steering TOYOTA 4RUNNER 1996 Owners Manual

21. Side vent
2. Tilt steering lock release lever
3. Instrument cluster
4. Center vents
5. Personal lights
6. Electric moon roof switch
7. Power door lock switch
8. Power window switches
9. Automatic transmission selector lever
or manual transmission gear shift lever
10.Parking brake lever
11. Driving pattern selector button
12. Power back window switch
13. Front drive control lever
14. Lower vent
15. Hood lock release lever
16. Fuel filler door opener
17. Power rear view mirror control switch (with power windows)
Instrument panel overview

Part 1Seats Front seatsÐ
ÐSeat adjustment precautions
19
OPERATION OF INSTRUMENTS AND CONTROLSÐ
Chapter 1-3 Seats, Seat belts, Steering wheel and Mirrors
Seats
Front seats
Rear seats
Temporary third seat
Head restraints
Seat Belts
SRS airbags
Child restraint
Tilt Steering Wheel
Outside Rear View Mirror
Anti-glare inside rear view
Mirror
While the vehicle is being driven, all ve-
hicle
occupants should have the seatback
upright, sit well back in the seat and prop-
erly wear the seat belts provided.
CAUTION!
Do not drive with the occupants
not properly seated, such as sit-
ting on top of a folded-down seat-
back, or in the luggage compart-
ment. Persons not properly seatedand restrained by seat belts can be
severely injured in the event of emergency braking or a collision.
During driving, do not let passen- gers stand up or move around be-
tween seats. Balance can be un-steady and severe injuries can oc- cur in the event of emergency
braking or a collision. Adjust the driver's seat so that the foot
pedals, steering wheel and instrument
panel
controls are within easy reach of the
driver.CAUTION!
Adjustments should not be made
while the vehicle is moving, as the
seat may unexpectedly move and
cause the driver to lose control of the vehicle.
When adjusting the seat, be care-
ful not to hit the seat against a pas-
senger or luggage.
After adjusting the seat position,
try sliding it forward and backward
to make sure it is locked in posi- tion.
After adjusting the seatback, exert
body pressure to make sure it is
locked in position.
Do not put objects under the seats
as they may interfere with the seat-
lock mechanism or unexpectedly
push up the seat position adjust-
ing lever; the seat may suddenly
move, causing the driver to lose
control of the vehicle.

34
The SRS (Supplemental Restraint Sys-
tem) airbags are designed to provide
further protection to the driver and
front passenger when added to the pri-
mary protection provided by the seatbelts.
In response to a severe frontal impact, the
SRS airbags work together with the seatbelt to prevent or reduce injury by inflat- ing, in order to decrease the likelihood of
the driver's or front passenger's head or
chest directly hitting the steering wheel or dashboard. The passenger airbag is acti- vated even with no passenger in the frontseat.This indicator comes on when the
ignition key is turned to the ACCº or
ONº position. It goes off after about 6
seconds. This means the SRS airbags
are operating properly.
The SRS airbag warning light system
monitors the airbag sensor assembly, in-
flators, warning light, interconnecting wir-
ing and power sources.The SRS airbag system is designed to
activate in response to a severe frontal
impact within the shaded area be-
tween the arrows in the illustration.
The SRS airbags will deploy if the severity
of the impact is above the designed
threshold level, comparable to an approxi-
mate 20 km/h (14 mph) collision when im-
pacting straight into a fixed barrier that
does not move or deform.
If the severity of the impact is below the
above threshold level, the SRS airbags
may not deploy.
SRS airbags

35
However, this threshold velocity will be
considerably higher if the vehicle strikes
an object, such as a parked vehicle or sign
pole, which can move or deform on im-
pact, or if it is
involved in an underride col-
lision (e.g. a collision in which the nose of
the vehicle underridesº, or goes under, the bed of a truck). It is possible with collision severity at the marginal level of airbag sensor detection
and activation that only one of your ve-
hicle's two airbags will deploy. For your safety of all occupants, be sure to always wear seat belts.
The SRS airbags are not designed to inflate if the vehicle is subjected to a
side or rear impact, if it rolls over, or if
it is involved in a low-speed frontalcollision.The SRS airbag system mainly consists
of the following components and their
locations are shown in the illustration.
1. SRS airbag warning light.
2. Steering wheel pad (airbag and inflat- or)
3. Passenger airbag module (airbag and inflator)
4. Airbag sensor assembly.
The airbag sensor assembly consists of a
safing sensor and airbag sensor.

36In a severe frontal impact, sensors detect
deceleration and the system triggers the
airbag inflators. Then a chemical reaction
in the inflators momentarily fills the air-
bags with non-toxic nitrogen gas to help
restrain the forward motion of the occu-pants. When the airbags inflate, they produce a fairly
loud noise and release some smoke
along with the nitrogen gas. This is not harmful and does not indicate a fire. Be
sure to wash off any residue as soon as
possible to prevent minor skin irritation.
Deployment of the airbags happens in a
fraction of a second, so the airbags must
inflate with considerable force. While the
system is designed to reduce serious inju-
ries, it may also cause minor burns or
abrasions and swellings.
Parts of the airbag module (steering
wheel hub, dashboard) may be hot forseveral minutes, but the airbags them- selves w ill not be hot. The airbags are de-
signed to inflate only once.
A crash severe enough to inflate the air-
bags may break the windshield as the ve-
hicle buckles. In vehicles with a passen- ger airbag the windshield may also be
damaged by absorbing some of the force
of the inflating airbag.
CAUTION!
The SRS airbag system is de-
signed only as a supplement to
the primary protection of the seat
belt systems of the driver and
front passenger. The front seat oc-
cupants are particularly suscepti-
ble to injury if they do not wear
their seat belts; when sudden
braking or a collision occurs, they
may be thrown forward. To obtain
further protection in an accident,
the driver and all passengers in
the vehicle should always wear
their seat belts when driving. For
instructions and precautions con-
cerning the seat belt system, see
Seat beltsº in this chapter.
A baby or small child who is too
small to use a seat belt should be
properly secured in a rear seat us-
ing a child restraint system.
Do not use a rear-facing child re-
straint system in the front seat be- cause the force of the rapid infla-
tion of the passenger airbag may cause severe injury to the child.
Vehicles with a passenger airbag
display a caution label on the pas-
senger side instrument panel as
shown above to remind you not to install a rear-facing child restraint
system on the front seat.

38
Do not put objects on or in front of
the dashboard or steering wheel
pad that houses the airbag sys-
tem. They might restrict inflation
or cause personal injury as they
are projected rearward.
Do not modify, remove or open
any component or wiring, such as
the steering wheel, column cover,
front passenger airbag cover,
front passenger airbag, airbag
sensor assembly. Doing any of
these may cause sudden SRS air-
bag inflation or disable the sys-
tem, which could result in person-
al injury.
Failure to follow these instructions can result in severe injuries.
NOTICE
Do not perform any of the following changes without consulting your
Toyota dealer. Such changes can interfere with proper operation ofthe SRS airbag system in some cases.
Installation of electronic itemssuch as a mobile two-way radio,
cassette tape player or compactdisc player
Modification of the suspension
system
Modification of the front endstructure
Attachment of a grille guard (bullbar, kangaroo bar, etc.), snow-
plow, winches or any other equip-
ment to the front end
Repairs made on or near the front end structure, console, steeringcolumn, steering wheel or dash-board near the front passenger
airbag
This SRS airbag system has a service re-
minder indicator to inf orm the driver of op-
erating problems. If either of the following
conditions occurs, this indicates a mal-
function of the airbags. Contact your To-
yota dealer as soon as possible to service
the vehicle. The light does not come on when the
ignition key is turned to the ACCº or
ONº position, or remains on.
The light comes on while driving.

39
In the following cases, contact your Toyo-
ta dealer as soon as possible: The SRS airbags have been inflated.
The front part of the vehicle (shaded in the illustration) was involved in an ac-
cident not of the extent to cause the
SRS airbags to inflate.
The pad section of the steering wheel
or front passenger airbag cover
(shaded in the illustration) is scratch- ed, cracked, or otherwise damaged. Toyota strongly urges the use of child
restraint systems for children small
enough to use them.
The laws of all fifty states in the U.S.A.
and Canada now require the use of a child
restraint system.
CAUTION!
For effective protection in automo-
bile accidents and sudden stops,
children must be properly re-
strained. Holding a child in your
arms is not a substitute for a child
restraint system. In an accident, the
child can be crushed against the
windshield, or between you and the
vehicle's interior if you are unre-strained. A child restraint system for a small
child or baby must itself be restrained
on the seat with either the lap belt or
the lap portion of the lap/shoulderbelt.
The child restraint system should conform
to the size of the child and properly fit the
vehicle seat. For greater safety, the child
restraint
system should be installed in the
rear seat. According to accident statistics,
children are safer when properly re-strained in the rear seat than in the front seat.
CAUTION!
Do not install a child restraint sys-
tem in the temporary third seat. As
the child restraint system may not
be capable of being properly se-
cured due to the configuration of
this seat.
When installing a child restraint system,
follow the instructions provided by the
manufacturer of the system. General di- rections are also provided under the fol-
lowing illustrations.
Child restraintÐ
ÐChild restraint precautions ÐChild restraint system

39
In the following cases, contact your Toyo-
ta dealer as soon as possible: The SRS airbags have been inflated.
The front part of the vehicle (shaded in the illustration) was involved in an ac-
cident not of the extent to cause the
SRS airbags to inflate.
The pad section of the steering wheel
or front passenger airbag cover
(shaded in the illustration) is scrat-
ched, cracked, or otherwise damaged. Toyota strongly urges the use of child
restraint systems for children small
enough to use them.
The laws of all fifty states in the U.S.A.
and Canada now require the use of a child
restraint system.
CAUTION!
For effective protection in automo-
bile accidents and sudden stops,
children must be properly re-
strained. Holding a child in your
arms is not a substitute for a child
restraint system. In an accident, the
child can be crushed against the
windshield, or between you and the
vehicle's interior if you are unre-strained. A child restraint system for a small
child or baby must itself be restrained
on the seat with either the lap belt or
the lap portion of the lap/shoulderbelt.
The child restraint system should conform
to the size of the child and properly fit the
vehicle seat. For greater safety, the child
restraint
system should be installed in the
rear seat. According to accident statistics,
children are safer when properly re-strained in the rear seat than in the front seat.
CAUTION!
Do not install a child restraint sys-
tem in the temporary third seat. As
the child restraint system may not
be capable of being properly se-
cured due to the configuration of
this seat.
When installing a child restraint system,
follow the instructions provided by the
manufacturer of the system. General di- rections are also provided under the fol-
lowing illustrations.
Child restraintÐ
ÐChild restraint precautions ÐChild restraint system

49
To change the steering wheel angle,
hold the steering wheel, pull up the
lock release lever, tilt the steering
wheel to the desired angle and release
the lever.
When the steering wheel is in a low posi-
tion, it will spring up as you release the
lock release lever.
Do not adjust the steering wheel
while the vehicle is moving.
After adjusting the steering wheel, try moving it up and down to make sure it is locked in position.
CAUTION!
Adjust the mirror so you can see the
side of your vehicle in the mirror. Be careful when judging the size or dis- tance of any object seen in the outside
rear view mirror on the passenger's side.
It is a convex mirror with a curved surface.
Any object seen in a convex mirror will
look smaller and farther away than when
seen in a flat mirror.With power window (door armrest)
Without power window (instrument panel)
Tilt steering wheel Outside rear view mirrorsÐ
ÐPower rear view mirrorcontrol

Part 1Ignition switch with steering lock
65
OPERATION OF INSTRUMENTS AND CONTROLSÐ
Chapter 1-6 Ignition switch,
Transmissionand Parking brake
Ignition swi
tch with steering lock
Automatic transmission
Manual transmission
Four-wheel drive system
Rear differential lock system
Parking brake
Cruise control
Clutch start cancel switch
STARTºÐStarter motor on. The key
will return to the ONº position when released.
For starting tips, see Part 3. ONºÐEngine on and all accessories on. This is the normal driving position.
ACCºÐAccessories such as the ra-
dio operate, but the engine is off.
If you leave the key in the ACCº or
LOCKº position and open the driver's
door, a buzzer will remind you to remove
the key.
LOCKºÐEngine is off and the steer-
ing wheel is locked. The key can be re-
moved only at this position. You must push in the key to turn the key
from ACCº to the LOCKº position. On
vehicles with an automatic transmission,
the selector lever must be in the Pº posi-
tion before pushing the key. When starting the engine, the key may
seem stuck at the LOCKº position. To
free it, first be sure the key is pushed all
the way in, and then rock the steering
wheel slightly
while turning the key gently.For manual transmission: Never remove the key when the ve-
hicle is moving, as this will lock the
steering wheel and result in loss ofsteering control. CAUTION
!
NOTICE
Do not leave the key in the ONº position if the engine is not running.
The battery will discharge and the ignition could be damaged.