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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 any passengers to sit on
top of a folded down seatback, or
in the luggage compartment or car-
go area. Persons not properly
seated and/or not properly re-
strained by seat belts can be se-
verely injured in the event of emer-
gency braking or a collision.
During driving, do not allow any
passengers 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 50—75 mm (2—3 in.) of
inflation, placing yourself 250 mm (10
in.) from your driver 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, non slippery 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.
Seats Front seats—
—Front seat precautions
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The seat belt pretensioner system con-
sists mainly of the following components
and their locations are shown in the il-
lustration.
1. Front airbag sensors
2. SRS warning light
3. Seat belt pretensioner assemblies
4. Airbag sensor assembly
The seat belt pretensioners are controlled
by the airbag sensor assembly. The airbag
sensor assembly consists of a safing sen-
sor and airbag sensor. When the seat belt pretensioners are acti-
vated, an operating noise may be heard
and a small amount of non
−toxic gas may
be released. This does not indicate that
a fire is occurring. This gas is normally
harmless.
Once the seat belt pretensioners have
been activated, the seat belt retractors
remain locked.
CAUTION
Do not modify, remove, strike or
open the seat belt pretensioner as-
semblies, airbag sensor or sur-
rounding area or wiring. Failure to
follow these instructions may pre-
vent the seat belt pretensioners
from activating correctly, cause sud-
den operation of the system or dis-
able the system, which could result
in death or serious injury. Consult
your Toyota dealer about any repair
and modification.
Do not modify or change the sus-
pension system. Such changes may
cause the curtain shield airbags to
inflate accidentally, which could re-
sult in death or serious injury. Con-
sult your Toyota dealer about any
repair and modification.
Do not use tires or wheels other
than the manufacture’s recom-
mended size. Such a use may cause
the curtain shield airbags and seat
belt pretensioners to inflate acci-
dentally, which could result in death
or serious injury. For details, see
“Checking and replacing tires” on
page 370 in Section 7 2.
Do not place luggage heavier than
specified on the roof luggage carri-
er. Such luggage may cause the
curtain shield airbags and seat belt
pretensioners to inflate accidentally,
which could result in death or seri-
ous injury. For details, see “Roof
luggage carrier” on page 266 in
Section 1 10.
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Do not put anything or any part of
your baby on or in front of the
dashboard or steering wheel pad
that houses the front airbag sys-
tem. They might restrict inflation or
cause death or serious injury as
they are projected rearward by the
force of the deploying airbags. Like-
wise, the driver and front passenger
should not hold objects in their
arms or on their knees.
Do not modify or remove any wir-
ing. Do not modify, remove, strike
or open any components such as
the steering wheel pad, steering
wheel, column cover, dashboard
near the front passenger airbag,
front passenger airbag cover, front
passenger airbag or airbag sensor
assembly. Doing so may prevent the
front airbag system from activating
correctly, cause sudden activation
of the system or disable the sys-
tem, which could result in death or
serious injury.
Failure to follow these instructions
can result in death or serious injury.
Consult your Toyota dealer about any
repair and modification.NOTICE
Do not perform any of the following
changes without consulting your
Toyota dealer. Such changes can in-
terfere with proper operation of the
SRS front airbag system in some
cases.
Installation of electronic devices
such as a mobile two way radio,
cassette tape player or compact
disc player
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, con-
sole, steering column, steering
wheel or dashboard near the front
passenger airbag
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Do not hook a hanger, heavy or
sharp pointed objects on the coat
hook. If the curtain shield airbag
inflates, those items will be thrown
away with great force or the curtain
shield airbag may not activate cor-
rectly, resulting in death or serious
injury. When you hang clothes,
hang them on the coat hook direct-
ly.
Do not use seat accessories which
cover the parts where the side air-
bags inflate. Such accessories may
prevent the side airbags from acti-
vating correctly, causing death or
serious injury.
Do not modify or replace the seats
or upholstery of the seats with side
airbags. Such changes may prevent
the side airbag system from activat-
ing correctly, disable the system or
cause the side airbags to inflate ac-
cidentally, resulting in death or seri-
ous injury.
Do not disassemble or repair the
front pillars and roof side rails con-
taining the curtain shield airbags.
Such changes may disable the sys-
tem or cause the curtain shield air-
bags to inflate accidentally, result-
ing in death or serious injury.
Do not modify or change the sus-
pension system. Such changes may
cause the curtain shield airbags to
inflate accidentally, which could re-
sult in death or serious injury.
Do not use tires or wheels other
than the manufacturer ’s recom-
mended size. Such a use may cause
the curtain shield airbags to inflate
accidentally, which could result in
death or serious injury. For details,
see “Checking and replacing tires”
on page 370 in Section 7 2.
Do not place luggage heavier than
specified on the roof luggage carri-
er. Such luggage may cause the
curtain shield airbags to inflate ac-
cidentally, which could result in
death or serious injury. For details,
see “Roof luggage carrier” on page
266 in Section 1 10.
Failure to follow these instructions
can result in death or serious injury.
Consult your Toyota dealer about any
repair and modification.
NOTICE
Do not perform any of the following
changes without consulting your
Toyota dealer. Such changes can
interfere with proper operation of the
SRS side airbag and curtain shield
airbag system in some cases.
Installation of electronic devices
such as a mobile two way radio,
cassette tape player or compact
disc player
Modification of the side structure of
the passenger compartment
Repairs made on or near the con-
sole or front seat
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To change the steering wheel angle,
hold the steering wheel, pull the lock
release lever toward you, tilt the steer-
ing wheel to the desired angle and re-
lease the lever.
When the steering wheel is in a low posi-
tion, it will spring up as you release the
lock release lever.
CAUTION
Do not adjust the steering wheel
while the vehicle is moving. Doing
so may cause the driver to mishan-
dle the vehicle and an accident may
occur resulting in death or serious
injuries.
After adjusting the steering wheel,
try moving it up and down to make
sure it is locked in position.
ADJUSTMENT OF STEERING WHEEL
TILT
To change the steering wheel angle,
hold the steering wheel, pull the lock
release lever toward you, tilt the steer-
ing wheel to the desired angle and re-
lease the lever.
When the steering wheel is in a low posi-
tion, it will spring up as you release the
lock release lever.
Tilt steering wheel Tilt and telescopic steering
wheel
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ADJUSTMENT OF TELESCOPIC
STEERING COLUMN
To change the steering wheel length,
push down the lock release lever, set
the steering wheel to the desired length
and return the lever to its original posi-
tion.
CAUTION
Do not adjust the steering wheel
while the vehicle is moving. Doing
so may cause the driver to mishan-
dle the vehicle and an accident may
occur resulting in death or serious
injuries.
After adjusting the steering wheel,
try moving it up and down or for-
ward and rearward to make sure it
is locked in position.
Adjust the mirror so that you can just
see the side of your vehicle in the mir-
ror.
Be careful when judging the size or dis-
tance of any object seen in the outside
rear view mirror on the passenger ’s side
because it is a convex mirror. Any object
seen in a convex mirror will look smaller
and farther away than when seen in a flat
mirror.
On some models, when you push the
back window defogger switch, the heater
panels in the outside rear view mirrors will
quickly clear the surface. (See “Back win-
dow and outside rear view mirror defog-
gers” on page 131 in Section 1 −5.)
Outside rear view mirrors—
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2004 4RUNNER from Aug. ’03 Prod. (OM35811U)
If there is any abnormality in the sys-
tem, the “VSC TRAC” warning light will
come on.
If the system malfunctions, the “VSC
TRAC” warning light will come on.
If the “VSC TRAC” warning light comes
on, there may be an abnormality in any
of the following systems in addition to the
hill−start assist control system.
Downhill assist control system
(four −wheel drive models)
Traction control system
(two −wheel drive models)
Active traction control system
(four −wheel drive models)
Vehicle stability control system “VSC TRAC” warning light
When the system is normal and the igni-
tion key is turned to “ON”, the warning
light will come on and will go off after a
few seconds.
It is not a malfunction that the warning
light may stay on for 60 seconds after the
ignition key is turned to “ON”.
Depressing the brake pedal repeatedly
may turn on the light. It is normal if it
goes out after a few seconds.
The brake actuator temperature increases
during continuous operation of the above
mentioned system on such as slippery
roads. If the brake actuator temperature
becomes too high while any of the sys-
tems is operating, a buzzer will start to
sound intermittently to indicate that the
hill
−start assist control system can no lon-
ger operate. In this case, stop your ve-
hicle immediately at a safe place.
If the system continues to operate, the
buzzer sound changes from intermittent to
continuous. (The continuous buzzer
sounds for about 3 seconds.) At this time, the “VSC TRAC” warning
light will come on and the hill
−start assist
control system stops operating temporarily
in order to protect the brake actuator. (Al-
though the hill −start assist control system
does not operate, it is no problem to con-
tinue your driving.) The system will be
automatically restored after a short time
and the “VSC TRAC” warning light goes
out.
If the warning light comes on while driv-
ing, the system does not work. However,
as normal braking operates when being
applied, it is no problem to continue your
driving.
In the following cases, contact your Toyota
dealer:
The warning light does not come on
after the ignition key is turned to “ON”.
The warning light remains on after the
ignition key is turned to “ON”.
The warning light comes on while driv-
ing.
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LOW TIRE PRESSURE WARNING LIGHT
This light comes on when the ignition key
is turned to the “ON” position. It goes off
after a few seconds. This indicates that
the tire pressure warning system is func-
tioning properly. If the low tire pressure warning light
comes on or blinks, do the following.
If the warning light comes on:
Stop your vehicle in a safe place as
soon as possible and check that the
inflation pressure of all tires (including
the spare tire) is as specified on the
tire and loading information label. (See
“Checking tire inflation pressure” on
page 368 in Section 7 2.) If the warning
light comes on even after tire inflation
pressure adjustment, you may have a
flat tire. If you have a flat tire, replace
it with the spare tire. For details, see
“If you have a flat tire” on page 321 in
Section 4.
The warning light goes off a few minutes
after air is put into the deflated tire.
This warning light may turn on due to
natural causes such as natural air leaks
or tire pressure changes caused by tem-
perature. In this case, adjusting the tire
pressure will turn off the warning light.
CAUTION
When the tire pressure warning light
comes on, observe the following in-
structions:
Depending on the conditions, re-
duce to an appropriate speed as
soon as possible.
Adjust the tire pressure to the spe-
cified level as soon as possible.
Avoid abrupt steering wheel maneu-
vering and braking. Tire deteriora-
tion may reduce steering wheel con-
trol and brake effectiveness. This
may lead to serious injury or death.
The tire pressure warning system
may not activate immediately if sud-
den bursts of air leakage occur.