2004 TOYOTA AVALON Owners Manual

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In the following cases, contact your Toyota
dealer as soon as possible:
Any of the SRS side airbags have
been inflated.
The portion of the doors (shaded in the
illustration) was involved in an accident
that was not severe enough to cause
the SRS side airbags to inflate.
The surface of the seats with the side
airbag (shaded in the illustration) is
scratched, cracked, or otherwise dam-
aged.
NOTICE
Do not disconnect the battery cables
before contacting your Toyota dealer.
Toyota strongly urges the use of ap-
propriate child restraint systems for
children.
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” in this
Section 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.
Child restraint—
—Child restraint precautions

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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 passen-
ger seat. In the event of an acci-
dent, the force of the rapid inflation
of the front passenger airbag can
cause death or serious injury to the
child if the rearfacing child re-
straint system is installed on the
front passenger 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 front pas-
senger airbag could inflate with
considerable speed and force.
Otherwise, the child may be killed
or seriously injured.
Do not allow the child to lean his/
her head or any part of his/her
body against the door or the area
of the seat from which the side air-
bags deploy even if the child is
seated in the child restraint system.
It is dangerous if the side airbags
inflate, because the impact could
cause death or serious injury to the
child.
Do not use the seat belt extender
when installing a child restraint
system on the front or rear passen-
ger seat. If installing a child re-
straint system with the seat belt
extender connected to the seat belt,
the seat belt will not securely hold
the child restraint system, which
could cause death or serious injury
to the child or other passengers in
the event of collision.
Make sure you have complied with
all installation instructions provided
by the child restraint manufacturer
and that the system is properly se-
cured. If it is not secured properly,
it may cause death or serious injury
to the child in the event of a sud-
den stop or accident.
A child restraint system for a small
child or baby must itself be properly
restrained on the seat with either the
lap belt or the lap portion of the lap/
shoulder belt. You must carefully con-
sult 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 instructions.
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.
When not using the child restraint system,
keep it secured with the seat belt or place
it in the trunk or somewhere other than
the passenger compartment. This will pre-
vent it from injuring passengers in the
event of a sudden stop or accident.
—Child restraint system

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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” 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” in this Section.
(A) Infant seat
(B) Convertible seat
(C) Booster seat
—Types of child restraint
system

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(A) INFANT SEAT INSTALLATION
An infant seat must be used in rear
facing position only.CAUTION
Never install a rearfacing child re-
straint system on the front passen-
ger seat. In the event of an acci-
dent, the force of the rapid inflation
of the front passenger airbag can
cause death or serious injury to the
child if the rearfacing child re-
straint system is installed on the
front passenger seat.
Do not install a child restraint sys-
tem on the rear seat if it interferes
with the lock mechanism of the
front seats. Otherwise, the child or
front seat occupant(s) may be killed
or seriously injured in case of sud-
den braking 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.
—Installation with 3point
type seat belt

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1. Run the lap and shoulder belt throughor 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.
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 your
child from properly latching the tab
and buckle.
If the seat belt does not function
normally, it cannot protect your
child from death or serious injury.
Contact your Toyota dealer immedi-
ately. Do not install the child
restraint system on the seat 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.

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3. While pressing the infant seat firmlyagainst the seat cushion and seatback,
let the shoulder belt retract as far as
it will go to hold the infant seat secure-
ly.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 thebuckle release 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.

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(B) CONVERTIBLE SEAT INSTALLATION
A convertible seat must be used in for-
wardfacing or rearfacing position de-
pending on the age and size of the
child. When installing, follow the
manufacturer ’s instruction about the ap-
plicable age and size of the child as
well as directions for installing the
child restraint system.CAUTION
Never install a rearfacing child re-
straint system on the front passen-
ger seat. In the event of an acci-
dent, the force of the rapid inflation
of the front passenger airbag can
cause death or serious injury to the
child if the rearfacing child re-
straint system is installed on the
front passenger seat.
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 front pas-
senger airbag could inflate with
considerable speed and force.
Otherwise, the child may be killed
or seriously injured.

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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 dangerous if the side airbags
inflate, because the impact 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.
1. Run the lap and shoulder belt throughor around the convertible seat following
the instructions provided by its
manufacturer and insert the tab into
the buckle taking care not to twist the
belt. Keep the lap portion of the belt
tight.