1997 TOYOTA CAMRY sensor

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
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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.
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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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37

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 personal injury as they are
projected rearward.

Do not modify, remove or open
any components or wiring, such
as the steering wheel, column
cover, front passenger airbag
cover, front passenger airbag,
center 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 inju-
ries.
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
end structure, console, steering
column, steering wheel or dash-
board near the front passenger
airbag
NOTICE
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72
If the light comes on while you are driving,
have your vehicle checked by your Toyota
dealer as soon as possible.
The light will come on when the ignition
key is turned to the ONº position. After
about 3 seconds, the light will go off.
When the ABSº warning light is on (and
the brake system warning light is off), the
brake system operates conventionally but
anti-lock brake system is not assisting
brake performance so that the wheels can
lock-up during sudden braking or braking
on slippery road surfaces.
(h) Open Door Warning Light
This light remains on until all the doors
and back door are completely closed.
(i) Rear Light Failure Warning Light
If this light comes on when the headlight
switch is turned on (at the first or second
clickstop), it indicates that one or more of
the tail lights are burned out.
If it comes on when the brake pedal is de-
pressed, one or more stop lights are
burned out.
Have defective bulbs replaced as soon as
possible.(j) SRS Airbag Warning Light
This light will come on when the igni-
tion key is turned to the ACCº or ONº
position. After about 6 seconds, the
light will go off. This means the airbag
system is operating properly.
The warning light system monitors the
front airbag sensors, center airbag sensor
assembly, inflators, warning light, inter-
connecting wiring and power sources.
If either of the following conditions occurs,
this indicates a malfunction somewhere in
the parts monitored by the warning light
system. Contact your Toyota 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.
(k) Low Windshield Washer Fluid
Level Warning Light
The light warns that the windshield wash-
er fluid level is too low. Add washer fluid at
your earliest opportunity. (For instruc-
tions, see Adding washer fluidº in Chap-
ter 7-3.)(l) TRAC OFFº Indicator/Warning
light
This light comes on when the ignition key
is turned to ONº, and will go off after 3
seconds. This means that the system is
operating properly.
If one of the following conditions occurs,
this indicates a malfunction somewhere in
the parts monitors by the warning light
system. Contact your Toyota dealer as
soon as possible to service the vehicle.

The light remains on more than 3 sec-
onds after the ignition switch is turned
on.

The light comes on while driving even
if the TRAC OFFº switch is not
pushed.

The light flashes.
(m) Key Reminder Buzzer
This buzzer reminds you to remove the
key when you open the driver's door with
the ignition key in the ACCº or LOCKº
position.
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