1997 TOYOTA CAMRY airbag

Spark ignition system of your
Toyota
The spark ignition system of your Toyota meets all re-
quirements of the Canadian Interference-Causing
Equipment Standard.
Installation of a mobile
two-way radio system
As the installation of a mobile two-way radio system
in your vehicle could affect electronic systems such
as multiport fuel injection systems/sequential multi-
port fuel injection system, cruise control system, anti-
lock brake system and SRS airbag system, be sure
to check with your Toyota dealer for precautionary
measures or special instructions regarding installa-
tion.
Scrapping of your Toyota
The SRS airbag devices in your Toyota contains ex-
plosive chemicals. If the vehicle is scrapped with the
airbag left as it is, it may cause an accident such as
a fire. Be sure to have the SRS airbag system re-
moved and disposed of by a qualified service shop or
by your Toyota dealer before you dispose of your ve-
hicle.
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Indicator symbols on the instrument panel
5
Anti-lock brake system warning light *1Brake system warning light *1
Seat belt reminder light*1
Discharge warning light*1
Malfunction indicator lamp*1
Low oil pressure warning light*1
Open door warning light*1
SRS airbag warning light*1
Low windshield washer fluid
warning light*1
Rear light failure warning light*1
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Part 1SeatsFront seatsÐ
ÐSeat adjustment precautions
23
OPERATION OF
INSTRUMENTS AND
CONTROLSÐ
Chapter 1-3
Seats, Seat belts, Steering
wheel and Mirrors

Seats

Front seats

Fold-down rear seat

Head restraints

Seat belts

SRS airbags

Child restraint

Tilt steering wheel

Outside rear view mirrors

Anti-glare inside rear view
mirror

Sun visors
While the vehicle is being driven, all ve-
hicle occupants should have the seatback
upright, sit well back in the seat and prop-
erly wear the seat belt provided.
CAUTION!

Do not drive with the occupants not
properly seated such as sitting on
top of a folded-down seatback, or
in the luggage compartment. Per-
sons not properly seated and not
properly restrained by seat belts
can be severely injured in the event
of emergency braking or a colli-
sion.

During driving, do not allow pas-
sengers to stand up or move
around between seats. Severe inju-
ries can occur in the event of emer-
gency braking or a collision.Adjust the driver's seat so that the foot
pedals, steering wheel and instrument
panel controls are within easy reach of the
driver.
CAUTION!

Adjustments should not be made
while the vehicle is moving, as the
seat may unexpectedly move and
cause the driver to lose control of
the vehicle.

When adjusting the seat, be careful
not to hit the seat against a passen-
ger or luggage.

After adjusting the seat position,
try sliding it forward and backward
to make sure it is locked in posi-
tion.

After adjusting the seatback, exert
body pressure to make sure it is
locked in position.

Do not put objects under the seats
as they may interfere with the seat-
lock mechanism or unexpectedly
push up the seat position adjusting
lever; the seat may suddenly move,
causing the driver to lose control of
the vehicle.
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28 Toyota strongly urges that the driver and
passengers in the vehicle be properly re-
strained 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 ap-
propriate for the child until the child be-
comes large enough to properly wear the
vehicle's seat belts. See Child restraintº
for details.
If a child is too large for a child restraint
system, the child should sit in the rear seat
and myst be restrained using the vehicle's
seat belt. According to accident statistics,
the shild 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. If an acci-
dent oocurs and the seat belts are not
worn properly, the force of the rapid infla-
tion of the airbag may cause serious injury
to the child.Do not allow the child to stand up or kneel
on either rear or front seats. An unre-
strained child could suffer serious injury
during emergency braking or a collision.
Also, do not let the child sit on your lap. It
does not provide suffiecent restraint.
If the shoulder belt falls across the child's
neck or face, have the child sit slightly
closer to the buckely side ot the seat so
that the belt lays across the shoulder.
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
possible over the hips and not on the
waist.
Injured person. Toyota 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 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 desassemble
or modify the system.
Seat beltsÐ
ÐSeat belt precautions
ProCarManuals.com

33
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 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.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 sourcesThe 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.
SRS airbags
ProCarManuals.com

34 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.
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 SRS airbag warning light.
2 Passenger airbag module (airbag and
inflator)
3 Airbag sensor assembly.
4 Steering wheel pad (airbag and inflat-
or)
The airbag sensor assembly consists of a
safing sensor and airbag sensor.
ProCarManuals.com

35
In a severe frontal impact, sensors detect
deceleration and the system triggers the
airbag inflators. Then a chemical reaction
in the inflators momentairly 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 or argon 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 designed
only as a supplement to the prima-
ry protection of the seat belt sys-
tems of the driver and front passen-
ger. The front seat occupants are
particularly susceptable 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 unrestrainted
occupants. For instructions and
precautions concering the seat
belt systems, 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 put 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.
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36

If you must use 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.
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.
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