Lexus ES300 1997 Seat Belts, Srs And Child Restraints

COMFORT ADJUSTMENT

63
SEAT BELTS
Seat belt precautions
Lexus strongly urges that the driver and passengers in the
vehicle be properly restrained at all times with the seat belts
provided. Failure to do so could increase the chance of injury
and/or the severity of injury in accidents.
Child. Use a child restraint system appropriate for the child
until the child becomes large enough to properly wear the
vehicle's seat belts. See ªChild restraintº for details.
If a child is too large for a child restraint system, the child
should sit in the rear seat and must be restrained using the
vehicle's seat belt. According to accident statistics, the child
is safer when properly restrained in the rear seat than in the
front seat.
If a child must sit in the front seat, the seat belts should be
worn properly. Do not let the child sit in your lap. It does not
provide sufficient restraint. If an accident occurs and the
seat belts are not worn properly, the force of the rapid
inflation of the airbag may cause severe injury to the child.
Do not allow the child to stand up or kneel on either rear or
front seats. An unrestrained child could suffer serious injury
during emergency braking or a collision.
If the shoulder belt falls across the child's neck or face, move
the child to the center position and use the center lap belt.Pregnant woman. Lexus recommends the use of a seat
belt. Ask your doctor for specific recommendations. The lap
belt should be worn securely and as low as possible over the
hips and not the waist.
Injured person. Lexus recommends the use of a seat belt.
Depending on the injury, first check with your doctor for
specific recommendations.
CAUTION!
Persons should ride in their seats properly wearing
their seat belts whenever the vehicle is moving.
Otherwise, they are much more likely to suffer
serious bodily injury in the event of sudden braking
or a collision.
When using the seat belts, observe the following:
Use the belt for only one person at a time. Do not
use a single belt for two or more people ± even
children.
Avoid reclining the seatbacks too much. The seat
belts provide maximum protection when the
seatbacks are in the upright position. (See
ªAdjusting seatback angle.º)
Be careful not to damage the belt webbing or
hardware. Take care that they do not get caught or
pinched in the seat or doors.
Inspect the belt system periodically. Check for
cuts, fraying, and loose parts. Damaged parts
should be replaced. Do not disassemble or
modify the system.

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64
Keep the belts clean and dry. If they need cleaning,
use a mild soap solution or lukewarm water. Never
use bleach, dye, or abrasive cleaners ± they may
severely weaken the belts.
Replace the belt assembly (including bolts) if it
has been used in a severe impact. The entire
assembly should be replaced even if damage is
not obvious.
Fastening front and rear seat belts
Adjust the seat as needed and sit up straight and well
back in the seat. To fasten your belt, pull it out of the
retractor and insert the tab into the buckle.
You will hear a click when the tab locks into the buckle.
The seat belt length automatically adjusts to your size and
seat position.The retractor will lock the belt during a sudden stop or on
impact. It may also lock if you lean forward to quickly. A slow,
easy motion will allow the belt to extend, and you can move
around freely.
When a passenger's shoulder belt is completely extended
and is then retracted even slightly, the belt is locked in that
position and cannot be extended. This feature is used to hold
the child restraint system securely. (For details, see ªChild
restraintº on page 76.) To free the belt again, fully retract the
belt and then pull the belt out once more.
If the seat belt cannot be pulled out of the retractor, firmly pull
the belt and release it. You will then be able to smoothly pull
the belt out of the retractor.
CAUTION!
After inserting the tab, make sure the tab and
buckle are locked and tha the belt 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 Lexus dealer. Do not
use the seat until the seat belt is fixed. It cannot
protect an adult occupant or your child from
injury.

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65
Adjust the position of the lap and shoulder belts.

Position the lap belt as low as possible on your hips ±
not on your waist.
Adjust it to a snug fit by pulling the shoulder portion
upward through the latch plate.
CAUTION!
High±positioned lap belts and loose±fitting belts
both could cause severe injuries due to sliding
under the lap belt during a collision or other
unintended result. Keep the lap belt positioned
as low on the hip as possible.
For your safety, do not place the shoulder belt
under your arm.
Front seat belts only
Adjust the shoulder anchor position to your size.
To raise the anchor position, push the anchor up. To lower
the anchor position, support the anchor while you push the
lock release button then slide the anchor down. After
adjustment, make sure the anchor is locked in position.
CAUTION!
Always make sure the shoulder belt is positioned
across the center of your shoulder. The belt should
be kept away from your neck, but not falling off your
shoulder. Failure to do so could reduce the amount
of protection in an accident and cause severe
injuries in a collision.

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66
To release the belt, press the buckle release button and
allow the belt to retract.
If the belt does not retract smoothly, pull it out and check for
kinks or twists. Then make sure it remains untwisted as it
retracts.
Seat belt extender
If the front or rear outside seat belts cannot be fastened
securely because it is not long enough, a personalized seat
extender is available from your Lexus dealer free of charge.
Please contact your local Lexus dealer so that the dealer can
order the proper required length for for the extender. Bring
the heaviest coast you can expect to wear for proper
measurement and selection of length. Additional ordering
information is available at your Lexus dealer.
CAUTION!
When using the seat belt extender, observe the
following. Failure to follow these instructions could
result in less effectiveness of the seat belt restraint
system in case of vehicle accident, increasing the
chance of personal injury.
Never use the seat belt extender if you can fasten
the seat belt without it.
Remember that the extender provided for you
may not be safe when used on a different vehicle,
or for another person or at a different seating
position than the one originally intended for.
To connect the extender to the seat belt, insert the tab
into the seat belt buckle so that the ªPRESSº signs on
the buckle release buttons of the extender and the seat
belt are both facing outward as shown.

COMFORT ADJUSTMENT
67 You will hear a click when the tab locks into the into the
buckle.
When releasing the seat belt, press on the buckle release
button on the extender, not on the seat belt. This helps
prevent damage to the vehicle interior and extender itself.
When not in use, remove the extender and store in the
vehicle for future use.
CAUTION!
After inserting the tab, make sure the tab and
buckle are locked and that the belt 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 Lexus dealer. Do not
use the seat until the seat belt is fixed. It cannot
protect an adult occupant or your child from
injury.
Front seat belt pretensioners
The driver and front passenger's seat belts are
equipped with a pretensioner which is designed to be
activated in response to a severe frontal impact.
The airbag system and each pretensioner operates
independently because each has its own separate sensor.
A pretensioner sensor is located in each front seat belt
retractor assembly. When the pretensioner sensor detects
the shock of a severe frontal impact, the front seat belt is
quickly drawn back in by the retractor so that the belt snugly
restrains the front seat occupant.
When a seat belt pretensioner is activated, an operating
noise may be heard and a small amount of smoke±like gas
may be released. This gas is harmless and does not indicate
that a fire is occuring.
Once the seat belt pretensioner has been activated, the seat
belt retractor remains locked.

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68
CAUTION!
Do not modify, remove or strike the front seat belt
retractor assemblies or surrounding area. Doing
any of these may cause sudden operation of the
front seat belt pretensioners or disable the system,
which could result in personal injury.
Failure to follow these instructions can result in
severe injuries.
NOTICE
Do not perform any of the following changes
without consulting your Lexus dealer. Such
changes can interfere with proper operation of the
seat belt pretensioners in some cases.
Repairs on or near the front seat belt retractor
assemblies.
Modification of the suspension system.
Modification of the front end structure.
Attachment of a grille guard (bull bar, kangaroo
bar, etc.), snow plow, winches or any other
equipment to the front end.
In the following case, contact your Lexus dealer as soon as
possible:
If either the front seat belt does not retract or cannot be
pulled out due to a malfunction or activation of the
pretensioner.
The front seat belt retractor assembly or surrounding area
has been damaged.

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69
SRS AIRBAGS
The SRS (Supplemental Restraint System) airbags are
designed to provide further protection to the driver and
front passenger when added to the primary protection
provided by the seat belts.
In response to a severe frontal impact, the SRS airbags
work together with the seat belts to help preventing or
reduce injury by inflating, in order to decrease the
likelihood 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.
This indicator comes on when the ignition key is turned
to the ªACCº or ªONº position. It goes off after about 6
seconds. This means the SRS airbags are operating
properly.
The SRS airbag warning light system monitors the front
airbag sensors, center airbag sensor assembly, inflators,
warning light, interconnecting wiring and power sources.

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70
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 severity of the impact is
above the designed threshold level, comparable to an
approximate 20 km/h (14 mph) collision when impacting
straight into a fixed barrier that does not move or deform.
If the severity of the impact is below the above threshold
level, the SRS airbags 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 ªunderrides,º or goes under, the bed of
a truck).
It is possible with collision severity at the marginal level of
airbag sensor detection and activation that only one of your
vehicle's two airbags will deploy.For the safety of all occupants, be sure to always wear seat
belts.

Collision from the side
Collision from the rear
Vehicle roll±over
The SRS airbags are not designed to inflate if the
vehicle is subjected to a side or rear impact, if it rolls
over, or if it is involved in a low±speed frontal collision.

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71

Airbag sensor assembly
Steering wheel pad assembly (airbag and
inflator)
Passenger airbag module (airbag and inflator)
SRS airbag airbag warning light
The airbag sensor assembly consists of a safing sensor and
center 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 airbags with
non±toxic nitrogen gas to help restrain the forward motion of
the occupants.
When the airbags inflate, they produce a fairly loud noise and
release some smoke along with nitrogen gas. This is not
harmful and does not indicate a fire. 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 designed to reduce serious injuries, 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 operate only
once.
A crash severe enough to inflate the airbags may break the
windshield as the vehicle buckles. In vehicles with a
passenger 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 primary protection of the seat
belt systems of the driver and front passenger.
The front seat occupants are particularly
susceptible to injury if they do not wear their seat
belts; when sudden braking or a collision occurs,
they may be thrown forward. To obtain maximum
protection in an accident, the driver and all
passengers in the vehicle should always wear
their seat belts when driving because death or
serious injuries can result to unrestrained
occupants. For instructions and precautions
concerning the seat belt system, see ªSeat beltsº
on page 63.

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72
A baby or small child who is too small to use a
seat belt should be properly secured in a rear seat
using a child restraint system.
Never put a rear±facing child restraint system in
the front seat because the force of the rapid
inflation of the passenger airbag can cause death
or serious injury to the child.
Move seat fully back
A forward±facing child restraint system should
be put on the front seat only when it is
unavoidable. Always move the seat as far back as
possible, because the force of the deploying
airbag could cause death or serious injury to the
child. For instructions concerning the installation
of a child restraint system, see ªChild restraintº
on page 76.