Seatbelt fix requires new computer chip

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by jgombos, Feb 11, 2007.

  1. jgombos

    jgombos New Member

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    A 2001 Prius was in a collision. Airbags deployed, and seatbelts were locked at their current length permanently. The driver side is locked with just enough slack to fit the driver tightly, and there was no passenger, so it's locked in place and won't expand. The mechanic said the only way to unlock the seatbelts is to replace the computer chip for $2k.

    I would hate to spend that much on seatbelts. What are the alternatives? Suppose I just cut the stock seatbelts out, and have some aftermarket seatbelt installed that is not controlled by a computer - is that practical?
     
    #1 jgombos, Feb 11, 2007
  2. Frank Hudon

    Frank Hudon Senior Member

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    service manual say's that once they seat belt pretensioner has been discharged the the seatbelt assy must be replaced. I can't find anything saying that the computer needs to be changed.
     
    #2 Frank Hudon, Feb 11, 2007
  3. galaxee

    galaxee mostly benevolent

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    the pretensioners are required to be replaced, yes. a lot of collisions cause the need for replacement of that center airbag sensor assy because it's also a collision sensor in addition to being the computer that controls the airbags.

    but these guys aren't tied together. the computer is not causing the seatbelts to stay locked, most likely it's those pretensioners.

    so you may get away without the computer. but this is not a guarantee that you won't. do the pretensioners first and see what you get.
     
    #3 galaxee, Feb 11, 2007
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