dashboard TOYOTA 4RUNNER 1998 Owners Manual

4RUNNER (1998)
The SRS (Supplemental Restraint
System) airbags are designed to
provide further protection for the
driver and front passenger when
added to the primary protection
provided by the seat belts.
In response to a severe frontal im-
pact, the SRS airbags work together
with the seat belts to help prevent or
reduce injury by inflating, 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
activated even with no passenger in
the front seat.
Be sure to wear your seat belt.CAUTION
A driver or front passenger too
close to the steering wheel or
dashboard during airbag deploy-
ment can be killed or seriously
injured. Toyota strongly recom-
mends that: The driver sit as far back as
possible from the steering
wheel while still maintaining
control of the vehicle.
The front passenger sit as far
back as possible from the dash-
board.
All vehicle occupants be proper-
ly restrained using the available
seat belts.

4RUNNER (1998)
The SRS airbag system mainly con-
sists of the following components and
their locations are shown in the il-
lustration.
1 SRS airbag warning light
2 Airbag module for driver (airbag
and inflator)
3 Airbag module for passenger (air-
bag
and inflator)
4 Airbag sensor assembly
The airbag sensor assembly consists
of a safing sensor and airbag sensor. In a severe frontal impact, sensors
detect deceleration and the system
triggers the airbag inflators. Then a
chemical reaction in the inflators mo-
mentarily fills the air
bags with non-
toxic gas to help restrain the forward
motion of the occupants.
When the airbags inflate, they produce
a fairly loud noise and release some
smoke along with non- toxic gas. This
does not indicate a fire. Be sure to
wash off any residue as soon as pos-
sible to prevent minor skin irritation.
Deployment of the airbags happen in
a fraction of a second, so the airbags
must inflate with considerable force.
While the system is designed to re-
duce serious injuries, it may also
cause minor burns or abrasions and
swellings.
Parts of the airbag module (steering
wheel hub, dashboard) may be hot for
several minutes, but the airbags them-
selves will not be hot. The airbags are
designed to inflate only once.
A crash severe enough to inflate the
airbags may break the windshield as
the vehicle buckles. In vehicles with
a passenger airbag the windshield
may also be damaged by absorbing
some of the force of the inflating air- bag.
CAUTION
The SRS airbag system is de-
signed only as a supplement to
the primary protection of the
driver side and front passenger
side seat belt systems. The
front seat occupants can be
killed or seriously injured by an
inflating airbag if they do not
wear the available seat belts.
During sudden braking just be-
fore a collision, an unrestrained
driver or front passenger can
move forward into direct con-
tact with or close proximity to
the airbag which may then
deploy during the collision. To
obtain maximum protection in
an accident, the driver and all
passengers in the vehicle must
wear their seat belts. Wearing a
seat belt during an accident re-
duces the chances of death or
serious injuries or being thrown
out of the vehicle. For instruc-
tions and precautions concern-
ing the seat belt system, see
Seat beltsº in this chapter.

4RUNNER (1998)
Do not sit on the edge of the
seat or lean over the dashboard
when the vehicle is in use. The
airbags inflate with considerable
speed and force; you may be
killed or seriously injured. Sit
up straight and well back in the
seat, and always use your seat
belt.

4RUNNER (1998)
Do not put objects or your pets
on or in front of the dashboard
or steering wheel pad that
houses the airbag system. They
might restrict inflation or cause
death or serious injury as they
are projected rearward by the
force of deploying airbags. Like-
wise, the driver and front pas-
senger should not hold things
in their arms or on their knees.
Do not modify or remove any
wiring. Do not modify, remove,
strike or open any components
such as the steering wheel col-
umn cover, front passenger air-
bag cover, front passenger air-
bag, airbag sensor assembly.
Doing any of these may cause
sudden SRS airbag inflation or
disable the system, which could
result in death or serious injury.
Failure to follow these instruc-
tions can result in death or seri-
ous injuries.

4RUNNER (1998)
NOTICE
Do not perform any of the follow-
ing changes without consultingyourToyota dealer. Such changes can
interfere with proper operation ofthe SRS airbag system in somecases.
Installation of electronic itemssuch as a mobile two- way ra- dio, cassette tape player or
compact disc player
Modification of the suspensionsystem
Modification of the front endstructure
Attachment of a grille guard(bull bar, kangaroo bar, etc.),
snowplow, winches or any otherequipment to the front end
Repairs made on or near thefront end structure, console, steering column, steering wheel
or dashboard near the frontpassenger airbag