2006 TOYOTA PRIUS Owners Manual

73
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.
The light does not come on when the
“IG−ON” mode is enabled or remains
on for more than 6 seconds.
The light comes on while driving.
22p023b
In the following cases, contact your Toyota
dealer as soon as possible:
The SRS front airbags have been in-
flated.
The front of the vehicle (shaded in the
illustration) was involved in an accident
that was not severe enough to cause
the SRS front airbags to inflate.
The pad section of the steering wheel
or front passenger airbag cover
(shaded in the illustration) is scratched,
cracked, or otherwise damaged.
NOTICE
Do not disconnect the battery cables
before contacting your Toyota dealer.

74
22p024c
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 outboard 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 outboard 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 outboard seat.
The SRS curtain shield airbags may acti-
vate even when the side airbags are not
activated.
Always wear your seat belt properly.
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 58.
SRS side airbags and curtain
shield airbags

75
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, front 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 dangerous if the SRS side air-
bag and curtain shield airbag in-
flate, and the impact of the deploy-
ing airbag could cause death or se-
rious 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
86.
22p025a
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.
22p026c
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.

76
22p239
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. Front passenger occupant classification indicator light
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. 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.

77
Deployment of the airbags happen 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.
22p028d
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 even-
ly in the seat. Do not apply exces-
sive 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.
22p207a
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.

78
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.
22p210
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.
22p029d
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.

79
22p221a
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
rail 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
a person with a physical disability,
consult your Toyota dealer. It may
dangerously interfere with the SRS
side airbags and curtain shield air-
bags operation.

80
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
22p010a
This indicator comes on when the “IG
ON” mode is enabled. It goes off after
about 6 seconds. This means the SRS
side airbags and curtain shield airbags
are operating properly.
The warning light system monitors the air-
bag sensor assembly, front airbag sen-
sors, side and curtain shield airbag sen-
sors, curtain shield airbag sensors,
driver ’s seat position sensor, driver ’s seat
belt buckle switch, front passenger ’s seat
belt buckle switch, seat belt pretensioner
assemblies, interconnecting wiring and
power sources. (For details, see “Service
reminder indicators and warning buzzers”
on page 125.) 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.
The light does not come on when the
“IG
−ON” mode is enabled or remains
on for more than 6 seconds.
The light comes on while driving.