Boater46

I have a GX470 and just had the timimg belt replaced. Now my "airbag light" stays on all the time.
Does anyone have the solution to this problem?

BurgBoxstr

If it was on when you picked up the GX (but not when you dropped off) I'd take it back to the shop who did the work. They likely disconnected the battery when key was in ignition... Otherwise you'll have to see a dealer or other independent (w/ the proper equipment) to reset (or test) the system.

Good luck

ROSCOGX470

Yup, it's probably the drivers seatbelt harness. The buckle part that you plug the seatbelt into. Happened to me. Part is like $45 and it is held in by a bolt and it plugs into the harness under the seat. You just have to order the right color that matches your interior. The there is a bulletin on it. Also a common problem that affected 03-05

Boater46

Thanks to both of you.
I will check out the harness tomorrow and that doesn't do it, I will just have to visit a dealer that
can reset the code.

IanB2

I was able to repair my seatbelt harness rather than replace it, the harness was badly worn in one section, and one of the wires had actually broken. Soldiered in a patch so the harness was longer, and it's been good ever since.

mann777

The models affected are from 2005-2009. lots of panels and trim covers need to be removed.

mann777

if you are planning to do yourself, pm me your email will send u the instructions to remove and fix

IanB2

Ours is an '04 and it had the issue as well.

mann777

The models affected applies to vehicles PRODUCED BEFORE the production change effective VIN as mentioned below JTJBT20X*90173473.
But just to let you know there were few 2004 models also affected, but TSB was released to the 2005-2009 models as many were found that the harness was defective due to a production fault. You could do the replacement, but u still need the tool to clear the DTC faults from its ECM memory once done.

Ali SC3

iTrader: (10)

Just went through this on an '04 and this thread was helpful, thanks Ian for pointing out where it was.
Thought I would post some pics to help those in the future.
I was getting a code 25, which is the "seat position sensor" code.
Since this is under the seat the repair involves removing the seat, no other panels.

Basically I put the seat in the middle position so I could get to the bolts easily, tilted the back part of the seat forward some, then I disconnected the battery to be safe and unbolted the 4 14mm bolts holding the seats.

Then the seat is pretty much free, and the wires are long enough to tilt the whole seat back against the back seat (tilting the seat forward helps here). Then I could easily see and reach everything on the bottom.

The culprit


Peeling back the covers you can see why the light is on all the time.


To get more slack to repair the wire harness I unbolted the seat belt buckle, its one 14mm bolt and fish that under the seat and then its easier to get to the wires, but not necessary.
The broken wire was so short, I got a spare pin/wire off an old gs300 harnesses (you can find type of this pin on most toyota harnesses), and soldered and heatshrinked it in a little longer than the original.


The end result with extra split looming over it just because.


Connected battery and inserted key and now the light goes off like normal. No reset was needed, it resets and checks for faults every time the key is removed and put back to "on" position. I know that because sometimes I would get it and sometimes I wouldn't when the wire was probably on its last strands.

Its a pretty easy fix and there is no need to replace the floor harness behind the dash it seems, at least for this issue.
This harness branches off of the seatbelt harness which is hardwired to the seatbelt mechanism and plugs in under the seat in 2 places, so getting a new seat belt mechanism w/ harness would probably work as well if you don't like to repair wire.

sprocket

Bravo my friend!

My 04 passenger seat belt light blinks all the time when someone is sitting there.

I may tackle removing the seat and see what I find down there.

Ali SC3

iTrader: (10)

Thanks, yeah its probably one of those 2 wires on that plug. after seeing the bottom of the seat, all the other wires move with the seat so they wouldn't really break, but the seat position sensor does not move with the seat thus stretching the wire when you move the seat back and forward, so it makes sense why this one is always breaking.

The factory amount of slack in the wire is borderline enough, so if it ever breaks again I will make the wires much longer, but I am likely good for another decade I imagine.

Project470

Thank you guys for all this good info. My airbag light was on for months since I didn't want to pay Lexus $400+ to fix it. I used the part number Lexus gave me (seatbelt sensor with the buckle) and ordered it from mylexusparts.com for $40. I unbolted the seat (leaned it against back seat) and was very careful with all of the connectors and 45 min later no light! Pretty easy fix. Thanks everyone!

SteveIA59

I had the same problem as Ali SC3 . Both wires were broken and it is a very poor design and the wires are not long enough nor do they have strain relief. Thanks to this site I was able to fix the problem and my dealer was going to charge $400 just for a diagnosis.
The real smoking gun was LEXUS has a service bulletin for the GX470s but only covers those vehicles still under warranty. So they knew they had a problem and I sure hope no one was injured.

Here are a couple more references which might help others.

https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/srs...or-fix.806848/

http://workshop-manuals.com/lexus/gx...sensor%29_set/

jobernberg

Thank you ALL SC3 - that was my exact problem. Take out the 4 bolts, fix the connector, put seat back in.