Toyota Tundra is a popular truck with safety features such as RSCA, traction control, and brake assist.
What is RSCA on a Toyota Tundra? RSCA is the roll-sensing curtain airbag which is one of the safety features in Toyota Tundra. These sensors’ RSCA OFF button is usually present in the dashboard and RSCA on the sides of the window. The only thing to do is turn it On by holding a button for around three seconds to activate and press again to disable it. The reason for turning it off is that if you’re driving off-road or back-and-forth, the truck will detect that it is rolling, so activate the airbags. Otherwise, it will remain turned on.
The cost of fixing the RSCA in repairing is approximate $3k to $10k.
What does RSCA mean on a Toyota Tundra?
Almost all leading brands of automobiles employ and install specific safety measures and early warning systems to avoid accidents and secure passengers in case of any unfortunate incident with your vehicle.
Most customers now demand these measures as a condition of purchase before selecting a specific vehicle. Among these safety measures are Airbags installed in automobiles.
These airbags secure the passenger against any sudden collision, or it rolls over, so it avoids any collision of the driver with metaled body parts of the riding cabin of the vehicle.
When a vehicle rollover or collides, these airbags deploy to protect you from serious injury. It is a pre-emptive measure or precaution against accidents.
Furthermore, airbags might disconnect from a vehicle owing to off-roading or tilted at an angle. It is an unwanted activity, and every driver wants to avoid it.
It happens due to sensors installed inside the vehicle to sense any danger or eventuality then operate accordingly.
Under such circumstances, these airbags cause severe discomfort for you. Therefore, the sensor needs to turn off to avoid such inconvenience.
History of RSCA
Ford first introduced it in the Ford Explorer and Mercury Mountaineer four-door SUVs in 2002. It gives belted passengers an extra advantage in rollover incidents, increasing their safety.
A vehicle with these added-value features should have proper development with advanced technology and appropriate testing of the overall system like restraint control module, curtain airbags, and others.
The basic structure of RSCA
These sensors are usually installed in the vehicle dashboard to sense the center of gravity of your Toyota Tundra. In addition, this sensor connects with airbags.
Usually, these sensors activate through a button present in the vehicle dashboard. This button must turn off to disengage it during off-road.
In this way, it will stop functioning to sense the center of gravity of your truck. Therefore, it is in working condition when you are on off-road activity.
On similar grounds, when you want to enable this safety, switch on this button, and it will continue observing the center of gravity of your Toyota Tundra.
This switch on and switch off option often provide you with valuable information about this airbag. If it still operates when it is disabled, you need to be concerned about its functionality.
You need to get it maintained from its original manufacturer or get it in a brand new form from the manufacturer of this automobile; otherwise, it can seriously harm your safety during your journey.
Advantage of the RSCA in Toyota Tundra
This additional feature is the passive supplemental restraint system that supports seatbelt usage.
According to the field accident survey, seatbelt usage in rollover gives good protection to the passenger and increases safety that reduces severe injuries.
According to the report, nearly 95% of passengers with that specification experienced no severe injuries or any danger during the rollover.
Furthermore, people in rollover crashes have approximately 1.3% to 4.1% serious injuries rate with safety belts and RSCA.
As a result, it reduces injury-related risk with device activation and passenger contact. It has cushioning capability, finite coverage, and energy capacity.
This concept approves by the NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration). In addition, production system testing directed that curtain has a high retaining capability in certain areas where vehicle structure supports it.
How to activate and deactivate the RSCA through the RSCA button?
This value-added feature in the vehicle is a strategic plan because some unforeseen consequences appear before it, like technical difficulties and inadequate field performance data.
Carefully read the RSCA manual for rightly choosing RSCA off
Toyota tundra provides you with a voluminous book containing all details about structure, operating principles, maintenance schedule, and precautions in the use of this option.
In addition, however, you can read guidelines in this manual like how long you need to press the button, enable and disable option from RSCA, how to check the malfunction of this safety provision inside your truck, and avoid any discomfort during its usage.
Activate and deactivate the RSCA button
This feature is present in the truck during manufacturing; however, you can disconnect or uninstall it.
You can find its switch on the left side of the switch panel at the lower side. On that button, RSCA OFF is mentioned on it from which you can get access and recognize it.
It will activate when a rollover is observed rather than an actual collision. So the only time you should turn off the side curtain airbags is if you’re driving slowly on the off-road and the Tundra will sway on either side.
When you press this button or switch, RSCA will disable. Press it for a moment, around 3 to 5 seconds, while off-road traveling at an extreme angle.
Light will illuminate on your dashboard that says RSCA OFF. The side curtain will not activate if you drive the truck at an extreme angle close to rolling over.
The switch adjusts the angle at which it turns off rather than turning these off. For example, a 30-degree tilt is standard, but when you press the button, the tilt-turn to 70 degrees, and it will activate, so you must turn it off.
Operating conditions require to use RSCA On Toyota Tundra
You can use the RSCA OFF button when the inflation isn’t what you want it to be, such as severe off-roading.
When the RSCA off switch is in on position, then in the rollover of the Toyota Tundra, the seatbelt pre-tensioners and curtain side airbags will not deploy in everyday driving.
The curtain shield airbags will deploy upon a severe side collision when the rollover sensing curtain airbags switch is in the on position. But in the severe frontal collision, seatbelt pre tensioners will activate.
You are careful during driving on the off-road. You should ensure that this button is not in the ON position. If it remains on, the curtain shield airbags will not deploy in the case of a rollover. Such a situation will result in a fatal injury or lead to death.
Make sure that the connection of the switch with the wiring is appropriate. First, check it by removing the lower panel. Then, pull a blank switch or peek inside to check the wiring connection.
In that case, purchase the switch from the well-reputed source and reconnect it.
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