1997 TOYOTA AVALON Owners Manual

35

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 occupants in the
following seats when added to the pri-
mary protection provided by the seat
belts.

Vehicles with separate front seats-
The SRS airbags are designed to pro-
tect the driver and front passenger.

Vehicles with bench front seats-The
SRS airbags are designed to protect
the driver and right-front 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 preventing or reduce injury by
inflating, in order to decrease the likeli-
hood of the driver's or front passenger's
head or chest directly hitting the steering
wheel or dashboard. The passenger air-
bag is activated even with no passenger
in the front seat.
SRS airbags
ProCarManuals.com

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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 airbag sensor assembly, in-
flators, warning light, interconnecting wir-
ing and power sources.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 (e.g. a collision in which the noise 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 the safety of all occupants, be sure to
always wear seat belts.
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37
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.The SRS airbag system mainly consists
of the following components and their
locations are shown in the illustration.
1. Steering wheel pad (airbag and inflat-or)
2. Airbag sensor assembly.
3. SRS airbag warning light.
4. Passenger airbag module (airbag and inflator)
The airbag sensor assembly consists of a
safing sensor and 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 w ill 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.
ProCarManuals.com

38
CAUTION!

The SRS airbag system is designed
only as a supplement to the prima-
ry protection of the seat belt sys-
tems. 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 for-
ward. To obtain maximum protec-
tion in an accident, the driver and
all passengers in the vehicle
should always wear their seat belts
when driving because serious in-
juries can result to unrestrained
occupants. For instructions and
precautions concerning 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.

Never 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 can
cause severe injury to the child.
Only when it is unavoidable should
a forward-facing child restraint
system be used on the front seat.
Always move the seat as far back as
possible because the force of de-
ploying airbag would cause seri-
ous injury to the child. For instruc-
tions concerning the installation of
the child restraint system, see
Child restraintº in this chapter.
ProCarManuals.com

39

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.
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 installa-
tion of a child restraint system, see
Child restraintº in this chapter.
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 serious injury as they are
projected rearward.
ProCarManuals.com

40

Do not modify, remove or open any
components or wiring, such as the
steering wheel column cover, front
passenger airbag cover, front pas-
senger airbag, airbag sensor as-
sembly. Doing any of these may
cause sudden SRS airbag inflation
or disable the system, which could
result in personal injury.
Failure to follow these instructions
can result serious injuries.
Do not perform any of the following changes without consulting your
Toyota dealer. Such changes caninterfere with proper operation ofthe SRS airbag system in somecases.
Installation of electronic itemssuch as a mobile two-way radio,
cassette tape player or compactdisc player
Modification of the suspension
system
Modification of the front endstructure
Attachment of a grille guard (bullbar, kangaroo bar, etc.), snow-
plow, winches or any other equip-ment to the front end
Repairs made on or near the frontend structure, console, steeringcolumn, steering wheel or dash-board near the front passenger
airbag
NOTICE
This SRS airbag system has a service re-
minder indicator to inf orm 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.
ProCarManuals.com

41
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. Toyota strongly urges the use of child
restraint systems for children small
enough to use them.
The laws of all fifty states in the U.S.A.
and Canada now require the use of a child
restraint system.
Your vehicle conforms to SAEJ1819.
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. See Seat beltsº for details.CAUTION!

For effective protection in automo-
bile accidents and sudden stops,
children must be properly re-
strained using a seat belt or child
restraint system depending on the
age and size of the child. Holding
a child in your arms is not a substi-
tute for a child restraint system. In
an accident, the child can be
crushed against the windshield, or
between you and the vehicle's in-
terior.

Toyota strongly urges use of a
proper child restraint system
which conforms to the size of the
child and is put on the rear seat.
According to accident statistics,
the child is safer when properly re-
strained in the rear seat than in the
front seat.

Never install a r ear-facing child re-
straint system on the front seat. In
the event of an accident, the force
of the rapid inflation of the airbag
can cause severe injury if a rear-
facing child restraint system is put
on the front seat.

Unless it is unavoidable, do not
put a forward-facing child re-
straint system on the front seat.

If you must install a forward-fac-
ing child restraint system on the
front seat, move the seat as far
back as possible.

Make sure that you have complied
with all installation instructions
provided by the child restraint
manufacturer and that the system
is properly secured.
Child restraintÐ
ÐChild restraint precautions
ProCarManuals.com

41
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. Toyota strongly urges the use of child
restraint systems for children small
enough to use them.
The laws of all fifty states in the U.S.A.
and Canada now require the use of a child
restraint system.
Your vehicle conforms to SAEJ1819.
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. See Seat beltsº for details.CAUTION!

For effective protection in automo-
bile accidents and sudden stops,
children must be properly re-
strained using a seat belt or child
restraint system depending on the
age and size of the child. Holding
a child in your arms is not a substi-
tute for a child restraint system. In
an accident, the child can be
crushed against the windshield, or
between you and the vehicle's in-
terior.

Toyota strongly urges use of a
proper child restraint system
which conforms to the size of the
child and is put on the rear seat.
According to accident statistics,
the child is safer when properly re-
strained in the rear seat than in the
front seat.

Never install a rea r-facing child re-
straint system on the front seat. In
the event of an accident, the force
of the rapid inflation of the airbag
can cause severe injury if a rear-
facing child restraint system is put
on the front seat.

Unless it is unavoidable, do not
put a forward-facing child re-
straint system on the front seat.

If you must install a forward-fac-
ing child restraint system on the
front seat, move the seat as far
back as possible.

Make sure that you have complied
with all installation instructions
provided by the child restraint
manufacturer and that the system
is properly secured.
Child restraintÐ
ÐChild restraint precautions
ProCarManuals.com