1996 TOYOTA CAMRY ECU

30Toyota recommends that the driver and
passengers in the vehicle be properly re-
strained at all times with the seat belts pro-
vided. Failure to do so could increase the
chance of injury and/or the severity of injury
in accidents.
Baby or small child. Use a child restraint
system which fits your vehicle. See Child
restraintº for details.
Child. If a child is too large for a child re-
straint system, the child should sit in the
rear seat and must be restrained using the
vehicle's seat belt. According to accident
statistics, the child is safer when properly
restrained in the rear seat than in the front
seat. Do not allow the child to stand up or
kneel on either rear or front seats. If the
shoulder belt falls across the child's neck or
face, move the child to the center position
and use the center lap belt.
Pregnant woman. Toyota recommends
the use of a seat belt. Ask your doctor for
specific recommendations. The lap belt
should be worn securely and as low as pos -
sible over the hips and not on the waist.
Injured person. Toyota recommends the
use of a seat belt. Depending on the injury,
however, first check with your doctor.
CAUTION!
Persons should ride in their seats
properly wearing their seat belts
whenever the vehicle is moving.
Otherwise, they are much more like-
ly to suffer serious bodily injury in
the event of sudden braking or a col-
lision.
When using the seat belts, observe
the following:

Use the belt for only one person at
a time. Do not use a single belt for
two or more peopleÐeven chil-
dren.

Avoid reclining the seatbacks too
much. The seat belts provide maxi-
mum protection when the seat-
backs are in the upright position.
(See the seat adjustment instruc-
tions.)

Be careful not to damage the belt
webbing or hardware. Take care
that they do not get caught or
pinched in the seat or doors.

Inspect the belt system periodical-
ly. Check for cuts, fraying, and
loose parts. Damaged parts should
be replaced. Do not disassemble or
modify the system.

Keep the belts clean and dry. If they
need cleaning, use a mild soap
solution or lukewarm water. Never
use bleach, dye, or abrasive clean-
ersÐthey may severely weaken the
belts.

Replace the belt assembly (includ-
ing bolts) if it has been used in a
severe impact. The entire assem-
bly should be replaced even if
damage is not obvious.
Seat beltsÐ
ÐSeat belt precautions
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Seat belts with a seat belt hangerÐ
Make sure that the seat belt hanger is
secured in raised position. If it is not,
be sure to raise the seat belt hanger
until it locks in position.
You will hear a click when the seat belt
hanger locks in position.Adjust the seat as needed (front seats
only) and sit up straight and well back
in the seat. To fasten your belt, pull it
out of the retractor and insert the tab
into the buckle.
You will hear a click when the tab locks
into the buckle.
The seat belt length automatically adjusts
to your size and the seat position.
The retractor will lock the belt during a
sudden stop or on impact. It also may lock
if you lean forward too quickly. A slow,
easy motion will allow the belt to extend,
and you can move around freely.
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 posi-
tion and cannot be extended. This feature
is used to hold the child restraint system
securely. (For details, see Child 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.
ÐFront seat belts and rear
outside seat belts
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The center airbag sensor assembly con-
sists of a safing sensor and center 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 airbags inflate, they produce a
fairly loud noise and release some smoke
along with the nitrogen gas. This is not
harmful 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 happen 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 will 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.
CAUTION!

The SRS airbag system is de-
signed only as a supplement to
the primary protection of the seat
belt systems of the driver and
front passenger. The front seat oc-
cupants are particularly suscepti-
ble 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 con-
cerning the seat belt system, see
Seat beltsº in this chapter.

A baby or small child who is too
small to use a seat belt should be
properly secured in a rear seat us-
ing a child restraint system.
ProCarManuals.com

42Toyota strongly urges the use of child
restraint systems 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 automo-
bile accidents and sudden stops,
children must be properly re-
strained. 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 unre-
strained.A child restraint system for a small
child or baby must itself be restrained
on the seat with either the lap belt or
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 re-
strained in the rear seat than in the front
seat.
CAUTION!
Do not use child restraint system on
the rear-facing third seat.
When installing a child restraint system,
follow the instructions provided by the
manufacturer of the system. General di-
rections are also provided under the fol-
lowing 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 somewhere other than in passenger
compartment. This will prevent it injuring
passengers in the event of a sudden stop
or accident.
Your vehicle has anchors for securing the
top strap of a child restraint system. The
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.
For instructions about how to install the
anchor bracket, see (C) TOP STRAP
ANCHORS AND LOCATIONSº .
If your child restraint system does not pro-
vide any of the necessary parts, you can
purchase the following items from your
Toyota dealer.
* CRS installation kit
(Part No. 04731-22012)
Ðcontains 1 bolt, 3 types of spacers
and 1 locking clip.
* Bolt (Part No. 91511-60830)
Child restraintÐ
ÐChild restraint precautionsÐChild restraint system
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CAUTION!
Push and pull the child restraint
system in different directions to be
sure it is secure.
4. To remove the child restraint system,
press the buckle-release button and un-
hook the top strap.(B) INSTALLATION ON REAR SEAT
OUTSIDE (forward-facing rear seat
only)
When installing a rear-facing child re-
straint system, follow the same procedure
as when installing a forward-facing child
restraint system.
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3. Place the shoulder belt between the
vehicle seatback and the child restraint
system and allow it to retract. To hold the
child restraint system securely, let the
shoulder belt retract as far as it will go
while firmly pushing down the child re-
straint system.4. if your child restraint system requires
the use of a top strap, latch the hook onto
the anchor bracket and tighten the top
strap.
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Make sure the seat belt is securely
locked. Also make sure the child re-
straint system is secure by pushing
and pulling it in different directions.
CAUTION!
5. To remove the child restraint system,
press the buckle-release button and al-
low the belt to retract. Unlock the top
strap.(C) TOP STRAP ANCHORS AND
LOCATIONS
Sedan and coupeÐOn the filler panel
behind the rear seat
a. Make an anchor hole in the filler panel
With plugs: Take out the plug.
Without plugs: Find the hole in the filler
panel by running your fingers across the
filler panel trim at the locations shown in
the illustration. Then cut out the covering
directly above the hole in the filler panel.
b. 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 16.5Ð24.7 NVm (1.68Ð2.52
kgfVm, 12.2Ð18.2 ftVlbf).
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2. Fully extend the shoulder belt to put in
the lock mode.3. Place the shoulder belt between the
vehicle seatback and the child restraint
system and allow it to retract. To hold the
child restraint system securely, let the
shoulder belt retract as far as it will go
while firmly pushing down the child re-
straint system.4. If your child restraint system requires
the use of a top strap, latch the hook onto
the tab of the rear center belt and tighten
the top strap.
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