srs TOYOTA AVALON 2000 Owners Manual

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Indicator symbols on the instrument panel
Brake system warning light*1
Driver 's seat belt reminder light*1
Discharge warning light*1
Malfunction indicator lamp*1
Low oil pressure warning light*1
(type A)
(type B)
Low fuel level warning light
*1
Anti- lock brake system warning light*1(type A)
(type B)
Open door warning light*1
Rear light failure warning light*1
SRS warning light*1
Low windshield washer fluid level warning light*1
Front passenger 's seat belt reminder light*1
Vehicle skid control system warning light*1
Vehicle skid control system off indicator light*1
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SRS driver and front passenger airbags78
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SRS side airbags86
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Seats
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 the vehicle unless the
occupants are properly seated. Do
not allow sitting on top of a
folded- down seatback, or in the
luggage compartment. Persons not
properly seated and/or properly re-
strained by seat belts can be se-
verely injured in the event of emer-
gency braking or a collision.

During driving, do not allow pas-
sengers to stand up or move
around between seats. Severe inju-
ries can occur in the event of emer-
gency braking or a collision.
CAUTION
The SRS side airbags are installed in
the driver and front passenger seats.
Observe the following precautions.

Do not lean against the front door
when the vehicle is in use. The side
airbag inflates with considerable
speed and force; you may be killed
or seriously injured.

Do not modify or replace the seats
or surface of the front seats with
the side airbags. Such changes may
disable the system or cause the
side airbags to inflate, resulting in
death or serious injury. Consult
your Toyota dealer.

Do not use accessories for the
seats which cover the parts where
the side airbags should inflate.
Such accessories may prevent the
side airbags from activating correct-
ly, causing death or serious injury.
ÐSeat adjustment precautions
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 careful
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.
Front seatsÐ
ÐFront seat precautions
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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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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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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
impact, or if it is involved in an underride
collision (e.g. a collision in which the nose
of the vehicle underridesº, or goes under,
the bed of a truck, etc.).
It is possible that in some collisions at the
lower zone of airbag sensor detection and
activation the SRS airbags and seat belt
pretensioners will not operate all together.
For the safety of all occupants, always
wear your seat belts properly.
Collision from the sideCollision from
the rear
Vehicle rollover
The SRS airbags are not designed to
inflate if the vehicle is involved in a
side or rear collision, if it rolls over, or
if it is involved in a low- speed frontal
collision.
Hitting a curb,
edge of pavement
or hard material Falling into or
jumping over a
deep hole
Landing hard or vehicle falling
The SRS airbags may deploy if a seri-
ous impact occurs to the underside of
your vehicle. Some examples are shown
in the illustration.
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The SRS airbag system consists mainly of
the following components, and their loca-
tions are shown in the illustration.1. Front airbag sensors
2. Airbag module for driver (airbag and inflator)
3. Airbag module for front passenger (air- bag and inflator)
4. Airbag sensor assembly
5. SRS warning light
The airbag sensor assembly consists of a
safing sensor and airbag sensor. In a severe frontal impact, the sensors
detect deceleration and the system trig-
gers the airbag inflators. Then a chemical
reaction in the inflators quickly fills the
airbags 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
and residue along with non- toxic gas. This
does not indicate a fire. This gas is nor-
mally harmless; however, for those who
have delicate skin, it may cause a minor
skin irritation. Be sure to wash off any
residue as soon as possible to prevent
any potential 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 desi
gned to reduce serious inju-
ries, it may also cause minor burns or
abrasions and swelling.
Parts of the airbag module (steering wheel
hub, dashboard) may be hot for several
minutes, but the airbags themselves will
not be hot. The airbags are designed to
inflate only once. A crash severe enough to inflate the air-
bags may break the windshield as the
vehicle buckles. In vehicles with a pas-
senger airbag the windshield may also be
damaged by absorbing some of the force
of the inflating airbag.
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CAUTION

The SRS airbag system is designed
only as a supplement to the prima-
ry protection of the driver side and
front passenger side seat belt sys-
tems. The front seat occupants can
be killed or seriously injured by the
inflating airbags if they do not wear
the available seat belts properly.
During sudden braking just before
a collision, an unrestrained driver
or front passenger can move for-
ward into direct contact with or
close proximity to the airbag which
may then deploy during the colli-
sion. To ensure maximum protection
in an accident, the driver and all
passengers in the vehicle must
wear their seat belts. properly.
Wearing a seat belt during an acci-
dent reduces the chances of death
or serious injury or being thrown
out of the vehicle. For instructions
and precautions concerning the seat
belt system, see Seat beltsº in this
section.

Improperly seated and/or restrained
infants and children can be killed
or seriously injured by the deploy-
ing airbags. An infant or child who
is too small to use a seat belt
should be properly secured using a
child restraint system. Toyota
strongly recommends that all in-
fants and children be placed in the
rear seat of the vehicle and proper-
ly restrained. The rear seat is the
safest for infants and children. For
instructions concerning the installa-
tion of a child restraint system, see
Child restraintº in this section.

Never put a rear- facing child re-
straint system on the front seat be-
cause the force of the rapid infla-
tion of the front passenger airbag
can cause death or serious injury
to the child.
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