2007 Ls 460, Front Passenger Seatbelt

* My passenger side seatbelt buckle broke. Couldn't insert the belt and thus, couldnt lock it. Curiously, no chime or dashboard light came on, even with passenger sitting on the seat. (I am pretty sure that the "passenger is not wearing the seatbelt" chime used to come on before this happened.)

* I purchased a used buckle from a 2008 ls460. My mechanic installed it and connected it properly and he said he programmed it in.
* When the passenger takes off the seatbelt when leaving the garage or while driving, there is no chime and no alarm.
* That worries me. Is my seatbelt inactive ? Are the passenger side airbags inactive ?

Question: How do I figure out if the seatbelt sensor and the passenger sensor are working ? How do I check that the seatbelt and airbag are active with a passenger in the seat ?

thanks,
Madhu

 

I suggest using either an aftermarket diagnostic tool from a brand like Autel, Bosch, Snap-On, etc., or getting set up with the dealer-level software Techstream. Either of these allow you to view and monitor values received and generated by various ECUs in real time. In this way you can try buckling and unbuckling, sitting in the seat and getting out, etc. and verify that the appropriate values change. If they don't, you know you have a hardware issue. A standard OBD code reader isn't sufficient for this task because it's not reported for that purpose.

Does your driver seat alarm appropriately when unbuckled? I know there are a few settings for this option; it's one of the customizable settings for the car. You can enable it for both driver and passenger, only one or the other, or disable it for both. If you're not the original owner it's possible someone previously disabled the passenger check.

 

I disabled both fronts on mine so no chime but the light still flashes in the instrument panel if either is unbuckled. (2013)
You can't disable both the light and the chime/ding.