B1180 means the module measured a short in the second stage firing circuit of the driver airbag. Toyota writes it as B1180/17 and only uses it on vehicles with a dual stage driver bag. The path runs from the module up the steering column through the spiral cable to the steering wheel pad.
A dual stage driver airbag has two initiators, called squibs. In a moderate crash the module fires stage one alone. In a harder one it fires both, milliseconds apart, so the bag inflates with more force. Each stage has its own two wire firing circuit, and the module measures resistance on both of them every time you turn the key.
B1180 is set when the second stage circuit reads as a short, meaning the two wires are seeing each other somewhere they should not. Toyota lists the trouble areas as the steering wheel pad holding the second stage squib, the spiral cable, the airbag sensor assembly, the dash wire, and the column wire. Every one of those sits between the module and the airbag.
The circuit itself is not what deploys anything on its own. It is the delivery path, and the module refuses to trust a firing circuit it cannot measure correctly, so it lights the SRS lamp and stops arming that stage.
Circuit. Toyota's detection wording for B1180 is a short detected in the driver side squib second stage circuit, and the fix is finding where the wires are touching. Most of the time that is the spiral cable, since it is the one part in the path that moves every time the wheel turns.
A second stage code by itself points at the spiral cable or the bag. A second stage code together with a first stage code points harder at the spiral cable, because that is the shared part both circuits pass through.
No. This is a measurement the module takes at every start up, so clearing memory buys you nothing while the short is still in the wiring. Repair the circuit and the code stops setting.
Two paths from here. If the spiral cable is the failed piece, we carry genuine OEM clock springs by vehicle, and the driver bag itself is listed the same way. If the second stage circuit went bad because the airbag already deployed, the module is also holding locked crash data, and that is what our airbag module reset handles once the new parts are in.
B1180/17 comes from Toyota and Lexus manuals of the early dual stage era. Later Toyota charts moved the same circuit to B1810/53, so the fault survived and the number changed. Toyota also files the short to ground and short to battery versions separately, as B1182/19 and B1183/22, which is useful if your scan tool gave you one of those instead.
Disconnect the battery and give the system its wait period before anything comes apart at the wheel, because these circuits can still fire for a few minutes after power is cut. Then check the airbag connectors at the back of the wheel pad, inspect the spiral cable for a ribbon that has worn through, and look for evidence of a previous steering wheel swap.
If the vehicle has had a collision, the airbag and the module both need attention before the light goes out. Related codes here are B1181 for the open version of this same circuit, B1810 for the later Toyota number, and B1800 for the first stage circuit.
Related codes: B1181, B1810, B1800
Keep reading:
Code scope: Toyota, Lexus. The same number can mean something different on another manufacturer, so match the code to your make before you act on it.
A reset clears stored crash data. A replacement part fixes a hardware fault. We have read these codes since the nineties and will tell you which one you are looking at.
Genuine OEM, tested, and shipped ground from Jacksonville, Arkansas.
Toyota parts and codes · Do not see it listed? Request a part or call 501-988-0611.