2004 TOYOTA AVALON light

’04 AVALON U (L/O 0408)
42
2004 AVALON from Aug. ’04 Prod. (OM41412U)
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 foldeddown 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, 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.
Seats Front seats—
—Front seat precautions

’04 AVALON U (L/O 0408)
44
2004 AVALON from Aug. ’04 Prod. (OM41412U)
1. SEAT POSITION ADJUSTING LEVER
Hold the center of the lever and pull it
up. Then slide the seat to the desired
position with slight body pressure and
release the lever.
2. SEAT CUSHION ANGLE ADJUSTING KNOB
Turn the knob either way.
3. SEATBACK ANGLE ADJUSTING LEVER
Lean forward and pull the lever up.
Then lean back to the desired angle
and release the lever.CAUTION
To reduce the risk of sliding under
the lap belt during a collision, avoid
reclining the seatback any more than
needed. The seat belts provide maxi-
mum protection in a frontal or rear
collision when the driver and the
front passenger are sitting up straight
and well back in the seats. If you are
reclined, the lap belt may slide past
your hips and apply restraint forces
directly to the abdomen. In the event
of a frontal collision, the more the
seat is reclined, the greater the risk
of personal injury.
—Adjusting front seats
(manual seat)

’04 AVALON U (L/O 0408)
46
2004 AVALON from Aug. ’04 Prod. (OM41412U)
The micro computer can memorize the
position of the driver’s seat and outside
rear view mirror. Two different driving
position profiles can be entered into
computer ’s memory.
Recording a driving position in the
computer’s memory can only be done
when the ignition key is in the “ON”
position and the automatic transmission
selector lever is in the “P” position.
SETTING THE DRIVING POSITION1. Adjust the driver ’s seat and outside rear view mirror to the desired posi-
tion.
2. While pushing the “SET” button, push button “1” or “2” until the sig-
nal beeps.
The beep sound means that the positions
are recorded in the computer ’s memory.
By repeating these two steps and pressing
the remaining button, the driving position
for another driver can be recorded.
To set a new memorized position, select
the desired position and perform step 2.
The previous memory will be erased and
a new position will be set. To make only slight changes to an already
memorized position, the easiest way is to
first activate the memorized position, then
make the desired changes and perform
step 2 above.
Driving position memory
system

’04 AVALON U (L/O 0408)
50
2004 AVALON from Aug. ’04 Prod. (OM41412U)
Front—To use the armrest, pull up the
strap and pull down the armrest as
shown above.
Rear—To use the armrest, pull it down
as shown above.
For driver
For front outside passenger
To turn on the seat heater, push the
switch.
At this time, the indicator light will illu-
minate to indicate the seat heater is
operating.
The key must be in the “ON” position to
operate seat heaters.
Pushing the switch again will turn it off.
CAUTION
Occupants must use caution when op-
erating the seat heater because it
may make them feel too hot or cause
burns at low temperatures (erythema,
varicella). Use extra caution for;
Babies, small children, elderly per-
sons, sick persons or persons with
physical disabilities
Persons who have delicate skin
Persons who are exhausted
Persons who have taken alcohol or
drugs which induce sleep (sleeping
drug, cold remedy, etc.)
To prevent the seat overheating, do
not use the seat heater with a blan-
ket, cushion, or other insulating ob-
jects which cover the seat.
Seat heaters

’04 AVALON U (L/O 0408)
53
2004 AVALON from Aug. ’04 Prod. (OM41412U)
When a passenger ’s shoulder belt is com-
pletely extended and is then retracted
even slightly, the belt is locked in that
position and cannot be extended. This fea-
ture is used to hold the child restraint
system securely. (For details, see “Child
restraint” in this Section.) To free the belt
again, fully retract the belt and then pull
the belt out once more.
If the seat belt cannot be pulled out of the
retractor, firmly pull the belt and release
it. You will then be able to smoothly pull
the belt out of the retractor.
CAUTION
After inserting the tab, make sure
the tab and buckle are locked and
that the belt 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, because
it cannot protect an adult occupant
or your child from injury.
Ta k e u p
slack
To o h i g h
Keep as low on
hips as possible
Adjust the position of the lap and
shoulder belts.
Position the lap belt as low as possible
on your hips—not on your waist, then ad-
just it to a snug fit by pulling the shoulder
portion upward through the latch plate.
CAUTION
Both highpositioned lap belts and
loosefitting belts could cause seri-
ous injuries due to sliding under
the lap belt during a collision or
other unintended event. Keep the
lap belt positioned as low on hips
as possible.
Do not place the shoulder belt un-
der your arm.

’04 AVALON U (L/O 0408)
59
2004 AVALON from Aug. ’04 Prod. (OM41412U)
The front outside seat belt pretensioner
system consists mainly of the following
components and their locations are shown
in the illustration.1. Front airbag sensors
2. SRS warning light
3. Seat belt pretensioner assemblies
4. Airbag sensor assembly
The front outside seat belt pretensioners
are controlled by the airbag sensor as-
sembly. The airbag sensor assembly con-
sists of a safing sensor and airbag sen-
sor. When the front outside seat belt preten-
sioners are activated, 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 front outside seat belt preten-
sioners have been activated, the seat belt
retractors 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. Failure to follow
these instructions may prevent the
front outside 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.
NOTICE
Do not perform any of the following
changes without consulting your
Toyota dealer. Such changes can
interfere with proper operation of the
front outside 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

’04 AVALON U (L/O 0408)
60
2004 AVALON from Aug. ’04 Prod. (OM41412U)
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 outside seat belt pre-
tensioners are operating properly.
This warning light system monitors the
airbag sensor assembly, front airbag sen-
sors, side airbag sensors, driver ’s seat
position sensor, driver ’s seat belt buckle
switch, front seat belt pretensioner assem-
blies, inflators, warning light, interconnect-
ing wiring and power sources. (For details,
see “Service reminder indicators and
warning buzzers” in Section 16.)If any of the following conditions occurs,
this indicates a malfunction of the airbags
or seat belt pretensioners. Contact your
Toyota dealer as soon as possible.
The light does not come on when the
ignition key is turned to the “ON” posi-
tion or remains on for more than 6
seconds or flashes.
The light comes on or starts flashing
while driving.
If any front outside seat belt does not
retract or cannot be pulled out due to
a malfunction or activation of the rele-
vant front outside seat belt pretension-
er.
The seat belt pretensioner assembly or
surrounding area has been damaged.
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 outside seat belt pretension-
ers to operate.
Either front outside seat belt preten-
sioner assembly or surrounding area is
scratched, cracked, or otherwise dam-
aged.

’04 AVALON U (L/O 0408)
63
2004 AVALON from Aug. ’04 Prod. (OM41412U)
Hitting a curb,
edge of pavement
or hard surfaceFalling into or
jumping over a
deep hole
Landing hard or vehicle falling
The SRS front airbags may also deploy
if a serious impact occurs to the under-
side of your vehicle. Some examples
are shown in the illustration.The SRS front airbag system mainly con-
sists of the following components, and
their locations are shown in the illustra-
tion. 1. Front airbag sensors
2. Airbag module for driver (airbag and inflator)
3. Airbag module for front passenger (airbag and inflator)
4. Driver ’s seat belt buckle switch
5. Driver ’s seat position sensor
6. Airbag sensor assembly
7. SRS warning light
The airbag sensor assembly consists of a
safing sensor and airbag sensor. The front airbag sensors constantly moni-
tor the forward deceleration of the vehicle.
If an impact results in a forward decelera-
tion beyond the designed threshold level,
the system triggers the airbag inflators. At
this time a chemical reaction in the infla-
tors very quickly fills the air
bags with
nontoxic gas to help restrain the forward
motion of the occupants. The front 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 safely exit
from the vehicle, you should do so imme-
diately.