TOYOTA AVALON 2003 XX20 / 2.G Repair Manual

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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. Do not use the seat
until the seat belt is fixed. It cannot
protect an adult occupant or your
child from injury.
The driver and front outside passen-
ger ’s seat belt pretensioners are de-
signed to be activated in response to
a severe frontal impact.
When the airbag sensor detects the shock
of a severe frontal impact, the front out-
side seat belts are quickly drawn back in
by the retractors so that the belts snugly
restrain the front outside seat occupants.
The front outside seat belt pretensioners
are activated even with no passenger in
the front outside seat.This indicator comes on when the igni-
tion key is turned to the “ON” position.
It goes off after about 6 seconds. This
means the front outside seat belt pre-
tensioners are operating properly.
This warning light system monitors the
airbag sensor assembly, front airbag sen-
sors, side airbag sensors, driver ’s seat
position sensor, driver ’s seat belt buckle
switch, front seat belt pretensioner assem-
blies, inflators, warning light, interconnect-
ing wiring and power sources. (For details,
see “Service reminder indicators and
warning buzzers” in Section 15.)
—Front seat belt
pretensioners

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The front outside seat belt pretensioner
system mainly consists of the following
components 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 outside seat belt pretensioners
are controlled by the airbag sensor as-
sembly. The airbag sensor assembly con-
sists of a safing sensor and airbag sen-
sor.When the front outside seat belt preten-
sioners are activated, an operating noise
may be heard and a small amount of
smokelike gas may be released. This gas
is harmless and does not indicate that a
fire is occurring.
Once the front outside seat belt preten-
sioners have been activated, the seat belt
retractors 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 so may
cause sudden operation of the front
outside seat belt pretensioners or dis-
able the system, which could result in
death or serious injury.
Failure to follow these instructions
can result in death or serious inju-
ries. Consult your Toyota dealer
about any repairs and modifications.
NOTICE
Do not perform any of the following
changes without consulting your
Toyota dealer. Such changes can
interfere with proper operation of the
front outside seat belt pretensioners
in some cases.
Installation of electronic devices
such as a mobile twoway radio,
cassette tape player or compact
disc 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 (bull
bar, kangaroo bar, etc.), snowplow,
winches or any other equipment to
the front end
Repairs made on or near the front
fenders, front end structure or con-
sole

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This front outside seat belt pretensioner
system has a service reminder indicator to
inform the driver of operating problems. If
any 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 “ON” posi-
tion, or remains on.
The light comes on or flashes while
driving.
If either front outside seat belt does
not retract or cannot be pulled out due
to a malfunction or activation of the
relevant front outside seat belt preten-
sioner.
In the following cases, contact your Toyota
dealer as soon as possible:
The front of the vehicle (shaded in the
illustration) was involved in an accident
that was not severe enough to cause
the front outside seat belt pretension-
ers to operate.
Either front outside seat belt preten-
sioner assembly or surrounding area is
scratched, cracked, or otherwise dam-
aged.

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The SRS (Supplemental Restraint Sys-
tem) front airbags are designed to pro-
vide further protection for occupants in
the following seats in addition to the
primary safety protection provided by
the seat belts.
Vehicles with bucket front seats—The
SRS front airbags are designed to pro-
tect the driver and front passenger.
Vehicles with bench type front seats—
The SRS front airbags are designed to
protect the driver and front outside
passenger. They are not designed to
protect occupant in the center position.In response to a severe frontal impact,
the SRS front airbags work together with
the seat belts to help reduce injury by
inflating. The SRS front airbags help to
reduce injuries mainly to the driver ’s or
front passenger ’s head or chest caused by
directly hitting the steering wheel or dash-
board. The front passenger airbag is acti-
vated even with no passenger in the front
seat.
Be sure to wear your seat belt properly.
CAUTION
The driver or front passenger who is
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.
SRS driver airbag and front
passenger airbag

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This indicator comes on when the igni-
tion key is turned to the “ON” position.
It goes off after about 6 seconds. This
means the SRS front airbags are oper-
ating properly.
This warning light system monitors the
airbag sensor assembly, front airbag sen-
sors, side airbag sensors, driver ’s seat
position sensor, driver ’s seat belt buckle
switch, front seat belt pretensioner assem-
blies, inflators, warning light, interconnect-
ing wiring and power sources. (For details,
see “Service remainder indicators and
warning buzzers” in Section 15.)The SRS front airbag system is de-
signed to activate in response to a se-
vere frontal impact within the shaded
area between the arrows in the illustra-
tion.
The SRS front airbags will deploy if the
severity of the impact is above the de-
signed threshold level, comparable to an
approximate 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 front air-
bags may not deploy.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 “underrides”, or goes under,
the bed of a truck, etc.).
For the safety of all occupants, always
wear your seat belts properly.

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Collision from the sideCollision from the rear
Vehicle rollover
The SRS front 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 lowspeed frontal
collision.
Hitting a curb,
edge of pavement
or hard materialFalling into or
jumping over a
deep hole
Landing hard or vehicle falling
The SRS front airbags may deploy if a
serious impact occurs to the underside
of your vehicle. Some examples are
shown in the illustration.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
(airbag and inflator)
4. Driver ’s seat belt buckle switch
5. Driver ’s seat position sensor
6. Airbag sensor assembly
7. SRS warning light
The airbag sensor assembly consists of a
safing sensor and airbag sensor.

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In a severe frontal impact, the sensor de-
tects deceleration and the system triggers
the airbag inflators. At this time a chemi-
cal reaction in the inflators quickly fills the
airbags with nontoxic 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 nontoxic 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 designed 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.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. Wear-
ing a seat belt properly during an
accident reduces the chances of
death or serious injury or being
thrown out of the vehicle. For
instructions and precautions con-
cerning the seat belt system, see
“Seat belts” in this section.

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Improperly seated and/or restrained
infants and children can be killed
or seriously injured by the deploy-
ing front 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 restraint” in this section.
Never install a rearfacing child re-
straint system on the front passen-
ger seat because the force of the
rapid inflation of the front passen-
ger airbag can cause death or seri-
ous injury to the child.
Move seat
fully back
A forwardfacing child restraint sys-
tem should be allowed to be
installed on the front passenger
seat only when it is unavoidable.
Always move the seat as far back
as possible, because the force of
the deploying front passenger air-
bag could cause death or serious
injury to the child.

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Do not allow the child to lean
against the front door or around
the front door even if the child is
seated in the child restraint system.
It is dangerous if the side airbags
inflate, because the impact could
cause death or serious injury to the
child.
For instructions concerning the
installation of a child restraint sys-
tem, see “Child restraint” in this
section.
Do not sit on the edge of the seat
or lean over the dashboard when
the vehicle is in use, since the
front airbags inflate with consider-
able speed and force. Otherwise,
you may be killed or seriously in-
jured. Sit up straight and well back
in the seat, and always use your
seat belt properly.Do not allow a child to stand up,
or to kneel on the front passenger
seat, since the front airbag inflates
with considerable speed and force.
Otherwise, the child may be killed
or seriously injured.
Do not hold a child on your lap or
in your arms. Use a child restraint
system in the rear seat. For instruc-
tions concerning the installation of
a child restraint system, see “Child
restraint” in this section.

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Do not put objects or your pets on
or in front of the dashboard or
steering wheel pad that houses the
front airbag system. They might re-
strict inflation or cause death or
serious injury as they are projected
rearward by the force of the deploy-
ing airbags. Likewise, the driver
and front passenger should not
hold objects in their arms or on
their knees.
Do not modify or remove any wir-
ing. Do not modify, remove, strike
or open any components such as
the steering wheel pad, steering
wheel, column cover, front passen-
ger airbag cover, front passenger
airbag or airbag sensor assembly.
Doing so may cause sudden SRS
front airbag inflation or disable the
system, which could result in death
or serious injury.
Failure to follow these instructions
can result in death or serious injury.
Consult your Toyota dealer about any
repairs and modifications.NOTICE
Do not perform any of the following
changes without consulting your
Toyota dealer. Such changes can
interfere with proper operation of the
SRS front airbag system in some
cases.
Installation of electronic devices
such as a mobile twoway radio,
cassette tape player or compact
disc player
Modification of the suspension sys-
tem
Modification of the front end struc-
ture
Attachment of a grille guard (bull
bar, kangaroo bar, etc.), snowplow,
winches or any other equipment to
the front end
Repairs made on or near the front
fenders, front end structure, con-
sole, steering column, steering
wheel or dashboard near the front
passenger airbag