1997 TOYOTA TERCEL warning light

Indicator symbols on the instrument panel
6
Anti-lock brake system warning light *Brake system warning light * Seat belt reminder light* Discharge warning light*Low oil pressure warning light* Malfunction indicator light* Open door warning light*SRS airbag warning light*
Turn signal indicator lights
Headlight high beam indicator light
Over-drive indicator light
The indicators marked with * are service reminder indicators.
For details, see Service reminder indicators and warning buzzerº in Chapter 1-5.

29
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 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 (for U.S.A.)

30However, 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 (a collision in which the nose 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 your safety, be sure to always wear your 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. Steering wheel pad (airbag and inflat-
or)
3. Passenger airbag module (airbag and inflator)
4. Airbag sensor assembly
The airbag sensor assembly consists of a
safing sensor and airbag sensor.

34
In the following cases, contact your
Toyota 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
scratch-ed, cracked, or otherwise damaged.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 likeli-
hood of the driver's head or chest directly hitting the steering wheel.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 sources.
SRS airbag (for Canada)

36
The SRS airbag system mainly consists
of the follwoing components and their
locations are show in the illustration.
1. SRS airbag warning light
2. Steering wheel pad (airbag and inflat-or)
3. Airbag sensor assembly.
The airbag sensor assembly consists of a
safing sensor and airbag sensor. In a severe frontal impact, sensors detect
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 minutes, but the airbag itself will
not be hot. The airbag is designed to in-
flate only once.
CAUTION!
The SRS airbag system is designed
only as a supplement to the primary
protection of the seat belt system of
the driver. The driver is particularly
susceptible to injury if he/she does
not wear his/her seat belt; when
sudden braking or a collision oc-
curs, he/she 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 whendriving. For instructions and pre-
cautions concerning the seat belt system, see Seat beltsº in this
chapter.

66(a) Brake System Warning Light This light has the following functions: Parking brake reminder
If this light is on, make sure the parking
brake is
fully released. The light should go
off.
Low brake fluid level warning
If this light comes on and stays on while
you are driving, slowdown and pull off the
road. Then stop the vehicle carefully.There maybe a problem somewhere in
the brake system. Check the fluid level of
the see-through reservoir.
To make sure the parking brake has not
caused the warning light to come on,
check to see that the parking brake is fully
released.
If the brake fluid level is low...
At a safe place, test your brakes by start-
ing and stopping. If you judge that the brakes still work
adequately, drive cautiously to yournearest dealer or shop for repairs.
If the brakes are not working, have the
vehicle towed in for repairs. (For tow-
ing information, see Part 4.)
It is dangerous to continue driving
normally when the brake fluid level
is low. CAUTION
!
If the brake fluid level is correct...
Have the warning system checked by
your Toyota dealer.
(b) Seat Belt Reminder Light and Buzz-
er
Once the ignition key is turned to ONº or
STARTº, the reminder light and buzzer
come on if the driver's seat belt is not fas- tened. Unless the driver fastens the belt,
the light stays on and the buzzer stops af-
ter about 4 to 8 seconds.
(c) Discharge Warning Light
This light warns that the battery is being discharged.
If it comes on while you are driving, there
is a problem somewhere in the chargingsystem.
The engine ignition will continue to oper-
ate, however, until the battery is dis-
charged. Turn off the air conditioning,
blower, radio, e tc., and drive directly to the
nearest Toyota dealer or repair shop.NOTICE
Do not continue driving if the engine drive belt is broken or loose.
(d) Low Oil Pressure Warning Light
This light warns that the engine oil pres-
sure is too low.
If it flickers or stays on while you are driv-
ing, pull off the road to a safe place and
stop the engine immediately. Call a Toyo-
ta dealer or qualified repair shop for assis-tance.
The light may occasionally flicker when
the engine is idling or it may come on brief-
ly after a hard stop. There is no cause forconcern if it then goes out when the en-
gine is accelerated slightly.
The light may come on when the oil level
is extremely low. It is not designed to indi- cate low oil level, and the oil level must be checked using the level dipstick.
NOTICE
Do not drive the vehicle with the warning light onÐeven for one
block. It may ruin the engine.

67
(e) Malfunction Indicator Lamp
This lamp comes on in the following cases.
a. The fuel tank is completely empty. (See Fuel gaugeº in Chapter 1-5 for in- structions.)
b. The fuel tank cap is not tightened se-
curely. (See Fuel tank capº in Chapter
1-2 for instructions.)
c. There is a problem somewhere in your engine or automatic transmission
electrical system.
If it comes on while you are driving in case
c, have your vehicle checked/repaired by
your Toyota dealer as soon as possible.
(f) ABSº Warning Light
This light warns that there is a problem
somewhere in your anti-lock brake sys-tem.
If the light comes on while you are driving,
have your vehicle checked by your T
oyota
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 assistingbrake performance so that the wheels can
lock-up during sudden braking or braking
on slippery road surfaces.
(g) Open Door Warning Light
This light remains on until all the side doors and back door are completelyclosed.
(h) 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 w ill 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. (i) Light Reminder Buzzer
This buzzer will sound if the driver's door is opened with the key removed from the
ignition switch and the headlight switch
left on.
(j) 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 LOCKºposition.

68CHECKING SERVICE REMINDER
INDI-
CATORS (except the low fuel level
warning light)
1. Apply the parking brake.
2. Open one of the doors. The open door warning light should come on.
3. Close the door. The open door warning light should go
off.
4. Turn the ignition key to ACCº. The SRS airbag warning light should
come on. It goes off after about 6 sec- onds.
5. Turn the ignition key to ONº, but do not start the engine.
All the service reminder indicators ex-
cept the open door warning light and
SRS airbag warning light should come
on. The ABSº warning light goes off
after about 3 seconds.
If any service reminder indicator or warn-
ing buzzer does not function as described above, either the bulb is burned out or the
circuit is in need of repair. Have it checked
by your Toyota dealer as soon as pos- sible.