2008 TOYOTA RAV4 ECU

’08 Rav4_U (L/O 0802)
54
2008 RAV4 from Feb. ’08 Prod. (OM42726U)
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.
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 death or serious bodily inju-
ry, 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 serious inju-
ry.
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.
Keep the belts clean and dry. If
they need cleaning, use a mild soap
solution or lukewarm water. Never
use bleach, dye, or abrasive clean-
ers, or allow them to come into
contact with the belts—they may
severely weaken the belts. (See
“Cleaning the interior” on page 386
in Section 5.)
Replace the belt assembly (includ-
ing bolts) if it has been used in a
severe impact. The entire assembly
should be replaced even if damage
is not obvious.

’08 Rav4_U (L/O 0802)
55
2008 RAV4 from Feb. ’08 Prod. (OM42726U)
Ta b
Buckle
Adjust the seat as needed and sit up
straight and well back in the seat. To
fasten your belt, pull it out of the re-
tractor and insert the tab into the
buckle.
You will hear a click when the tab locks
into the buckle.
The seat belt length automatically adjusts
to your size and the seat position.
The retractor will lock the belt during a
sudden stop or on impact. It also may
lock if you lean forward too quickly. A
slow, easy motion will allow the belt to
extend, and you can move around freely. When a passenger ’s shoulder belt is com-
pletely extended and is then retracted
even slightly, the belt is locked in that
position and cannot be extended. This fea-
ture is used to hold the child restraint
system securely. (For details, see “Child
restraint” on page 85 in this Section.) To
free the belt again, fully retract the belt
and then pull the belt out once more.
If the seat belt cannot be pulled out of the
retractor, firmly pull the belt and release
it. You will then be able to smoothly pull
the belt out of the retractor.CAUTION
After inserting the tab, make sure
the tab and buckle are locked and
that the belt is 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
Toyota dealer. Do not use the seat
until the seat belt is fixed, because
it cannot protect an adult occupant
or your child from death or serious
injury.
Ta k e u p
slack
To o h i g h
Keep as low on
hips as possible
Adjust the position of the lap and
shoulder belts.
Position the lap belt as low as possible
on your hips—not on your waist, then ad-
just it to a snug fit by pulling the shoulder
portion upward through the latch plate.
—Fastening front and rear
seat belts

’08 Rav4_U (L/O 0802)
57
2008 RAV4 from Feb. ’08 Prod. (OM42726U)
To release the belt, press the buckle
release button and allow the belt to
retract.
If the belt does not retract smoothly, pull
it out and check for kinks or twists. Then
make sure it remains untwisted as it re-
tracts.REAR/SECOND CENTER SEAT BELT
The rear/second center seat belt is a
3−point type restraint with 2 buckles. Both
seat belt buckles must be correctly lo-
cated and securely latched for proper op-
eration.
Make sure that buckle 1 is securely
latched for ready use of the center seat
belt.Two buckles and tabs for rear/second
center seat belt
The two tabs have different shape for its
end so that the belt is not buckled in the
wrong place.
Buckle 1—Properly matches with hook
end tab
Buckle 2—Properly matches with round
end tab

’08 Rav4_U (L/O 0802)
58
2008 RAV4 from Feb. ’08 Prod. (OM42726U)
CAUTION
Make sure the both buckles are cor-
rectly located and securely latched.
Failure to properly match the buckle
and tab may cause death or severe
injury in case of an accident or a
collision.
To release the hook end tab, insert the
key into the hole on the buckle and allow
the belt to retract.CAUTION
Do not use the rear/second center
seat belt with either buckle released.
Fastening only the shoulder belt or
lap belt may cause death or severe
personal injury in case of sudden
braking or a collision.

’08 Rav4_U (L/O 0802)
59
2008 RAV4 from Feb. ’08 Prod. (OM42726U)
Rear/second seat belt buckles
Third seat belt buckles
The rear seat belt buckles can be
stowed when not in use.
The seat belt buckles must be stowed
before you fold the seatback.
CAUTION
Before using the seat belt, pull out
the buckle and make sure the belt is
not twisted.
STOWING THE REAR/SECOND CENTER
SEAT BELT
Insert the tabs of the center seat belt
into the cover as shown above. Make
sure the tabs are securely locked in the
cover.
The seat belt must be stowed before you
fold the seatback.
NOTICE
Stow the rear/second center seat belt
when not in use.
—Stowing the rear seat belt
buckles—Stowing the rear/second
center seat belt

’08 Rav4_U (L/O 0802)
61
2008 RAV4 from Feb. ’08 Prod. (OM42726U)
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.
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.As far as the seat belt extender on the
front passenger side is concerned, do not
fail to disconnect the extender from the
seat belt after the above operation in or-
der to activate the front passenger airbag
correctly when getting into the vehicle
next time.
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
Toyota dealer. Do not use the seat
until the seat belt is fixed, because
it cannot protect an adult occupant
or your child from death or serious
injury.

’08 Rav4_U (L/O 0802)
62
2008 RAV4 from Feb. ’08 Prod. (OM42726U)
Vehicles without curtain shield air-
bags—The driver and front passenger
seat belt pretensioners are designed to
be activated in response to a severe
frontal impact.
Vehicles with curtain shield airbags—
The driver and front passenger seat
belt pretensioners are designed to be
activated in response to a severe fron-
tal impact or a vehicle roll over.
Vehicles without curtain shield airbags—
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.Vehicles with curtain shield airbags—When
the sensor detects a severe frontal impact
or a vehicle roll over, the front seat belts
are quickly drawn back by the retractors
so that the belts snugly restrain the occu-
pants.
The front passenger ’s seat belt pretension-
er will not activate if no passenger is
detected in the front passenger seat by
the front passenger occupant classification
system. However, the front passenger’s
seat belt pretensioner may activate if lug-
gage is put on the seat, or the seat belt
is buckled up regardless of the presence
of an occupant in the seat. (As for the
front passenger occupant classification
system, see “—Front pass
enger occupant
classification system” on page 81 in this
Section.)
The seat belt pretensioners and SRS air-
bags may not operate together in all colli-
sions.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. “AIR BAG ON” and “AIR BAG OFF” indicator lights
4. Front passenger occupant classification system (ECU and sensors)
5. Seat belt pretensioner assemblies
6. Front passenger ’s seat belt buckle switch
7. Airbag sensor assembly
—Seat belt pretensioners

’08 Rav4_U (L/O 0802)
66
2008 RAV4 from Feb. ’08 Prod. (OM42726U)
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 seat of the vehicle and proper-
ly restrained. The rear seat is the
safest for infants and children. For
instructions concerning the installa-
tion of a child restraint system, see
“Child restraint” on page 85 in this
Section.The SRS front airbags are designed to
deploy in severe (usually frontal) colli-
sions where the magnitude and duration
of the forward deceleration of the ve-
hicle exceeds the designed threshold
level.
The SRS front airbags will deploy if the
severity of the impact is above the de-
signed threshold level, comparable to an
approximate 25 km/h (15 mph) collision
when the vehicle has the impact straight
into a fixed barrier that does not move or
deform.
However, this threshold velocity will be
considerably higher if the vehicle strikes
an object, such as a parked vehicle or
sign pole, which can move or deform on
impact, or if the vehicle is involved in an
underride collision (e.g. a collision in
which the front of the vehicle “underrides”,
or goes under, the bed of a truck, etc.).
It is possible that in some collisions
where the forward deceleration of the ve-
hicle is very close to the designed thresh-
old level, the SRS front airbags and the
seat belt pretensioners may not activate
together.
Always wear your seat belts properly.
Collision from the rear
Collision from the side Vehicle rollover
The SRS front airbags are not generally
designed to inflate if the vehicle is in-
volved in a side or rear collision, if it
rolls over, or if it is involved in a low
speed frontal collision. But, when ever a
collision of any type causes sufficient
forward deceleration of the vehicle, de-
ployment of the SRS front airbags may
occur.