Air Bag Light On problems of the 2001 Toyota Highlander

Anytime car is kept outside in temperature below freezing, the airbag light illuminates and stays on after car is started. It continues to stay on until temperature warms up and car is subsequently restarted. There are reports of a TSB on this known problem stating the airbag is non-operable while light flashes, but Toyota has not issued a recall or is willing to repair under warranty. Note: this is a safety drive ability issue that should be treated as a recall.

When 2001 Toyota Highlander is started when cold, below 30 degrees f, air bag light blinks until 1) car warms up 2) car is restarted. I have been told by dealer that when light is blinking, air bags are inoperable. Ordinarily this car is kept in a garage so it is not very often started when below 30 f. I believe this problem has been with the car since new. I believe this problem is on many other Toyota Highlanders of this era because a google search for "Toyota Highlander air bag light blinks cold weather" brings up discussions of people talking about this problem for the first generation Highlanders 2001 - 2007.