1996 TOYOTA CAMRY Owners Manual

36

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.
CAUTION!
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 seat
belts.
In response to a severe frontal impact, the
SRS airbags work together with the seat
belts to prevent or reduce injury by inflat-
ing, in order to decrease the likelihood of
the driver's or front passenger's head or
chest directly hitting the steering wheel or
dashboard. The passenger airbag is acti-
vated even with no passenger in the front
seat.This indicator comes on when the
ignition key is turned to the ACCº or
ONº position. It goes off after about 6
seconds. This means the SRS airbags
are operating properly.
The SRS airbag warning light system
monitors the front airbag sensors, center
airbag sensor assembly, inflators, warn-
ing light, interconnecting wiring and power
sources.
SRS airbags
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37
The SRS airbag system is designed to
activate in response to a severe frontal
impact within the shaded area be-
tween 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 approxi-
mate 20 km/h (14 mph) collision when im-
pacting 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 im-
pact, or if it is involved in an underride col-
lision (a collision in which the nose of the
vehicle underridesº, 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 ve-
hicle's two airbags will deploy.
For your safety, be sure to always wear
your seat belts.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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38
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.
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39

Do not use a rear-facing child re-
straint system in the front seat be-
cause the force of the rapid infla-
tion of the passenger airbag may
cause severe injury to the child.
Vehicles with a passenger airbag
display a caution label on the pas-
senger side instrument panel as
shown above to remind you not to
install a rear-facing child restraint
system on the front seat.
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
restraintº in this chapter.
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.
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40

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 instal-
lation of a child restraint system,
see Child restraintº in this chap-
ter.
Do not put objects on or in front of
the dashboard or steering wheel
pad that houses the airbag sys-
tem. 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 cover, front pas-
senger airbag, center airbag sensor
assembly or front airbag sensors.
Doing any of these may cause sud-
den SRS airbag inflation or disable
the system, which could result in
personal injury.
Failure to follow these instructions
can result in severe injuries.
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41
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 items
such as a mobile two-way radio,
cassette tape player or compact
disc player
Modification of the suspension
system
Modification of the front end
structure
Attachment of a grille guard (bull
bar, kangaroo bar, etc.), snow-
plow, winches or any other equip-
ment to the front end
Repairs made on or near the front
fenders, front and rear console,
steering column, steering wheel
or dashboard near the front pas-
senger 's airbag
NOTICE
This SRS airbag system has a service re-
minder indicator to inform the driver of op-
erating problems. If either of the following
conditions occurs, this indicates a mal-
function of the airbags. Contact your To-
yota dealer as soon as possible to service
the vehicle.

The light does not come on when the
ignition key is turned to the ACCº or
ONº position, or remains on.

The light comes on while driving.In the following cases, contact your Toyo-
ta dealer as soon as possible:

The SRS airbags have been inflated.

The front part of the vehicle (shaded in
the illustration) was involved in an ac-
cident 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.
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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(A) INSTALLATION ON REAR SEAT
CENTER (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.
CAUTION!
Do not use a rear-facing child re-
straint system in the rear seat if it in-
terferes with the lock mechanism of
the front seats. This may cause se-
vere injury to the child and front
passenger in case of sudden brak-
ing or a collision.
1. Fasten the center lap belt over the
child restraint system following the in-
structions provided by its manufactur-
er.
CAUTION!

After inserting the tab, make sure
the tab and buckle are locked.

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.
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