iv
In order to be effective, the SRS airbags must deploy
with tremendous speed. The rapid deployment of the
SRS airbags makes the SRS airbags themselves poten-
tial sources of serious injury if an occupant is too close
to an airbag, or if an object or some part of his or her
body has been placed between the occupant and the
airbag at the time of deployment. This is just one exam-
ple of how the instructions in Section 1–3 of this Own-
er ’s Manual will help ensure proper use of the occupant
restraint systems, and increase the safety they can pro-
vide to you and your family in the event of an accident.
Scion recommends you to read the provisions in Section
1–3 carefully and refer to them as needed during your
time of ownership of this vehicle.Event data recorder
Your vehicle has computers that monitor and control
certain aspects of your vehicle. These computers assist
in driving and maintaining optimal vehicle performance.
Besides storing data useful for troubleshooting, there is
a system to record data in a crash or a near car crash
event. This is called an Event Data Recorder (EDR).
The SRS airbag sensor assembly contains the EDR. In
a crash or a near car crash event, this device records
some or all of the following information: Engine speed
Whether the brake pedal was applied or not
Vehicle speed
To what extent the accelerator pedal was depressed
Position of the transmission selector lever
Whether the driver and front passenger wore the
seat belts or not
Driver ’s seat position
Front passenger ’s occupant classification
41
13T013
To connect the extender to the seat
belt, insert the tab into the seat belt
buckle so that the “PRESS” signs on
the buckle release buttons of the ex-
tender and the seat belt are both facing
outward as shown.
You will hear a click when the tab locks
into the buckle.
When releasing the seat belt, press on
the buckle release button on the extender,
not on the seat belt. This helps prevent
damage to the vehicle interior and extend-
er itself.
When not in use, remove the extender
and store in the vehicle for future use.
CAUTION
After inserting the tab, make sure
the tab and buckle are locked and
that the lap and shoulder portions
of the belt and the seat belt extend-
er are 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
Scion dealer. Do not use the seat
until the seat belt is fixed, because
it cannot protect an adult occupant
or your child from injury.
—Seat belt pretensioners
13T014
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.
42
13T015
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 Scion dealer about any re-
pair and modification.
NOTICE
Do not perform any of the following
changes without consulting your
Scion dealer. Such changes can
interfere with proper operation of the
seat belt pretensioners in some
cases.
Installation of electronic devices
such as a mobile two–way 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
43
13T016
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, side and curtain shield airbag sensor
assemblies, curtain shield airbag sensor
assemblies, driver ’s seat position sensor,
driver’s seat belt buckle switch, front pas-
senger ’s seat belt buckle switch, seat belt
pretensioner assemblies, inflators, warning
light, interconnecting wiring and power
sources. (For details, see “Service remind-
er indicators and warning buzzers” on
page 93.)If any of the following conditions occurs,
this indicates a malfunction of the airbags
or seat belt pretensioners. Contact your
Scion 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.
The light comes on while driving.
If any seat belt does not retract or
cannot be pulled out due to a malfunc-
tion or activation of the relevant seat
belt pretensioner.
The seat belt pretensioner assembly or
surrounding area has been damaged.
13T017
In the following cases, contact your Scion
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.
46
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.
13T021
The SRS front airbag system consists
mainly of the following components, and
their locations are shown in the illustra-
tion. 1. Front airbag sensors
2. SRS warning light
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. Knee airbag module for driver (airbag and inflator)
8. Airbag module for driver (airbag and inflator) 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 inflat-
ors 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.
49
13T024
Do not put anything or any part of
your body on or in front of the
dashboard, lower portion of instru-
ment panel, steering wheel pad that
houses the front airbag system or
in the area where the SRS knee
airbag will inflate. They might re-
strict inflation or cause death or
serious injury as they are projected
rearward by the force of the deploy-
ing airbags. Likewise, the driver
and front passenger should not
hold objects in their arms or on
their knees.
If a vinyl cover is put on the area
where the SRS knee airbag will
deploy, be sure to remove it.
Do not modify or remove any wir-
ing. Do not modify, remove, strike
or open any components such as
the steering wheel pad, steering
wheel, column cover, dashboard
near the front passenger airbag,
front passenger airbag cover, front
passenger airbag, driver knee air-
bag or airbag sensor assembly. Do-
ing so may prevent the front airbag
system from activating correctly,
cause sudden activation of the sys-
tem or disable the system, which
could result in death or serious in-
jury.
Failure to follow these instructions
can result in death or serious injury.
Consult your Scion dealer about any
repair and modification.
13T025
Do not attach any heavy, sharp or
hard objects such as keys or acces-
sories to the ignition key. The ob-
jects may restrict the SRS knee air-
bag inflation or be thrust into the
driver’s seat area by the force of
the deploying airbag, thus causing
a danger.
50
NOTICE
Do not perform any of the following
changes without consulting your
Scion dealer. Such changes can
interfere with proper operation of the
SRS front airbag system in some
cases.
Installation of electronic devices
such as a mobile two–way radio,
cassette tape player or compact
disc player
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, con-
sole, steering column, steering
wheel, lower portion of instrument
panel or dashboard near the front
passenger airbag
13T016
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 front airbags are oper-
ating properly.
This warning light system monitors the
airbag sensor assembly, front airbag sen-
sors, side and curtain shield airbag sensor
assemblies, curtain shield airbag sensor
assemblies, driver ’s seat position sensor,
driver’s seat belt buckle switch, front pas-
senger ’s seat belt buckle switch, seat belt
pretensioner assemblies, inflators, warning
light, interconnecting wiring and power
sources. (For details, see “Service remind-
er indicators and warning buzzers” on
page 93.) If any of the following conditions occurs,
this indicates a malfunction of the airbags
or seat belt pretensioners. Contact your
Scion 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.
The light comes on while driving.
53
13T028
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 airbag and curtain shield
airbag are designed to inflate when the
passenger compartment area suffers a se-
vere impact from the side.
Always wear your seat belts properly.
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 low–speed side
collision.
13T030
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. Curtain shield airbag modules (airbag and inflator)
3. Side airbag modules (airbag and inflator)
4. Curtain shield airbag sensors
5. Side and curtain shield airbag sensors
6. Airbag sensor assembly