TOYOTA AVALON 2000 Manual PDF

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CAUTION
Persons should ride in their seats
properly wearing their seat belts
whenever the vehicle is moving.
Otherwise, they are much more likely
to suffer serious bodily injury or
death in the event of sudden braking
or a collision.
When using the seat belts, observe
the following:

Use the belt for only one person at
a time. Do not use a single belt for
two or more peopleÐeven children.

Avoid reclining the seatbacks too
much. The seat belts provide maxi-
mum protection when the seatbacks
are in the upright position. (Refer
to the seat adjustment instructions.)

Be careful not to damage the belt
webbing or hardware. Take care that
they do not get caught or pinched
in the seat or side doors.

Inspect the belt system periodically.
Check for cuts, fraying, and loose
parts. Damaged parts should be re-
placed. Do not disassemble or
modify the system.

Keep the belts clean and dry. If
they need cleaning, use a mild soap
solution or lukewarm water. Never
use bleach, dye, or abrasive clean-
ersÐthey may severely weaken the
belts. (See Cleaning the interiorº
in Section 5.)

Replace the belt assembly (includ-
ing bolts) if it has been used in a
severe impact. The entire assembly
should be replaced even if damage
is not obvious.
Adjust the seat as needed (front seats
only) and sit up straight and well back
in the seat. To fasten your belt, pull it
out of the retractor and insert the tab
into the buckle.
You will hear a click when the tab locks
into the buckle.
The seat belt length automatically adjusts
to your size and the seat position.
The retractor will lock the belt during a
sudden stop or on impact. It also may
lock if you lean forward too quickly. A
slow, easy motion will allow the belt to
extend, and you can move around freely.
ÐFront outside and rear seat
belts (3- point type)
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If the seat belt cannot be pulled out of the
retractor, firmly pull the belt and release
it. You will then be able to smoothly pull
the belt out of the retractor.
When a passenger 's shoulder belt is com-
pletely extended and is then retracted
even slightly, the belt is locked in that
position and cannot be extended. This fea-
ture is used to hold the child restraint
system securely. (For details, see Child
restraintº in this section.) To free the belt
again, fully retract the belt and then pull
the belt out once more.
CAUTION

After inserting the tab, make sure
the tab and buckle are locked and
that the belt is not twisted.

Do not insert coins, clips, etc. in
the buckle as this may prevent you
from properly latching the tab and
buckle.

If the seat belt does not function
normally, immediately contact your
Toyota dealer. Do not use the seat
until the seat belt is fixed. It cannot
protect an adult occupant or your
child from injury.
Seat belts with an adjustable shoulder
anchorÐ
Adjust the shoulder anchor position to
your size.
To raise: Slide the anchor up.
To lower: Push in the lock release button
and slide the anchor down.
After adjustment, make sure the anchor is
locked in position.
CAUTION
Always make sure the shoulder belt
is positioned across the center of
your shoulder. The belt should be
kept away from your neck, but not
falling off your shoulder. Failure to
do so could reduce the amount of
protection in an accident and cause
serious injuries in a collision.
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Ta k e u p
slack
To o h i g h
Keep as low on
hips as possible
Adjust the position of the lap and
shoulder belts.
Position the lap belt as low as possible
on your hipsÐnot on your waist, then ad-
just it to a snug fit by pulling the shoulder
portion upward through the latch plate.
CAUTION

High- positioned lap belts and
loose- fitting belts both could cause
serious injuries due to sliding un-
der the lap belt during a collision
or other unintended result. Keep
the lap belt positioned as low on
hips as possible.

For your safety, do not place the
shoulder belt under your arm.
To release the belt, press the buckle- re-
lease button and allow the belt to re-
tract.
If the belt does not retract smoothly, pull
it out and check for kinks or twists. Then
make sure it remains untwisted as it re-
tracts.
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Lengthen
Sit up straight and well back in the
seat. To fasten your belt, insert the tab
into the buckle.
You will hear a click when the tab locks
into the buckle.
If the belt is not long enough for you, hold
the tab at a right angle to the belt and
pull on the tab.
CAUTION

After inserting the tab, make sure
the tab and buckle are locked and
that the belt is not twisted.

Do not insert coins, clips, etc. in
the buckle as this may prevent you
from properly latching the tab and
buckle.

If the seat belt does not function
normally, immediately contact your
Toyota dealer. Do not use the seat
until the seat belt is fixed. It cannot
protect an adult occupant or your
child from injury.
To o h i g h
Adjust to
a snug fit
Keep as low on hips as possible
Remove excess length of the belt and
adjust the belt position.
To shorten the belt, pull the free end of
the belt.
Position the lap belt as low as possible
on your hipsÐnot on your waist, then ad-
just it to a snug fit.
CAUTION
High- positioned and loose- fitting lap
belt could cause serious injuries due
to sliding under the lap belt during a
collision or other unintended result.
Keep the lap belt positioned as low
on hips as possible.
ÐFront center seat belt
(2- point type)
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To release the belt, press the buckle- re-
lease button.The front center seat belt can be
stowed when not in use.
ÐSeat belt extender
If your seat belt cannot be fastened se-
curely because it is not long enough, a
personalized seat belt extender is avail-
able from your Toyota dealer free of
charge.
Please contact your local Toyota dealer so
that the dealer can order the proper re-
quired length for the extender. Bring the
heaviest coat you expect to wear for prop-
er measurement and selection of length.
Additional ordering information is available
at your Toyota dealer.
CAUTION
When using the seat belt extender,
observe the following. Failure to fol-
low these instructions could result in
less effectiveness of the seat belt re-
straint system in case of vehicle acci-
dent, increasing the chance of per-
sonal injury.

Never use the seat belt extender if
you can fasten the seat belt without
it.
ÐStowing the front center
seat belt
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Remember that the extender pro-
vided for you may not be safe when
used on a different vehicle, or for
another person or at a different
seating position than the one origi-
nally intended for.
To connect the extender to the seat
belt, insert the tab into the seat belt
buckle so that the PRESSº signs on
the buckle- release buttons of the ex-
tender and the seat belt are both facing
outward as shown.
You will hear a click when the tab locks
into the buckle.
When releasing the seat belt, press on
the buckle- release button on the extender,
not on the seat belt. This helps prevent
damage to the vehicle interior and extend-
er itself.
When not in use, remove the extender
and store in the vehicle for future use.
CAUTION

After inserting the tab, make sure
the tab and buckle are locked and
that the seat belt extender is not
twisted.

Do not insert coins, clips, etc. in
the buckle as this may prevent you
from properly latching the tab and
buckle.

If the seat belt does not function
normally, immediately contact your
Toyota dealer.
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ÐFront seat belt pretensioners
The driver and front passenger 's seat
belt pretensioners are designed to be
activated in response to a severe fron-
tal impact.
When the airbag sensor detects the shock
of a severe frontal impact, the front seat
belt is quickly drawn back in by the re-
tractor so that the belt snugly restrains
the front seat occupants.
The seat belt pretensioners are activated
even with no passenger in the front seat.
Collisions occurring at certain speeds and
angles may cause the seat belt preten-
sioners and SRS airbags not to operate
all together.This indicator comes on when the igni-
tion key is turned to the ACCº or
ONº position. It goes off after about
6 seconds. This means the front seat
belt pretensioners are operating proper-
ly.
This warning light system monitors the
airbag sensor assembly, front airbag sen-
sors, side airbag sensors, inflators, front
seat belt pretensioner assemblies, warning
light, interconnecting wiring and power
sources. (For details, see Service remind-
er indicators and warning buzzersº in Sec-
tion 1- 5.)The front seat belt pretensioner system
mainly consists of the following compo-
nents and their locations are shown in the
illustration.
1. Front airbag sensors
2. SRS warning light
3. Front seat belt pretensioner assemblies
4. Airbag sensor assembly
The front seat belt pretensioners are con-
trolled by the airbag sensor assembly. The
airbag sensor assembly consists of a saf-
ing sensor and airbag sensor.
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When the front seat belt pretensioners are
activated, an operating noise may be
heard and a small amount of smoke- like
gas may be released. This gas is harm-
less and does not indicate that a fire is
occurring.
Once the front seat belt pretensioners
have been activated, the seat belt retrac-
tors remain locked.
CAUTION
Do not modify, remove, strike or open
the front seat belt pretensioner as-
semblies, airbag sensor or surround-
ing area or wiring. Doing any of
these may cause sudden operation of
the front seat belt pretensioners or
disable the system, which could re-
sult in death or serious injury.
Failure to follow these instructions
can result in death or serious inju-
ries.
NOTICE
Do not perform any of the followingchanges without consulting yourToyota dealer. Such changes caninterfere with proper operation of the
front seat belt pretensioners in somecases.

Installation of electronic devices
such as a mobile two- way radio,
cassette tape player or compactdisc player

Repairs on or near the front seat
belt retractor assemblies

Modification of the suspension sys-tem

Modification of the front end struc-ture

Attachment of a grille guard (bullbar, kangaroo bar, etc.), snowplow,
winches or any other equipment tothe front end

Repairs made on or near the frontfenders, front end structure or con-
sole
This front seat belt pretensioner system
has a service reminder indicator to inform
the driver of operating problems. If either
of the following conditions occurs, this
indicates a malfunction of the airbags or
pretensioners. Contact your Toyota 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 or flashes while
driving.

If either front seat belt does not retract
or can not be pulled out due to a
malfunction or activation of the relevant
front seat belt pretensioner.
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In the following cases, contact your Toyota
dealer as soon as possible:

The front part of the vehicle (shaded
in the illustration) was involved in an
accident that was not severe enough to
cause the front seat belt pretensioners
to operate.

Either front seat belt pretensioner as-
sembly or surrounding area is
scratched, cracked, or otherwise dam-
aged.
The SRS (Supplemental Restraint Sys-
tem) airbags are designed to provide
further protection for occupants in the
following seats in addition to the prima-
ry safety protection provided by the
seat belts.

Vehicles with bucket front seatsÐThe
SRS airbags are designed to protect
the driver and front passenger.

Vehicles with bench type front seatsÐ
The SRS airbags are designed to pro-
tect the driver and right- front passen-
ger. They are not designed to protect
occupant in the center position.In response to a severe frontal impact,
the SRS airbags work together with the
seat belts to help reduce injury by inflat-
ing. The SRS airbags help to reduce inju-
ries mainly to the driver's or front passen-
ger 's head or chest directly hitting the
steering wheel or dashboard. The front
passenger airbag is activated even with
no passenger in the front seat.
Be sure to wear your seat belt properly.
SRS driver and front
passenger airbags
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CAUTION
A driver or front passenger too close
to the steering wheel or dashboard
during airbag deployment can be
killed or seriously injured. Toyota
strongly recommends that:

The driver sit as far back as pos-
sible from the steering wheel while
still maintaining control of the ve-
hicle.

The front passenger sit as far back
as possible from the dashboard.

All vehicle occupants be properly
restrained using the available seat
belts.This indicator comes on when the igni-
tion key is turned to the ACCº or
ONº position. It goes off after about
6 seconds. This means the SRS airbags
are operating properly.
This warning light system monitors the
airbag sensor assembly, front airbag sen-
sors, side airbag sensors, inflators, front
seat belt pretensioner assemblies, warning
light, interconnecting wiring and power
sources. (For details, see Service remain-
der indicators and warning buzzersº in
Section 1- 5.)The SRS airbag system is designed to
activate in response to a severe frontal
impact within the shaded area between
the arrows in the illustration.
The SRS airbags will deploy if the severi-
ty of the impact is above the designed
threshold level, comparable to an approxi-
mate 25 km/h (15 mph) collision in the
U.S.A. and 30 km/h (18 mph) collision in
Canada when impacting straight into a
fixed barrier that does not move or de-
form.
If the severity of the impact is below the
above threshold level, the SRS airbags
may not deploy.
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