2008 TOYOTA RAV4 Owners Manual

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The SRS (Supplemental Restraint Sys-
tem) front airbags are designed to pro-
vide further protection for the driver
and front passenger in addition to the
primary safety protection provided by
the seat belts.
Your vehicle is equipped with “ADVANCED
AIRBAGS” designed based on US motor
vehicle safety standards (FMVSS208). The
airbag system controls airbag deployment
power for the driver and front passenger.
The driver airbag system consists of the
driver seat’s position sensor etc. The front
passenger ’s airbag system consists of the
front passenger occupant classification
sensor etc.In response to a severe frontal impact,
the SRS front airbags work with the seat
belts to help reduce injury by inflating.
The SRS front airbags help reduce injuries
mainly to the driver’s or front passenger’s
head or chest caused by hitting the ve-
hicle interior.
The SRS front passenger airbag will not
activate if there is no passenger sitting in
the front passenger seat. However, the
front passenger airbag may deploy if lug-
gage is put in 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.)
Always wear your seat belt properly.
CAUTION
The SRS front airbag system is de-
signed only as a supplement to the
primary protection of the driver and
front passenger seat belt systems.
The driver and front passenger can
be killed or seriously injured by the
inflating airbags if they do not wear
the available seat belts properly.
During sudden braking just before
a collision, an unrestrained driver
or front passenger can move for-
ward into direct contact with or
close proximity to the airbag which
may then deploy during the colli-
sion. To ensure maximum protection
in an accident, the driver and all
passengers in the vehicle must
wear their seat belts properly. Wear-
ing a seat belt properly during an
accident reduces the chances of
death or serious injury or being
thrown out of the vehicle. For in-
structions and precautions concern-
ing the seat belt system, see “Seat
belts” on page 53 in this Section.
SRS airbags—
—SRS driver airbag and front
passenger airbag

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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.

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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.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. “AIR BAG ON” and “AIR BAG OFF” indicator lights
4. Airbag module for front passenger (airbag and inflator)
5. Front passenger occupant classification system (ECU and sensors)
6. Front passenger ’s seat belt buckle switch
7. Driver ’s seat belt buckle switch 8. Driver ’s seat position sensor
9. Airbag sensor assembly
10. 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 infla-
tors 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.

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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, primarily to the head and chest, it
may also cause other, less severe injuries
to the face, chest, arms and hands. These
are usually in the nature of minor burns
or abrasions and swelling, but the force of
a deploying airbag can cause more seri-
ous injuries, especially if an occupant’s
hands, arms, chest or head is in close
proximity to the airbag module at the time
of deployment. This is why it is important
for the occupant to: avoid placing any
object or part of the body between the
occupant and the airbag module; sit
straight and well back into the seat; wear
the available seat belt properly; and sit as
far as possible from the airbag module,
while still maintaining control of the ve-
hicle.
Parts of the airbag module (steering wheel
hub, airbag cover and inflator) may be hot
for several minutes after deployment, so
do not touch! The airbags inflate only
once. The windshield may be damaged by
absorbing some of the force of the inflat-
ing airbag.CAUTION
The driver or front passenger who is
too close to the steering wheel or
dashboard during airbag deployment
can be killed or seriously injured.
Toyota strongly recommends that:
The driver sit as far back as pos-
sible from the steering wheel while
still maintaining control of the ve-
hicle.
The front passenger sit as far back
as possible from the dashboard.
All vehicle occupants be properly
restrained using the available seat
belts.
For instructions and precautions con-
cerning the seating position, see
“—Front seat precautions” on page
34 in this Section.Do not sit on the edge of the seat
or lean against the dashboard when
the vehicle is in use, since the
front passenger airbag could inflate
with considerable speed and force.
Anyone who is up against, or very
close to, an airbag when it inflates,
can be killed or seriously injured.
Sit up straight and well back in the
seat, and always use your seat belt
properly.

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Toyota strongly recommends that all
infants and children be placed in
the rear seat of the vehicle and be
properly restrained.
Do not hold a child on your lap or
in your arms. Use a child restraint
system in the rear seat. For instruc-
tions concerning the installation of
a child restraint system, see “Child
restraint” on page 85 in this Sec-
tion.
Do not put anything or any part of
your body on or in front of the
dashboard or steering wheel pad
that houses the front airbag sys-
tem. They might restrict inflation or
cause death or serious injury as
they are projected rearward by the
force of the deploying airbags. Like-
wise, the driver and front passenger
should not hold objects in their
arms or on their knees.
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 or airbag
sensor assembly. Doing so may pre-
vent the front airbag system from
activating correctly, cause sudden
activation of the system or disable
the system, which could result in
death or serious injury.
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 front
airbags operation.

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NOTICE
Do not perform any of the following
changes without consulting your
Toyota 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 twoway 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 or dashboard near the front
passenger airbag
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 front 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, “AIR BAG ON” indicator
light, “AIR BAG OFF” indicator light, front
passenger ’s seat belt buckle switch, seat
belt pretensioner assemblies, inflators, in-
terconnecting wiring and power sources.
(For details, see “Service reminder indica-
tors and warning buzzers” on page 129 in
Section 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.
The light comes on while driving.
The SRS warning light and “AIR BAG
OFF” indicator light will come on if there
is a malfunction in the front passenger
occupant classification system.

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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 dashboard (shaded in the illustra-
tion) is scratched, cracked, or other-
wise damaged.
NOTICE
Do not disconnect the battery cables
before contacting your Toyota dealer.
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/second passengers in addi-
tion to the primary safety protection
provided by the seat belts. In response to a severe side impact, the
SRS side airbag and curtain shield airbags
in the impacted side 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. The SRS curtain shield airbags
help reduce injuries mainly to the driver ’s,
front passenger ’s or rear/second passen-
ger ’s head and help prevent them from
being thrown out of the vehicle.
The SRS side airbag on the passenger
seat will not activate if there is no pas-
senger sitting in the front passenger seat.
However, the side airbag on the passen-
ger seat may deploy if luggage is put in
the seat, or the seat belt is buckled up
regardless of the presence of the occu-
pant in the seat. (As for the front passen-
ger occupant classification system, see
“—Front passenger occupant classification
system” on page 81 in this Section.)
The SRS curtain shield airbag on the pas-
senger side are activated even with no
passenger in the front seat or rear/second
outside seat.
—SRS side airbags and
curtain shield airbags

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Roll sensing function:
In response to a vehicle rollover, the cur-
tain shield airbags on both sides work
with the seat belts to help reduce injury
by inflating. The curtain shield airbags
help reduce injuries mainly to the driver ’s,
front passenger ’s or rear/second passen-
ger ’s head and help prevent them from
being thrown out of the vehicle.
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/second outside
passenger seat belt systems. To en-
sure maximum protection in an ac-
cident, the driver and all passen-
gers in the vehicle must wear their
seat belts properly. Wearing a seat
belt properly during an accident re-
duces the chances of death or seri-
ous injury or being thrown out of
the vehicle. For instructions and
precautions concerning the seat
belt system, see “Seat belts” on
page 53 in this Section.
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 rails 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.