new without (???) or second hand cars with faulty air bags is neither here nor there. If you had an accident and were unaware or had no way of knowing about the fault your liability would be zero. Actively disabling any safety feature makes you liable for any personal injury claims.

Try phoning your insurance company and inform them you have “modified” your car so that one or more of the air bags don’t work and see what they say.

October 25, 2012

...... and while we are at it. Let us also consider the vast amount of money Toyota must have spent making sure the steering wheel design was safe as it could be when something rams head on into the front of the iQ.

Still ... that bl@@dy red stitching ... it had to go!

October 25, 2012

Absolutely, you are correct. Safety first always.

No point generalising tho.

Call your Insurance company that covers standard cars & you will be getting no place.

Have a crash and a vehicle examination & you can be in big doo doo.

Or regret your actions the rest of your days.

Call your Underwriter that covers your Modified Vehicle with a declaration sheet & detailed mods and tell them your vehicle is without air bags and was passed in a IVA, 'Individual Approval Inspection' without airbags,

then thats the cover you have or not..

Show vehicles and modified vehicles are slightly different from daily drivers,

possibly still Road Legal, Taxed, Tested, Insured, meets 'Construction & Use' & Road Traffic acts,

but lacking certain standard fitments.

Or some are removed.

Common sense needs to rule over, Fashion & Looks.

Some just do without thought. or considering the possible consequnces.

Horses for courses really.

* I have been looking at crashed vehicles for over 3 decades now & buying parts from, and complete accident damaged,

its quite shocking the condition of many and the fact the Air Bags have not deployed.

Also scary how many get repaired and back on the road without Air Bags or Seat Belts on the mechanism & safety features being replaced.

Some really unsafe vehicles are repaired by insurance company settlements and cheeply and inproperly returned into the Motor Trade.

Insurance Companies are not a good example for anything to do with safety IMO.*

george

October 25, 2012

Interestingly, why are there 11 airbags in a Scion iQ and only 9 on ours if safety is paramount to Toyota. Its the same car

David

October 25, 2012

Sorry guys didn't mean to start a discussion of the right or wrong of removing an air bag. I am not telling anyone to do this, simply showing how to disable the dash light if a steering wheel change is made.

In the United States we have a more strict set of requirements. Our government also has provided us with the law to wear a motorcycle helmet when riding, raising the weight requirements for letting a child sit in a vehicle without a car seat to 80 pounds, forced the end of selling sugary drinks in containers over 18 ounces, removed edible food in our schools and providing lunches that 98% of the students toss in the trash. Our government is far too involved in our lives and forcing Toyota to add two more airbags to our Scion model is just another example.

I fully understand that by removing the driver side air bag from my vehicle I have made it "less safe" in the opinion of my government but I don't always agree with my government. I understand the consequences of my actions and accept them. I accept everyone else's right to make their own choices in life and hope to receive the same courtesy.

The original post in this thread is in no way "advice". Simply a set of instructions to solve a problem a person may or may not have. The last time I offered advice was when I hosted a s*x advice talk show with the Hollywood Madam Heidi Fleiss.