2003 TOYOTA HIGHLANDER Owners Manual

’03 HIGHLANDER_U (L/O 0208)
512003 HIGHLANDER from Aug. ’02 Prod. (OM48441U)
CAUTION
After inserting the tab, make sure
the tab and buckle are locked and
that the seat belt extender is not
twisted.
Do not insert coins, clips, etc. in
the buckle as this may prevent you
from properly latching the tab and
buckle.
If the seat belt does not function
normally, immediately contact your
Toyota dealer. Do not use the seat
until the seat belt is fixed. It cannot
protect an adult occupant or your
child from injury.
The driver and front passenger ’s seat
belt pretensioners are designed to be
activated in response to a severe fron-
tal impact.
When the airbag sensor detects the shock
of a severe frontal impact, the front seat
belts are quickly drawn back in by the
retractors so that the belts snugly restrain
the front seat occupants.
The front seat belt pretensioners are acti-
vated even with no passenger in the front
seat.
Collisions occurring at certain s peeds and
angles may cause the front seat belt pre-
tensioners and SRS airbags not to operate
all together.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 front seat belt pretensioners
are operating 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.)
—Front seat belt
pretensioners

’03 HIGHLANDER_U (L/O 0208)
522003 HIGHLANDER from Aug. ’02 Prod. (OM48441U)
The front seat belt pretensioner system
mainly consists of the following compo-
nents and their locations are shown in the
illustration.
1. Front airbag sensors
2. SRS warning light
3. Front seat belt pretensioner assemblies
4. Airbag sensor assembly
The front seat belt pretensioners are con-
trolled by the airbag sensor assembly. The
airbag sensor assembly consists of a saf-
ing sensor and airbag sensor. When the front seat belt pretensioners are
activated, an operating noise may be
heard and a small amount of smokelike
gas may be released. This gas is harm-
less and does not indicate that a fire is
occurring.
Once the front seat belt pretensioners
have been activated, the seat belt retrac-
tors remain locked.
CAUTION
Do not modify, remove, strike or open
the front seat belt pretensioner as-
semblies, airbag sensor or surround-
ing 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 inju-
ries. Consult your Toyota dealer
about any repairs and modifications.
NOTICE
Do not perform any of the following
changes without consulting your
Toyota 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 sys-
tem
 Modification of the front end struc-
ture
 Attachment of a grille guard (bull
bar, kangaroo bar, etc.), snowplow,
winches or any other equipment to
the front end
 Repairs made on or near the front
fenders, front end structure or con-
sole

’03 HIGHLANDER_U (L/O 0208)
532003 HIGHLANDER from Aug. ’02 Prod. (OM48441U)
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 Toyota dealer
as soon as possible to service the
vehicle.
The light does not come on when the
ignition key is turned to the “ON” posi-
tion, 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 mal-
function or activation of the relevant
front seat belt pretensioner.
In the following cases, contact your Toyota
dealer as soon as possible:
The front of the vehicle (shaded in the
illustration) was involved in an acci dent
that was not severe enough to cause
the front seat belt pretensioners to op-
erate.
Either front seat belt pretensioner as-
sembly or surrounding area is
scratched, cracked, or otherwise dam-
aged.
The SRS (Supplemental Restraint Sys-
tem) front 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 frontal 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 dash-
board. The front passenger airbag is acti-
vated even with no passenger in the front
seat.
Be sure to wear your seat belt properly.
SRS driver airbag and front
passenger airbag

’03 HIGHLANDER_U (L/O 0208)
542003 HIGHLANDER from Aug. ’02 Prod. (OM48441U)
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.

’03 HIGHLANDER_U (L/O 0208)
552003 HIGHLANDER from Aug. ’02 Prod. (OM48441U)
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 front seat
belt pretensioners will not operate all toge-
ther.
For the safety of all occupants, always
wear your seat belts properly.
Collision from the rear
Collision from the side Vehicle rollover
The SRS front airbags are not designed
to inflate if the vehicle is involved in a
side or rear collision, if it rolls over, or
if it is involved in a lowspeed frontal
collision.
Hitting a curb,
edge of pavement
or hard materialFalling into or
jumping over a
deep hole
Landing hard or vehicle falling
The SRS front airbags may deploy if a
serious impact occurs to the underside
of your vehicle. Some examples are
shown in the illustration.

’03 HIGHLANDER_U (L/O 0208)
562003 HIGHLANDER from Aug. ’02 Prod. (OM48441U)
The SRS airbag system consists mainly of
the following components, and their loca-
tions are shown in the illustration.
1. Front airbag sensors
2. SRS warning light
3. Airbag module for front 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. In a severe frontal impact, the sensor de-
tects deceleration and the system triggers
the airbag inflators. At this time a chemi-
cal reaction in the inflators quickly fills the
airbags with nontoxic gas to help restrain
the forward motion of the occupants.
When the airbags inflate, they produce a
fairly loud noise and release some smoke
and residue along with nontoxic gas. This
does not indicate a fire. This gas is nor-
mally harmless; however, for those who
have delicate skin, it may cause a minor
skin irritation. Be sure to wash off any
residue as soon as possible to prevent
any potential skin irritation.
Deployment of the airbags happens 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 swelling.
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.

’03 HIGHLANDER_U (L/O 0208)
572003 HIGHLANDER from Aug. ’02 Prod. (OM48441U)
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 the
inflating airbags if they do not wear
the available seat belts properly.
During sudden braking just before
a collision, an unrestrained driver
or front passenger can move for-
ward into direct contact with or
close proximity to the airbag which
may then deploy during the colli-
sion. To ensure maximum protection
in an accident, the driver and all
passengers in the vehicle must
wear their seat belts properly. Wear-
ing a seat belt properly during an
accident reduces the chances of
death or serious injury or being
thrown out of the vehicle. For
instructions and precautions con-
cerning the seat belt system, see
“Seat belts” on page 46 in this sec-
tion.
Improperly seated and/or restrained
infants and children can be killed
or seriously injured by the deploy-
ing front 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.
Never install a rearfacing child re-
straint system on the front passen-
ger seat because the force of the
rapid inflation of the front passen-
ger airbag can cause death or seri-
ous injury to the child.

’03 HIGHLANDER_U (L/O 0208)
582003 HIGHLANDER from Aug. ’02 Prod. (OM48441U)
Move seat
fully back
A forwardfacing 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, because the force of
the deploying front passenger air-
bag could cause death or serious
injury to the child.
On vehicles with side airbags, do
not allow the child to lean against
the front door or around the front
door even if the child is seated in
the child restraint system. It is dan-
gerous if the side airbags inflate,
because 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 sit on the edge of the seat
or lean over the dashboard when
the vehicle is in use, since the
front airbags inflate with consider-
able speed and force. Otherwise,
you may be killed or seriously in-
jured. Sit up straight and well back
in the seat, and always use your
seat belt properly.