1997 TOYOTA TACOMA Owners Manual

25
Keep the belts clean and dry. If they
need cleaning, use a mild soap
solution or lukewarm water. Never
use bleach, dye, or abrasive clean-
ersÐthey may severely weaken the
belts.
Replace the belt assembly (includ-
ing bolts) If it has been used in a se-
vere impact. The entire assembly
should be replaced even if damage
is not obvious.
Right passenger's seat (normal
cab models) or right-front passen-
ger 's seat (Xtra-cab models) only-
Replace the belt if the warning la-
bel under the sleeve can be seen.
The warning label, REPLACE
BELTº, will appear if the belt re-
ceives a severe impact or other force.Adjust the seat as needed (front seats only) and sit up straight and well back
in the seat. To fasten your belt, pull it
out of the retractor and insert the tab
into the buckle.
You will hear a click when the tab locks into the buckle.
The seat belt length automatically adjusts
to your size and the seat position.
The retractor will lock the belt during a
sudden stop or on impact. It also may lock
if you lean forward too quickly. A slow, easy motion will allow the belt to extend,
and you can move around freely. ÐFront outside seat belts
and rear seat belts

26
If the seat belt cannot be pulled out of the
retractor,
firmly pull the belt and release it.
You will then be able to smoothly pull the
belt out of the retractor.
When a passenger's shoulder belt is com-
pletely extended and is then retracted
even slightly, the belt is locked in that posi-
tion and cannot be extended. This feature
is used to hold the child restraint system
securely. (For details, see Child restraintº
in this chapter.) To free the belt again, fully
retract the belt and then pull the belt out
once more.
CAUTION!
After inserting the tab, make sure
the tab and buckle are locked and that the belt 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. Do not use the
seat until the seat belt is fixed. It cannot protect an adult occupant
or your child from injury.
Seat belts with an adjustable shoulder anchorÐ
Adjust the shoulder anchor position
to your size.
To raise: Slide the anchor up.
To lower: Push in the lock release button
and slide the anchor down.
After adjustment make sure the anchor is
locked in position.
CAUTION!
Always make sure the shoulder belt
is positioned across the center of
your shoulder. The belt should be
kept away from your neck, but not
falling off your shoulder. Failure to
do so could reduce the amount of
protection in an accident and cause severe injures in a collision

27
Adjust the position of the lap and
shoulder belts Position the lap belt as low as possible on
your hipsÐnot your waist, then adjust it to
a snug fit by pulling the shoulder portion
upward through the latch plate.
CAUTION!
High-positioned lap belts and
loose-fitting belts both could in-
crease the chance of injury due to
sliding under the lap belt during an
accident or other unintended re-
sult. Keep the lap belt as low on
your hip bone as possible.
For your safety, do not place the
shoulder belt under your arm.
To release the belt, press the buckle-
release button and allow the belt to re- tract.
If the belt does not retract smoothly, pull
it out and check for kinks or twists. Then make sure it remains untwisted as it re- tracts.

28
Sit up strainght and well back in the
seat. To fasten your belt, insert the tab
into the buckle.
You will hear a click when the tab locks into the buckle.
If the belt is not long enough for you, hold the tab at a right angle to the belt and pull
on the tab.
CAUTION!
After inserting the tab, make sure
the tab and buckle are locked and that the belt 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. Do not use the
seat until the seat belt is fixed. It cannot protect an adult occupant
or your child from injury.
Remove excess length of the belt and adjust the belt position.
To shorten the belt, pull the free end of the belt. Position the lamp belt as low as possible
on your hipsÐnot on your waist. then ad- just it to a snug fit.
CAUTION!
High-positioned and loose-fitting
lap belts could cause severe injuries due to sliding under the lap belt dur-
ing a collision. Keep the lap belt
positioned as low on hips as pos-sible.
ÐFront center seat belt

29
To release the belt, press the buckle-
release button.The buckles can be fixed when not in use.
When taking out the buckle from the hold-
er, pull on the belt webbing to remove the
buckle from the lower portion.If your seat belt cannot be fastened se- curely because it is not long enough, a
personalized seat belt extender is avail-
able from your Toyota dealer free of charge.
Please contact your local Toyota dealer
so that the dealer can order the proper re-
quired length for the extender. Bring the heaviest
coat you expect to wear for prop-
er measurement and selection of length.
Additional ordering information is avail-
able at yout Toyota dealer.
CAUTION!
When using the seat belt extender,
observe the following. Failure to fol-
low these instructions could result
in less effectiveness of the seat belt
restraint system in case of vehicle accident, increasing the chance of
personal injury. Never use the seat belt extender if
you can fasten the seat belt with-
out it.
Remember that the extender pro-
vided for you may not be safe when
used on a different vehicle, or for
another person or at a different
seating position than the one origi-
nally intended for.
ÐStowing the rear seat buckles ÐSeat belt extender

30
To connect the extender to the seat
belt, insert the tab into the seat belt
buckle so that the PRESSº signs onthe buckle-release buttons of the ex-
tender and the seat belt are both facing
outward as shown.
You will hear a click when the tab locks into the buckle.
When releasing the seatbelt, press on the
buckle-release button on the extender,not on the seat belt. This helps prevent
damage to the vehicle interior and extend- er itself.
When not in use, remove the extender
and store in the vehicle for future use.
CAUTION!
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. Do not use the
seat until the seat belt is fixed. It cannot protect an adult occupant
or your child from injury.
The SRS (Supplemental Restraint Sys-
tem) airbag is designed to provide fur-
ther protection to the driver when add-
ed to the primary protection providedby the seat belt.
In response to a severe frontal impact, the
SRS airbag works together with the seat
belt to help preventing or reduce injury byinflating, in order to decrease the liklihood
of the driver's head or chest directly hitting the steering wheel. SRS aribag

31
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 airbag
is 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. 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).
For the safety of all occupants, be sure to
always wear your seat belts.

32
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 Airbag sensor assembly.
3 Steering wheel pad (airbag and inflat-or)
The airbag sensor assembly consists of a
safing sensor and airbag sensor. In a severe frontal impact, sensor detects
deceleration and the system triggers the
airbag inflator. Then a chemical reaction
in the inflator momentarily fills the airbag
with non-toxic nitrogen gas to help re-
strain the forward motion of the driver. When the airbag inflates, it produces a fairly loud noise and releases 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 airbag happens in a
fraction of a
second, so the airbag must in-
flate with considerable force. While the
system is designed to reduce serious inju-
ries, it may also cause minor burns or
abrasions and swellings.
The steering wheel hub may be hot for
several m inutes, but the airbag will not be
hot. The airbag is designed to inflate onlyonce.