2004 TOYOTA TACOMA Owners Manual (in English)

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2004 TACOMA from Sep. ’03 Prod. (OM35814U)
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.
NOTICE
Do not perform any of the following
changes without consulting your
Toyota dealer. Such changes can
interfere with proper operation of the
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 pretensioner 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
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 seat belt pretensioners are
operating properly.
This warning light system monitors the
airbag sensor assembly, front airbag sen-
sors, seat belt pretensioner assemblies,
inflators, warning light, interconnecting wir-
ing and power sources. (For details, see
“Service reminder indicators and warning
buzzers” in Section 1 −6.)

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2004 TACOMA from Sep. ’03 Prod. (OM35814U)
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.
When the ignition key is turned to the
“ON” position, the light does not come
on, remains on or flashes.
The light comes on or starts flashing
while driving.
If any seat belt does not retract or can
not be pulled out due to a malfunction
or activation of the relevant seat belt
pretensioner.
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 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) airbags are designed to provide
further protection for the driver and
front passenger in addition to the pri-
mary safety protection provided by the
seat belts.
Vehicles with bench type front seats:
The SRS airbags are designed to protect
the driver and front outside passenger,
and they are not designed to protect an
occupant in the front center seating posi-
tion.
SRS driver airbag and front
passenger airbag
(vehicles with passenger airbag
manual onoff switch)

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2004 TACOMA from Sep. ’03 Prod. (OM35814U)
In response to a severe frontal impact,
the SRS airbags work together with the
seat belts to help reduce injury by inflat-
ing. The SRS airbags help reduce injuries
mainly to the driver ’s or front passenger ’s
head or chest caused by hitting the ve-
hicle interior.
When the passenger airbag manual on−off
switch is in the “ON” position, 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 when the SRS air-
bags are inflated.CAUTION
The SRS airbag system is designed
only as a supplement to the prima-
ry protection of the driver and front
passenger seat belt systems. The
driver and front passenger can be
killed or seriously injured by the
inflating airbags if they do not wear
the available seat belts properly.
During sudden braking just before
a collision, an unrestrained driver
or front passenger can move for-
ward into direct contact with or
close proximity to the airbag which
may then deploy during the colli-
sion. To ensure maximum protection
in an accident, the driver and all
passengers in the vehicle must
wear their seat belts properly. Wear-
ing a seat belt properly during an
accident reduces the chances of
death or serious injury or being
thrown out of the vehicle. For in-
structions and precautions concern-
ing the seat belt system, see “Seat
belts” in this Section.
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. As to Xtra
cab models, Toyota strongly recom-
mends that all infants and children
be placed in the rear seat of the
vehicle and properly restrained. The
rear seat is the safest for infants
and children. For instructions con-
cerning the installation of a child
restraint system, see “Child re-
straint” in this Section.

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2004 TACOMA from Sep. ’03 Prod. (OM35814U)
The passenger airbag system is
equipped with a manual onoff switch
and indicator light. Turning the passen-
ger airbag manual onoff switch clock-
wise to the “ON” position makes the
front passenger airbag system opera-
tional. Turning the passenger airbag
manual onoff switch counterclockwise
to the “OFF” position disables the front
passenger airbag system. The indicator
light on the passenger airbag manual
onoff switch will come on when the
front passenger airbag system has been
disabled.
See “Passenger airbag manual on−off
switch” in this Section for detail.
CAUTION
Make sure that the indicator light is
off.
Do not turn off the passenger air-
bag manual onoff switch except
when a member of a passenger risk
group identified in TABLE 1 is oc-
cupying the right front passenger
seating position.
When the passenger airbag manual
onoff switch is turned off, the
front passenger airbag will not in-
flate in a collision and turning off
the front passenger airbag can re-
duce the occupant protection which
your vehicle safety systems can
provide to you in certain accidents
and increase the likelihood of seri-
ous personal injuries.

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2004 TACOMA from Sep. ’03 Prod. (OM35814U)
The SRS airbags are designed to deploy
in severe (usually frontal) collisions
where the magnitude and duration of
the forward deceleration of the vehicle
exceeds the designed threshold level.
The SRS airbags will deploy if the severi-
ty of the impact is above the designed
threshold level, comparable to an approxi-
mate 25 km/h (15 mph) collision when the
vehicle has the impact straight into a fixed
barrier that does not move or deform.
However, this threshold velocity will be
considerably higher if the vehicle strikes
an object, such as a parked vehicle or
sign pole, which can move or deform on
impact, or if the vehicle is involved in an
underride collision (e.g. a collision in
which the front of the vehicle “underrides”,
or goes under, the bed of a truck, etc.).
It is possible that in some collisions
where the forward deceleration of the ve-
hicle is very close to the designed thresh-
old level, the SRS airbags and front seat
belt pretensioners may not activate togeth-
er.
Always wear your seat belts properly.TABLE 1: A PASSENGER RISK GROUP
Infant. An infant (less than 1 year old) who must ride in the front seat because:
Vehicle has no rear seat;
Vehicle has a rear seat too small to accommodate a rear −facing infant seat;
or
The infant has a medical condition which, according to the infant’s physician,
makes it necessary for the infant to ride in the front seat so that the driver
can constantly monitor the child’s condition.
Child age 1 to 12. A child age 1 to 12 must ride in the front seat because:
Vehicle has no rear seat:
Although children ages 1 to 12 ride in the rear seat(s) whenever possible,
children ages 1 to 12 sometimes must ride in the front because no space is
available in the rear seat(s) of vehicle; or
The child has a medical condition which, according to the child’s physician,
makes it necessary for the child to ride in the front seat so that the driver can
constantly monitor the child’s condition.
Medical condition. A passenger has a medical condition which according to his
or her physician:
Causes the passenger airbag to pose a special risk for the passenger: and
Makes the potential harm from the passenger airbag in a crash greater than the
potential harm from turning off the airbag and allowing the passenger, even if
belted, to hit the dashboard, or windshield in a crash.
For more detailed information concerning the passenger risk group, please contact
NHTSA at 1 −800− 424−9393 or Transport Canada at 1 −800− 333−0371.

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2004 TACOMA from Sep. ’03 Prod. (OM35814U)
Collision from the rear
Collision from the side Vehicle rollover
The SRS airbags are generally not de-
signed to inflate if the vehicle is in-
volved in a side or rear collision, if it
rolls over, or if it is involved in a low
speed frontal collision. But, when ever a
collision of any type causes sufficient
forward deceleration of the vehicle, de-
ployment of the SRS airbags may oc-
cur.
Hitting a curb,
edge of pavement
or hard surface
Landing hard or vehicle falling Falling into or
jumping over a
deep hole
The SRS airbags may also deploy if a
serious impact occurs to the underside
of your vehicle. Some examples are
shown in the illustration.The SRS airbag system consists mainly of
the following components, and their loca-
tions are shown in the illustration.
1. Front airbag sensors
2. Airbag module for driver (airbag and inflator)
3. Passenger airbag manual on −off switch
4. Airbag module for front passenger (airbag and inflator)
5. Airbag sensor assembly
6. SRS warning light
The airbag sensor assembly consists of a
safing sensor and airbag sensor.

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2004 TACOMA from Sep. ’03 Prod. (OM35814U)
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 airbags then
quickly deflate, so that there is no ob-
struction 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” in this
Section.

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2004 TACOMA from Sep. ’03 Prod. (OM35814U)
CAUTION
A member of a passenger risk group
should never sit or be occupied in
the right front passenger seat with
airbag manual onoff switch in the
“ON” position. (For details, see “SRS
driver and front passenger airbags”
in this Section.)
CAUTION
Do not sit on the edge of the seat
or lean against the dashboard when
the vehicle is in use, since the
front passenger airbag could inflate
with considerable speed and force.
Anyone who is up against, or very
close to, an airbag when it inflates,
can be killed or seriously injured.
Sit up straight and well back in the
seat, and always use your seat belt
properly.
Toyota strongly recommends that all
infants and children be placed in
the rear seat of the vehicle and be
properly restrained.
Do not allow a child to stand up or
kneel on the front passenger seat,
since the front passenger airbag
could inflate with considerable
speed and force. Otherwise, the
child may be killed or seriously in-
jured.