1997 Lexus ES300 airbag

COMFORT ADJUSTMENT

63
SEAT BELTS
Seat belt precautions
Lexus strongly urges that the driver and passengers in the
vehicle be properly restrained at all times with the seat belts
provided. Failure to do so could increase the chance of injury
and/or the severity of injury in accidents.
Child. Use a child restraint system appropriate for the child
until the child becomes large enough to properly wear the
vehicle's seat belts. See ªChild restraintº for details.
If a child is too large for a child restraint 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.
If a child must sit in the front seat, the seat belts should be
worn properly. Do not let the child sit in your lap. It does not
provide sufficient restraint. If an accident occurs and the
seat belts are not worn properly, the force of the rapid
inflation of the airbag may cause severe injury to the child.
Do not allow the child to stand up or kneel on either rear or
front seats. An unrestrained child could suffer serious injury
during emergency braking or a collision.
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. Lexus recommends the use of a seat
belt. Ask your doctor for specific recommendations. The lap
belt should be worn securely and as low as possible over the
hips and not the waist.
Injured person. Lexus recommends the use of a seat belt.
Depending on the injury, first check with your doctor for
specific recommendations.
CAUTION!
Persons should ride in their seats properly wearing
their seat belts whenever the vehicle is moving.
Otherwise, they are much more likely to suffer
serious bodily injury in the event of sudden braking
or a collision.
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 people ± even
children.
Avoid reclining the seatbacks too much. The seat
belts provide maximum protection when the
seatbacks are in the upright position. (See
ªAdjusting seatback angle.º)
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 periodically. Check for
cuts, fraying, and loose parts. Damaged parts
should be replaced. Do not disassemble or
modify the system.

COMFORT ADJUSTMENT
67 You will hear a click when the tab locks into the 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 extender 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 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 Lexus dealer. Do not
use the seat until the seat belt is fixed. It cannot
protect an adult occupant or your child from
injury.
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 occuring.
Once the seat belt pretensioner has been activated, the seat
belt retractor remains locked.

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69
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 help preventing or
reduce injury by inflating, 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 activated even with no passenger
in the front seat.
This indicator comes on when the ignition key is turned
to the ªACCº or ªONº 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,
warning light, interconnecting wiring and power sources.

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70
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 (e.g. a collision in which the
nose of the vehicle ªunderrides,º 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 the safety of all occupants, be sure to always wear seat
belts.

Collision from the side
Collision from the rear
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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71

Airbag sensor assembly
Steering wheel pad assembly (airbag and
inflator)
Passenger airbag module (airbag and inflator)
SRS airbag airbag warning light
The airbag sensor assembly consists 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 airbags with
non±toxic nitrogen gas to help restrain the forward motion of
the occupants.
When the airbags inflate, they produce a fairly loud noise and
release some smoke along with 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 happens 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 operate 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 maximum
protection in an accident, the driver and all
passengers in the vehicle should always wear
their seat belts when driving because death or
serious injuries can result to unrestrained
occupants. For instructions and precautions
concerning the seat belt system, see ªSeat beltsº
on page 63.

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72
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.
Never put a rear±facing child restraint system in
the front seat because the force of the rapid
inflation of the passenger airbag can cause death
or serious injury to the child.
Move seat fully back
A forward±facing child restraint system should
be put on the front seat only when it is
unavoidable. Always move the seat as far back as
possible, because the force of the deploying
airbag could cause death or serious injury to the
child. For instructions concerning the installation
of a child restraint system, see ªChild restraintº
on page 76.

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73
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 seriously 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
considerable 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
instructions concerning the installation of a child
restraint system, see ªChild restraintº on page 76.

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74
Do not put objects on or in front of the dashboard
or steering wheel pad that houses the airbag
system. They might restrict inflation or cause
serious injury as they are projected rearward by
the force of the deploying airbags.
Do not modify or remove any wiring, such as the
steering wheel column cover, front passenger
airbag cover, front passenger airbag, or airbag
sensor assembly. Doing any of these may cause
sudden SRS airbag inflation or disable the
system, which could result in death or serious
injury.
Failure to follow these instructions can result in
death or serious injuries.
NOTICE
Do not perform any of the following changes
without consulting your Lexus 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
equipment to the front end.
Repairs made on or near the front fenders,
console, steering column, steering wheel or
dashboard near the front passenger airbag.