1997 TOYOTA TACOMA seats

Part 1Seats Front seatsÐ
ÐSeat adjustment precautions
19
OPERATION OF INSTRUMENTS ANDCONTROLSÐ
Chapter 1-3 Seats, Seat belts, Steering wheel and Mirrors
Seats
Front seats
Rear seats
Head restraints
Armrest
Seat belts
SRS airbags
Child restraint
Tilt steering wheel
Outside rear view mirrors
Anti-glare inside rear view mirror
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 unless the occupants
are properly seated. Do not allow
sitting on top of a folded-down
seatback, or in the luggage
compartment. Per sons not proper-
ly seated and not properly re-
strained by seatbelts 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 in-
juries can occur in the event of emergency 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 position.
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.!

20
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, the risk of personal injury may increase
with increasing recline of the seat- back.
3. SEAT CUSHION HEIGHT ADJUST- ING KNOB
Turn the knob either way.
ÐAdjusting front seats

22
Pull the seatback lock release lever
and fold down the seatback.
Hold the lever until you have swung the
seatback forward slightly.
CAUTION!
When returning the seatback to the
upright position: Make sure the seat belts are not
twisted or caught in the seatback
and are arranged in their poroer
position for ready use.
Make sure the seatback is securely
locked by pushing forward and
rearward on the top on the seat- back.
To raise the bottom cushion, pull it up.
To lower the bottom cushion, push it down. See Luggage stowage precautionsº in
Part 2 for precautions to observe in load- ing luggage.
CAUTION!
When returning the seatback to the
upright position: Make sure the seat belts are not twisted or caught under the bot-
tom cushion and are arranged in
their proper position for ready use.
Make sure the bottom cushion is
securely locked by trying to pull up
the edge of the bottom cushion.
Rear seatsÐ
ÐFolding seatback (bench seat) ÐRear seats (jump seats)

24
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. NORMAL-CAB MODELSÐ
If a child is too large for a child restriant
systemn, the child should sit in the seat
and must be restrained using the vehicle's
seat belt. XTRA-CAB MODELSÐ
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. According to accident statistics,the child 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. 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 sufficient restraint.
If the shoulder belt falls across the child's neck or face, move the child to the center
position and use the center lap belt.
Small-framed person or youth in a
3-point type seat belt.
On models with
a bench seat, have a small-framed per-
son or youth sit slightly closer to the center
of the vehicle (so the shoulder belt does
not cross over the neck). On models with separate seats, move the seat fully back- ward.
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 thewaist.
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.
(Refer to the seat adjustment in-structions.)
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

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

39
3. To remove the infant seat, press thebuckle-release button.(B) CONVERTIBLE SEAT INSTALLA-
TION
A convertible seats is used in forward-
facing and rear-facing depending on
the child's age and size. When instal-
ling, follow the manufacturer's in-
struction about the applicable child's
age and size as well as direction for
installing of a child restraint system. With the child restraint system installed, check that your driving position is satis-
factory and that the child restraint system
does not interfere with your driving.
If your driving position is not satisfactory, or the child restraint system interferes
with your driving, install it at
another posi-
tion. Split bench seatÐ
Adjust the passenger seat forward and
rearward travel as well as seatback posi-
tion so that the child restraint system is se-
curely restrained.
CAUTION!
Ignoring the above instructions may
result in a serious injury in case of an
accident.

105

To cool off your Toyota after it has been
parked in the hot sun, drive with the
windows open for a few minutes. This
vents the hot air, allowing the air condi-
tioning to cool the interior more quickly.
Make sure the air intake g rilles in front
of the windshield are not blocked (by
leaves or snow, for example).
On humid days, do not blow cold air on
the windshield. The windshield could
fog up because of the difference in airtemperature on the inside and outside
of the windshield.
Keep the area under the front seats
clear to allow air to circulate through-out the vehicle.
On cold days, move the fan speed to
HIº for a minute to help clear the in-
take ducts of snow or moisture. This
can reduce the amount of fogging onthe windows.
ÐAir flow selector settings
-Operating tips

122When stowing luggage or cargo in the ve-
hicle, observe the following:
Put luggage or cargo in the trunk when
at all possible. Be sure all items are se- cured in place.
Be careful to keep the vehicle bal-
anced. Locating the weight as far for-
ward as possible helps maintain bal- ance.
For better fuel economy, do not carryunneeded weight.
CAUTION!
To prevent luggage or packages
from sliding forward during brak-
ing, do not stack anything behind
the front seats higher than the
seatbacks (Xtra-cab models).Keep luggage or packages low, as
close to the floor as possible.
Never allow anyone to ride in the
rear deck. It is not designed for
passengers. They should ride in
their seats with their seat belts
properly fastened. Otherwise,
they are much more likely suffer
serious bodily injury, in the event
of sudden braking or a collision.
Do not drive with objects left on
top of the instrument panel. They
may interfere with the driver's
field of view. Or they may move
during sharp vehicle acceleration
or turning, and impair the driver's
control of the vehicle. In an acci-
dent they may injure the vehicle occupants.
Do not load the vehicle beyond the
vehicle capacity weight specified in
Part 8.
NOTICE
The rear step bumper is for rear end
protection and easier step-up load- ing.
CAUTION!
Do not allow more than one per-
son to get on the rear step bumper at a time. It is designed for only
one person.
Never drive the vehicle with any-
one on the rear step bumper.
Luggage stowage precautions
Rear step bumper