belt TOYOTA SOLARA 1999 User Guide

SOLARA_U37
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.
When a passenger 's shoulder belt is com-
pletely extended and is then retracted
even slightly, the belt is locked in that
position and cannot be extended. This fea-
ture is used to hold the child restraint
system securely. (For details, see ºChild
restraintº in this chapter.) To free the belt
again, fully retract the belt and then pull
the belt out once more.
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
Toyota dealer. Do not use the seat
until the seat belt is fixed. It cannot
protect an adult occupant or your
child from injury.
Ta k e u p
slack
To o h i g h
Keep as low on
hips as possible
Adjust the position of the lap and
shoulder belts.
Position the lap belt as low as possible
on your hipsÐnot on your waist, then ad-
just it to a snug fit by pulling the s houlder
portion upward through the latch plate.
CAUTION
High- positioned lap belts and
loose- fitting belts both could cause
serious injuries due to sliding un-
der the lap belt during a collision
or other unintended result. Keep
the lap belt positioned as low on
hips as possible.
For your safety, do not place the
shoulder belt under your arm.

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38
To release the belt, press the buckle- re-
lease button and allow the belt to re-
tract.
If the belt does not retract smoothly, pull
it out and check for kinks or twists. Then
make sure it remains untwisted as it re-
tracts.REAR CENTER SEAT BELT
The rear center seat belt is a 3- point type
restraint with 2 buckles. Both seat belt
buckles must be correctly located and se-
curely latched for proper operation
Make sure the buckle 1 is securely
latched for ready use of the center seat
belt.
The buckle 1 should be separated only
when the rear left seatback is folded
down, if the luggage loaded in the en-
larged trunk will damage the webbing of
the rear center seat belt. (See ºFold- down
rear seatº in this chapter for the instruc-
tion of how to correctly connect the seat
belt.)Two buckles and tabs for rear center
seat belt
The two buckles for the rear center seat
belt are distinguished with size of the
buckle release button. Also the two tabs
have different shape for its end so that
the belt is not buckled in the wrong place.
CAUTION
Make sure the both buckles are cor-
rectly located and securely latched.
Failure to properly match the buckle
and tab may cause severe injury in
case of an accident or a co llision.

SOLARA_U39
CAUTION
Do not use the rear center seat belt
with either buckle released. Fastening
only the shoulder belt or lap belt may
cause severe personal injury in case
of sudden braking or a collision.
ÐSeat belt extender
If your seat belt cannot be fastened se-
curely because it is not long enough, a
personalized seat belt extender is avail-
able from your Toyota dealer free of
charge.
Please contact your local Toyota dealer so
that the dealer can order the proper re-
quired length for the extender. Bring the
heaviest coat you expect to wear for prop-
er measurement and selection of length.
Additional ordering information is available
at your Toyota dealer.
CAUTION
When using the seat belt extender,
observe the following. Failure to fol-
low these instructions could result in
less effectiveness of the seat belt re-
straint system in case of vehicle acci-
dent, increasing the chance of per-
sonal injury. Never use the seat belt extender if
you can fasten the seat belt withoutit.
Remember that the extender pro-
vided 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 origi-
nally intended for.

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40
To connect the extender to the seat
belt, insert the tab into the seat belt
buckle so that the ºPRESSº signs on
the 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 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 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.
ÐFront seat belt pretensioners
The driver and front passenger 's seat
belt pretensioners are designed to be
activated in response to a severe fron-
tal impact.
When the airbag sensor detects the shock
of a severe frontal impact, the front seat
belt is quickly drawn back in by the re-
tractor so that the belt snugly restrains
the front seat occupants.
The seat belt pretensioners are activated
even with no passenger in the front seat.

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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 front seat
belt pretensioners are operating proper-
ly.
This warning light system monitors airbag
sensor assembly, seat belt pretensioner
assembly, warning light, interconnecting
wiring and power sources. (For details,
see ºService reminder indicators and
warning buzzersº in Chapter 1- 5.)The seat belt pretensioner system mainly
consists of the following components and
their locations are shown in the illustra-
tion.1. Front airbag sensor
2. SRS airbag warning light
3. Seat belt pretensioner assembly
4. Airbag sensor assembly
The seat belt pretensioner is controlled by
the airbag sensor assembly. The airbag
sensor assembly consists of a safing sen-
sor and airbag sensor. When a seat belt pretensioner is acti-
vated, 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 occur-
ring.
Once the seat belt pretensioner has been
activated, the seat belt retractor remains
locked.
CAUTION
Do not modify, remove, strike or open
the front seat belt pretensioner as-
semblies, airbag sensor or surround-
ing area or wiring. Doing any of
these may cause sudden operation of
the front seat belt pretensioners or
disable the system, which could re-
sult in serious injury.
Failure to follow these instructions
can result in serious injuries.

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42
NOTICE
Do not perform any of the following changes without consulting yourToyota dealer. Such changes caninterfere with proper operation of the
seat belt pretensioners in some
cases.
Installation of electronic items such
as a mobile two- way radio, cassette
tape player or compact disc player
Repairs on or near the front seatbelt retractor assemblies
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 tothe front end
Repairs made on or near the front
fenders, front end structure or con- sole
This front seat belt pretensioner system
has a service reminder indicator to inform
the driver of operating problems. If either
of the following conditions occurs, this
indicates a malfunction of the airbags or
pretensioners. Contact your Toyota dealer
as soon as possible to service the
vehicle.
The light does not come on when the
ignition key is turned to the ºACCº or
ºONº position, or remains on.
The light comes on or flashes while
driving.
If either front seat belt does not retract
or can not be pulled out due to a
malfunction or activation of the preten-
sioner.
The front seat belt pretensioner assem-
bly or surrounding area has been dam-aged.
The front and side parts of the vehicle
(shaded in the illustration) were in-
volved in an accident that did not
cause the seat belt pretensioners to
operate.
The front seat belt pretensioner assem-
bly is scratched, cracked, or otherwise
damaged.

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The SRS (Supplemental Restraint Sys-
tem) airbags are designed to provide
further protection for the driver and
front passenger when added to the pri-
mary protection provided by the seat
belts.
In response to a severe frontal impact,
the SRS airbags work together with the
seat belts to help prevent 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 airbag
is activated even with no passenger in the
front seat.
Be sure to wear your seat belt.
CAUTION
A driver or front passenger 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.
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 airbags
are operating properly.
The SRS airbag warning light system
monitors the airbag sensor assembly, in-
flators, warning light, interconnecting wir-
ing and power sources. (For details, see
ºService reminder indicators and warning
buzzersº in Chapter 1- 5.)
SRS driver and front
passenger airbags

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44
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.
There may be the case that the SRS air-
bag will not activate with such an impact
in which the occupant wearing the seat
belt correctly would not get serious injury.
The SRS airbags will deploy if the severi-
ty of the impact is above the designed
threshold level, comparable to an approxi-
mate 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 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 ºunderridesº, or goes under,
the bed of a truck, etc.).
It is possible with collision severity at the
marginal level of airbag sensor detection
and activation that only one of your ve-
hicle's two airbags will deploy.
For the safety of all occupants, be sure
to always wear seat belts.
Collision from rear
Collision from the side 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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46
A crash severe enough to inflate the air-
bags may break the windshield as the
vehicle buckles. In vehicles with a pas-
senger 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 prima-
ry protection of the driver side and
front passenger side seat belt sys-
tems. The front seat occupants can
be killed or seriously injured by an
inflating airbag if they do not wear
the available seat belts. During sud-
den braking just before a collision,
an unrestrained driver or front pas-
senger can move forward into direct
contact with or close proximity to
the airbag which may then deploy
during the collision. To obtain maxi-
mum protection in an accident, the
driver and all passengers in the ve-
hicle must wear their seat belts.
Wearing a seat belt during an acci-
dent reduces the chances of death
or serious 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.

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48
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 killed or serious-
ly injured. 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 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 instruc-
tions concerning the installation of
a child restraint system, see ºChild
restraintº in this chapter.Do not put objects or your pets on
or in front of the dashboard or
steering wheel pad that houses the
airbag system. They might restrict
inflation or cause death or serious
injury as they are projected rear-
ward by the force of deploying air-
bags. Likewise, the driver and front
passenger should not hold things in
their arms or on their knees.