Programming the computer to ignore absence of blind spot monitoring sensors?

@Yotaholic. Picked it up from the dealership last night. Cleaned off the sensors. Didn't make the warnings go away. In fact now there are more serious sounding ones. "Blind Spot Monitor Malfunction. Visit Your Dealer".
I did notice that my sensors are indeed mounted 4-5 inches higher than the factory mounts. This weekend I'll (probably, depending on how simple it is) be taking the cut portion of the factory bumpers off, relocating the sensors to the factory mounting position, and crossing my fingers the warnings go away.
If not, I found a local company who specializes in recalibrating these sensors. They only agreed to look at it if the sensors are mounted at the factory mounting points. And they quoted me a pretty penny to do the recal. Will keep you posted.

 

YOU SHOULD HAVE LEFT THE SENSORS ALONE, that's all I can say. Stupid IronMan says that sensors don't work and they are dead wrong.

 

Continuing to reply to this thread in case it helps someone in the future...

@Yotaholic yep, my customs shop said the same thing about the Ironman guide. Causing a lot of problems because of their guidance. I will be giving them feedback.

Here's where I'm at today. Pulled the factory part of the bumper off, saw that the shop had only tightened the bottom nut of the 3 and just moved the sensors up. Shotty work. Also noticed my custom shop didn't give me back the four m10-1.25 (maybe m10-1.50?) flange nuts that kept the sensors secured. I am tired of troubleshooting / waiting on this, so I ordered new nuts to be delivered today. (Again, I am just a laymen when it comes to this stuff. I don't have any spares sitting around.)

I see that you did indeed keep the little "wing" tabs on the Ironman, and cut that out of the factory bumper. I'm glad to see that the sensors still worked for you as I was worried it wouldn't go through that because they're made of metal. Here are some pics while I wait for the nuts. Again, crossing my fingers that it all magically works when reassembled at factory mounting points. The brackets weren't bent at all thankfully.

I borrowed my neighbors OBD scanner in case the new alerts need to be cleared. And will disconnect the battery if necessary to reset those sensors.

I'll update today or tomorrow after the nuts come in.

These pics show what I've done today by moving those sensors back down (5 inches or so) back to the factory mounting points, missing the 4 top nuts to secure the sensors. The third pic is the cutouts of the factory bumper. I also want to install some black finishing trim around those cuts as they look really rough.

 

No luck with the relocation of the BSMs. I think when I took it into toyota it went from a "BSM not available" warning to a full blown OBD Code "BSM malfunction, see your dealer". I assume this is because they tried to start the calibration process and it failed. I have ordered this, recommended from another thread, to see if I can just clear the code.

Separately, I thought "what the heck, I'll just disconnect the connector for these sensors", and that helped a lot in the interim. The very intrusive warnings on the MID went away, and now a single amber light on the dash shows as "BSM off". This is acceptable until I can clear the code or have a 3rd party shop recalibrate the sensors.

 

You created a problem that didn't exist. I don't know what to say.

 

I'm not complaining, just updating the thread in case someone sees this in the future. I dug a grave out of inexperience (and lack of DIY skills for automotive tasks). Hopefully this helps someone in the future by avoiding relocating these sensors and taking it to the Dealer to "fix" that warning.

If the OBD tool can't clear this, then I'll take it to a sensor cal specialist (whom I already contacted), and get it recalibrated [they'll only do it if they are in factory mounts, and charging 600-700 dollars]. It was also suggested that I take it to a (non-custom) body shop that I've been using for 10 years over 3 vehicles to see if they have the tools to recalibrate and will do it for under $600, because we have built a great relationship. Then this debacle should be finished.

@Yotaholic thanks for helping me troubleshoot though! I learned a lot.

I'll continue to update this thread as I make progress. Again, mostly for someone else who finds this thread in the future.

For those keeping track:
- Bodyshop 1 - 10 year relationship over 3 cars. Does not do custom work. Referred me to Custom Shop 1...
- Custom Shop 1 - Did the roof rack install and the Ironman 4x4 Install. Relocated the BSMs a few inches higher as they thought the bumper would interfere. This was the crucial mistake. They thought they did a good job because there were no warnings and they drove it for a few miles.
- I drove 2 hours on a roadtrip and the "BSM unavailable" warning first-popped. Then popped every time I turned the ignition.
- Custom Shop 1 - We don't have the tools to recalibrate.
- Toyota Dealership - "Sure we can recalibrate." 7 hours later. "We tried to recalibrate but since it's not in factory mounts, it failed". From here on out, the warning turned into an actual OBD code "BSM malfunction, see dealer"
- Custom Shop 2 / Sensor Calibration Specialist - "We won't recalibrate if it's not mounted in factory mounting position. Too much risk for us as a business. We will consider recalibrating if you mount it back to factory".
- I spent the weekend taking the bumper off and remounting the BSM to factory mounts. Disconnected the batter for an hour to reset the computer. OBD Codes did not change. Still taking over the MID and unable to dismiss unless digging through menus to disable BSM and RCTA every time I turned on the ignition.
- Ended up unplugging the BSM cables, OBD Code exclamation point still there, but not taking over the MID. Can drive in relative peace without digging into the menu each time I turn the engine over. Small Amber "BSM off" light on dashboard still.

- Waiting for a specific code reader/clear tool linked above, suggested by another thread on this website from other users with a '24 4Runner. Will be here in a week. If it can't clear the code (hoping the sensors don't actually need to be recalibrated, rather just code cleared), then I will take it to Custom Shop 2 to have it fully recalibrated for $600-700. Will also check with Bodyshop 1 to see if they are confident they can recalibrate at a cheaper rate.

At that point, this should be over and resolved. Assuming the code doesn't trip again due to the steel bumper. Yotaholic avoided all of this by not relocating the sensors at all, and it should work with the Ironman 4x4 bumper.

 

I got an OBD reader, cleared the codes, and they came right back. The next step is to follow that other post on 4runners.com to perhaps recalibrate the sensors using a cardboard/aluminum foil reflector. The OBD reader has custom Toyota software on it, but I don't think it will be able to handle the full ADAS recal process. It did make the incessant warning go away, and I'll update here if I try to calibrate myself vs just taking it into a specialist, paying $6-700 dollars, and being done with this.