2003 Lexus ES300 Owner's Manuals (in English)

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11 5
 1Front seat belt pretensioner assemblies
2SRS warning light
3Front airbag sensors
4Airbag sensor assembly
The front seat belt pretensioner system mainly consists of the
above components, and their locations are shown in the
illustration.
The front seat belt pretensioners are controlled by the airbag
sensor assembly. The airbag sensor assembly consists of a
safing sensor and airbag sensor.
When the front seat belt pretensioners are activated, an
operating noise may be heard and a small amount of
smoke−like gas may be released. This gas is harmless and
does not indicate that a fire is occurring.
Once the front seat belt pretensioners have been activated, the
seat belt retractors remain locked.
CAUTION
Do not modify, remove, strike or open the front seat belt
pretensioner assemblies, airbag sensor or surrounding
area or wiring. Doing so may cause sudden operation of
the front seat belt pretensioners or disable the system,
which could result in death or serious injury.
Failure to follow these instructions can result in death
or serious injuries. Consult your Lexus dealer about
any repairs and modifications.
NOTICE
Do not perform any of the following changes without
consulting your Lexus dealer. Such changes can
interfere with proper operation of the front seat belt
pretensioners in some cases.
 Installation of electronic devices such as a mobile
twoway radio, cassette tape player or compact disc
player
 Repairs on or near the front seat belt retractor
assemblies
 Modification of the suspension system
 Modification of the front end structure

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Attachment of a grille guard (bull bar, kangaroo bar,
etc.), snowplow, winches or any other equipment to
the front end
 Repair made on or near the front fenders, front end
structure or console
This front seat belt pretensioner system has a service
reminder indicator to inform the driver of operating problems.
If any of the following conditions occurs, this indicates a
malfunction of the airbags or pretensioners. Contact your
Lexus dealer as soon as possible to service the vehicle.
The light does not come on when the ignition key is turned
to the “ON” position, or the light remains on.
 The light comes on or flashes while driving.
 If either front seat belt does not retract or cannot be pulled
out due to a malfunction or activation of the relevant front
seat belt pretensioner.

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In the following cases, contact your Lexus dealer as soon as
possible:
The front of the vehicle (shaded in the illustration) was
involved in an accident that was not severe enough to cause
the front seat belt pretensioners to operate.
 Either front seat belt pretensioner assembly or surrounding
area is scratched, cracked, or otherwise damaged.
SRS AIRBAGS
The SRS (Supplemental Restraint System) airbags are
designed to provide further protection for the driver, front
passenger and rear outside passengers in addition to the
primary safety protection provided by the seat belts.
 SRS front airbags
In response to a severe fr ontal impact, the SRS front
airbags work together with the seat belts to help reduce
injury by inflating. The SRS front airbags help to reduce
injuries mainly to the driver’s or front passenger’s head or
chest caused by directly hitting the steering wheel or
dashboard.
The front passenger airbag is activated even with no
passenger in the front seat.

COMFORT ADJUSTMENT
11 8Your vehicle is equipped with a crash sensing and diagnostic
module, which will record the use of the seat belt restraint
system by the
driver and front passenger when the SRS front
airbags are inflated.
Be sure to wear your seat belt properly.
CAUTION
The driver or front passenger who is too close to the
steering wheel or dashboard during airbag deployment
can be killed or seriously injured. Lexus strongly
recommends that:
 The driver sit as far back as possible from the
steering wheel while still maintaining control of the
vehicle.
 The front passenger sit as far back as possible from
the dashboard.
 All vehicle occupants be properly restrained using
the available seat belts.
SRS side airbags
In response to a severe side impact, the SRS side airbags
for the driver or front passenger work together with the
seat belts to help reduce injury by inflating. The SRS side
airbags help to reduce injuries mainly to the driver’s or
front passenger’s chest.
The SRS side airbag on the passenger seat is activated even
with no passenger in the front seat.
Your vehicle is equipped with a crash sensing and diagnostic
module, which will record the use of the seat belt restraint
system by the driver and front passenger when the SRS side
airbags are inflated.
Be sure to wear your seat belt properly.

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CAUTION
SRS side airbags inflate with considerable force. To
avoid potential death or serious injury when they inflate,
the driver and front passenger must:
 Wear their seat belts properly.
 Remain properly seated with their back upright and
against the seat at all times.
SRS curtain shield airbags for front and rear outside
occupants
In response to a severe side impact, the SRS curtain
shield airbag on either side works together with the seat
belts by inflating. The SRS curtain shield airbags help to
reduce injuries mainly to the driver’s head, front
passenger’s head and rear outside passenger’s head.
The SRS curtain shield airbag is activated even with no
passenger in the front seat or rear seat.
Your vehicle is equipped with a crash sensing and diagnostic
module, which will record the use of the seat belt restraint
system by the driver and front passenger when the SRS
curtain shield airbags are inflated.
Be sure to wear your seat belt properly.

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CAUTION
The SRS curtain shield airbags inflate with considerable
force. To avoid potential death or serious injury when
they inflate, the driver, front passenger and rear outside
passengers must:
 Wear their seat belts properly.
 Remain properly seated with their back upright and
against the seat at all times.
The indicator comes on when the ignition key is turned to
the “ON” position. It goes off after about 6 seconds. This
means the SRS airbags are operating properly.
This warning light system monitors the airbag sensor
assembly, front airbag sensors, side and curtain shield airbag
sensor assemblies, curtain shield airbag sensor assemblies,
driver’s seat position sensor, driver’s seat belt buckle switch,
front seat belt pretensioner assemblies, inflators, warning light,
interconnecting wiring and power sources. (For details, see
“Service reminder indicators and warning buzzers” on page 50
for instructions.)

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The SRS front airbag system is designed to activate in
response to a severe frontal impact within the shaded area
between the arrows in the illustration.
The SRS front airbags will deploy if the severity of the impact
is above the designed threshold level, comparable to an
approximate 25 km/h (15 mph) collision when impacting
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 front 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 “underrides”, or goes under, the bed of a truck,
etc.).
It is possible that in some collisions at the lower zone of airbag
sensor
detection and activation, the SRS airbags and seat belt
pretensioners will not operate all together.
For the safety of all occupants, always wear your seat belts
properly.

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 1Collision from the rear
2Vehicle rollover
The SRS front airbags are not designed to inflate if the
vehicle is involved in a rear collision, if it rolls over, or if
it is involved in a lowspeed frontal collision.
The SRS side and curtain shield airbags are designed to
inflate when the passenger compartment gets a severe
collision from the side.
The SRS side and curtain shield airbags may rather not to
activate in the impact in which the occupant wearing the seat
belt correctly would not get serious injury.
 1 Collision from the side to the vehicle body other
than the passenger compartment
2 Collision from the side at an angle
The SRS side and curtain shield airbag system may not
activate if the vehicle is subjected to a collision from the
side at certain angles, or a collision to the side of the
vehicle body other than the passenger compartment as
shown in the illustration.