TOYOTA 4RUNNER 2004 N210 / 4.G Manual Online

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The front airbag sensors constantly moni-
tor the forward deceleration of the vehicle.
If an impact results in a forward decelera-
tion beyond the designed threshold level,
the system triggers the airbag inflators. At
this time a chemical reaction in the infla-
tors very quickly fills the air bags with
non− toxic gas to help restrain the forward
motion of the occupants. The front 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 non −toxic 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 safely exit
from the vehicle, you should do so imme-
diately. 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 is 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.CAUTION
The 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.
For instructions and precautions con-
cerning the seating position, see
“—Front seat precautions” on page
40 in this Section.

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Do not sit on the edge of the seat
or lean against the dashboard when
the vehicle is in use, since the
front passenger airbag could inflate
with considerable speed and force.
Anyone who is up against, or very
close to, an airbag when it inflates,
can be killed or seriously injured.
Sit up straight and well back in the
seat, and always use your seat belt
properly.Toyota strongly recommends that all
infants and children be placed in
the rear seat of the vehicle and be
properly restrained.
Do not allow a child to stand up or
kneel on the front passenger seat,
since the front passenger airbag
could inflate with considerable
speed and force. Otherwise, the
child may be killed or seriously in-
jured.
Do not hold a child on your lap or
in your arms. Use a child restraint
system in the rear seat. For instruc-
tions concerning the installation of
a child restraint system, see “Child
restraint” on page 88 in this Sec-
tion.

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Do not put anything or any part of
your baby on or in front of the
dashboard or steering wheel pad
that houses the front airbag sys-
tem. They might restrict inflation or
cause death or serious injury as
they are projected rearward by the
force of the deploying airbags. Like-
wise, the driver and front passenger
should not hold objects 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, dashboard
near the front passenger airbag,
front passenger airbag cover, front
passenger airbag or airbag sensor
assembly. Doing so may prevent the
front airbag system from activating
correctly, cause sudden activation
of the system or disable the sys-
tem, which could result in death or
serious injury.
Failure to follow these instructions
can result in death or serious injury.
Consult your Toyota dealer about any
repair and modification.NOTICE
Do not perform any of the following
changes without consulting your
Toyota dealer. Such changes can in-
terfere with proper operation of the
SRS front airbag system in some
cases.
 Installation of electronic devices
such as a mobile twoway 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 (bull
bar, kangaroo bar, etc.), snowplow,
winches or any other equipment to
the front end
 Repairs made on or near the front
fenders, front end structure, con-
sole, steering column, steering
wheel or dashboard near the front
passenger airbag

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This indicator comes on when the igni-
tion key is turned to the “ON” position.
It goes off after about 6 seconds. This
means the SRS front airbags are oper-
ating properly.
This warning light system monitors the
airbag sensor assembly, front airbag sen-
sors, side and curtain shield airbag sen-
sors, curtain shield airbag sensors, driv-
er ’s seat position sensor, driver ’s seat belt
buckle switch, seat belt pretensioner as-
semblies, inflators, warning light, “RSCA
OFF” indicator light, interconnecting wiring
and power sources. (For details, see “Ser-
vice reminder indicators and warning buzz-
ers” on page 137 in Section 1 −6.) If any of the following conditions occurs,
this indicates a malfunction of the airbags
or seat belt pretensioners. Contact your
Toyota dealer as soon as possible.
When the ignition key is turned to the
“ON” position, the light does not come
on, remains on or flashes.
The light comes on or starts flashing
while driving.
In the following cases, contact your Toyota
dealer as soon as possible:
The SRS front airbags have been in-
flated.
The front of the vehicle (shaded in the
illustration) was involved in an accident
that was not severe enough to cause
the SRS front airbags to inflate.
The pad section of the steering wheel
or dashboard (shaded in the illustra-
tion) is scratched, cracked, or other-
wise damaged.

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NOTICE
Do not disconnect the battery cables
before contacting your Toyota dealer.
The SRS (Supplemental Restraint Sys-
tem) side airbags and curtain shield air-
bags are designed to provide further
protection for the driver, front passen-
ger and rear passengers
∗
1/second pas-
sengers∗ 2 in addition to the primary
safety protection provided by the seat
belts.
∗ 1: Without third seats∗2: With third seats In response to a severe side impact, the
SRS side airbag and curtain shield airbags
in the impacted side work with the seat
belts to help reduce injury by inflating.
The SRS side airbags help reduce injuries
mainly to the driver’s or front passenger’s
chest. The SRS curtain shield airbags
help reduce injuries mainly to the driver ’s,
front passenger ’s or rear/second passen-
ger ’s head and help prevent them from
being thrown out of the vehicle.
The SRS side airbag and curtain shield
airbag on the passenger side are activated
even with no passenger in the front seat
or rear/second seat.
Roll sensing function:
In response to a vehicle rollover, the cur-
tain shield airbags on both sides work
with the seat belts to help reduce injury
by inflating. The curtain shield airbags
help reduce injuries mainly to the driver ’s,
front passenger ’s or rear/second passen-
ger ’s head and help prevent them from
being thrown out of the vehicle. (This
function can be turned off if inflation is
not desired. See “Roll sensing of curtain
shield airbags off switch” on page 87 in
this Section.)
The curtain shield airbags may activate
even when the side airbags are not acti-
vated.
SRS side airbags and curtain
shield airbags

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Always 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 front passe nger
when the SRS side airbags and curtain
shield airbags are inflated.
CAUTION
The SRS side airbag and curtain
shield airbag system is designed
only as a supplement to the
primary protection of the driver,
and front passenger and rear
/second passenger seat belt sys-
tems. To ensure maximum protec-
tion 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 con-
cerning the seat belt system, see
“Seat belts” on page 61 in this
Section.
Do not allow anyone to lean his/her
head or any part of his/her body
against the door or the area of the
seat, front p illar, rear pillar or roof
side rail from which the SRS side
airbag and curtain shield airbag
deploy even if he/she is a child
seated in the child restraint system.
It is dangerous if the SRS side air-
bag and curtain shield airbag in-
flate, and the impact of the deploy-
ing airbag could cause death or se-
rious injury to the occupant.Improperly seated and/or restrained
infants and children can be killed
or seriously injured by the deploy-
ing airbags. 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 in-
fants and children be placed in the
rear seats of the vehicle and prop-
erly restrained. The rear seats are
the safest for infants and children.
For instructions concerning the
installation of a child restraint sys-
tem, see “Child restraint” on page
88 in this Section.

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The SRS side airbags 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.
The SRS side airbags are designed to
inflate when the passenger compartment
area suffers a severe impact from the
side.
Always wear your seat belts properly.
Collision from the rear
Vehicle rollover
Collision from the front
The SRS side 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.The curtain shield airbags may not acti-
vate 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 illustra-
tion.
The curtain shield airbags are designed to
inflate when the passenger compartment
area suffers a severe impact from the
side or vehicle rollover.
Always wear your seat belts properly.

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The angle of
vehicle tip −up
is marginal Skidding vehicle
hitting a curb
stone
The curtain shield airbags may inflate
if the angle of vehicle tipup is margin-
al or if the skidding vehicle’s tires hit
a curb stone laterally as shown in the
illustration.
Collision from
the front
Collision from
the rear
Pitch end over end
The curtain shield airbags are not de-
signed to inflate if the vehicle is in-
volved in a front or rear collision, if it
pitches end over end, or if it is in-
volved in a lowspeed side collision.
Hitting a curb, edge
of pavement or
hard surface Falling into or
jumping over
a deep hole
Landing hard or vehicle falling
The SRS side and curtain shield 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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The SRS side airbag and curtain shield
airbag system consists mainly of the fol-
lowing components, and their locations are
shown in the illustration.
1. SRS warning light
2. Curtain shield airbag modules (airbag and inflator)
3. Side airbag modules (airbag and inflator)
4. Curtain shield airbag sensors
5. Side and curtain shield airbag sensors
6. Airbag sensor assembly The SRS side airbag and curtain shield
airbag system is controlled by the airbag
sensor assembly. The airbag sensor as-
sembly consists of a safing sensor and
airbag sensor.
In a severe side impact, the side and
curtain shield airbag sensor and/or the
curtain shield airbag sensor trigger(s) the
side airbag inflators and/or the curtain
shield airbag inflators. At this time a
chemical reaction in the inflators quickly
fills the airbags with non
−toxic gas to help
restrain the lateral motion of the occu-
pants.
In a vehicle rollover, the airbag sensor
assembly triggers the curtain shield airbag
inflator. At this time, a chemical reaction
in the inflators quickly fills the airbags
with non −toxic 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 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 safely exit
from the vehicle, you should do so imme-
diately.
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 swelling.
Front seats as well as parts of the front
and rear pillars, front, center and rear
garnish and roof interior may be hot for
several minutes, but the airbags them-
selves will not be hot. The airbags are
designed to inflate only once.

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CAUTION
SRS side airbags and curtain shield
airbags inflate with considerable
force. To reduce the possibility of
death or serious injury when they in-
flate, the driver, front passenger and
rear/second passengers must:
Wear their seat belts properly.
Remain properly seated with their
backs upright and against the seats
at all times.
Improper sitting and wearing of the
seat belts may not retain you inside
the vehicle.
Do not allow anyone to lean against
the door when the vehicle is in use,
since the side airbag and curtain
shield airbag could inflate with con-
siderable speed and force. Other-
wise, he/she may be killed or seri-
ously 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
seats with a side airbag, and to the
front pillar, rear pillar and roof side
rail with a curtain shield airbag.
Ty p e A
Ty p e B