steering TOYOTA RAV4 1999 Owners Manual

'99 Rav4.U3
1. Instrument panel light control knob
2. Headlight and turn signal switch
3. Wiper and washer switches
4. Clock
5. Center differential lock button or driving
pattern selector button
6. Air conditioning controls
7. Emergency flasher switch
8. Rear window defogger switch
9. Car audio
10. Cigarette lighter
11. Ignition switch
12. Cruise control switch
13. Tilt steering lock release lever
14. Power door lock switch (without power windows)
15. Power rear view mirror control switch

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Part 1
OPERATION OF
INSTRUMENTS AND
CONTROLSÐ
Chapter 1- 3
Seats, Seat belts, Steering
wheel and Mirrors
Seats
Front seats
Rear seats
Flattening seatbacks
Head restraints
Seat belts
SRS driver and front passenger
airbags
Child restraint
Tilt steering wheel
Outside rear view mirrors
Anti- glare inside rear view
mirror
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 not 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.

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32
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.
Do not put objects under the seats.
The objects may interfere with the
seat- lock mechanism or unexpect-
edly push up the seat position ad-
justing lever; the seat may suddenly
move, causing the driver to lose
control of the vehicle.
While adjusting the seat, do not put
your hands under the seat or near
the moving parts. You may catch
and injure your hands or fingers.
ÐAdjusting front seats
Front seatsÐ
ÐSeat adjustment precautions

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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 ºACCº or
ºONº 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 preten-
sioner.
The front seat belt pretensioner assem-
bly or surrounding area has been dam-aged.
The front part of the vehicle (shaded
in the illustration) was involved in an
accident not of the extent to cause the
seat belt pretensioners to operate.
The front seat belt pretensioner assem-
bly is scratched, cracked, or otherwise
damaged.The SRS (Supplemental Restraint Sys-
tem) airbags are designed to provide
further protection for the driver and
front passenger when added to the pri-
mary protection provided by the seat
belts.
In response to a severe frontal impact,
the SRS airbags work together with the
seat belts to help prevent or reduce injury
by inflating, in order to decrease the likeli-
hood 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.
SRS driver and front
passenger airbags

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50
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 ºACCº or
ºONº 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, inflators, warning light, interconnect-
ing wiring and power sources. (For details,
see ºService reminder indicators and
warning buzzersº in Chapter 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.
There may be the case that the SRS air-
bags will not activate with such an impact
in which the occupant wearing the seat
belt correctly would not get serious injury.
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.

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52
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 airbag warning light
3. Airbag module for passenger (airbag 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. In a severe frontal impact, sensors detect
deceleration and the system triggers the
airbag inflators. Then a chemical reaction
in the inflators momentarily 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
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 minor
skin irritation. Be sure to wash off any
residue as soon as possible to prevent
minor 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 swellings.
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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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 rear-
ward by the force of the deploying
airbags. Likewise, the driver and
front passenger should not hold
things 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 any of these may cause sud-
den SRS 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 inju-
ries.NOTICE
Do not perform any of the following changes without consulting yourToyota dealer. Such changes can interfere with proper operation of the
SRS airbag system in some cases.
Installation of electronic items suchas a mobile two- way 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 (bullbar, kangaroo bar, etc.), snowplow,
winches or any other equipment tothe front end
Repairs made on or near the front fenders, front end structure, con-
sole, steering column, steering
wheel or dashboard near the frontpassenger airbag

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This SRS airbag system has a service
reminder indicator to inform the driver of
operating problems. If either of the follow-
ing conditions occurs, this indicates a
malfunction of the airbags. 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 ºACCº or
ºONº position, or remains on.
The light comes on while driving.In the following cases, contact your Toyota
dealer as soon as possible:
The SRS airbags have been inflated.
The front part of the vehicle (shaded
in the illustration) was involved in an
accident not of the extent to cause the
SRS airbags to inflate.
The pad section of the steering wheel
or front passenger airbag cover
(shaded in the illustration) is scratched,
cracked, or otherwise damaged.
NOTICE
Do not disconnect the battery cables
before contacting your Toyota dealer.
Toyota strongly urges the use of child
restraint systems for children small
enough to use them.
The laws of all fifty states in the U.S.A.
and Canada now require the use of a
child restraint system.
Your vehicle conforms to SAEJ1819.
If a child is too large for a child restraint
system, the child s hould sit in the rear
seat and must be restrained using the
vehicle's seat belt. See ºSeat beltsº for
details.
CAUTION
For effective protection in automo-
bile accidents and sudden stops,
children must be properly re-
strained using a seat belt or child
restraint system depending on the
age and size of the child. Holding
a child in your arms is not a sub-
stitute for a child restraint system.
In an accident, the child can be
crushed against the windshield, or
between you and the vehicle's inte-
rior.
Child restraintÐ
ÐChild restraint precautions

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Tilt steering wheel
Ty p e A
Ty p e B
To change the steering wheel angle,
hold the steering wheel, push down the
lock release lever, tilt the steering
wheel to the desired angle and release
the lever.
CAUTION

Do not adjust the steering wheel
while the vehicle is moving.
After adjusting the steering wheel,
try moving it up and down to make
sure it is locked in position.
Outside rear view mirrorsÐ
Adjust the mirror so that you can just
see the side of your vehicle in the mir-
ror.
Be careful when judging the size or dis-
tance of any object seen in the outside
rear view mirror on the passenger 's side.
It is a convex mirror with a curved sur-
face. Any object seen in a convex mirror
will look smaller and farther away than
when seen in a flat mirror.

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Part 1
OPERATION OF
INSTRUMENTS AND
CONTROLSÐ
Chapter 1- 6
Ignition switch,
Transmission and
Parking brake
Ignition switch with steering lock
Automatic transmission
Manual transmission
Center differential lock system
P ar k ing br ak e
Cruise control
ºSTARTºÐStarter motor on. The key
will return to the ºONº position when
released.
For starting tips, see Part 3.
ºONºÐEngine on and all accessories on.
This is the normal driving position.
ºACCºÐAccessories such as the radio
operate, but the engine is off.
If you leave the key in the ºACCº or
ºLOCKº position and open the driver's
door, a buzzer will remind you to remove
the key.
ºLOCKºÐEngine is off and the steering
wheel is locked. The key can be re-
moved only at this position.
You must push in the key to turn the key
from ºACCº to the ºLOCKº position. On
vehicles with an automatic transmission,
the selector lever must be in the ºPº posi-
tion before pushing the key.
When starting the engine, the key may
seem stuck at the ºLOCKº position. To
free it, first be sure the key is pushed all
the way in, and then rock the steering
wheel slightly while turning the key gently.
CAUTION
For manual transmission:
Never remove the key when the ve-
hicle is moving, as this will lock the
steering wheel and result in loss of
steering control.
NOTICE
Do not leave the key in the ºONº
position if the engine is not running.The battery will discharge and the ignition could be damaged.
Ignition switch with steering
lock