2003 TOYOTA HIGHLANDER ESP

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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 pass enger
when the SRS airbags are inflated.
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.
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 “ON” position.
It goes off after about 6 seconds. This
means the SRS front airbags are oper-
ating properly.
This warning light system monitors the
airbag sensor assembly, front airbag sen-
sors, side airbag sensors, front seat belt
pretensioner assemblies, inflators, warning
light, interconnecting wiring and power
sources. (For details, see “Service remind-
er indicators and warning buzzers” on
page 105 in Section 15.)The SRS front airbag system is de-
signed to activate in response to a se-
vere frontal impact within the shaded
area between the arrows in the illustra-
tion.
The SRS front airbags will deploy if the
severity of the impact is above the de-
signed 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 air-
bags may not deploy.

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NOTICE
Do not disconnect the battery cables
before contacting your Toyota dealer.
The SRS (Supplemental Restraint Sys-
tem) side airbags are designed to pro-
vide further protection for the driver
and front passenger in addition to the
primary safety protection provided by
the seat belts.
In response to a severe side impact, the
SRS side airbags work together with the
seat belts to help reduce injury by inflat-
ing. The SRS side airbags help to reduce
injuries mainly to the driver’s or front pas-
senger ’s chest. The SRS side airbag on
the passenger seat is activated even with
no passenger in the front seat.
Be sure to wear your seat belt properly. 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 pass
enger
when the SRS side airbags are inflated.
CAUTION
SRS side airbags inflate with consid-
erable 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 side airbags

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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 seat of the vehicle and proper-
ly restrained. The rear seat is the
safest for infants and children. For
instructions concerning the installa-
tion of a child restraint system, see
“Child restraint” on page 66 in this
section.
Do not allow a child to lean his/her
head or any part of his/her body
against the front door or the area
of the seat from which the side air-
bag deploys even if he/she is
seated in the child restraint system.
It is dangerous if the side airbag
inflates, and the impact could cause
death or serious injury to the child.
For instructions concerning the
installation of a child restraint sys-
tem, see “Child restraint” on page
66 in this section.
Do not lean against the front door
when the vehicle is in use, since
the side airbag inflates with consid-
erable speed and force. Otherwise,
you may be killed or be seriously
injured. Special care should be tak-
en 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 front
seats on vehicles with side airbags.
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.

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With manual air conditioning controls
With automatic air conditioning controls
To defog or defrost the rear window,
push the switch.
The key must be in the “ON” position.
The thin heater wires on the inside of the
rear window will quickly clear the window
surface. An indicator light will illuminate to
indicate the defogger is operating.
Push the switch once again to turn the
defoggers off.
The system will automatically shut off af-
ter the defogger has operated about 15
minutes.
Make sure you turn the defogger off when
the window is clear. Leaving the defogger
on for a long time could cause the battery
to discharge, especially during stopand
go driving. The defogger is not designed
for drying rain water or for melting snow.
NOTICE
When cleaning the inside of the rear
window, be careful not to scratch or
damage the heater wires or connec-
tors.
Ty p e A
Ty p e B
Rear window defogger Outside rear view mirror
defogger and windshield wiper
deicer

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To turn on the outside rear view mirror
defogger and windshield wiper deicer,
push the switch.
The key must be in the “ON” position.
The heater panel in the outside rear view
mirrors will quickly clear the mirror sur-
face. An indicator light is on when the
defogger is operating.
Type B only—The windshield wiper deicer
is also equipped to deice the windshield
wiper blades by operating simultaneously
with the defogger.
Push the switch once again to turn off the
system.
CAUTION
Since the mirror surfaces can get hot,
do not touch them when the switch
is on.
Make sure you turn the system off when
the mirror surfaces have cleared or the
wiper blades have deiced. Leaving the
system on for a long time could cause the
battery to discharge, especially during
stopandgo driving. The defogger is not
designed for drying rain water or for melt-
ing snow. If the outside rear view mirrors are heavi-
ly coated with ice, use a spray deicer
before operating the switch.

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TONE AND BALANCE
For details about your system’s tone and
balance controls, see the description of
your own system.
Tone
How good an audio program sounds to
you is largely determined by the mix of
the treble, midrange and bass levels. In
fact, different kinds of music and vocal
programs usually sound better with differ-
ent mixes of treble, midrange and bass.
Balance
A good balance of the left and right stereo
channels and of the front and rear sound
levels is also important.
Keep in mind that if you are listening to
a stereo recording or broadcast, changing
the right/left balance will increase the vol-
ume of one group of sounds while de-
creasing the volume of another. YOUR RADIO ANTENNA
Mast type antenna—
To remove: Turn it counterclockwise care-
fully.
To install: Turn it clockwise securely.
NOTICE

Mast type antenna:
To prevent damage to the antenna,
make sure it is removed before
driving your Toyota through an au-
tomatic car wash.
 Onglass antenna (builtin on the
rear window glass):
Attaching the film (especially con-
ductive or metallic type) on the rear
glass will noticeably reduce the
sensitivity of the radio.
YOUR CASSETTE PLAYER
When you insert a cassette, the exposed
tape should face to the right.
NOTICE
Do not oil any part of the player and
do not insert anything other than cas-
sette tapes into the slot, or the tape
player may be damaged.
YOUR COMPACT DISC PLAYER (type 1)
When you insert a disc, gently push it in
with the label side up. (The player will
automatically eject a disc if the label side
is down.) The compact disc player will
play from track 1 through the end of the
disc. Then it will play from track 1 again.
NOTICE
Never try to disassemble or oil any
part of the compact disc player. Do
not insert anything other than com-
pact discs into the slot.
The player is intended for use with 12 cm
(4.7 in.) discs only.
YOUR COMPACT DISC CHANGER (type
2)
When you insert a disc, push the “LOAD”
button, wait for the load/eject status light
to turn green, then gently push the disc
in with the label side up. (The player will
automatically eject a disc if the label side
is down.) The compact disc changer will
play from track 1 through the end of the
disc. Then it will play from track 1 of the
next disc.
The changer is intended for use with 12
cm (4.7 in.) discs only.

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Here are some common reception prob-
lems that probably do not indicate a prob-
lem with your radio:
FM
Fading and drifting stations—Generally, the
effective range of FM is about 40 km (25
miles). Once outside this range, you may
notice fading and drifting, which increase
with the distance from the radio transmit-
ter. They are often accompanied by distor-
tion.
Multipath—FM signals are reflective,
making it possible for two signals to reach
your antenna at the same time. If this
happens, the signals will cancel each oth-
er out, causing a momentary flutter or
loss of reception.
Static and fluttering—These occur when
signals are blocked by buildings, trees, or
other large objects. Increasing the bass
level may reduce static and fluttering.
Station swapping—If the FM signal you
are listening to is interrupted or weak-
ened, and there is another strong station
nearby on the FM band, your radio may
tune in the second station until the origi-
nal signal can be picked up again. AM
Fading—AM broadcasts are reflected by
the upper atmosphere–especially at night.
These reflected signals can interfere with
those received directly from the radio sta-
tion, causing the radio station to sound
alternately strong and weak.
Station interference—When a reflected sig-
nal and a signal received directly from a
radio station are very nearly the same
frequency, they can interfere with each
other, making it difficult to hear the broad-
cast.
Static—AM is easily affected by external
sources of electrical noise, such as high
tension power lines, lightening, or electri-
cal motors. This results in static.
CARING FOR YOUR CASSETTE PLAYER
AND TAPES
For the best performance for your cas-
sette player and tapes:
Clean the tape head and other parts regu-
larly.
A dirty tape head or tape path can
decrease sound quality and tangle your
cassette tapes. The easiest way to
clean them is by using a cleaning tape.
(A wet type is recommended.)Use highquality cassettes.
Lowquality cassette tapes can cause
many problems, including poor sound,
inconsistent playing speed, and
constant autoreversing. They can also
get stuck or tangled in the cassette
player.
Do not use a cassette if it has been
damaged or tangled or if its label is
peeling off.
Do not leave a cassette in the player
if you are not listening to it, especially
if it is hot outside.
Store cassettes in their cases and out
of direct sunlight.
Avoid using cassettes with a total play-
ing time longer than 100 minutes (50
minutes per side). The tape used in
these cassettes is thin and could get
stuck or tangled in the cassette player.

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Labeled discs
NOTICE
To prevent damage to the player or
changer, do not use special shaped,
low quality or labeled discs such as
those shown in the illustrations.
CorrectWrong
Handle compact discs carefully, espe-
cially when you are inserting them.
Hold them on the edge and do not
bend them. Avoid getting fingerprints
on them, particularly on the shiny side.
Dirt, scrapes, warping, pin holes, or
other disc damage could cause the
player to skip or to repeat a section of
a track. (To see a pin hole, hold the
disc up to the light.)
Remove discs from the compact disc
player when you are not listening to
them. Store them in their plastic cases
away from moisture, heat, and direct
sunlight.
To clean a compact disc: Wipe it with a
soft, lintfree cloth that has been damp-
ened with water. Wipe in a straight line
from the center to the edge of the disc
(not in circles). Dry it with another soft,
lintfree cloth. Do not use a conventional
record cleaner or antistatic device.