Celica Forums General Discussion General Airbag Indicator (Idiot) Light On 2003 Celica

On my instrument panel , the airbag indicator light is on (lit up, red). How can I even begin to investigate why this is? My car has NOT been in an accident (I am the original owner) nor have the airbags been deployed. Any help anyone can give me, or any ideas on where to start trouble shooting, would be appreciated. I read the manual but didn't find any troubleshooting info. Thought I'd ask the experts, perhaps someone here can help a girl out. Thanks.

Look under both of your front seats and confirm that the connector is tightly plugged in. You dont need to remove the seat. Each connector can easily be checked by reaching under. Though, you may need to move your seats all the way back/forward, depending on how you're reaching under.

If your vehicle is not equipped with the factory option side airbags on the seats, the next likely culprit is the seat belt retractors. Given what you've said (accident-free, original owner), this makes sense for it to be the retractors. It was pretty common for these seat belt retractors to go bad over time and when they do and the belt wont go all the way back in by itself, it will sometimes trigger the airbag light.

The airbag light has been on for the entire time I've owned my Celica, but it is also accident free. I am fairly confident my light is also caused by bad seat belt retractors.

Thank you, kid. That was one of the first things I "felt" for. Didn't know what I was looking for at the time. Your pics helped. Both are in place, connected. On to the next trouble shoot. Appreciate the help and quick reply.

Connor, I'll have to check if my car came equipped with the factory option side airbags on the seats ( I should know this). If it's the retractors, any way to fix it. It drives me NUTS looking at that idiot light on the dash all the time!

Often times, the circuit/clip gets disconnected under the seats, which triggers the seat-belt warning. The same warning you'd get if you placed something heavy on the seat and took your gear out of park.

The driver & front passenger side-impact air bags are optional from factory.

Two Celica seats. One is BASE and the other includes the optional seat-mounted side-impact air bag SRS. It has been reupholstered, but everything else about it remains stock.





As connor mentioned, check your seat belt retractors. Fully pull the belt out, and then let it retract itself. Try this on both sides.

For further investigation, there is no harm in having your husband help you out, or one of his shops he can refer you to. Especially since he runs/has ties with one of the oldest Corvette clubs in the USA (CorvettesLimited.org).

The seatbelt warning light is there for your safety. There may be further issues beyond just a circuit not connecting properly. Its rare, but the safety bag could have faulty electronics triggering your issues.

That is said with the idea that everything is stock and you have had zero electrical modifications to the vehicle's SRS system.

As a historical note, take in to account the first major issue you brought up:
https://celicahobby.com/forums/ubbt...uster-and-ac-not-working.html#Post450953

You can enter your vin on this site (official Toyota site) and it'll let you know about all of your options/specs.

https://www.toyota.com/owners/vehicle-specification

As for the seat belt retractors, if you're able to confirm that they're causing your problem, you could try to clean/rebuild yours or buy new ones if you can find them.

Thanks again. No side airbags on my car. My husband is helpful, but I like to research & repair as much as I possibly can - or at least have an idea of what I'm asking him to help me with. I just love my car and HATE to let it run ragged - or part with it for that matter. Appreciate the info and insights.