TOYOTA SOLARA 1999 Workshop Manual
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CAUTION
SRS side airbags inflate with consid-
erable force. To avoid potential death
or serious injury during inflation of a
side airbag, Toyota strongly recom-
mends that the driver and front pas-
senger; Wear their seat belt
Remain properly seated with their
back against the seat at all times.
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 side
airbags are operating properly.
The warning light system monitors the air-
bag sensor assembly, inflators, warning
light, interconnecting wiring and power
sources. (For details, see ºService remind-
er indicators and warning buzzersº in
Chapter 1- 5.)The SRS side airbag system may not
inflate if the vehicle is subjected to a
collision from the side at an angle, or
a collision to the side of the vehicle
body other than the passenger compart-
ment shown in the illustration, which
impact is not severe enough for the
passenger compartment.
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52
There may be the case that the SRS side
airbags will not activate with such an im-
pact in which the occupant wearing the
seat belt correctly would not get serious
injury.
The SRS side airbags are designed to
inflate when the passenger compartment
gets a severe impact from the side.
For the safety of all occupants, be sure
to always wear seat belts.
The SRS side airbags are not designed
to inflate if the vehicle is rolled over.
If the impact on the body of the passen-
ger compartment is not strong as illus-
trated above, the relevant SRS side airbag
may not inflate.The SRS side airbag system mainly con-
sists of the following components and
their locations are shown in the illustra-
tion.
1. SRS airbag warning light
2. Side airbag sensor assembly
3. Side airbag module (airbag and inflator)
4. Airbag sensor assembly
The SRS side airbag system is controlled
by the airbag sensor assembly. The airbag
sensor assembly consists of a safing sen-
sor and airbag sensor.
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In a severe side impact, the side airbag
sensor triggers the side airbag inflators.
Then a chemical reaction in the inflators
momentarily fills the air
bags with non- tox-
ic gas to help restrain the lateral 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.
Front seats may be hot for several min-
utes, but the airbags themselves will not
be hot. The airbags are designed to inflate
only once.
CAUTION
The SRS side airbag system is de-
signed only as a supplement to the
primary protection of the driver
side and front passenger side seat
belt systems. The front seat occu-
pants can be killed or seriously in-
jured by an inflating airbag if they
do not wear the available seat
belts. During sudden braking just
before a collision, an unrestrained
driver or front passenger can move
sideward into direct contact with or
close proximity to the airbag which
may then deploy during the colli-
sion. To obtain maximum protection
in an accident, the driver and all
passengers in the vehicle must
wear their seat belts. Wearing a
seat belt during an accident re-
duces the chances of death or seri-
ous injuries or being thrown out of
the vehicle. For instructions and
precautions concerning the seat
belt system, see ºSeat beltsº in this
chapter.
Improperly seated and/or restrained
infants and children can be killed
or seriously injured by a deploying
airbag. 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 infants and
children be placed in the rear seat
of the vehicle and properly re-
strained. The rear seat is the safest
for infants and children. For in-
structions concerning the installa-
tion of a child restraint system, see
ºChild restraintº in this chapter.
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 airbag
inflates and the impact could cause
death or serious injury to the child.
For instructors concerning the
installation of a child restraint sys-
tem, see ºChild restraintº in this
chapter.