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342005 TACOMA from Mar. ’05 Prod. (OM35862U)
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 folded down 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, non slippery 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
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372005 TACOMA from Mar. ’05 Prod. (OM35862U)
1. SEAT POSITION ADJUSTING LEVERPull the lever up. Then slide the seat
to the desired position with slight
body pressure and release the lever.
2. DRIVER’S SEAT LUMBAR SUPPORT ADJUSTING KNOB (on some models)
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
Avoid reclining the seatback any
more than needed. The seat belts pro-
vide maximum 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 re-
straint forces directly to the abdomen
or your neck may contact the shoul-
der belt. In the event of a frontal
collision, the more the seat is re-
clined, the greater the risk of death
or personal injury.
LS13145
For easy access to the rear seat:
1. Lift the seatback angle adjusting lever or press the pedal behind the seat-
back.
The seat will slide forward.
2. Move the seat to the front −most posi-
tion.
After passengers are in, lift up the seat-
back and return the seat until it locks.
—Moving passenger ’s seat for
rear seat entry
(access cab models)
Page 48 of 410
382005 TACOMA from Mar. ’05 Prod. (OM35862U)
CAUTION
After putting back the seat, try
pushing the seat forward and rear-
ward to make sure it is secured in
place.
Never allow anyone to rest their
foot on the press pedal while the
vehicle is moving.LS13153
BEFORE FOLDING SEATBACK
Make sure the center seat belt is removed
from the guide when folding seatback.
CAUTION
The seat belt passes through the
guide when the seat belt is in use.
LS13146
Pull the seatback lock release lever and
fold down the seatback.
Hold the lever until you have swung the
seatback forward slightly.
—Folding seatback
(bench seat only)
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392005 TACOMA from Mar. ’05 Prod. (OM35862U)
CAUTION
When returning the seatback to the
upright position, observe the follow-
ing precautions in order to prevent
personal injury in a collision or sud-
den stop:
Make sure the seatback is securely
locked by pushing forward and rear-
ward on the top of the seatback.
Failure to do so will prevent the
seat belt from operating properly.
Make sure the seat belts are not
twisted or caught in the seatback
and are arranged in their proper
position and are ready to use.
LS13154
1. Pull the seatback angle adjusting le-ver and raise the seatback to its up-
right position.
LS13155
2. Pull the seatback folding lever andfold the seatback down.
—Folding front passenger ’s
seat (on some models)
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402005 TACOMA from Mar. ’05 Prod. (OM35862U)
LS13156
You should use the seatback as a tempo-
rary table only when the vehicle is
stopped.
CAUTION
To avoid serious injury:
Do not set up the seatback table
while the vehicle is moving.
Do not sit on the folded seatback.
Make sure the front passenger ’s
seat is securely locked in sliding
position when you set the seat as
a temporary table.
NOTICE
To prevent damage to the seat, avoid
putting heavy loads on the temporary
table.
LS13147
To flip over the bottom cushion, pull
the lock release strap.
See “—Stowage precautions” on page 278
in Section 2 for precautions when loading
luggage.
CAUTION
When returning the bottom cushion to
its original position, make sure the
seat belts are not twisted or caught
under the bottom cushion and are ar-
ranged in their proper position and
are ready to use.
Flip over jump seats (access
cab models)
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412005 TACOMA from Mar. ’05 Prod. (OM35862U)
LS13148a
BEFORE FOLDING REAR SEATS1. Stow the rear seat belt buckles as shown in the illustration.
This prevents the seat belt buckles from
falling out when you fold the seatback.
NOTICE
To prevent damage to the seat belt
buckles, the seat belt buckles must
be stowed before you fold the seat-
back.
LS13183
2. Make sure the shoulder belt passes through the hanger when folding the
rear seat.
This prevents the shoulder belt from being
damaged.
CAUTION
The seat belt must be removed from
the hanger when the seat belt is in
use.
LS13150b
FOLDING REAR SEATS 1. Swing the bottom cushion up by pulling the lock rel ease strap, and
remove the head restraint.
If desired, each bottom cushion may be
raised separately.
NOTICE
To prevent damage to the box under
the seat, do not sit on the box when
the bottom cushion is in the raised
position.
Folding rear seats (double cab
models)
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432005 TACOMA from Mar. ’05 Prod. (OM35862U)
LS13159b
Rear (double cab models)
For your safety and comfort, adjust the
head restraint before driving.
To raise: Pull it up.
To lower: Push it down while pressing the
lock release button.
Rear center head restraint (double cab
models) and front center head restraint
(bench seat)—When an occupant sits on
the center position of the rear seats
(double cab models) or the front seats
(bench seat), always pull up the center
head restraint to the lock position.The head restraint is most effective when
it is close to your head. Therefore, using
a cushion on the seatback is not recom-
mended.
CAUTION
Adjust the center of the head re-
straint so that it is closest to the
top of your ears.
After adjusting the head restraint,
make sure it is locked in position.
Do not drive with the head re-
straints removed.
Toyota strongly urges that the driver and
passengers in the vehicle be properly re-
strained at all times with the seat belts
provided. Failure to do so could increase
the chance of injury and/or the severity of
injury in accidents.
The seat belts provided for your vehicle
are designed for people of adult size,
large enough to properly wear them.
Child.
Use a child restraint system ap-
propriate for the child until the child be-
comes large enough to properly wear the
vehicle’s seat belts. See “Child restraint”
on page 86 in this Section for details.
REGULAR CAB MODELS—
If a child is too large for a child restraint
system, the child s hould sit in the seat
and must be restrained using the vehicle’s
seat belt.
ACCESS CAB and DOUBLE CAB MOD-
ELS—
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. According to accident
statistics, the child is safer when properly
restrained in the rear seat than in the
front seat.
Seat belts—
—Seat belt precautions
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442005 TACOMA from Mar. ’05 Prod. (OM35862U)
If a child must sit in the front seat, the
seat belts should be worn properly. If an
accident occurs and the seat belts are not
worn properly, the force of the rapid infla-
tion of the airbag may cause death or
serious injury to the child.
Do not allow any children to stand up or
kneel on either rear or front seats. An
unrestrained child could suffer serious in-
jury or death during emergency braking or
a collision. Also, do not let the child sit
on your lap. Holding a child in your arms
does not provide sufficient restraint.
Small framed person or youth in a seat
belt. On models with a bench seat, have
a smal l −framed person or youth sit slightly
closer to the center of the vehicle (so the
shoulder belt does not cross over the
neck). On models with separate seats,
move the seat fully backward .
Pregnant woman. Toyota recommends the
use of a seat belt. Ask your doctor for
specific recommendations. The lap belt
should be worn securely and as low as
possible over the hips and not on the
waist. Injured person.
Toyota recommends the
use of a seat belt. Depending on the inju-
ry, first check with your doctor for specific
recommendations
CAUTION
Persons should ride in their seats
properly wearing their seat belts
whenever the vehicle is moving.
Otherwise, they are much more likely
to suffer serious bodily injury or
death in the event of sudden braking
or a collision.
When using the seat belts, observe
the following:
Use the belt for only one person at
a time. Do not use a single belt for
two or more people—even children.
Avoid reclining the seatback any
more than needed. The seat belts
provide maximum 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 or your neck may
contact the shoulder belt. In the
event of a frontal co llision, the
more the seat is reclined, the great-
er the risk of death or personal in-
jury.
Be careful not to damage the belt
webbing or hardware. Take care that
they do not get caught or pinched
in the seat or side doors.
Inspect the belt system periodically.
Check for cuts, fraying, and loose
parts. Damaged parts should be re-
placed. Do not disassemble or
modify the system.