Page 16 of 34
COMFORT ADJUSTMENT
68
Front seat belt pretensioners
The driver and front passenger’s seat belts are equipped
with a pretensioner which is designed to be activated in
response to a severe frontal impact.
The airbag system and each pretensioner operates
independently because each has its own separate sensor.
A pretensioner sensor is located in each front seat belt
retractor assembly. When the pretensioner sensor detects the
shock of a severe frontal impact, the front seat belt is quickly
drawn back in by the retractor so that the belt snugly restrains
the front seat occupant.
When a seat belt pretensioner is activated, 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 occurring.
Once the seat belt pretensioner has been activated, the seat
belt retractor remains locked.CAUTION
Do not modify, remove or strike the front seat belt
retractor assemblies or surrounding area. Doing any of
these may cause sudden operation of the front seat belt
pretensioners or disable the system, which could result
in personal injury.
Failure to follow these instructions can result in severe
injuries.
Page 17 of 34
COMFORT ADJUSTMENT
69
NOTICE
Do not perform any of the following changes without
consulting your Lexus dealer. Such changes can
interfere with proper operation of the seat belt
pretensioners in some cases.
Repairs on or near the front seat belt retractor
assemblies.
Modification of the suspension system.
Modification of the front end structure.
Attachment of a grille guard (bull bar, kangaroo bar,
etc.), snowplow, winches or any other equipment to
the front end.
In the following case, contact your Lexus dealer as soon as
possible:
If either front seat belt does not retract or cannot be pulled
out due to a malfunction or activation of the pretensioner.
The front seat belt retractor assembly or surrounding area
has been damaged.
SRS AIRBAGS
The SRS (Supplemental Restraint System) airbags are
designed to provide further protection to the driver and
front passenger when added to the primary protection
provided by the seat belts.
In response to a severe frontal impact, the SRS airbags
work together with the seat belts to prevent or reduce
injury by inflating, in order to decrease the likelihood of
the driver’s or front passenger’s head or face directly
hitting the steering wheel or dashboard.
The passenger airbag is activated even with no passenger in
the front seat.
Page 18 of 34
COMFORT ADJUSTMENT
70
This indicator comes on when the ignition key is turned to
the “ACC” or “ON” 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, inflators, warning light, interconnecting
wiring and power sources.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 severity of the impact is
above the designed threshold level, comparable to an
approximate 20 km / h (14 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 (a collision in which the nose of the
vehicle “underrides”, or goes under, the bed of a truck).
It is possible with collision severity at the marginal level of
airbag sensor detection and activation that only one of your
vehicle’s two airbags will deploy.
For your safety, be sure to always wear your seat belts.
Page 20 of 34
COMFORT ADJUSTMENT
72Deployment of the airbags happen 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 swellings.
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 airbags may break the
windshield as the vehicle buckles. In vehicles with a 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 seat belt
systems of the driver and front passenger. The front
seat occupants are particularly susceptible to injury
if they do not wear their seat belts; when sudden
braking or a collision occurs, they may be thrown
forward. To obtain further protection in an accident,
the driver and all passengers in the vehicle should
always wear their seat belts when driving. For
instructions and precautions concerning the seat
belt system, see “SEAT BELTS” on page 62.
A baby or small child who is too small to use a seat
belt should be properly secured in a rear seat using
a child restraint system.
Do not use a rear−facing child restraint system in the
front seat because the force of the rapid inflation of
the passenger airbag may cause severe injury to the
child.
Page 21 of 34
COMFORT ADJUSTMENT
73
Move fully back
When using a forward−facing child restraint system
in the front seat, the seat must be moved as far back
as possible. For instructions concerning the
installation of a child restraint system, see “CHILD
RESTRAINT” on page 76.
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 injured. Sit up straight and well back in
the seat, and always use your seat belt.
Page 24 of 34
COMFORT ADJUSTMENT
76The front part of the vehicle (shaded in the illustration) was
involved in an accident not of the extent 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 Lexus dealer.
CHILD RESTRAINT
Child restraint precautions
Lexus strongly urges the use of child restraint system for
children small enough to use it.
The laws of all fifty states in the U.S.A. and Canada now
require the use of a child restraint system.
CAUTION
For effective protection in automobile accidents and
sudden stops, children must be properly restrained.
Holding a child in your arms is not a substitute for a
child restraint system. In an accident, the child can be
crushed against the windshield, or between you and the
vehicle’s interior if you are unrestrained.
Child restraint system
A child restraint system for a small child or baby must
itself be restrained on the seat with the lap portion of the
lap / shoulder belt.
The child restraint system should conform to the size of the
child and properly fit the vehicle seat. For greater safety, the
child restraint system should be installed in the rear seat.
According to accident statistics, children are safer when
properly restrained in the rear seat than in the front seat.
Page 25 of 34
COMFORT ADJUSTMENT
77 When installing a child restraint system, refer to the
instructions provided by its manufacturer and follow the
directions under the following illustrations.
CAUTION
After installing the child restraint system, make sure it
is secured in place. If it is not restrained securely, it may
cause injury to the child in the event of a sudden stop or
accident.
When not using the child restraint system, keep it secured with
the seat belt or place it in the trunk or somewhere other than
in the passenger compartment. This will prevent it injuring
passengers in the event of a sudden stop or accident.Top strap anchors and locations
Your vehicle has anchors for securing the top strap of a child
restraint system. Anchor nuts are welded beneath the sheet
metal to permit installation of an anchor bracket for a child
restraint system.
To install an anchor bracket, use an 8 mm x 30 mm x 1.25 mm
coarse thread metric bolt and a 15 mm (0.6 in.) spacer. Note
that the bolts accompanying many child restraint systems are
not metric. You can damage the anchor nuts on your vehicle
if you force bolts with different thread into the anchor nuts.
Page 27 of 34
COMFORT ADJUSTMENT
79
1
Bolt 2
Anchor bracket 3
Spacer
4. Insert a 15 mm (0.6 in.) spacer, and tighten down the anchor
bracket for your child restraint system with a bolt. Torque the
bolt to 16.5 − 24.7 N
.m (1.68 − 2.52 kgf.m, 12.2 − 18.2 ft.lb.).
To comply with Canada Motor Vehicle Safety Standards,
vehicles sold in Canada are provided with a bracket set in the
glovebox.INSTALLATION ON REAR SEAT
When installing a rear−facing child restraint system, follow the
same procedure to install a forward−facing child restraint
system.
Fasten the lap and shoulder belt over the child restraint system
following the instructions provided by its manufacturer. Keep
the lap portion of the belt tight.
