SRS Airbag Code 54

Hi guys, I'm new here. I recently bought my first Tacoma and I'm trying to diagnose an issue with the airbags on it. It is a 2000 v6 4x4 model. It has a rebuilt title, the previous owner said that a tree fell on the cab so they pulled the cab off a 4 cylinder model and put on it and repainted it. Here's what I've learned so far regarding the issue:

• The SRS light is lit up on the dash
• I did the paperclip trick and shorted the Tc and E1 pins and it gives error code 54 which google says should mean the passenger side airbag is shorted out
• I pulled the tray under the dash to check the airbag control module and found two yellow cables in the first picture that aren't plugged into anything.
• They look as if maybe they were supposed to plug into the airbag module but it has another plug plugged into it as you can see in the second picture and there's only one plug in spot on it.
• There are some other wires in there that appear to be cut as you can see in the third picture, The truck appears to have had a CB radio installed in it so not sure if they went to that or not. The wires don't have yellow wrapping so I doubt it has anything to do with the airbag issue, just thought I'd mention it.
• Last two pictures are just of the connectors leading from the airbag control module (the one that's plugged in) to the airbag. I took the big one apart to check for corrosion but it looked fine, I wasn't sure how the smaller one unplugged from the airbag and didn't want to break it so I left it alone.

Any help would be appreciated. I have solved several other issues by searching the forums but I seem to have hit a wall with this one. Not many pictures online that I could find of how this stuff is supposed to look. I unplugged the battery before messing with all this stuff obviously. Thanks.

 

welcome to tacoma world

code 54 means there's a problem with the passenger side of the airbag system. And I can see why it is telling you something is wrong....

The three yellow connectors should be connected to the airbag computer. I believe they took it from an older truck that only had driver's side airbags, as these only have one connector going into the computer.

So, the good news are that your driver's side airbag does work, but not the rest... You can drive it like that, but that light is not going away unless you do replace the computer with the correct one. It does also cause potential safety issues for passengers

correct part number for your truck (1999-2000): 89170-04021

 

Thanks man. I saw some airbag modules on google with 3 connectors like that so I was hoping that was going to be the answer rather than having to tear the whole dash apart and test wires. Know where the best place to get one of those would be? They seem to be discontinued from Toyota, I see a couple used ones on ebay but they don't say whether they were pulled from a crashed vehicle and need to be reset.

 

I would try to find someone parting-out their truck (go take a look there: https://www.tacomaworld.com/forums/1st-gen-tacoma-parts-marketplace-1995-2004.121/ )

or someone who's specialized in used toyota parts, like these guys
http://www.ranchotoyotatruckparts.com/
https://www.japanesetruckdismantling.net/

or else ebay or junkyard (try car-part.com).

 

Where is this computer located I'll see if mine still has it airbag system has been disconnected on my truck

 

It's behind the plastic trim with the two cigarette lighter plugins on it underneath the ashtray and infront of the shifter area

 

is this the part your looking for that's the only number I see on it. I have a 98 4x4 extended cab not sure if the sensors are different

 

That's one like i already have unfortunately. The one I need takes 3 plugs like this one:

 

Sorry about that and I just found the part number on mine its 89170-04010

 

more info...

 

Alright I got my new (used) ebay airbag module in today and put it in and it seems to be throwing codes 74, 64, 15, 16, and 54. What do you guys think? Do you guys think the module is from a crashed truck and I should mail it in to one of these airbag reset services?

 

codes are saying that airbags and crash sensors are bad (deployed?). So yep, it think it needs to be reset

Does the company have good reviews? I've heard of some people doing very shoddy things to computers and modules, so make sure you're dealing with a reputable company

If you want to look around, there's a bunch of other companies coming up on a google search and you can even look up reviews

Also, if you go to a shop where they rebuild salvage title cars, they may be able to direct you to some local place who does reset airbags

 

I guess I'll do some looking and find a reset service to send it in to. Thanks for the help.

 

Well after almost a month I'm still trying to get this problem figured out. I ended up sending the module I purchased to the safety restore company in the above picture since it said they had a 24 hour turnaround.. mailed it out on the 5th and didn't get it back until the 25th with a sticker on it that said they had trouble resetting it and if the airbag light is still on contact them for a refund. I put it in and airbag light was still on so I got a refund from them and returned that module to the seller on ebay who I bought it from.

I figured that module must have had some kind of internal damage so I purchased another module on ebay (pn 89170-04021) and plugged it in and it is giving me another long string of codes like the first one. I messaged the ebay seller and he said it was not pulled out of a crashed truck. Is it possible that this is the wrong part number and it isn't compatible with my airbags and sensors or something? I noticed on ebay that there is another module with part number 89170-04020. Could this be the one that I need?

I got to looking at the first airbag module that came in the truck that only had one plug as well and I noticed that the circuit board in it actually has 3 plugs... The metal cover is just covering the left and right plugs up, so I pulled the circuit board out of it and put it in one of the ones I purchased so I could plug all 3 plugs in and it is still throwing airbag code 54.

 

Normally, when the airbag module itself is faulty, it pops a code 31. Did they tell you why they had trouble resetting it?

I would put the boards back in their respective casings because even if your old one does have the three connectors, they might just be blanks (for future implementation of passenger airbag and seat belt pretensioners)

If the new module does not have crash data stored in it, I would try to erase the codes with a SRS capable scan tool (shops should have one of these) and see what it does

If it does come back with code 54, I've included the troubleshooting procedure. Also, I would check the wiring harness to make sure there's no frayed wire or something (can't miss it, just follow the yellow wires)

as for that other part number, 89170-04020, it was replaced by 89170-04021, so basically, they are the same part

 

Well they sent it back with a sticker on it that said "Upon reset, this SRS Unit showcased signs of potential internal failure. If you receive error codes, or have no communication with the unit, please contact us for a full refund."

I already mailed it back but I wish I had checked the codes and wrote them down so I could compare with the new module that came in today. This one seemed to be more or less throwing codes 54, 64, 17, and 12 at a quick glance. It's kinda hard to decipher the codes and write them down when it's a whole bunch of them and I didn't try that hard. The fact that the first unit only throws code 54 makes me think the problem is with the module though. I might just send both of them off to be reset with a different company tomorrow and hope I get one of them back that works.

I checked the harness that goes from the module to the passenger side airbag and it looked fine, I didn't follow the other ones though because I didn't want to have to pull the whole dash apart and the code was for the passenger side anyway. I'll try to check out the passenger airbag on/off switch tomorrow and see if anything looks wrong with it.

 

So I ended up getting a third airbag module to try in my truck. It still throws codes 54 64 74 15 and 16. I think I'm just going to try to find one of the airbag sensors or maybe another seat belt assembly and replace it to see if one of the codes go away. The truck is a rebuilt so who knows what's been done to it. I have noticed that my seat belts like to 'Lock' early very often before I even have it pulled all the way down to snap in, wasn't sure if that was normal or not but I'm guessing not. Just hoping it's not the wiring harness really because that looks like a pain in the ass to try to diagnose and fix.

If anyone knows where the front airbag sensors are located it would be very helpful. Hard to tell if they're inside the fenders or at the front of the car from the picture in the manual. I'll try to take it apart and check them out tomorrow.

 

now it is saying that both pretensionners are "open"(64 and 74) and both airbag sensors are malfunctionning(15 and 16).

driver's side crash sensor is located below the battery tray and the other one is at the exact same place on the passenger side. Maybe the crash sensors aren't the good ones either...there's a different part number for 95-97, 98 and 99-00.

99-00 crash sensor LH:89173-39035
99-00 crash sensor RH:89173-39165

But that wouldn't explain why it is telling pretensioners are "open"...

... Unless they took an older truck cab that didn't have pretensioners AND the right crash sensors (like 95-97 cab). That would explain everything, including why the wrong airbag module.... and code 54 (missing passenger airbag)

Tell me, do you have an airbag panel on passenger side of dash? If not, then you have fround the problem. Wrong sensors and missing passenger airbag (that would be what code 54 means) and pretensionners

 

I looked up the vin on the cab and it said it was for a 2000 4cyl 4x4 Tacoma. The guy said the frame motor/everything else was from a 2000 v6 4x4. He didn't speak very good english so I couldn't get much more out of him than that. I haven't checked it out yet but I'm hoping maybe they just didn't plug the sensors and seatbelts up or something when they swapped the cab. If the truck is crashed the seatbelts lock or something right? Maybe the cab was from a crashed truck and the seatbelts were locked and they jerry rigged them to unlock or got the wrong ones out of another truck that wouldn't plug up or something. Guess I'll find out when I pull it apart.

Another one of my concerns was that the mileage on the gauge cluster is from the 4cyl truck it came off of. The truck supposedly only had 107k miles on it when I bought it. The gauge cluster tach and stuff wouldn't work right if they just left the 4cyl one in though would it?

 

well, if the sticker says the cab is from a 2000 truck, everything should be good then... they must have sourced airbag parts from a bunch of different trucks I guess.

yes during a crash, the pretensionners do lock up. It's possible to have them refurbished

When you swap gauge clusters, they need to be from same engine and I think also same transmission (manual or automatic).