1998 Lexus ES300 Owner's Manuals (in English)

COMFORT ADJUSTMENT57
FRONT SEATS
Front seat precautions
CAUTION
The SRS side airbags are installed in the driver and front
passenger seats. Observe the following precautions.
Do not lean over the front door when the vehicle is in use.
The side airbag inflates with considerable speed and force;
you may be killed or severely injured.
 Do not modify or replace the seats or the surface of the seats
with side airbags. Such changes may disable the system, or
cause the side airbags to inflate, resulting in death or
serious injury. Consult your Lexus dealer.
 Do not use accessories for the seats which cover the parts
where the side airbags should inflate. Such accessories may
prevent the side airbags from activating correctly, causing
death or serious injury.
Seat adjustment precautions
Adjust the driver's seat so that the foot pedals, steering wheel and instrument
panel controls are within easy reach of the driver.
CAUTION
 Do not adjust the seat while the vehicle is moving as the seat
may unexpectedly move and cause the driver to lose control
of the vehicle.
 Be careful not to hit the seat against a passenger, luggage or
the rear seat.
NOTICE
Do not operate the control switch in more than one dimension at a time.
It may cause electrical overload.

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58
Adjusting front seats
16E145

1Seat position control switch, seat cushion angle
and height control switch
2 Seatback angle control switch
3Lumbar support control switch
Adjusting seat position
16E146
Move the control switch in the desired direction.
Releasing the switch will stop the seat in that position. Do not place anything
under the seat. It might interfere with the seat movement.

COMFORT ADJUSTMENT59
Adjusting seatback angle
16E143
Move the control switch in the desired direction.
Releasing the switch will stop the seatback in that position.
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 maximum 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 reclined, 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 seatback.
Adjusting seat cushion angle and height
16E144
Move the control switch in the desired direction.
Releasing the switch will stop the seat cushion in that position.

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60
Adjusting lumbar support
(driver's seat only)
16E142
Push the control switch on either side.
The amount of lumbar support will change as long as the switch is pushed\
.
TRUNK STORAGE EXTENSION
16E006±1
Pull down the center armrest in the rear seat. Push down the handle of
the armrest door and open the armrest door.

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HEAD RESTRAINTS
Front seats
16E007
To raise the head restraint, pull it up. To lower it, press the lock release
button and push the head restraint down. To move the head restraint
forward or rearward, pull or push on the top.
The head restraint is most effective when it is close to your head. Therefore,
using a cushion on the seatback is not recommended.
CAUTION
Adjust the top of the head restraint so that it is closest to the
top of your ears.
 After adjusting the head restraint, make sure it is locked in
position.
 Do not drive with the head restraints removed.
Rear seats
16E049±2
To raise the head restraint, pull it up. To lower it, press the lock release
button and push the head restraint down.
The head restraint is most effective when it is close to your head. Therefore,
using a cushion on the seatback is not recommended.
CAUTION
Adjust the top of the head restraint so that it is closest to the
top of your ears.
 After adjusting the head restraint, make sure it is locked in
position.
 Do not drive with the head restraints removed.

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62
TILT STEERING WHEEL
16E009
To change the steering wheel angle, hold the steering wheel, pull up the
lock release lever, tilt the steering wheel to the desired angle and release
the lever.
When the steering wheel is in a low position, it will spring up as you relea\
se
the lock release lever.
CAUTION
Do not adjust the steering wheel while the vehicle is moving.
 After adjusting the steering wheel, try moving it up and
down to make sure it is locked in position.
OUTSIDE REAR VIEW MIRRORS
16E010
Adjust the mirror so you can just see the side of your vehicle in the mirror.
Be careful when judging the size or distance of any object seen in the out\
side
rear view mirror on the passenger's side. It is a convex mirror with a curved
surface. Any object seen in a convex mirror will look smaller and farther away
than if seen in a normal flat mirror.
When you push the rear window defogger switch, the heater panels in the
outside rear view mirrors will quickly clear the surface.

COMFORT ADJUSTMENT63
CAUTION
Do not adjust the mirror while the vehicle is moving. It may
cause the driver to mishandle the vehicle and an accident
may occur, resulting in personal injuries.
 Since the mirror surfaces can get hot, keep your hands off
them when the switch is on.
Power rear view mirror control
16E011
1
Control switch 2Master switch
To adjust the power rear view mirror, first place the master switch at ºLº
(left) or ºRº (right), and push the control switch on the desired side.
If the engine is not running, the key must be in the ºACCº positio\
n for
operation of the power rear view mirror.
NOTICE
If ice should jam the mirror, do not operate the control or scrape the
mirror face. Use a spray de±icer to free the mirror.
Folding rear view mirrors
16E012
To fold the rear view mirror, push backward.
The rear view mirrors can be folded backward for parking in restricted area\
s.
CAUTION
Do not drive with the mirrors folded backward. Both the
driver and passenger side rear view mirrors must be extended
and properly adjusted before driving.

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64
INSIDE REAR VIEW MIRROR
16E013

1Day 2Night
When driving at night, pull the lever toward you to reduce the glare from
the headlights of vehicles behind you.
Before adjusting the mirror to the position with most clarity, push the
day±night change lever forward (daylight driving position).
Remember that by reducing glare you also lose some rear view clarity.
SEAT BELTS
Seat belt precautions
Lexus strongly urges that the driver and passengers in the vehicle be properly
restrained 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 appropriate for the child until the child
becomes large enough to properly wear the vehicle's seat belts. See ºChild
restraintº for details.
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 properl\
y. Do
not let the child sit on your lap. It does not provide sufficient restraint. If an
accident occurs and the seat belts are not worn properly, the force of the rapid
inflation of the airbag may cause severe injury to the child.
Do not allow the child to stand up or kneel on either rear or front seats. An
unrestrained child could suffer serious injury during emergency braking or a
collision.