2001 TOYOTA HIGHLANDER roof

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CAUTION

The SRS side airbag and curtain
shield airbag system is designed
only as a supplement to the prima-
ry protection of the driver, front
passenger and second outside pas-
senger seat belt systems. To ensure
maximum protection in an accident,
the driver and all passengers in the
vehicle must wear their seat belts
properly. Wearing a seat belt prop-
erly during an accident reduces the
chances of death or serious injury
or being thrown out of the vehicle.
For instructions and precautions
concerning the seat belt system,
see Seat beltsº on page 58 in this
Section.

Do not allow anyone to lean his/her
head or any part of his/her body
against the door or the area of the
seat, pillar, rear pillar or roof side
rail from which the SRS side airbag
and curtain shield airbag deploy
even if he/she is a child seated in
the child restraint system. It is dan-
gerous if the SRS side airbag and
curtain shield airbag inflate, and the
impact of the deploying airbag
could cause death or serious injury
to the occupant.
Improperly seated and/or restrained
infants and children can be killed
or seriously injured by the deploy-
ing airbags. 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 in-
fants and children be placed in the
rear seats of the vehicle and prop-
erly restrained. The rear seats are
the safest for infants and children.
For instructions concerning the
installation of a child restraint sys-
tem, see Child restraintº on page
91 in this Section.

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The SRS side airbag and curtain shield
airbag system consists mainly of the fol-
lowing components, and their locations are
shown in the illustration.
1. SRS warning light
2. AIRBAG ONº and AIRBAG OFFº indi-
cator lights
3. Curtain shield airbag modules
(airbag and inflator)
4. Front passenger occupant classification
system (ECU and sensors)
5. Side airbag modules
(airbag and inflator)
6. Curtain shield airbag sensors
7. Side and curtain shield airbag sensors8. Front passenger 's seat belt buckle
switch
9. Airbag sensor assembly
The SRS side airbag and curtain shield
airbag system is controlled by the airbag
sensor assembly. The airbag sensor as-
sembly consists of a safing sensor and
airbag sensor.
In a severe side impact, the side and
curtain shield airbag sensor and/or the
curtain shield airbag sensor trigger(s) the
side airbag inflators and/or the curtain
shield airbag inflators. At this time a
chemical reaction in the inflators quickly
fills the airbags with non- toxic gas to help
restrain the lateral motion of the occu-
pants.
When the airbags inflate, they produce a
fairly loud noise and release some smoke
and residue along with non- toxic gas. This
does not indicate a fire. This smoke may
remain inside the vehicle for some time,
and may cause some minor irritation to
the eyes, skin or breathing. Be sure to
wash off any residue as soon as possible
to prevent any potential skin irritation with
soap and water. If you can safely exit
from the vehicle, you should do so imme-
diately.Deployment of the airbags happens in a
fraction of a second, so the airbags must
inflate with considerable force. While the
system is designed to reduce serious inju-
ries, it may also cause minor burns or
abrasions and swelling.
Front seats as well as parts of the front
and rear pillars, and roof side rail may be
hot for several minutes, but the airbags
themselves will not be hot. The airbags
are designed to inflate only once.
CAUTION
SRS side airbags and curtain shield
airbags inflate with considerable
force. To reduce the possibility of
death or serious injury when they in-
flate, the driver, front passenger and
second outside passengers must:

Wear their seat belts properly.

Remain properly seated with their
backs upright and against the seats
at all times.

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Do not allow anyone to lean against
the door when the vehicle is in use,
since the side airbag and curtain
shield airbag could inflate with con-
siderable speed and force. Other-
wise, he/she may be killed or seri-
ously injured. Special care should
be taken especially when you have
a small child in the vehicle.

Sit up straight and well back in the
seat, distributing your weight evenly
in the seat. Do not apply excessive
weight to the outer side of the
seats with a side airbag, and to the
front pillar, rear pillar and roof side
rail with a curtain shield airbag.

Do not allow anyone to get his/her
head closer to the area where the
side airbag and curtain shield air-
bag inflate, since these airbags
could inflate with considerable
speed and force. Otherwise, he/she
may be killed or seriously injured.
Special care should be taken espe-
cially when you have a small child
in the vehicle.
Do not allow anyone to kneel on
the passenger seat, facing the pas-
senger 's side door, since the side
airbag and curtain shield airbag
could inflate with considerable
speed and force. Otherwise, he/she
may be killed or seriously injured.
Special care should be taken espe-
cially when you have a small child
in the vehicle.

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Do not allow anyone to get his/her
head or hands out of windows
since the curtain shield airbags
could inflate with considerable
speed and force. Otherwise, he/she
may be killed or seriously injured.
Special care should be taken espe-
cially when you have a small child
in the vehicle.
Do not attach a cup holder or any
other device or object on or around
the door. When the side airbag in-
flates, the cup holder or any other
device or object will be thrown with
great force or the side airbag may
not activate correctly, resulting in
death or serious injury. Likewise,
the driver and front passenger
should not hold objects in their
arms or on their knees.
Do not attach a microphone or any
other device or object around the
area where the curtain shield airbag
activates such as on the windshield
glass, side door glass, front and
rear pillars, roof side rail and assist
grips. When the curtain shield air-
bag inflates, the microphone or oth-
er device or object will be thrown
away with great force or the curtain
shield airbag may not activate cor-
rectly, resulting in death or serious
injury.

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Do not hook a hanger, heavy or
sharp pointed objects on the coat
hook. If the curtain shield airbag
inflates, those items will be thrown
away with great force or the curtain
shield airbag may not activate cor-
rectly, resulting in death or serious
injury. When you hang clothes,
hang them on the coat hook direct-
ly.

Do not use seat accessories which
cover the parts where the side air-
bags inflate. Such accessories may
prevent the side airbags from acti-
vating correctly, causing death or
serious injury.

Do not modify or replace the seats
or upholstery of the seats with side
airbags. Such changes may prevent
the side airbag system from activat-
ing correctly, disable the system or
cause the side airbags to inflate ac-
cidentally, resulting in death or seri-
ous injury.

Do not disassemble or repair the
front and rear pillars and roof side
rails containing the curtain shield
airbags. Such changes may disable
the system or cause the curtain
shield airbags to inflate accidental-
ly, resulting in death or serious in-
jury.
Failure to follow these instructions
can result in death or serious injury.
Consult your Toyota dealer about any
repair and modification.
If you wish to modify your vehicle for
a person with a physical disability,
consult your Toyota dealer. It may
dangerously interfere with the SRS
side airbags and curtain shield air-
bags operation.NOTICE
Do not perform any of the following
changes without consulting your
Toyota dealer. Such changes can
interfere with proper operation of the
SRS side airbag and curtain shield
airbag system in some cases.

Installation of electronic devices
such as a mobile two- way radio,
cassette tape player or compact
disc player

Modification of the suspension sys-
tem

Modification of the side structure of
the passenger compartment

Repairs made on or near the con-
sole or front seat

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In the following cases, contact your Toyota
dealer as soon as possible:

Any of the SRS side airbags and cur-
tain shield airbags have been inflated.

The portion of the doors (shaded in the
illustration) was involved in an accident
that was not severe enough to cause
the SRS side airbags and curtain
shield airbags to inflate.

The surface of the seats with the side
airbag (shaded in the illustration) is
scratched, cracked, or otherwise dam-
aged.

The portion of the front pillars, rear
pillars or roof side rail garnishes (pad-
ding) containing the curtain shield air-
bags inside (shaded in the illustration)
is scratched, cracked, or otherwise
damaged.
NOTICE
Do not disconnect the battery cables
before contacting your Toyota dealer.
Your vehicle is equipped with a front
passenger occupant classification sys-
tem. This system detects the conditions
1Ð4 in the table on page 89 and based
on these conditions activates or deacti-
vates front passenger airbags. The sys-
tem monitors the weight and load on
the front passenger seat, and the seat
belt buckle switch to determine condi-
tions 1Ð4. In order for the system to
detect the conditions correctly, do not
do any of the following.

Put a heavy load in the front passen-
ger seat.

Attach a seatback table to the front
passenger seat seatback.

Put weight on the front passenger by
putting your hands or feet on the front
passenger seat seatback from the rear
passenger seat.
ÐFront passenger occupant
classification system

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Toyota strongly urges use of a
proper child restraint system which
conforms to the size of the child,
installed 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 install a rear- facing child re-
straint system on the front passen-
ger seat even if the AIRBAG OFFº
indicator light is illuminated. In the
event of an accident, the force of
the rapid inflation of the front pas-
senger airbag can cause death or
serious injury to the child if the
rear- facing child restraint system is
installed on the front passenger
seat.

A forward- facing child restraint sys-
tem should be allowed to be
installed on the front passenger
seat only when it is unavoidable.
Always move the seat as far back
as possible even if the AIRBAG
OFFº indicator light is illuminated,
because the front passenger airbag
could inflate with considerable
speed and force. Otherwise, the
child may be killed or seriously in-
jured.

On vehicles with side airbags and
curtain shield airbags, do not allow
the child to lean his/her head or
any part of his/her body against the
door or the area of the seat, front
or rear pillar or roof side rail from
which the side airbags or curtain
shield airbags deploy even if the
child is seated in the child restraint
system. It is dangerous if the side
airbag and curtain shield airbag in-
flate, and the impact could cause
death or serious injury to the child.

Do not use the seat belt extender
when installing a child restraint
system on the front or rear passen-
ger seat. If installing a child re-
straint system with the seat belt
extender connected to the seat belt,
the seat belt will not securely hold
the child restraint system, which
could cause death or serious injury
to the child or other passengers in
the event of collision.

Make sure that you have complied
with all installation instructions pro-
vided by the child restraint
manufacturer and that the system is
properly secured. If it is not se-
cured properly, it may cause death
or serious injury to the child in the
event of a sudden stop or accident.

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On vehicles with side airbags and
curtain shield airbags, do not allow
the child to lean his/her head or
any part of his/her body against the
door or the area of the seat, front
or rear pillar or roof side rail from
which the side airbags or curtain
shield airbags deploy even if the
child is seated in the child restraint
system. It is dangerous if the side
airbag and curtain shield airbag in-
flate, and the impact could cause
death or serious injury to the child.

Do not install a child restraint sys-
tem on the second (or third) seat if
it interferes with the lock mecha-
nism of the front (or second) seats.
Otherwise, the child or front (or
second) seat occupant(s) may be
killed or seriously injured in case
of sudden braking or a collision.

If the driver 's seat position does
not allow sufficient space for safe
installation, install the child re-
straint system on the right second
seat.
Same angle
Same position

When installing a child restraint
system in the second seat center
position, adjust both seat cushions
to the same position and align both
seatbacks at the same angle. Other-
wise, the child restraint system can-
not be securely restrained and this
may cause death or serious injuries
in a collision.