B1690: Right Door Airbag Sensor Fault

Hardware fault

What B1690 means

Door mounted side airbag sensors are positioned where a side impact lands first, which gives the restraint module its earliest look at the event. The module monitors each one and stores a malfunction code when a sensor fails its checks or stops behaving correctly. B1690 is that code for the right door on Toyota and Lexus systems.

Doors are hard on electronics. The harness flexes through the jamb every time the door opens, water runs down inside the door skin, and door panel work happens for windows, locks, mirrors, and speakers. Any of those can leave a sensor connector damp, unlatched, or with a wire that has been flexed past its life.

Common causes

• Internal failure of the right door side airbag sensor
• Water inside the door reaching the sensor or its connector
• A jamb harness wire broken from repeated door movement
• A connector left unlatched after door panel, window, or speaker work
• A sensor reused from a vehicle with door damage

Crash data or hardware fault?

Toyota and Lexus file B1690 as a hardware fault because it describes the sensor's condition rather than a resistance reading. Crash data is the other kind of memory in the module: written when the side airbags actually deploy, held permanently, and cleared only by resetting the module.

Does our reset clear it?

Our mail-in reset clears stored codes and crash data from the module, so B1690 goes away with it. The sensor does not change. If the right door sensor is still faulted when the module is installed, the code is back on the first key cycle. Replace the sensor before relying on the reset.

Which makes throw it

Toyota and Lexus both use B1690 for the right door side airbag sensor, and the left door sensor carries its own number. The code identifies the door before you take a single panel off.

What to do next

Pull the right door panel and check the sensor mount, the connector, and the vapor barrier, since water inside a door is behind a large share of these codes. Flex the jamb harness by hand while watching for an intermittent. When the wiring and the door are dry and sound, replace the sensor with a genuine OEM unit. Related codes: B1660, B1693, 00532.