2008 TOYOTA 4RUNNER Owners Manual

85
CY13232
Hitting a curb, edge
of pavement or
hard surfaceFalling into or
jumping over
a deep hole
Landing hard or vehicle falling
The SRS side and curtain shield airbags
may deploy if a serious impact occurs
to the underside of your vehicle. Some
examples are shown in the illustration.
CY13278
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. Front 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 air bags with non−toxic gas to help
restrain the lateral motion of the occu-
pants.
In a vehicle rollover, the airbag sensor
assembly triggers the curtain shield airbag
inflator. At this time, a chemical reaction
in the inflators quickly fills the air bags
with non−toxic gas to help restrain the
lateral motion of the occupants.

86
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.
Deployment of the airbags happens 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, front, center and rear
garnish and roof interior may be hot for
several minutes, but the airbags them-
selves 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/second passengers must:
Wear their seat belts properly.
Remain properly seated with their
backs upright and against the seats
at all times.
Improper sitting and wearing of the
seat belts may not retain you inside
the vehicle.
CY13023
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 evenly
in the seat. Do not apply excessive
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.

87
CY13294
Make sure the RSCA OFF" indica-
tor light is off. The curtain shield
airbags will not inflate in a vehicle
rollover if this indicator light is on
and you may be killed or seriously
injured. For details, see Roll sens-
ing of curtain shield airbags off
switch" on page 95 in this Section.
CY13026
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.
CY13024
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.

88
CY13233
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.
CY13069
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.
CY13234
Do not attach a microphone or any
other device or object near the area
where the curtain shield airbags ac-
tivate such as on the windshield
glass, side door glass, front, center
and roof side garnish, roof interior
or assist grips. When the curtain
shield airbags inflate, the micro-
phone or other device or object will
be thrown away with great force or
the curtain shield airbags may not
activate correctly, resulting in death
or serious injury.

89
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 pillars and roof side rail con-
taining the curtain shield airbags.
Such changes may disable the sys-
tem or cause the curtain shield air-
bags to inflate accidentally, result-
ing in death or serious injury.
Do not modify or change the sus-
pension system. Such changes may
cause the curtain shield airbags to
inflate accidentally, which could re-
sult in death or serious injury.
Do not use tires or wheels other
than the manufacturer’s recom-
mended size. Such a use may cause
the curtain shield airbags to inflate
accidentally, which could result in
death or serious injury. For details,
see Checking and replacing tires"
on page 443 in Section 7−2.
Do not place luggage heavier than
specified on the roof luggage carri-
er. Such luggage may cause the
curtain shield airbags to inflate ac-
cidentally, which could result in
death or serious injury. For details,
see Roof luggage carrier" on page
334 in Section 1−10.
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 physical disability, con-
sult your Toyota dealer. It may dan-
gerously interfere with the SRS side
airbags and curtain shield airbags op-
eration.
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 two−way radio,
cassette tape player or compact
disc player
 Modification of the side structure of
the passenger compartment
 Repairs made on or near the con-
sole or front seat

90
CY13295
This indicator comes on when the en-
gine switch is turned to the ON" posi-
tion. It goes off after about 6 seconds.
This means the SRS side airbags and
curtain shield airbags are operating
properly.This warning light system monitors the
airbag sensor assembly, front airbag sen-
sors, side and curtain shield airbag sen-
sors, curtain shield airbag sensors, driv-
er ’s seat position sensor, driver ’s seat belt
buckle switch, front passenger occupant
classification system and indicator light,
front passenger ’s seat belt buckle switch,
seat belt pretensioner assemblies, inflat-
ors, RSCA OFF" indicator light, intercon-
necting wiring and power sources. (For
details, see Service reminder indicators
and warning buzzers" on page 149 in Sec-
tion 1−6.)
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
engine switch is turned to the ON"
position or remains on for more than
6 seconds or flashes.
The light comes on or starts flashing
while driving.
The SRS warning light will come on and
front passenger occupant classification in-
dicator light will indicate OFF" if there is
a malfunction in the front passenger occu-
pant classification system.
CY13235

91
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) was involved in an accident
that was not severe enough to cause
the SRS side airbags and curtain
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, center and
rear garnish, and roof interior contain-
ing the curtain shield airbags 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
14 in the table on page 93 and based
on these conditions activates or deacti-
vates the following systems;
Front passenger airbag
Side airbag on the front passenger
seat
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 14.
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 seatback.
Put weight on the front passenger seat
by putting your hands or feet on the
seatback from the rear passenger seat.
CY13267a
The front passenger occupant classifi-
cation indicator light indicates the ac-
tuation of the front passenger airbag,
side airbag on the front passenger seat
and front passenger’s seat belt preten-
sioner.
The indicator light will indicate OFF"
when the engine switch is in the ON"
position with the condition 2 in the table
shown below.
Front passenger occupant
classification system

92
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/second 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 engine switch is
turned to the ON" position. After
about four seconds, it will go off. After
that, the front passenger occupant clas-
sification system operates and judges
whether to indicate ON" or OFF".
CY13299a
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.