warning TOYOTA PRIUS 2003 1.G Owners Manual

ii
Important information about this manual
Safety and vehicle damage warnings
Throughout this manual, you will see safety and vehicle dam-
age warnings. You must follow these warnings carefully to
avoid possible injury or damage.
The types of warnings, what they look like, and how they are
used in this manual are explained as follows:
CAUTION
This is a warning against anything which may
cause injury to people if the warning is ignored.
You are informed about what you must or must not
do in order to reduce the risk of injury to yourself
and others.
NOTICE
This is a warning against anything which may
cause damage to the vehicle or its equipment if the
warning is ignored. You are informed about what
you must or must not do in order to avoid or re-
duce the risk of damage to your vehicle and its
equipment.
Safety symbol
When you see the safety symbol shown
above, it means: “Do not...”; “Do not do
this”; or “Do not let this happen”.

5
4.Indicator symbols on the instrument panel and Multiinformation display
or
orBrake system warning light∗1
Discharge warning light∗1
Seat belt reminder light∗1
Front passenger ’s seat belt reminder light∗1
Malfunction indicator lamp∗1
Low coolant temperature indicator light
(in blue)∗1
High coolant temperature warning light (in red)∗1
Low fuel level indicator light∗1
Low engine oil pressure warning light∗1
Open door warning light∗1
Master warning light∗1
Antilock brake system warning light∗1
Headlight high beam indicator light
Headlight indicator light Turn signal indicator lights SRS warning light
∗1

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Tail light indicator light
Output control warning light
∗1
Cruise control indicator light∗3
Running mode position indicator light
Driving ready light
Hybrid system warning light
∗2
Power steering warning light∗2
Hybrid vehicle battery warning light∗2
∗1: For details, see ”Service reminder indicators and warning
buzzers— —Instrument cluster” on page 92 in Section 24.
∗2: For details, see “Service reminder indicators and warning
buzzers— —Multiinformation display” on page 99 in Section
24.
∗3: If this light flashes, see ”Cruise control” on page 109 in
Section 25.

12
The hybrid system automatically con-
trols the level of electrical power re-
maining in the hybrid vehicle battery.
With the selector lever in a position
other than “N”, electricity is generated
and charging occurs when the level of
electrical power in the hybrid vehicle
battery decreases. It is unnecessary to
charge the hybrid vehicle battery from
outside.
INFORMATION:
The gasoline engine starts and stops
automatically. (It stops during a low
load driving, deceleration or when the
vehicle stopped.)
If the “READY” light remains on, you
can start your vehicle using the electric
motor even with the gasoline engine
stopped.
The gasoline engine may not stop auto-
matically in the following conditions:
 During under gasoline engine warm
up
 During hybrid vehicle battery charg-
ing
 When the air conditioning is used in
the “MAX” mode, the gasoline engine
is frequently used. If the output control warning light ()
comes on in the instrument cluster, the
hybrid vehicle battery temperature is
low or high, or the hybrid vehicle bat-
tery capacity is decreased with the se-
lector lever at “R” during driving. As it
does not indicate the failure of the sys-
tem, you can continue driving but avoid
hard acceleration because the power is
insufficient (which is caused by the bat-
tery power deterioration).
The vehicle runs in combination with
the gasoline and electric power. Pay
special attention to the following items.
Be careful of a high voltage and high
temperature.
Your vehicle is equipped with the orange
colored cables connected to the hybrid
vehicle battery which contain a high volt-
age (about 300 V) and to other high volt-
age parts.
CAUTION
Do not touch or come in contact with
orange cables or battery terminals.
Electric shock may cause serious in-
jury or death. Read all caution labels.
A electric motor, coolant radiator and
some other parts reach high temperature
when you are driving. Caution labels are
applied to these parts. Carefully observe
the instructions on these caution labels.
10.Precautions for use

13
CAUTION
Never remove or disassemble the
high voltage parts, high voltage
cables (orange color) and their con-
nectors. It may cause death or seri-
ous injury.
12p007d
Inverter unitHybrid vehicle battery
Service
plug
High volt-
age cables
Do not touch the service plug.
The service plug is installed in the left
side trim of the trunk. It is provided to
shut out high voltage current of the hybrid
vehicle battery when the vehicle is in
need of repairs at a Toyota dealer.
CAUTION
The shaded parts in the illustration
are subjected to a high voltage.
Inappropriate handling may cause
an electric shock resulting in seri-
ous injury or death. Never touch
any item in shaded area.
Keep your hybrid vehicle’s driving char-
acteristics in mind.
As the vehicle runs with both the gaso-
line engine and electric motor, you may
hear a motor sound coming from the
engine compartment.
When the ignition switch is turned to
on or off, you may hear a sound com-
ing from the hybrid vehicle battery in
the trunk. However, this does not indi-
cate any trouble.
If the “READY” light is on, you can
start even with the gasoline engine
stopped.
When the hybrid vehicle battery tem-
perature is low or high, or the hybrid
vehicle battery capacity is decreased
with the selector lever at “R” during
driving, the output control warning light
comes on and the output might be lim-
ited for longer battery charge life.
If the output control warning light is on,
drive your vehicle without hard accel-
eration. The output power will be limit-
ed particularly when backing up.

14
When you put the running mode selec-
tor lever in “B” position and release
your foot from the accelerator pedal,
engine braking will be applied. Howev-
er, during the high speed driving you
may feel that deceleration by engine
braking is less than that of ordinary
vehicle.
Drive your vehicle without hard accel-
eration if the output control warning
light
() is on.
The hybrid vehicle battery temperature is
low or high, or the hybrid vehicle battery
capacity is decreased with the selector
lever at “R” during driving. If this occurs,
the output control warning light comes on.
If the output control warning light is on,
the hybrid system output is limited. Drive
your vehicle without hard acceleration.
Vehicle performance might be reduced sig-
nificantly especially when backing up.
Be sure to put the running mode selec-
tor lever in “P” position when parking.
With the selector lever in “N” position, the
hybrid vehicle battery assembly is not
charged, even if the gasoline engine is
operating. You cannot run your vehicle if
the selector lever is left in “N” position for
a long time because the hybrid vehicle
battery assembly will be discharged. When you leave your vehicle, apply the
parking brake with the running mode
selector lever in “P” position and be
sure to remove the key and lock all the
doors.
When you leave the the ignition key in the
“ACC” or “ON” position if the hybrid sys-
tem is not operating, the hybrid system
may not start because the auxiliary bat-
tery will be discharged.
CAUTION
When you leave your vehicle, be
sure to shut off the hybrid system.
Be sure to put the running mode
selector lever in “P” position be-
cause the vehicle can start with the
“READY” light on and the engine
stopped (no engine sound and
vibration). When the “READY” light
is on, if you leave your vehicle with
the running mode selector lever in
a position other than “P” and “N”,
the vehicle will creep and start
abruptly with the accelerator pedal
being depressed by mistake. It may
cause death or serious injury.
12p008a
If the multiinformation display shows
a message, the master warning light
() comes on in the instrument clus-
ter. Read the message and follow the
instruction.
When you leave your vehicle, or stop
or park for a while, put the selector
lever in “P”.
Charging is necessary. With the selec-
tor lever in “N” position, charging will
not be applied. The electric generator
operates in “P”, “D” or “B” position. If
you continue driving, put the selector
lever in “D” or “B” position and depress
the accelerator pedal. Do not leave it
in “N” position. When driving in traffic
jam, run in “D” position.

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If you lose your transmitter, contact your
Toyota dealer as soon as possible to
avoid the possibility of theft, or an acci-
dent. (See “If you lose your wireless re-
mote control transmitter” on page 189 in
Section 5.)
For vehicles sold in U.S.A.
This device complies with Part 15 of the
FCC Rules. Operation is subject to the
following two conditions:
(1) This device may not cause harmful
interference, and (2) this device must
accept any interference received, includ-
ing interference that may cause unde-
sired operation.
NOTICE:
This equipment has been tested and
found to comply with the limits for a
Class B digital device, pursuant to Part
15 of the FCC Rules. These limits are
designed to provide reasonable protec-
tion against harmful interference in a
residential installation. This equipment
generates, uses and can radiate radio
frequency energy and, if not installed
and used in accordance with the instruc-
tions, may cause harmful interference to
radio communications. However, there is
no guarantee that interference will not
occur in a particular installation. If this
equipment does cause harmful interfer-
ence to radio or television reception,
which can be determined by turning the
equipment off and on, the user is en-
couraged to try to correct the interfer-
ence by one or more of the following
measures:Reorient or relocate the receiving an-
tenna.
Increase the separation between the
equipment and receiver.
Connect the equipment into an outlet
on a circuit different from that to
which the receiver is connected.
Consult the dealer or an experienced
radio/TV technician for help.
FCC WARNING:
Changes or modifications not ex-
pressly approved by the party respon-
sible for compliance could void the
user’s authority to operate the equip-
ment.
For vehicles sold in Canada
Operation is subject to the following two
conditions: (1) this device may not
cause interference, and (2) this device
must accept any interference, including
interference that may cause undesired
operation of this device.

48
22p010
This indicator comes on when the igni-
tion key is turned to the “ACC” or
“ON” position. It goes off after about
6 seconds. This means the front seat
belt pretensioners are operating proper-
ly.
The warning light system monitors the air-
bag sensor assembly, front airbag sen-
sors, side airbag sensors, front seat belt
pretensioner assemblies, warning light, in-
terconnecting wiring and power sources.
(For details, see “Service reminder indica-
tors and warning buzzers” on page 93 in
Section 24.)
22p011
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. When the front seat belt pretensioners are
activated, an operating noise may be
heard and a small amount of smokelike
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. Consult your Toyota dealer
about any repairs and modifications.

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22p013
The SRS (Supplemental Restraint Sys-
tem) front airbags are designed to pro-
vide further protection for the driver
and front passenger in addition to the
primary safety protection provided by
the seat belts.
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 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.Your vehicle is equipped with a crash
sensing and diagnostic module, which will
record the use of the seat belt restraint
system by the driver and pass
enger when
the SRS airbags are inflated.
CAUTION
A 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.
22p010
This indicator comes on when the igni-
tion key is turned to the “ACC” or
“ON” position. It goes off after about
6 seconds. This means the SRS front
airbags are operating properly.
The warning light system monitors the air-
bag sensor assembly, front airbag sen-
sors, side airbag sensors, front seat belt
pretensioner assemblies, warning light, in-
terconnecting wiring and power sources.
(For details, see “Service reminder indica-
tors and warning buzzers” on page 93 in
Section 24.)
26.SRS driver and front
passenger airbags

52
22p017a
The SRS airbag system mainly consists of
the following components and their loca-
tions are shown in the illustration.1. Front airbag sensors
2. SRS warning light
3. Airbag module for front passenger (air- bag and inflator)
4. Airbag sensor assembly
5. Airbag module for driver (airbag and inflator)
The airbag sensor assembly consists of a
safing sensor and airbag sensor. The airbag sensors constantly monitor the
forward deceleration of the vehicle. If an
impact results in a forward deceleration
beyond the designed threshold level, the
system triggers the airbag inflators. At this
time a chemical reaction in the inflators
very quickly fills the air
bags with nontox-
ic gas to help restrain the froward motion
of the occupants. The airbags then quickly
deflate, so that there is no obstruction of
the driver ’s vision should it be necessary
to continue driving.
When the airbags inflate, they produce a
loud noise and release some smoke and
residue along with nontoxic gas. This
does not indicate a fire. This smoke may
remain inside the vehicle for some time,
and may cause some minor irritation to
the eyes, skin or breathing. Be sure to
wash off any residue as soon as possible
to prevent any potential skin irritation with
soap and water. If you can physically and
safely exit the vehicle after a collision,
you should do so at the first opportunity. 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, primarily to the head and chest, it
may also cause other, less severe injuries
to the face, chest, arms and hands. These
are usually in the nature of minor burns
or abrasions and swelling, but the force of
a deploying airbag can cause more seri-
ous injuries, especially if an occupant’s
hands, arms, chest or head are in close
proximity to the airbag module at the time
of deployment. This is why it is important
for the occupant to: avoid placing any
object or part of the body between the
occupant and the airbag module; sit
straight and well back into the seat; wear
the available seat belt properly; and sit as
far as possible from the airbag module,
while still maintaining control of the ve-
hicle.
Parts of the airbag module (steering wheel
hub, airbag cover and inflator) may be hot
for several minutes after deployment, so
do not touch! The airbags inflate only
once. The windshield may be damaged by
absorbing some of the force of the inflat-
ing airbag.