Some thieves broke the drive-side rear window glass yesterday. The car with the broken window glass was parked overnight while it was raining.
Today, the seat belt light on the dashboard does not go away - even after fastening the seatbelt (both driver's and the front passenger's). It beeps loudly, then the icon flashes all the time.
No DTCs from an OBD (BlueDriver) scanner.
Car: Toyota Yaris 2007 Sedan 4 doors; 180k miles; automatic transmission.
Why the light remains on the dashboard? Any way to disable (programmatically or mechanically) this light and beeping sound? Any ideas for the solution?
In the seat-belt detection system, I think there are two types of sensor involved:
-in the seat itself, sensing if someone is on it
-in the belt-lock, sensing if the belt-clip is into the lock.
As you mention, the car with broken window was outside in rainy weather, moisture might have come in and harmed one or both of these sensors....
Did you try placing some bigger weight on the seat (child, mother-in-law, shopping-bag full of heavy crap or any combination of those 😀 ) ?
I placed only myself on the seat so far. I need to look closely as the belt-lock sensor.
it's not really a sensor. It's just a switch inside the buckle. but since the receptacles are in the center of the vehicle I don't think they would be affected. I would be more suspicious of the wiring harnesses in the floor and pillars getting rained on.
Do you have insurance? Did you talk to the adjuster about it?
I have basic car insurance that does not cover vandalism. I bought a new window glass for $83. I can replace it myself. The problem with the seat belt light may not be related to the break-in - come to think of it.
Some glass shards fell into the door - maybe they cut some some wirings inside the door... I will check the wiring connectors.
The harnesses are attached good.
I even tried disconnecting the driver harness under the seat - and the annoying chime disappeared but a new icon - airbags - appeared on the dashboard along with the flashing seatbelt icon. So, I reconnected the harness.
I also tried spraying brake cleaner fluid under pressure into the buckle to try to dislodge possible glass shards after the break-in. That did not help either.