2003 TOYOTA PRIUS wheel

vi
CAUTION
If an accident occurs
Pull your Toyota off the road, put the selector le-
ver in “P” and remove the ignition key.
In order to avoid personal injuries, do not touch
any high voltage wirings and their connectors, and
high voltage parts (inverter unit, hybrid vehicle
battery, etc.).
If some exposed electric wirings are protruding in-
side or outside of your Toyota, an electric shock
may occur. Never touch the electric wirings.
If fluid leaks or gets in some parts of the vehicle,
never touch it because it may be electrolyte
(strong alkali) from the hybrid vehicle battery. If it
gets into your skin or eyes, wash off immediately
with a large amount of water, if possible, boric
acid solution, and get immediate medical attention
in order to help avoid serious injury.
If a vehicle fire occurs, extinguish it using a fire
extinguisher for the exclusive use on electric fires.
Or, use a large amount of water to prevent flam-
mable gas from being generated from the batteries.
When your Toyota needs to be towed, do it with
the front wheels raised. For details on towing, see
“If your vehicle needs to be towed” on page 182 in
Section 5.

8
Toyota hybrid system combines the
gasoline engine and the electric motor
power to improve the fuel economy
largely and minimize the emissions as
well as to provide higher power perfor-
mance than the ordinary gasolinepow-
ered vehicles.
Depending on the driving condition, the
vehicle runs on the best combination of;
Gasoline engine power
Electric motor power generated by
the gasoline engine
Electric motor power of the hybrid
vehicle battery
Furthermore, the energy is effectively used
in the following ways:
When stopping the vehicle, the gaso-
line engine is automatically stopped.
When decreasing the speed by apply-
ing the brakes, electricity converted
from the turning force of the wheels is
stored in the hybrid vehicle battery.
(This is called regenerative brake.) Since the battery is charged by the
gasoline engine as needed, it does not
require charging from the outside like
an electric vehicle.
In this way, greatly improved fuel economy
and reduced emissions are attained.
If you do not use the vehicle for a long
time (2 weeks or more),
the hybrid ve-
hicle battery and auxiliary battery will dis-
charge and their condition is liable to de-
cline. Therefore, in order to make up for
discharging, charge them once in every 2
weeks for about 30 minutes by starting
the hybrid system with all electrical com-
ponents turned off. Basic operations are described below. Be-
sides, Toyota hybrid system performs vari-
ous controls depending on the operating
condition, such as at the time of hybrid
system starting, at the time of charging
should be required, at the time of the air
conditioning is in use, etc.
6.Toyota hybrid system
7.Toyota hybrid system
operating condition

10
12p019a
Storing electric power
When decreasing speed or applying the
brakes, the turning force of the wheels
makes the electric motor operate as a
generator and additional electricity is
stored in the hybrid vehicle battery (regen-
erative brake).
12p020a
Not in use
When stopping, the gasoline engine auto-
matically shuts off.
12p030
Charging hybrid vehicle battery
When the hybrid vehicle battery power is
insufficient, the gasoline engine charges
the hybrid vehicle battery. The system al-
ways supplies electricity at a constant lev-
el.

16
When your vehicle needs to be
towed, do it with the front wheels
or all four wheels raised. If the
front wheels are on the ground
when towing, the electric motor
may continue to generate electricity
which could cause leakage of elec-
tricity and a fire depending on the
degree of damage. See “If your ve-
hicle needs to be towed” on page
182 in Section 5.

38
OPERATION OF INSTRUMENTS AND
CONTROLS
21.Seats, Seat belts, Steering wheel and mirrors
Seats39
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Front seats s39. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \
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Head restraints 42
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Seat belts 42
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SRS driver and front passenger airbags 50
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SRS side airbags 57
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Child restraint 62
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Tilt steering wheel 77
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Outside rear view mirrors 78
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.
Antiglare inside rear view mirror 80
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Vanity mirror 80
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SECTION 2– 2

39
While the vehicle is being driven, all ve-
hicle occupants should have the seatback
upright, sit well back in the seat and prop-
erly wear the seat belts provided.
CAUTION
Do not drive the vehicle unless the
occupants are properly seated. Do
not allow passengers to sit on top
of a foldeddown seatback, or in
the luggage compartment or cargo
area. Persons not properly seated
and/or properly restrained by seat
belts can be severely injured in the
event of emergency braking or a
collision.
During driving, do not allow pas-
sengers to stand up or move
around between seats. Otherwise,
severe injuries can occur in the
event of emergency braking or a
collision.
Driver seat
CAUTION
The SRS driver airbag deploys with
considerable force, and can cause
death or serious injury especially if
the driver is very close to the airbag.
The National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration “NHTSA” advises:
Since the risk zone for driver airbag
is the first 5075 mm (23 in.) of
inflation, placing yourself 250 mm (10
in.) from your diver airbag provides
you with a clear margin of safety.
This distance is measured from the
center of the steering wheel to your
breastbone. If you sit less than 250
mm (10 in.) away now, you can
change your driving position in sever-
al ways:
Move your seat to the rear as far
as you can while still reaching the
pedals comfortably.
Slightly recline the back of the
seat. Although vehicle designs vary,
many drivers can achieve the 250
mm (10 in.) distance, even with the
driver seat all the way forward, sim-
ply by reclining the back of the
seat somewhat. If reclining the back
of your seat makes it hard to see
the road, raise yourself by using a
firm, nonslippery cushion, or raise
the seat if your vehicle has that
feature.
If your steering wheel is adjustable,
tilt it downward. This points the air-
bag toward your chest instead of
your head and neck.
The seat should be adjusted as rec-
ommended by NHTSA above, while
still maintaining control of the foot
pedals, steering wheel, and your view
of the instrument panel controls.
22.Seats 23.Front seats—
—Front seat precautions
(on vehicles with SRS front
airbags)

50
22p013
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 directly
hitting the steering wheel or dashboard.
The front passenger airbag 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 pass
enger when
the SRS airbags are inflated.
CAUTION
A 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.
22p010
This indicator comes on when the igni-
tion key is turned to the “ACC” or
“ON” position. It goes off after about
6 seconds. This means the SRS front
airbags are operating properly.
The warning light system monitors the air-
bag sensor assembly, front airbag sen-
sors, side airbag sensors, front seat belt
pretensioner assemblies, warning light, in-
terconnecting wiring and power sources.
(For details, see “Service reminder indica-
tors and warning buzzers” on page 93 in
Section 24.)
26.SRS driver and front
passenger airbags

52
22p017a
The SRS airbag system mainly consists 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 (air- bag 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. The airbag sensors constantly monitor the
forward deceleration of the vehicle. If an
impact results in a forward deceleration
beyond the designed threshold level, the
system triggers the airbag inflators. At this
time a chemical reaction in the inflators
very quickly fills the air
bags with nontox-
ic gas to help restrain the froward motion
of the occupants. The airbags then quickly
deflate, so that there is no obstruction of
the driver ’s vision should it be necessary
to continue driving.
When the airbags inflate, they produce a
loud noise and release some smoke and
residue along with nontoxic 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 physically and
safely exit the vehicle after a collision,
you should do so at the first opportunity. 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, primarily to the head and chest, it
may also cause other, less severe injuries
to the face, chest, arms and hands. These
are usually in the nature of minor burns
or abrasions and swelling, but the force of
a deploying airbag can cause more seri-
ous injuries, especially if an occupant’s
hands, arms, chest or head are in close
proximity to the airbag module at the time
of deployment. This is why it is important
for the occupant to: avoid placing any
object or part of the body between the
occupant and the airbag module; sit
straight and well back into the seat; wear
the available seat belt properly; and sit as
far as possible from the airbag module,
while still maintaining control of the ve-
hicle.
Parts of the airbag module (steering wheel
hub, airbag cover and inflator) may be hot
for several minutes after deployment, so
do not touch! The airbags inflate only
once. The windshield may be damaged by
absorbing some of the force of the inflat-
ing airbag.