2004 TOYOTA RAV4 ESP

’04 Rav4_U (L/O 0403)
53
2004 RAV4 from Mar. ’04 Prod. (OM42568U)
The driver and front passenger seat
belt pretensioners are designed to be
activated in response to a severe fron-
tal impact.
When the sensor detects a severe frontal
impact, the front seat belts are quickly
drawn back by the retractors so that the
belts snugly restrain the occupants.
The seat belt pretensioners are activated
even with no passenger in the front seat.
The seat belt pretensioners and SRS air-
bags may not operate together in all colli-
sions.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 assemblies,
airbag sensor or surrounding area or
wiring. Failure to follow these instruc-
tions may prevent the seat belt pre-
tensioners from activating correctly,
cause sudden operation of the system
or disable the system, which could
result in death or serious injury. Con-
sult your Toyota dealer about any re-
pair and modification.
—Seat belt pretensioners

’04 Rav4_U (L/O 0403)
55
2004 RAV4 from Mar. ’04 Prod. (OM42568U)
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 accident
that was not severe enough to cause
the seat belt pretensioners to operate.
Either seat belt pretensioner assembly
or surrounding area is scratched,
cracked, or otherwise damaged.
The SRS (Supplemental Restraint Sys-
tem) front airbags are designed to pro-
vide further protection for the driver
and front passenger in addition to the
primary safety protection provided by
the seat belts.
In response to a severe frontal impact,
the SRS front airbags work together with
the seat belts to help reduce injury by
inflating. The SRS airbags help reduce
injuries mainly to the driver’s or front pas-
senger ’s head or chest caused by hitting
the vehicle interior.
The front passenger airbag is activated
even with no passenger in the front seat.
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 front airbags are inflated.
SRS driver airbag and front
passenger airbag

’04 Rav4_U (L/O 0403)
58
2004 RAV4 from Mar. ’04 Prod. (OM42568U)
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 airbags with
non− toxic 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 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. Deployment of the airbags happens in a
fraction of a second, so the airbags must
inflate with considerable force. While the
system is desi
gned to reduce serious inju-
ries, primarily to the head and chest, it
may also cause other, less severe injuries
to the face, chest, arms and hands. These
are usually in the nature of minor burns
or abrasions and swelling, but the force of
a deploying airbag can cause more seri-
ous injuries, especially if an occupant’s
hands, arms, chest or head is in close
proximity to the airbag module at the time
of deployment. This is why it is important
for the occupant to: avoid placing any
object or part of the body between the
occupant and the airbag module; sit
straight and well back into the seat; wear
the available seat belt properly; and sit as
far as possible from the airbag module,
while still maintaining control of the ve-
hicle.
Parts of the airbag module (steering wheel
hub, airbag cover and inflator) may be hot
for several minutes after deployment, so
do not touch! The airbags inflate only
once. The windshield may be damaged by
absorbing some of the force of the inflat-
ing airbag.CAUTION
The driver or front passenger who is
too close to the steering wheel or
dashboard during airbag deployment
can be killed or seriously injured.
Toyota strongly recommends that:
The driver sit as far back as pos-
sible from the steering wheel while
still maintaining control of the ve-
hicle.
The front passenger sit as far back
as possible from the dashboard.
All vehicle occupants be properly
restrained using the available seat
belts.
For instructions and precautions con-
cerning the seating position, see
“—Front seat precautions” on page
30 in this Section.

’04 Rav4_U (L/O 0403)
62
2004 RAV4 from Mar. ’04 Prod. (OM42568U)
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 rear 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 rear outside passenger ’s head.
The SRS side airbag and curtain shield
airbag on the passenger side are activated
even with no passenger in the front seat
or rear outside 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 when the SRS side
airbags and curtain shield airbags are in-
flated.
CAUTION
The SRS side airbag and curtain
shield airbag system is designed
only as a supplement to the prima-
ry protection of the driver, front
passenger and rear outside passen-
ger seat belt systems. To ensure
maximum protection in an accident,
the driver and all passengers in the
vehicle must wear their seat belts
properly. Wearing a seat belt prop-
erly during an accident reduces the
chances of death or serious injury
or being thrown out of the vehicle.
For instructions and precautions
concerning the seat belt system,
see “Seat belts” on page 44 in this
Section.
SRS side airbags and curtain
shield airbags

’04 Rav4_U (L/O 0403)
65
2004 RAV4 from Mar. ’04 Prod. (OM42568U)
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
rear 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.

’04 Rav4_U (L/O 0403)
66
2004 RAV4 from Mar. ’04 Prod. (OM42568U)
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.

’04 Rav4_U (L/O 0403)
93
2004 RAV4 from Mar. ’04 Prod. (OM42568U)
Adjust the mirror so that you can just
see the rear of your vehicle in the mir-
ror.
This mirror is equipped with auto anti
glare function. The function is designed
to reduce glare from the headlights of
the vehicle behind you during night
driving.
When the ignition key is inserted and
turned on, the inside rear view mirror al-
ways turns on in the automatic function
mode.
The indicator illuminates to show you that
the function is on.In automatic function mode, if the mirror
detects light from the headlights of the
vehicle behind you, the mirror surface
darkens slightly to reduce the reflected
light.
To turn off the automatic function, push
the “
” switch.
To turn on the automatic function again,
push the “
” switch.
Adjust it before driving so that the rear
view is in the best condition.
When the inside air temperature is low, it
may take a little longer for the mirror to
darken in response to the detection of
headlights.
CAUTION
Do not adjust the mirror while the
vehicle is moving. Doing so may
cause the driver to mishandle the ve-
hicle and an accident may occur re-
sulting in death or serious injuries.
To ensure correct functioning of an
antiglare mirror sensors located on
both sides of the mirror, do not touch
or cover the sensors with your finger
or a piece of cloth, etc.
Auto antiglare inside rear
view mirror

’04 Rav4_U (L/O 0403)
104
2004 RAV4 from Mar. ’04 Prod. (OM42568U)
To defog or defrost the rear window,
push the switch.
The key must be in the “ON” position.
The thin heater wires on the inside of the
rear window will quickly clear the window
surface. An indicator light will illuminate to
indicate the defogger is operating.
On some models, the heater panels in the
outside rear view mirrors will also quickly
clear the surfaces.
Push the switch once again to turn the
defoggers off.
The system will automatically shut off af-
ter the defoggers have operated about 15
minutes.
CAUTION
Since the mirror surfaces can get hot,
do not touch them when the switch
is on.
Make sure you turn the defoggers off
when the surfaces are clear. Leaving the
defoggers on for a long time could cause
the battery to discharge, especially during
stop−and− go driving. The defoggers are
not designed for drying rain water or for
melting snow.
If the outside rear view mirrors are heavi-
ly coated with ice, use a spray de −icer
before operating the switch.
NOTICE
When cleaning the inside of the rear
window, be careful not to scratch or
damage the heater wires or connec-
tors.
Rear window and outside rear
view mirror defoggers