1997 TOYOTA RAV4 steering

3
1. Instrument panel light control knob
2. Headlight and turn signal switch
3. Wiper and washer switch
4. Clock
5. Center differential lock button or
driving pattern selector buton
6. Air conditioning controls
7. Emergency flasher switch
8. Rear window defogger switch
9. Car audio
10. Cigarette lighter 11. Ignition switch
12. Cruise control switch
13. Tilt steering lock release lever
14. Power rear view mirror control switch

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.

37
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 seatbelts.
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 sources.The SRS airbag system is designeed
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 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

38
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 frontalcollision.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.

39
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
airbags with non-toxic nitrogen gas to
help restrain the forward motion of theoccupants. When the airbags inflate, they produce a fairly
loud noise and release some smoke
along with the nitrogen gas. This is notharmful 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 forseveral 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.
CAUTION!
The SRS airbag system is de-
signed only as a supplement to
the primary protection of the driv-
er side and front passenger side seat belt systems. The front seat
occupants are particularly sus-
ceptable to death or serious injury
if they do not wear their seat belts;
when sudden braking or a colli-
sion occurs, they may be thrown
forward into deployed SRS air-
bags. 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 death
or serious injuries can result to
unrestrainted occupants. For in-
structions and precautions con-
cering 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
using 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 death or serious injury to
the child.

41
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 by the force of deploying airbags.
Do not modify or remove any wir-
ing. Do not modify, remove, strike
or open any components, such as
the steering wheel column cover,
front passenger airbag cover, front
passenger airbag, 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 ofthe SRS airbag system in some cases.
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

42
This SRS airbag system has a service re-
minder indicator to inform 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.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 dam-
aged. 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.
Child restraintÐ ÐChild restraint precautions

42
This SRS airbag system has a service re-
minder indicator to inform 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.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 dam-
aged. 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.
Child restraintÐ ÐChild restraint precautions