dashboard TOYOTA LAND CRUISER 1997 Owners Manual

29
To connect the extender to the seat
belt, insert the tab into the seat belt
buckle so that the PRESSº signs onthe buckle-release buttons of the ex-
tender and the seat belt are both facing
outward as shown.
You will hear a click when the tab locks into the buckle.
When releasing the seatbelt, press on the
buckle-release button on the extender,not on the seat belt. This helps prevent
damage to the vehicle interior and extend- er 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 seat belt extender 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 Toyota dealer. Do not use the
seat until the seat belt is fixed. It cannot protect an adult occupant
or your child from injury.
The SRS (Supplemental Restraint Sys-
tem) airbags are designed to provide
further protection to the driver and
front passenger when added to the pri-
mary protection provided by the seatbelts.
In response to a severe frontal impact, the
SRS airbags work together with the seat
belt to help preventing 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 air-
bag is activated even with no passenger
in the front seat. SRS airbags

31
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 frontalcollision.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 nitrogen gas to help
restrain the forward motion of the occu- pants.When the airbag inflates, they produce a fairly
loud noise and release some smoke
along with the nitrogen gas. This is notharmful 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 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 them- selves w ill not be hot. The airbags are de-
signed to inflate only once.
A crash severe enough to inflate the air-
bags may break the windshield as the ve-
hicle buckles. In vehicles with a passen-ger airbag the windshield may also be
damaged by absorbing some of the force
of the inflating airbag.

33
Do not sit on the edge of the seat
or lean over the dashboard when
the vehicle is in use. The airbags
inflate with considerable speed
and force; you may be severely in-
jured. Sit up straight and well back
in the seat, and always use your
seat belt. Do not allow a child to stand up, or
to kneel on the front passenger
seat. The airbag inflates with con-
siderable speed and force; the
child may be severely injured.
Do not hold a child on your lap or in your arms. Use a child restraint
system in the rear seat. For in-
structions concerning the installa- tion of a child restraint system, see
Child restraintº in this chapter.Do not put objects on or in front of
the dashboard or steering wheel
pad that houses the airbag system.
They might restrict inflation or
cause personal injury as they are
projected rearward.
Do not modify, remove or open any
component or wiring, such as the
steering wheel, column cover, front
passenger airbag, airbag sensor
assembly. Doing any of these may cause sudden SRS airbag inflation
or disable the system, which could
result in personal injury.