2004 TOYOTA HIGHLANDER Owners Manual

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The SRS (Supplemental Restraint Sys-
tem) side airbags and curtain shield air-
bags are designed to provide further
protection for the driver, front passen-
ger and second outside passengers in
addition to the primary safety protec-
tion provided by the seat belts. In response to a severe side impact, the
SRS side airbags and curtain shield air-
bags work with the seat belts to help
reduce injury by inflating. The SRS side
airbags help reduce injuries mainly to the
driver ’s or front passenger ’s chest and the
SRS curtain shield airbags help reduce
injuries mainly to the driver’s, front pas-
senger ’s or second outside passenger ’s
head.
The SRS side airbag on the passenger
seat will not activate if there is no pas-
senger sitting in the front passenger seat.
However, the side airbag on the passen-
ger seat may deploy if luggage is put in
the seat, or the seat belt is buckled up
regardless of the presence of the occu-
pant in the seat. (As for the front passen-
ger occupant classification system, see
“—Front passenger occupant classification
system” on page 81 in this Section.)
The SRS curtain shield airbag on the pas-
senger side are activated even with no
passenger in the front seat or second out-
side seat.
The SRS curtain shield airbags may acti-
vate even when the side airbags are not
activated.
Always 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 front passenger
when the SRS side airbags and curtain
shield airbags are inflated.
CAUTION
The SRS side airbag and curtain
shield airbag system is designed
only as a supplement to the prima-
ry protection of the driver, and
front passenger and second outside
passenger seat belt systems. To en-
sure maximum protection in an ac-
cident, the driver and all passen-
gers in the vehicle must wear their
seat belts properly. Wearing a seat
belt properly during an accident re-
duces the chances of death or seri-
ous injury or being thrown out of
the vehicle. For instructions and
precautions concerning the seat
belt system, see “Seat belts” on
page 54 in this Section.
—SRS side airbags and curtain
shield airbags

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Do not allow anyone to lean his/her
head or any part of his/her body
against the door or the area of the
seat, pillar, rear pillar or roof side
rail from which the SRS side airbag
and curtain shield airbag deploy
even if he/she is a child seated in
the child restraint system. It is dan-
gerous if the SRS side airbag and
curtain shield airbag inflate, and the
impact of the deploying airbag
could cause death or serious injury
to the occupant.Improperly seated and/or restrained
infants and children can be killed
or seriously injured by the deploy-
ing airbags. An infant or child who
is too small to use a seat belt
should be properly secured using a
child restraint system. Toyota
strongly recommends that all in-
fants and children be placed in the
rear seats of the vehicle and prop-
erly restrained. The rear seats are
the safest for infants and children.
For instructions concerning the
installation of a child restraint sys-
tem, see “Child restraint” on page
85 in this Section.
The SRS side airbag and curtain shield
airbag system may not activate if the
vehicle is subjected to a collision from
the side at certain angles, or a collision
to the side of the vehicle body other
than the passenger compartment as
shown in the illustration.
The SRS side airbags and curtain shield
airbags are designed to inflate when the
passenger compartment area suffers a se-
vere impact from the side.
Always wear your seat belts properly.

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Collision from the rear
Collision from the front Vehicle rollover
The SRS side airbags and curtain shield
airbags are not generally designed to
inflate if the vehicle is involved in a
front or rear collision, if it rolls over,
or if it is involved in a lowspeed side
collision.The SRS side airbag and curtain shield
airbag system consists mainly of the fol-
lowing components, and their locations are
shown in the illustration.1. SRS warning light
2. “AIRBAG ON” and “AIRBAG OFF” indi- cator lights
3. Curtain shield airbag modules (airbag and inflator)
4. Front passenger occupant classification system (ECU and sensors)
5. Side airbag modules (airbag and inflator)
6. Curtain shield airbag sensors
7. Side and curtain shield airbag sensors 8. Front passenger ’s seat belt buckle
switch
9. Airbag sensor assembly
The SRS side airbag and curtain shield
airbag system is controlled by the airbag
sensor assembly. The airbag sensor as-
sembly consists of a safing sensor and
airbag sensor.
In a severe side impact, the side and
curtain shield airbag sensor and/or the
curtain shield airbag sensor trigger(s) the
side airbag inflators and/or the curtain
shield airbag inflators. At this time a
chemical reaction in the inflators quickly
fills the airbags with non −toxic gas to help
restrain the lateral motion of the occu-
pants.
When the airbags inflate, they produce a
fairly loud noise and release some smoke
and residue along with non −toxic 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.

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Deployment of the airbags happens in a
fraction of a second, so the airbags must
inflate with considerable force. While the
system is designed to reduce serious inju-
ries, it may also cause minor burns or
abrasions and swelling.
Front seats as well as parts of the front
and rear pillars, and roof side rail may be
hot for several minutes, but the airbags
themselves will not be hot. The airbags
are designed to inflate only once.
CAUTION
SRS side airbags and curtain shield
airbags inflate with considerable
force. To reduce the possibility of
death or serious injury when they in-
flate, the driver, front passenger and
second outside passengers must:
Wear their seat belts properly.
Remain properly seated with their
backs upright and against the seats
at all times.
Do not allow anyone to lean against
the door when the vehicle is in use,
since the side airbag and curtain
shield airbag could inflate with con-
siderable speed and force. Other-
wise, he/she may be killed or seri-
ously injured. Special care should
be taken especially when you have
a small child in the vehicle.
Sit up straight and well back in the
seat, distributing your weight evenly
in the seat. Do not apply excessive
weight to the outer side of the
seats with a side airbag, and to the
front pillar, rear pillar and roof side
rail with a curtain shield airbag.
Do not allow anyone to get his/her
head closer to the area where the
side airbag and curtain shield air-
bag inflate, since these airbags
could inflate with considerable
speed and force. Otherwise, he/she
may be killed or seriously injured.
Special care should be taken espe-
cially when you have a small child
in the vehicle.

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Do not allow anyone to kneel on
the passenger seat, facing the pas-
senger ’s side door, since the side
airbag and curtain shield airbag
could inflate with considerable
speed and force. Otherwise, he/she
may be killed or seriously injured.
Special care should be taken espe-
cially when you have a small child
in the vehicle.Do not allow anyone to get his/her
head or hands out of windows
since the curtain shield airbags
could inflate with considerable
speed and force. Otherwise, he/she
may be killed or seriously injured.
Special care should be taken espe-
cially when you have a small child
in the vehicle.Do not attach a cup holder or any
other device or object on or around
the door. When the side airbag in-
flates, the cup holder or any other
device or object will be thrown with
great force or the side airbag may
not activate correctly, resulting in
death or serious injury. Likewise,
the driver and front passenger
should not hold objects in their
arms or on their knees.

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Do not attach a microphone or any
other device or object around the
area where the curtain shield airbag
activates such as on the windshield
glass, side door glass, front and
rear pillars, roof side rail and assist
grips. When the curtain shield air-
bag inflates, the microphone or oth-
er device or object will be thrown
away with great force or the curtain
shield airbag may not activate cor-
rectly, resulting in death or serious
injury.
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 and rear pillars and roof side
rails containing the curtain shield
airbags. Such changes may disable
the system or cause the curtain
shield airbags to inflate accidental-
ly, resulting in death or serious in-
jury.
Failure to follow these instructions
can result in death or serious injury.
Consult your Toyota dealer about any
repair and modification.
If you wish to modify your vehicle for
the handicapped, consult with your
Toyota dealer. It may dangerously in-
terfere with the SRS side airbags and
curtain shield airbags operation.

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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 twoway radio,
cassette tape player or compact
disc player
 Modification of the suspension sys-
tem
 Modification of the side structure of
the passenger compartment
 Repairs made on or near the con-
sole or front seat
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 SRS side airbags and curtain
shield airbags are operating properly. This warning light system monitors the
airbag sensor assembly, front airbag sen-
sors, side and curtain shield airbag sen-
sors, curtain shield airbag sensors, driv-
er ’s seat position sensor, driver ’s seat belt
buckle switch, front passenger occupant
classification system, “AIRBAG ON” indi-
cator light, “AIRBAG OFF” indicator light,
front passenger ’s seat belt buckle switch,
seat belt pretensioner assemblies, inflat-
ors, warning light, interconnecting wiring
and power sources. (For details, see “Ser-
vice reminder indicators and warning buzz-
ers” on page 129 in Section 1
−6.)
If either of the following conditions occurs,
this indicates a malfunction of the airbags
or seat belt pretensioners. Contact your
Toyota dealer as soon as possible.
When the ignition key is turned to the
“ON” position, the light does not come
on, remains on for more than 6 sec-
onds or flashes.
The light comes on or starts flashing
while driving.

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If the light stays on, it indicates that the
SRS driver and front passenger airbag
system and/or front passenger occupant
classification system and “AIRBAG ON”
and “AIRBAG OFF” indicator lights have a
problem. If the light flashes, the SRS side
airbag system and/or curtain shield airbag
system have a problem.
The SRS warning light and “AIRBAG OFF”
indicator light will come on if there is a
malfunction in the front passenger occu-
pant classification system.In the following cases, contact your Toyota
dealer as soon as possible:
Any of the SRS side airbags and cur-
tain shield 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 and curtain
shield airbags to inflate.
The surface of the seats with the side
airbag (shaded in the illustration) is
scratched, cracked, or otherwise dam-
aged.
The portion of the front pillars, rear
pillars or roof side rail garnishes (pad-
ding) containing the curtain shield air-
bags inside (shaded in the illustration)
is scratched, cracked, or otherwise
damaged.
NOTICE
Do not disconnect the battery cables
before contacting your Toyota dealer.