1997 TOYOTA RAV4 Owners Manual

16
Never sit on top of the vehicle
around the roof opening.
CAUTION!
To avoid serious personal injury, you
must do the following. While the vehicle is moving, always
keep the head, hands and other
parts of the body of all occupants away from the roof opening. Other-
wise, you could be seriously in-
jured if the vehicle stops suddenly
or if the vehicle is involved in an ac- cident.
Never sit on top of the vehicle
around the roof opening.
Never attempt to remove the sun
roof panels while driving. Other-
wise, the panels may become a haz-
ard by falling into or flying off the vehicle.
After installing the sun roof panel,
make sure they are firmly secured
by pushing up on the underside ofeach panel.
Never put your hands between the
sun roof panel and the surrounding roof.
To tilt up the sun roof, first pull down
on the handle while pushing in one of
the lock buttons. Then push up the
sun roof until it locks.
The rear sun roof can only be removedÐit is not designed for tilting up.
After tilting up the sun roof, make sure the
handle is securely in place. When closing the sun roof, slowly pull
down the handle while supporting the roof
with your hand. Close and lock the sun
roof by pushing the handle until it clicks.
Be sure to use your palm to push the han- dle. After closing the sun roof, make sure it is securely locked.
Detachable sun roofÐ ÐSun roof precautions
ÐTilting up
and closing
(front only)

17
1. Pull the handle down while push-ing in one of the lock buttons.2. Push in the retaining spring armsas shown and push up the sun roof.3. Push back the auxiliary catch to re-lease it from the hook. Then lift the
sun roof panel and pull it out.
ÐRemoving

18
Install the removed sun roof panels on
the back door as follows.
If the rear seats are reclined, return
them to the upright position before
closing the back door. Otherwise,they will interfere with the installed sun roof panels, possibly damagingthem.
NOTICE
1. Remove the holder from the back door by turning the bolts counter- clockwise.
The upper holder is for the front sun roof
panel and the lower one is for the rear panel.2. Set the front edge of the sun roof panel into the holders.
The fore part of holders is for the front sun roof panel and the back part is for the rearpanel.
ÐStowing

19
3. Place the removed holder over thesun roof handle.4. Secure the holder by turning thebolts clockwise.
NOTICE
Do not drive the vehicle without checking that the roof panels are
securely attached to the back door.
1. Insert the flat hinges of the sun roof
panel into the hinge cases on the
body. Then slowly lower it while
holding the roof with your hands.
Make sure both flat hinges are inserted into the hinge cases.
ÐInstalling

20
2. Press in the retaining spring armsand insert them into the holes.
Then lock the sun roof by pushing
the handle up with the palm of your
hand until the handle clicks.

Part 1Seats Front seatsÐ
ÐSeat adjustment precautions
21
OPERATION OF INSTRUMENTS ANDCONTROLSÐ
Chapter 1-3 Seats, Seat belts, Steering wheel and Mirrors
Seats
Front seats
Rear seats
Flattening seatbacks
Head restraints
Seat belts
SRS airbags
Child restraint
Tilt steering wheel
Outside rear view mirrors
Anti-glare inside rear view mir- ror
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 the vehicle unless the
occupants are properly seated. Do
not allow sitting on top of a folded-
down seatback, or in the luggage
compartment. Persons not proper-
ly seated and not properly re-
strained by seat belts can be se-
verely injured in the event of emer-
gency braking or a collision.
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.

22
While adjusting the seat, do not put
your hands under the seat or near
the moving parts. You may catch
and injure your hands or fingers.1. SEAT POSITION ADJUSTING LE-
VER
Pull the lever up. Then slide the seat to
the desired position with slight body
pressure and release lever.
2. SEATBACK ANGLE ADJUSTING LEVER
Lean forward and pull the lever up.
Then lean back to the desired angle
and release the lever.
CAUTION!
To reduce the risk of sliding under
the lap belt during a collision, avoid
reclining the seatback any more than
needed. The seat belts provide maxi-
mum protection in a frontal or rear
collision when the driver and the
passenger are sitting up straight and
well back in the seats. If you are re-
clined, the lap belt may slide past
your hips and apply restraint forces
directly to the abdomen. Therefore,
in the event of a frontal collision, therisk of personal injury may increase
with increasing recline of the seat- back.
ÐAdjusting front seats

23
For easy access to the rear seat, do this.
1. Lift the seatback angle adjusting leveror press the pedal behind the seat- back.
The seat will slide forward slightly.
2. Move the seat to the front-most posi- tion.
After passengers are in, lift up the seat- back and return the seat until it locks.
CAUTION!
After putting back the seat, try
pushing the seat forward and rear-
ward to make sure it is secured inplace.
Never allow anyone to rest their
foot on the release pedal while the
vehicle is moving.
Lean forward and pull the lock release
lever. Then lean back to the desired
angle and release the lever.
ÐMoving passenger's seat for rear seat entry (2-door models)
Rear seatsÐ ÐAdjusting seatback angle