2006 TOYOTA PRIUS Owners Manual

81
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In the following cases, contact your Toyota
dealer as soon as possible:
Any of the SRS side airbags and cur-
tain shield airbags have been inflated.
The portion of the doors (shaded in the
illustration) were involved in an acci-
dent that was not severe enough to
cause the SRS side airbags and cur-
tain shield airbags to inflate.
The surface of the seats with the side
airbag (shaded in the illustration) is
scratched, cracked, or otherwise dam-
aged.
The portion of the front pillars, rear
pillars or roof side rail garnishes (pad-
ding) containing the curtain shield air-
bags inside (shaded in the illustration)
is scratched, cracked, or otherwise
damaged.
NOTICE
Do not disconnect the battery cables
before contacting your Toyota dealer.
Your vehicle is equipped with a front
passenger occupant classification sys-
tem. This system detects the conditions
1. through 4. in the table on page 84
and based on these conditions activates
or deactivates the following systems;
Front passenger airbag
Front passenger ’s seat belt pretension-
er
The system monitors the weight and
load on the front passenger seat, and
the seat belt buckle switch to determine
conditions 1. through 4.
In order for the system to detect the
conditions correctly, do not do any of
the following:
Apply a heavy load to the front pas-
senger seat.
Attach a commercial seatback table,
etc. to the front passenger seat seat-
back.
Put weight on the front passenger seat
by putting your hands or feet on the
seatback from the rear passenger seat.
—Front passenger occupant
classification system

82
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The front passenger occupant classifi-
cation indicator light indicates the ac-
tuation of the front passenger airbag
and front passenger ’s seat belt preten-
sioner.
The indicator light will indicate “OFF”
when the ignition key is turned to the
“ON” position with the condition 2. in the
table shown below.
If the front passenger occupant classifica-
tion system determines that a person of
adult size sits in the front passenger seat
but the “OFF” indicator is illuminated, one
of the following is likely to have occurred:
A rear passenger lifts the front passen-
ger seat cushion with their legs.
Objects are placed under the front pas-
senger seat.
The front passenger seatback is in
contact with the rear seat.
To ensure the system correctly detects an
adult sitting in the front passenger seat,
make sure the above do not occur.
Make sure that the “ON” indicator is illu-
minated when an adult is seated in the
front passenger seat. If the “OFF” indica-
tor is illuminated, ask the passenger to sit
up straight, well back in the seat, and
with the seat belt worn correctly. If the
“OFF” indicator still remains illuminated,
either ask the passenger to move to the
rear seat, or if that is not possible, move
the front passenger seat fully rearward. The front passenger occupant classifi-
cation indicator light will indicate “ON”
and “OFF” when the “IGON” mode is
enabled. After about 4 seconds, it will
go off. After that, the front passenger
occupant classification system operates
and judges whether to indicate “ON” or
“OFF”.

83
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The SRS warning light will come on
and front passenger occupant classifi-
cation indicator light will indicate
“OFF” if there is a malfunction in the
front passenger occupant classification
system.

84
Condition and operation in the front passenger occupant classification system
Condition detected by
the front passenger
occupant classification
system
Indicator/ warning lightDevices
Front passenger
occupant
classification
indicator lightSRS warning
lightFront
passenger’s seat belt
reminder lightFront
passenger airbagSide airbag on
the front
passenger seatCurtain shield
airbag in the front
passenger sideFront
passenger’s seat belt
pretensioner
1. Adult*1“ON”OffFlashing*4Activated
2. Child*2 or child
restraint system*3“OFF”OffFlashing*4Deactivated
Activated
Activated
3. UnoccupiedNot illuminatedOffOffDeactivatedDeactivated
4. There is a malfunction in the system“OFF”OnOffDeactivatedActivated
*1: The system judges a person of adult size as an adult. When a smaller adult sits in the front passenger seat, the system may
recognize him/her as a child depending on his/her physique and posture.
*2: When a larger child who has outgrown a child restraint system sits in the front passenger seat, the system may recognize him/her
as an adult depending on his/her physique or posture.
*3: Never install a rear −facing child restraint system on the front passenger seat. A forward− facing child restraint system should only
be installed on the front passenger seat when it is unavoidable. (See “Child restraint” on page 86 as for installing the child restraint
system.)
*4: When the front passenger does not wear a seat belt.

85
CAUTION
To avoid potential death or serious
injury when the front passenger occu-
pant classification system does not
detect the conditions correctly, ob-
serve the following:
Make sure the front passenger oc-
cupant classification indicator light
indicates “ON” when using the seat
belt extender for the front passen-
ger seat. If the indicator light indi-
cates “OFF”, disconnect the extend-
er tongue from the seat belt buckle,
then reconnect the seat belt. Recon-
nect the seat belt extender after
making sure the indicator light indi-
cates “ON”. If you use the seat belt
extender while the indicator light
indicates “OFF”, the front passen-
ger airbag may not activate correct-
ly, which could cause death or seri-
ous injury in the event of collision.
Do not recline the front passenger
seatback so far that it touches a
rear seat. This may cause the
“OFF” indicator to be illuminated,
which indicates that the passen-
ger’s airbags will not deploy in the
event of a severe accident. If the
seatback touches the rear seat, re-
turn the seatback to a position
where it does not touches the rear
seat.
Keep the front passenger seatback
as upright as possible when the ve-
hicle is moving. Reclining the seat-
back excessively may lessen the ef-
fectiveness of the seat belt system.
If an adult sits in the front passen-
ger seat, the occupant classification
indicator light should indicate “ON”.
If the “OFF” indicator is illumi-
nated, ask the passenger to sit up
straight, well back in the seat, feet
on the floor, and with the seat belt
worn correctly. If the “OFF” indica-
tor still remains illuminated, either
ask the passenger to move to the
rear seat, or if that is not possible,
move the front passenger seat fully
rearward.
Wear the seat belt properly.
Make sure the front passenger ’s
seat belt tab has not been left in-
serted into the buckle before some-
one sits in the front passenger
seat.
Do not apply a heavy load to the
front passenger seat.
Do not put weight on the front pas-
senger seat by putting your hands
or feet on the front passenger seat
seatback from the rear passenger
seat.
Do not let a rear passenger lift the
front passenger seat with their feet
or press on the seatback with their
legs.
Do not put objects under the front
passenger seat.
Child restraint systems installed on
the rear seat should not contact the
front seatbacks.

86
When it is unavoidable to install the
forwardfacing child restraint sys-
tem on the front passenger seat,
install the child restraint system on
the front passenger seat in the
proper order. (As for the installation
order, see “—Installation with
3point type seat belt” on page 89.)
Do not remove the front seats.
Do not kick the front passenger
seat or subject it to severe impact.
Otherwise, the SRS warning light
may come on to indicate a malfunc-
tion of the detection system. In this
case, contact your Toyota dealer im-
mediately.
The front passenger occupant classifica-
tion indicator light may indicate “ON” (the
front passenger airbag may deploy) even
if observing the above cautions, when a
child sits in, or a forward−facing child re-
straint system is installed on the front
passenger seat. Refer to all the cautions
in “SRS driver and front passenger air-
bags” and “SRS side airbags and curtain
shield airbags” on pages 66 and 74, and
“Child restraint” described below. Toyota strongly urges the use of ap-
propriate child restraint systems for
children.
The laws of all 50 states in the U.S.A.
and Canada now require the use of a
child restraint system.
Your vehicle conforms to SAEJ1819.
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. See “Seat belts” on
page 58 for details.
CAUTION
For effective protection in automo-
bile accidents and sudden stops, a
child must be properly restrained,
using a seat belt or child restraint
system depending on the age and
size of the child. Holding a child in
your arms is not a substitute for a
child restraint system. In an acci-
dent, the child can be crushed
against the windshield, or between
you and the vehicle’s interior.
Toyota strongly urges use of a
proper child restraint system which
conforms to the size of the child,
installed on the rear seat. Accord-
ing to accident statistics, the child
is safer when properly restrained in
the rear seat than in the front seat.
Never install a rearfacing child re-
straint system on the front passen-
ger seat even if the front passenger
occupant classification indicator
light indicates “OFF”. In the event
of an accident, the force of the rap-
id inflation of the front passenger
airbag can cause death or serious
injury to the child if the rearfacing
child restraint system is installed
on the front passenger seat.
Child restraint—
—Child restraint precautions

87
A forwardfacing child restraint
system should be allowed to be
installed on the front passenger
seat only when it is unavoidable.
Always move the seat as far back
as possible, because the front pas-
senger airbag could inflate with
considerable speed and force.
Otherwise, the child may be killed
or seriously injured.
On vehicles with side airbags and
curtain shield airbags, do not allow
the child to lean his/her head or
any part of his/her body against the
door or the area of the seat, front
or rear pillar or roof side rail from
which the side airbags or curtain
shield airbags deploy even if the
child is seated in the child restraint
system. It is dangerous if the side
airbag and curtain shield airbag in-
flate, and the impact could cause
death or serious injury to the child.
Do not use the seat belt extender
when installing a child restraint
system on the front or rear passen-
ger seat. If installing a child re-
straint system with the seat belt
extender connected to the seat belt,
the seat belt will not securely hold
the child restraint system, which
could cause death or serious injury
to the child or other passengers in
the event of collision.
Make sure you have complied with
all installation instructions provided
by the child restraint manufacturer
and that the system is properly se-
cured. If it is not secured properly,
it may cause death or serious inju-
ry to the child in the event of a
sudden stop or accident.
A child restraint system for a small
child or baby must itself be properly
restrained on the seat with the lap por-
tion of the lap/shoulder belt. You must
carefully consult the manufacturer ’s in-
structions which accompany child re-
straint system.
To provide proper restraint, use a child
restraint system following the manufactur-
er ’s instructions about the appropriate age
and size of the child for the child restraint
system.
Install the child restraint system correctly
following the instructions provided by its
manufacturer. General directions are also
provided under the following instructions.
The child restraint system should be
installed on the rear seat. According to
accident statistics, the child is safer when
properly restrained in the rear seat than
in the front seat.
When not using the child restraint system,
keep it secured with the seat belt or place
it somewhere other than the passenger
compartment. This will prevent it from in-
juring passengers in the event of a sud-
den stop or accident.
—Child restraint system

88
Child restraint systems are classified into
the following 3 types depending on the
child’s age and size.
(A) Infant seat
(B) Convertible seat
(C) Booster seat
Install the child restraint system following
the instructions provided by its manufac-
turer.
Your vehicle has anchor brackets for se-
curing the top strap of a child restraint
system.
For instructions about how to use the an-
chor bracket, see “—Using a top strap” on
page 98.
The child restraint lower anchorages ap-
proved for your vehicle may also be used.
See “—Installation with child restraint low-
er anchorages” on page 100.
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(A) Infant seat
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(B) Convertible seat
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(C) Booster seat
—Types of child restraint
system