2003 TOYOTA RAV4 Owners Manual

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592003 RAV4 from Aug. ’02 Prod. (OM42517U)
In the following cases, contact your Toyota
dealer as soon as possible:
The SRS airbags have been inflated.
The front of the vehicle (shaded in the
illustration) was involved in an accident
that was not severe enough to cause
the SRS airbags to inflate.
The pad section of the steering wheel
or front passenger airbag cover
(shaded in the illustration) is scratched,
cracked, or otherwise damaged.
NOTICE
Do not disconnect the battery cables
before contacting your Toyota dealer.
Toyota strongly urges the use of child
restraint systems for children small
enough to use them.
The laws of all 50 states in the U.S.A.
and Canada now require the use of a
child restraint system.
Your vehicle conforms to SAEJ1819.
If a child is too large for a child restraint
system, the child s hould sit in the rear
seat and must be restrained using the
vehicle’s seat belt. See “Seat belts” on
page 42 for details.
CAUTION
For effective protection in automo-
bile accidents and sudden stops, a
child must be properly restrained,
using a seat belt or child restraint
system depending on the age and
size of the child. Holding a child in
your arms is not a substitute for a
child restraint system. In an acci-
dent, the child can be crushed
against the windshield, or between
you and the vehicle’s interior.
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 rearfacing child re-
straint system on the front seat. In
the event of an accident, the force
of the rapid inflation of the airbag
can cause death or serious injury if
a rearfacing child restraint system
is installed on the front seat.
Unless it is unavoidable, do not
install a forwardfacing child re-
straint system on the front seat.
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.
Child restraint—
—Child restraint precautions

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602003 RAV4 from Aug. ’02 Prod. (OM42517U)
Make sure that you have complied
with all installation instructions pro-
vided by the child restraint
manufacturer and that the system is
properly secured.A child restraint system for a small
child or baby must itself be properly
restrained on the seat with the lap por-
tion of the lap/shoulder belt. You must
carefully consult the manufacturer ’s
instructions which accompany the child
restraint system.
To provide proper restraint, use a child
restraint system following the manufactur-
er ’s instructions about the appropriate age
and size of the child for the child restraint
system.
Install the child restraint system correctly
following the instructions provided by its
manufacturer. General directions are also
provided under the following illustrations.
The child restraint system should be
installed on the rear seat. According to
accident statistics, the child is safer when
properly restrained in the rear seat than
in the front seat.CAUTION
Never install a rearfacing child re-
straint system on the front seat. In
the event of an accident, the force
of the rapid inflation of the airbag
can cause death or serious injury if
a rearfacing child restraint system
is installed on the front seat.
Unless it is unavoidable, do not
install a forwardfacing child re-
straint system on the front seat.
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.
After installing the child restraint
system, make sure it is secured in
place following the manufacturer ’s
instructions. If it is not restrained
securely, it may cause death or se-
rious injury to the child in the
event of a sudden stop or accident.
—Child restraint system

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When not using the child restraint system,
keep it secured with the seat belt or place
it somewhere other than the passenger
compartment. This will prevent it from in-
juring passengers in the event of a sud-
den stop or accident.Child restraint systems are classified into
the following 3 types depending on the
child’s age and size.
(A) Infant seat
(B) Convertible seat
(C) Booster seat
Install the child restraint system following
the instructions provided by its manufac-
turer.
Your vehicle has anchor brackets for se-
curing the top strap of a child restraint
system.
For instructions about how to use the an-
chor bracket, see “—Using a top strap” on
page 71 in this section.
The child restraint lower anchorages ap-
proved for your vehicle may also be used.
See “—Installation with child restraint low-
er anchorages” on page 74 in this section.
(A) Infant seat
(B) Convertible seat
—Types of child restraint
system

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(C) Booster seat(A) INFANT SEAT INSTALLATION
An infant seat is used in rearfacing
position only.CAUTION
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.
—Installation with seat belt

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Do not install a child restraint sys-
tem on the rear seat if it interferes
with the lock mechanism of the
front seats. This can cause death or
serious injury to the child and front
passenger in case of sudden brak-
ing 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 rear right
seat.
Same angle
Same position
When installing a child restraint
system on the rear center position,
adjust both seat cushions to the
same position and align both seat-
backs at the same angle. Otherwise,
the child restraint system cannot be
securely restrained and this may
cause death or serious injuries in a
collision.1. Run the lap and shoulder belt through
or around the infant seat following the
instructions provided by its manufactur-
er and insert the tab into the buckle
taking care not to twist the belt. Keep
the lap portion of the belt tight.

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CAUTION
After inserting the tab, make sure
the tab and buckle are locked and
that the lap and shoulder portions
of the belt are 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, it cannot protect your
child from injury. Contact your
Toyota dealer immediately. Do not
use the child restraint system until
the seat belt is fixed.
2. Fully extend the shoulder belt to put itin the lock mode. When the belt is
then retracted even slightly, it cannot
be extended.
To hold the infant seat securely, make
sure the belt is in the lock mode before
letting the belt retract.3. While pressing the infant seat firmly against the seat cushion and seatback,
let the shoulder belt retract as far as
it will go to hold the infant seat secure-
ly.

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CAUTION
Push and pull the child restraint sys-
tem in different directions to be sure
it is secure. Follow all the installation
instructions provided by its manufac-
turer.
4. To remove the infant seat, press thebucklerelease button and allow the
belt to retract completely. The belt will
move freely again and be ready to
work for an adult or older child passen-
ger.(B) CONVERTIBLE SEAT INSTALLATION
A convertible seat is used in forward
facing or rearfacing position depend-
ing on the child’s age and size. When
installing, follow the manufacturer’s in-
struction about the applicable child’s
age and size as well as directions for
installing the child restraint system.

’03 Rav4_U (L/O 0208)
662003 RAV4 from Aug. ’02 Prod. (OM42517U)
CAUTION
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.
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.Do not install a child restraint sys-
tem on the rear seat if it interferes
with the lock mechanism of the
front seats. This can cause death or
serious injury to the child and front
passenger in case of sudden brak-
ing 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 rear right
seat.