1998 TOYOTA RAV4 belt

'98 Rav4.U47
This front seat belt pretensioner system
has a service reminder indicator to inform
the driver of operating problems. If either
of the following conditions occurs, this
indicates a malfunction of the airbags or
pretensioners. 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 ºACCº or
ºONº position, or remains on.
The light comes on or flashes while
driving.
If either front seat belt does not retract
or can not be pulled out due to a
malfunction or activation of the preten-
sioner.
The front seat belt pretensioner assem-
bly or surrounding area has been dam- aged.
The front part of the vehicle (shaded
in the illustration) was involved in an
accident not of the extent to cause the
seat belt pretensioners to operate.
The front seat belt pretensioner assem-
bly is scratched, cracked, or otherwise
damaged.
The SRS (Supplemental Restraint Sys-
tem) airbags are designed to provide
further protection for the driver and
front passenger when added to the pri-
mary protection provided by the seat
belts.
In response to a severe frontal impact,
the SRS airbags work together with the
seat belts to help prevent 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 airbag
is activated even with no passenger in the
front seat.
Be sure to wear your seat belt.
SRS driver and front
passenger airbags

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48
CAUTION
A driver or front passenger too close
to the steering wheel or dashboard
during airbag deployment can be
killed or seriously injured. Toyota
strongly recommends that: The driver sit as far back as pos-
sible from the steering wheel while
still maintaining control of the ve-
hicle.
The front passenger sit as far back
as possible from the dashboard.
All vehicle occupants be properly
restrained using the available seat
belts.
This indicator comes on when the igni-
tion key is turned to the ºACCº or
ºONº 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-
flator, warning light, interconnecting wiring
and power sources. (For details, see ºSer-
vice reminder indicators and warning buzz-
ersº in chapter 1- 5.)The SRS airbag system is designed to
activate in response to a severe frontal
impact within the shaded area between
the arrows in the illustration.
There may be the case that the SRS air-
bags will not activate with such an impact
in which the occupant wearing the seat
belt correctly would not get serious injury.
The SRS airbags will deploy if the severi-
ty of the impact is above the designed
threshold level, comparable to an approxi-
mate 24 km/h (15 mph) collision in the
U.S.A. and 30 km/h (18 mph) collision in
Canada when impacting straight into a
fixed barrier that does not move or de-
form.

'98 Rav4.U49
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
impact, or if it is involved in an underride
collision (e.g. a collision in which the nose
of the vehicle ºunderridesº, 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.
Collision
from the rear
Collision from the side Vehicle roll-over
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 frontal
collision.
The SRS airbag system mainly consists of
the following components and their loca-
tions are shown in the illustration. 1. Front airbag sensor
2. SRS airbag warning light
3. Airbag module for passenger (airbag and inflator)
4. Airbag sensor assembly
5. Airbag module for driver (airbag and inflator)
The airbag sensor assembly consists of a
safing sensor and airbag sensor.

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50
In a severe frontal impact, sensors detect
deceleration and the system triggers the
airbag inflators. Then a chemical reaction
in the inflators momentarily fills the air-
bags with non- toxic gas to help restrain
the forward motion of the occupants.
When the airbags inflate, they produce a
fairly loud noise and release some smoke
along with non- toxic gas. This 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 desi
gned 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 for several
minutes, but the airbags themselves will
not be hot. The airbags are designed to
inflate only once.
A crash severe enough to inflate the air-
bags may break the windshield as the
vehicle buckles. In vehicles with a pas-
senger airbag the windshield may also be
damaged by absorbing some of the force
of the inflating airbag.
CAUTION
The SRS airbag system is designed
only as a supplement to the prima-
ry protection of the driver side and
front passenger side seat belt sys-
tems. The front seat occupants can
be killed or seriously injured by an
inflating airbag if they do not wear
the available seat belts. During sud-
den braking just before a collision,
an unrestrained driver or front pas-
senger can move forward into direct
contact with or close proximity to
the airbag which may then deploy
during the collision. To obtain maxi-
mum protection in an accident, the
driver and all passengers in the ve-
hicle must wear their seat belts.
Wearing a seat belt during an acci-
dent reduces the chances of death
or serious injuries or being thrown
out of the vehicle. For instructions
and precautions concerning the seat
belt system, see ºSeat beltsº in this
chapter.
Improperly seated and/or restrained
infants and children can be killed
or seriously injured by a deploying
airbag. An infant or child who is
too small to use a seat belt should
be properly secured using a child
restraint system. Toyota strongly
recommends that all infants and
children be placed in the rear seat
of the vehicle and properly re-
strained. The rear seat is the safest
for infants and children. For in-
structions concerning the installa-
tion of a child restraint system, see
ºChild restraintº in this chapter.

'98 Rav4.U51
Never put a rear- facing child re-
straint system on 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.
Move seat fully back
A forward- facing child restraint sys-
tem should be allowed to put on
the front seat only when it is un-
avoidable. Always move the seat as
far back as possible because the
force of a deploying airbag could
cause death or serious injury to the
child. For instructions concerning
the installation of a child restraint
system, see ºChild restraintº in this
chapter.
Do not sit on the edge of the seat
or lean over the dashboard when
the vehicle is in use. The airbags
inflate with considerable speed and
force; you may be killed or serious-
ly injured. Sit up straight and well
back in the seat, and always use
your seat belt.

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54
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 s
hould sit in the rear
seat and must be restrained using the
vehicle's seat belt. See ºSeat 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 inte-
rior.
Toyota strongly urges use of a
proper child restraint system which
conforms to the size of the child,
and is put on the rear seat. Accord-
ing to accident statistics, the child
is safer when properly restrained in
the rear seat than in the front seat.
Never put a rear- facing child re-
straint system on the front seat. In
the event of an accident, the force
of the rapid inflation of the airbag
can cause death or serious injury if
a rear- facing child restraint system
is put on the front seat.
Unless it is unavoidable, do not put
a forward- facing child restraint sys-
tem on the front seat.
A forward- facing child restraint sys-
tem should be allowed to put on
the front seat only when it is un-
avoidable. Always move the seat as
far back as possible, because the
force of a deploying airbag could
cause death or serious injury to the
child.Make sure that you have complied
with all installation instructions pro-
vided by the child restraint
manufacturer and that the system is
properly secured.
Child restraintÐ
ÐChild restraint precautions

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ÐChild restraint system
A child restraint system for a small
child or baby must itself be properly
restrained on the seat with either the
lap belt or the lap portion of the lap/
shoulder belt. You must carefully con-
sult the manufacturer 's instructions
which accompany your child restraint
system.
To provide proper restraint, use a child
restraint system following the manufactur-
er 's instructions about the appropriate age
and size of the child for the child restraint
system.
Install the child restraint system correctly
following the instructions provided by its
manufacturer of the system. General
directions are also provided under the fol-
lowing illustrations.
The child restraint system should be
installed on the rear seat. According to
accident statistics, the child is safer when
properly restrained in the rear seat than
in the front seat.
CAUTION

Never put a rear- facing child re-
straint system on the front seat. In
the event of an accident, the force
of the rapid inflation of the airbag
can cause death or serious injury if
a rear- facing child restraint system
is put on the front seat.
Unless it is unavoidable, do not put
a forward- facing child restraint sys-
tem on the front seat.
A forward- facing child restraint sys-
tem should be allowed to put on
the front seat only when it is un-
avoidable. Always move the seat as
far back as possible, because the
force of a deploying airbag could
cause death or serious injury to the
child.
After installing the child restraint
system, make sure it is secured in
place following the manufacturer 's
instructions. If it is not restrained
securely, it may cause death or se-
rious injury to the child in the
event of a sudden stop or accident.
When not using the child restraint system,
keep it secured with the seat belt or place
it somewhere other than the passenger
compartment. This will prevent it from in-
juring passengers in the event of a sud-
den stop or accident.
Your vehicle has anchors for securing the
top strap of a child restraint system. The
anchor nuts are welded beneath the sheet
metal to permit installation of an anchor
bracket for a child restraint system.
To install an anchor bracket, use an 8 mm
X 30 mm X 1.25 mm coarse thread metric
bolt and a 10 mm (0.4 in.) spacer. Note
that the bolts accompanying many child
restraint systems are not metric. You can
damage the anchor nuts on your vehicle
if you force bolts with different thread into
the anchor nuts.
For instructions about how to install the
anchor braket, see ºTop strap anchors and
locationsº.
If your child restraint system does not
provide any of the necessary parts, you
can purchase the following items from
your Toyota dealer.
* CRS installation kit
(Part No. 04731- 22012) Ðcontains 1
bolt, 3 types of spacers and 1 locking
clip.

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(C) Booster seat
(A) INFANT SEAT INSTALLATION
An infant seat is used in rear- facing
position only.CAUTION
Do not put a rear- facing child re-
straint system on the rear seat if it
interferes with the lock mechanism of
the front seats. This can cause severe
injury to the child and front passen-
ger in case of sudden braking or a
collision.
ÐInstallation with 2- point
type seat belt