Lexus ES300 2002 Owner's Manuals (in English)

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CAUTION
The SRS curtain shield airbags inflate with considerable
force. To avoid potential death or serious injury when
they inflate, the driver, front passenger and rear outside
passenger must:
 Wear their seat belts properly.
 Remain properly seated with their back upright and
against the seat at all times.
The indicator comes on when the ignition key is turned to
the “ON” 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 sensors, side and curtain shield airbag
sensor assemblies, curtain shield airbag sensor assemblies,
driver’s seat position sensor, driver’s seat belt buckle switch,
front seat belt pretensioner assemblies, inflators, warning light,
interconnecting wiring and power sources. (For details, see
“Service reminder indicators and warning buzzers” on page 48
for instructions.)

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The SRS front 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 front airbags will deploy if the severity of the impact
is above the designed threshold level, comparable to an
approximate 25 km/h (15 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 front 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 “underrides”, or goes under, the bed of a truck,
etc.).
It is possible that in some collisions at the lower zone of airbag
sensor
detection and activation the SRS airbags and seat belt
pretensioners will not operate all together.
For the safety of all occupants, always wear your seat belts
properly.

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 1Collision from the rear
2Vehicle rollover
The SRS front airbags are not designed to inflate if the
vehicle is involved in a rear collision, if it rolls over, or if
it is involved in a lowspeed frontal collision.
The SRS side and curtain shield airbags are designed to
inflate when the passenger compartment gets a severe
collision from the side.
The SRS side and curtain shield airbags may rather not to
activate in the impact in which the occupant wearing the seat
belt correctly would not get serious injury.
 1 Collision from the side to the vehicle body other
than the passenger compartment
2 Collision from the side at an angle
The SRS side and curtain shield airbag system may not
activate if the vehicle is subjected to a collision from the
side at certain angles, or a collision to the side of the
vehicle body other than the passenger compartment as
shown in the illustration.

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 1Collision from the front
2Collision from the rear
3Vehicle rollover
The SRS side and curtain shield airbags are not designed
to inflate if the vehicle is involved in a front or rear
collision, if it rolls over, or if it is involved in a lowspeed
side collision.
 1 Hitting a curb, edge of pavement or hard material
2Falling into or jumping over a deep hole
3Landing hard or vehicle falling
The SRS airbags may deploy if a serious impact occurs to
the underside of your vehicle. Some examples are shown
in the illustration.

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16E406
 1Side and curtain shield airbag sensor assemblies
2Airbag module for front passenger
(airbag and inflator)
3 Side airbag modules (airbag and inflator)
4Curtain shield airbag modules (airbag and inflater)
5Curtain shield airbag sensor assemblies
6SRS warning light
7Airbag module for driver (airbag and inflator)
8Driver’s seat position sensor
9Driver’s seat belt buckle switch
10Front airbag sensors
11Airbag sensor assembly
The SRS airbag system cons ists mainly of the above
components, and their locations are shown in the illustration.
The airbag sensor assembly consists of a safing sensor and
airbag sensor.

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In a severe frontal impact, the front airbag sensors detect
deceleration
and the system triggers the front airbag inflators.
In a severe side impact, the side and curtain shield airbag
sensor and/or the curtain shield airbag sensor trigger(s) the
side and curtain shield airbag inflators and/or the curtain shield
airbag inflator. At this time, a chemical reaction in the inflators
quickly fills the airbags with nontoxic gas to help restrain the
forward or lateral motion of the occupants.
When the SRS airbag operates, it produces a fairly loud noise
and release some smoke and residue along with nontoxic
gas. This does not indicate a fire. This gas is normally
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 injuries, it may also
cause minor burns or abrasions and swelling.
Parts of the airbag module (steering wheel hub, dashboard,
front seats, parts of the front and rear pillars and roof side) 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 driver and front passenger
airbags may break the windshield as the vehicle buckles. In
vehicles with a front 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 driver
side and front and rear outside passenger side seat
belt systems. The front and rear outside 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, front passenger or
rear outside passenger can move forward or
sideways into direct contact with or close proximity
to the airbag which may then deploy during the
collision. To ensure maximum protection in an
accident, the driver and all passengers in the vehicle
must wear their seat belts properly. Wearing 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
concerning the seat belt system, see “Seat belts” on
page 106.
 Improperly seated and/or restrained infants and
children can be killed or seriously injured by the
deploying airbags. An infant or child who is too small
to use a seat belt should be properly secured using
a child restraint system. Lexus strongly
recommends that all infants and children be placed
in the rear seat of the vehicle and properly restrained.
The rear seat is the safest for infants and children.
For instructions concerning the installation of a child
restraint system, see “Child restraint” on page 131 .

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Never install a rearfacing child restraint system on
the front passenger seat because the force of the
rapid inflation of the front passenger airbag can
cause death or serious injury to the child.Move seat fully back
A forwardfacing child restraint system 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 airbag could cause death
or serious injury to the child.
 Do not allow the child to lean against the front door
or around the front door even if the child is seated in
a child restraint system. It is dangerous if the side
airbag and curtain shield airbag inflate, because the
impact could cause death or serious injury to the
child.
 For instructions concerning the installation of a child
restraint system, see “Child restraint” on page 131.

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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 considerable speed and force.
Otherwise, you may be killed or seriously injured. Sit
up straight and well back in the seat, and always use
your seat belt properly. Do not lean against the front door when the vehicle
is in use, since the side airbag and curtain shield
airbag inflate with considerable speed and force.
Otherwise, you may be killed or seriously injured.
Special care should be taken especially when you
have a small child in the vehicle.
 Sit up straight and well back in the seat, distributing
your weight evenly in the seat. Do not apply
excessive weight to the outer side of the front seats
on vehicles with side airbags.

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Do not get your head closer to the area where the side
airbag and curtain shield airbag inflate. These
airbags inflate with considerable speed and force.
Otherwise, you may be killed or seriously injured.
Special care should be taken especially when you
have a small child in the vehicle.
 Do not allow a child to kneel on the passenger seat
facing the passenger’s side door. The side airbag
and curtain shield airbag inflate with considerable
speed and force; the child may be killed or seriously
injured. 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
instructions concerning the installation of a child
restraint system, see “Child restraint” on page 131.

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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 restrict inflation or
cause death or serious injury as they are projected
rearward by the force of the deploying airbags.
Likewise, the driver and front passenger should not
hold objects in their arms or on their knees.Do not attach a cup holder or any other device or
object on or around the door. When the side airbag
inflates, the cup holder or any other device or object
will be thrown with great force, or the side airbag may
not activate correctly, resulting in death or serious
injury. Likewise, the driver and front passenger
should not hold things in their arms or on their knees.