dashboard TOYOTA TACOMA 2003 Owners Manual (in English)

’03 Tacoma U (L/O 0209)
392003 MY TACOMA (OM35800U)
In the following cases, contact your Toyota
dealer as soon as possible:
The front part of the vehicle (shaded
in the illustration) was involved in an
accident that was not severe enough to
cause the front seat belt pretensioners
to operate.
Either front seat belt pretensioner as-
sembly or surrounding area is
scratched, cracked, or otherwise dam-
aged.
The SRS (Supplemental Restraint Sys-
tem) airbags are designed to provide
further protection for occupants in the
following seats in addition to the prima-
ry safety protection provided by the
seat belts.
Models with separate front seats—The
SRS airbags are designed to protect
the driver and front passenger.
Models with bench front seats—The
SRS airbags are designed to protect
the driver and rightfront passenger.
They are not designed to protect occu-
pant in the center position.In response to a severe frontal impact,
the SRS airbags work together with the
seat belts to help prevent or reduce injury
by inflating. The SRS airbags help to re-
duce injuries mainly to the driver’s or front
passenger ’s head or chest directly hitting
the steering wheel or dashboard. When
the passenger airbag manual onoff switch
is in the “ON” position, the front passen-
ger airbag is activated even with no pas-
senger in the front seat.
Be sure to 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 when the SRS air-
bags are inflated.
SRS driver airbag and front
passenger airbag
(vehicles with passenger airbag
manual onoff switch)

’03 Tacoma U (L/O 0209)
402003 MY TACOMA (OM35800U)
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.The passenger airbag system is
equipped with a manual onoff switch
and indicator light. Turning the passen-
ger airbag manual onoff switch clock-
wise to the “ON” position makes the
front passenger airbag system opera-
tional. Turning the passenger airbag
manual onoff switch counterclockwise
to the “OFF” position disables the front
passenger airbag system. The indicator
light on the passenger airbag manual
onoff switch will come on when the
front passenger airbag system has been
disabled.
See “Passenger airbag manual onoff
switch” in this section for detail.
CAUTION
Make sure that the indicator light is
off.
Do not turn off the passenger air-
bag manual onoff switch except
when a member of a passenger risk
group identified in TABLE 1 is oc-
cupying the right front passenger
seating position.
When the passenger airbag manual
onoff switch is turned off, the
front passenger airbag will not in-
flate in a collision and turning off
the front passenger airbag can re-
duce the occupant protection which
your vehicle safety systems can
provide to you in certain accidents
and increase the likelihood of seri-
ous personal injuries.

’03 Tacoma U (L/O 0209)
412003 MY TACOMA (OM35800U)
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 airbags are operating
properly.
This warning light system monitors the
airbag sensor assembly, front airbag sen-
sors, front seat belt pretensioner assem-
blies, inflators, warning light, interconnect-
ing wiring and power sources. (For details,
see “Service remainder indicators and
warning buzzers” in Section 15.)
TABLE 1: A PASSENGER RISK GROUP
Infant. An infant (less than 1 year old) who must ride in the front seat because:
Vehicle has no rear seat;
Vehicle has a rear seat too small to accommodate a rearfacing infant seat;
or
The infant has a medical condition which, according to the infant’s physician,
makes it necessary for the infant to ride in the front seat so that the driver
can constantly monitor the child’s condition.
Child age 1 to 12. A child age 1 to 12 must ride in the front seat because:
Vehicle has no rear seat:
Although children ages 1 to 12 ride in the rear seat(s) whenever possible,
children ages 1 to 12 sometimes must ride in the front because no space is
available in the rear seat(s) of vehicle; or
The child has a medical condition which, according to the child’s physician,
makes it necessary for the child to ride in the front seat so that the driver can
constantly monitor the child’s condition.
Medical condition. A passenger has a medical condition which according to his
or her physician:
Causes the passenger airbag to pose a special risk for the passenger: and
Makes the potential harm from the passenger airbag in a crash greater than the
potential harm from turning off the airbag and allowing the passenger, even if
belted, to hit the dashboard, or windshield in a crash.
For more detailed information concerning the passenger risk group, please contact
NHTSA at 18004249393 or Transport Canada at 18003330371.

’03 Tacoma U (L/O 0209)
432003 MY TACOMA (OM35800U)
Hitting a curb,
edge of pavement
or hard materialLanding hard or vehicle falling Falling into or
jumping over a
deep hole
The SRS airbags may deploy if a seri-
ous impact occurs to the underside of
your vehicle. Some examples are shown
in the illustration.The SRS airbag system consists mainly of
the following components, and their loca-
tions are shown in the illustration.
1. Front airbag sensors
2. Airbag module for driver (airbag and inflator)
3. Passenger airbag manual onoff switch
4. Airbag module for front passenger (airbag and inflator)
5. Airbag sensor assembly
6. SRS warning light
The airbag sensor assembly consists of a
safing sensor and airbag sensor. In a severe frontal impact, the sensors
detect deceleration and the system trig-
gers the airbag inflators. Then a chemical
reaction in the inflators quickly fills the
airbags with nontoxic gas to help restrain
the forward motion of the occupants.
When the airbags inflate, they produce a
fairly loud noise and release some smoke
and residue along with nontoxic gas. This
does not indicate a fire. This gas is nor-
mally 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 desi
gned to reduce serious inju-
ries, it may also cause minor burns or
abrasions and swelling.
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
inflate only once.

’03 Tacoma U (L/O 0209)
462003 MY TACOMA (OM35800U)
Do not sit on the edge of the seat
or lean over the dashboard when
the vehicle is in use, since the air-
bags 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 allow a child to stand up or
to kneel on the front passenger
seat, since the 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 instruc-
tions concerning the installation of
a child restraint system, see “Child
restraint” in this section.
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 the deploying
airbags. Likewise, the driver and
front passenger should not hold ob-
jects in their arms or on their
knees.

’03 Tacoma U (L/O 0209)
472003 MY TACOMA (OM35800U)
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, front passen-
ger airbag cover, front passenger
airbag or airbag sensor assembly.
Doing so may cause sudden SRS
airbag inflation 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
repairs and modifications.NOTICE
Do not perform any of the following
changes without consulting your
Toyota dealer. Such changes can
interfere with proper operation of the
SRS 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
This SRS airbag system has a service
reminder indicator to inform the driver of
operating problems. If either of the follow-
ing conditions occurs, this indicates a
malfunction of the airbags. 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 “ON” posi-
tion, or the light remains on.
The light comes on while driving.

’03 Tacoma U (L/O 0209)
482003 MY TACOMA (OM35800U)
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 airbags to inflate.
The pad section of the steering wheel
or front passenger airbag cover
(shaded in the illustration) is scratched,
cracked, or otherwise damaged.
NOTICE
Do not disconnect the battery cables
before contacting your Toyota dealer.
The SRS (Supplemental Restraint Sys-
tem) airbags are designed to provide
further protection for the driver and
front passenger in addition to the pri-
mary safety protection provided by the
seat belts.
In response to a severe frontal impact,
the SRS airbags work together with the
seat belts to help reduce injury by inflat-
ing. The SRS airbags help to reduce inju-
ries mainly to the driver’s or front passen-
ger ’s head or chest caused by directly
hitting the steering wheel or dashboard.
The front passenger airbag is activated
even with no passenger in the front seat.
Be sure to wear your seat belt properly.
SRS driver airbag and front
passenger airbag
(vehicles without passenger airbag
manual onoff switch)

’03 Tacoma U (L/O 0209)
492003 MY TACOMA (OM35800U)
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 when the SRS air-
bags are inflated.
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.
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 airbags are operating
properly.
This warning light system monitors the
airbag sensor assembly, front airbag sen-
sors, front seat belt pretensioner assem-
blies, inflators, warning light, interconnect-
ing wiring and power sources. (For details,
see “Service reminder indicators and
warning buzzers” in Section 15.)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 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.

’03 Tacoma U (L/O 0209)
512003 MY TACOMA (OM35800U)
The SRS airbag system consists mainly of
the following components, and their loca-
tions are shown in the illustration.1. Front airbag sensors
2. Airbag module for driver (airbag and inflator)
3. Airbag module for front passenger (airbag and inflator)
4. Airbag sensor assembly
5. SRS warning light
The airbag sensor assembly consists of a
safing sensor and airbag sensor. In a severe frontal impact, the sensors
detect deceleration and the system trig-
gers the airbag inflators. Then a chemical
reaction in the inflators quickly fills the
airbags with nontoxic gas to help restrain
the forward motion of the occupants.
When the airbags inflate, they produce a
fairly loud noise and release some smoke
and residue along with nontoxic gas. This
does not indicate a fire. This gas is nor-
mally 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 desi
gned to reduce serious inju-
ries, it may also cause minor burns or
abrasions and swelling.
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
inflate only once. 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.

’03 Tacoma U (L/O 0209)
532003 MY TACOMA (OM35800U)
Move seat
fully back
A forwardfacing child restraint sys-
tem 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 air-
bag could cause death or serious
injury to the child. For instructions
concerning the installation of a
child restraint system, see “Child
restraint” in this section.Do not sit on the edge of the seat
or lean over the dashboard when
the vehicle is in use, since the air-
bags 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 allow a child to stand up or
to kneel on the front passenger
seat, since the 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 instruc-
tions concerning the installation of
a child restraint system, see “Child
restraint” in this section.