2011 Lexus ES350 ESP

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1-7. Safety information
ES350_UThe main SRS airbag system components are shown above. The SRS
airbag system is controlled by the airbag sensor assembly. The airbag
sensor assembly consists of a safing sensor and an airbag sensor.
In certain types of severe frontal or side impacts, the SRS airbag system
triggers the airbag inflators. A chem
ical reaction in the inflators quickly
fills the airbags with non-toxic gas to help restrain the motion of the occu-
pants.
■If the SRS airbags deploy (inflate)
●Bruising and slight abrasions may result from contact with a deploying (inflating)
SRS airbag.
●A loud noise and white powder will be emitted.
●Parts of the airbag module (steering wheel hub, airbag cover and inflator) as
well as the seats, and parts of the front pillar, rear pillar and roof side rail, may be
hot for several minutes. The airbag itself may also be hot.
●The windshield may crack.
●For Safety Connect subscribers, if the SRS airbags deploy or in the event of a
severe rear-end collision, the system is designed to send an emergency call to
the response center, notifying them of the vehicle’s location (without needing to
push the “SOS” button) and an agent will attempt to speak with the occupants
to ascertain the level of emergency and assistance required. If the occupants
are unable to communicate, the agent automatically treats the call as an emer-
gency and helps to dispatch the necessary emergency services. ( →P. 353)
■SRS airbag deployment conditions (front airbags)
●The SRS front airbags will deploy in the event of an impact that exceeds the set
threshold level (the level of force corresponding to an approximately 12 - 18
mph [20 - 30 km/h] frontal collision with a fixed wall 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 vehi-
cle is very close to the designed threshold level, the SRS front airbags and the
seat belt pretensioners may not activate together.

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1-7. Safety information
1
Before driving
ES350_U
■SRS airbag deployment conditions (side and curtain shield airbags)
The SRS side airbags and curtain shield airbags will deploy in the event of an impact
that exceeds the set threshold level (the level of force corresponding to the impact
force produced by an approximately 3300 lb. [1500 kg] vehicle colliding with the
vehicle cabin from a direction perpendicular to the vehicle orientation at an
approximate speed of 12 - 18 mph [20 - 30 km/h]).
■Conditions under which the SRS airbags may deploy (inflate), other than a colli-
sion
The SRS front airbags may also deploy if a serious impact occurs to the underside of
your vehicle. Some examples are shown in the illustration.
■Types of collisions that may not deploy the SRS airbag (front airbags)
The SRS front airbags are generally not designed to inflate if the vehicle is involved
in a side or rear collision, if it rolls over, or if it is involved in a low-speed frontal colli-
sion. But, whenever a collision of any type causes sufficient forward deceleration of
the vehicle, deployment of the SRS front airbags may occur.
●Hitting a curb, edge of pavement or hard
surface
●Falling into or jumping over a deep hole
●Landing hard or vehicle falling
●Collision from the rear
●Collision from the side
●Vehicle rollover

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1-7. Safety information
ES350_U
CAUTION
■SRS airbag precautions
Observe the following precautions regarding the airbags.
Failure to do so may cause death or serious injury.
●The driver and all passengers in the vehicle must wear their seat belts properly.
The SRS airbags are supplemental devices to be used with the seat belts.
●The SRS driver airbag deploys with considerable force, and can cause death or
serious injury especially if the driver is very close to the airbag. The National
Highway Traffic Safety Administration (“NHTSA”) advises:
Since the risk zone for driver airbag is the first 2 - 3 in. (50 - 75 mm) of inflation,
placing yourself 10 in. (250 mm) from your driver airbag provides you with a
clear margin of safety. This distance is measured from the center of the steering
wheel to your breastbone. If you sit less than 10 in. (250 mm) away now, you can
change your driving position in several ways:
• Move your seat to the rear as far as you can while still reaching the pedalscomfortably.
• Slightly recline the back of the seat. Although vehicle designs vary, many driv- ers can achieve the 10 in. (250 mm) distance, even with the driver seat all the
way forward, simply by reclining the back of the seat somewhat. If reclining
the back of your seat makes it hard to see the road, raise yourself by using a
firm, non-slippery cushion, or raise the seat if your vehicle has that feature.
• If your steering wheel is adjustable, tilt it downward. This points the airbag toward your chest instead of your head and neck.
The seat should be adjusted as recommended by NHTSA above, while still main-
taining control of the foot pedals, steering wheel, and your view of the instrument
panel controls.

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1-7. Safety information
1
Before driving
ES350_U
CAUTION
■SRS airbag precautions
●The SRS front passenger airbag also deploys with considerable force, and can
cause death or serious injury especially if the front passenger is very close to the
airbag. The front passenger seat should be as far from the airbag as possible with
the seatback adjusted, so the front passenger sits upright.
●Improperly seated and/or restrained infants and children can be killed or seri-
ously injured by a deploying airbag. An infant or child who is too small to use a
seat belt should be properly secured using a child restraint system. Lexus strongly
recommends that all infants and children be placed in the rear seats of the vehicle
and properly restrained. The rear seats are the safest for infants and children.
(→ P. 1 0 2 )
●If the seat belt extender has been con-
nected to the driver's seat belt buckle but
the seat belt extender has not also been
fastened to the latch plate of the driver's
seat belt, the SRS driver's airbag system
will judge that the driver is wearing the seat
belt even though the seat belt has not been
connected. In this case, the driver's airbag
may not activate correctly in a collision,
resulting in death or serious injury in the
event of collision. Be sure to wear the seat
belt with the seat belt extender.

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2-1. Driving procedures
2
When driving
ES350_U
■Driving in the rain
●Drive carefully when it is raining, because visibility will be reduced, the windows
may become fogged-up, and the road will be slippery.
●Drive carefully when it starts to rain, because the road surface will be especially
slippery.
●Refrain from high speeds when driving on an expressway in the rain, because
there may be a layer of water between the tires and the road surface, preventing
the steering and brakes from operating properly.
■Breaking in your new Lexus
To extend the life of the vehicle, the following precautions are recommended to
observe:
●For the first 200 miles (300 km):
Avoid sudden stops.
●For the first 600 miles (1000 km):
• Do not drive at extremely high speeds.
• Avoid sudden acceleration.
• Do not drive continuously in the low gears.
• Do not drive at a constant speed for extended periods.
■Drum-in-disc type parking brake system
Your vehicle has a drum-in-disc type parking brake system. This type of brake sys-
tem needs bedding-down of the brake shoes periodically or whenever the parking
brake shoes and/or drum are replaced. Have your Lexus dealer perform the bed-
ding down.
■Operating your vehicle in a foreign country
Comply with the relevant vehicle registration laws and confirm the availability of the
correct fuel. (→P. 4 9 4 )

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2-1. Driving procedures
ES350_U
CAUTION
■When starting the vehicle
Always keep your foot on the brake pedal while stopped with the engine running.
This prevents the vehicle from creeping.
■When driving the vehicle
●Do not drive if you are unfamiliar with the location of the brake and accelerator
pedals to avoid depressing the wrong pedal.
• Accidentally depressing the accelerator pedal instead of the brake pedal willresult in sudden acceleration that may lead to an accident that could result in
death or serious injury.
• When backing up, you may twist your body around, leading to a difficulty in operating the pedals. Make sure to operate the pedals properly.
• Make sure to keep a correct driving posture even when moving the vehicle only slightly, allowing you to depress the brake and accelerator pedals prop-
erly.
• Depress the brake pedal using your right foot. Depressing the brake pedal using your left foot may delay response in an emergency, resulting in an acci-
dent.
●Do not drive the vehicle over or stop the vehicle near flammable materials.
●Do not let the vehicle roll backwards while the shift lever is in a driving position, or
roll forward while the shift lever is in R.
Doing so may cause the engine to stall or lead to poor brake and steering perfor-
mance, resulting in an accident or damage to the vehicle.
●If the smell of exhaust is noticed inside the vehicle, open the windows and check
that the trunk is closed. Large amounts of exhaust in the vehicle can cause driver
drowsiness and an accident, resulting in death or a serious health hazard. Have
the vehicle inspected by your Lexus dealer immediately.
●Do not shift the shift lever to P while the vehicle is moving. Doing so can damage
the transmission and may result in a loss of vehicle control.
●Do not shift the shift lever to R while the vehicle is moving forward.
Doing so can damage the transmission and may result in a loss of vehicle control.
●Do not shift the shift lever to D while the vehicle is moving backward.
Doing so can damage the transmission and may result in a loss of vehicle control.
●Moving the shift lever to N while the vehicle is moving will disengage the engine
from the transmission. Engine braking is not available when N is selected.

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2-2. Instrument cluster
ES350_U
■Eco Driving Indicator
■Outside temperature display
In the following situations, the correct outside temperature may not be displayed, or
the display may take longer than normal to change.
●When stopped, or driving at low speeds (less than 12 mph [20 km/h])
●When the outside temperature has changed suddenly (at the entrance/exit of a
garage, tunnel, etc.)
NOTICE
■The multi-information display at low temperatures
Allow the interior of the vehicle to warm up before using the liquid crystal informa-
tion display. At extremely low temperatures, the information display monitor may
respond slowly, and display changes may be delayed.
Eco Driving Indicator Light
During Eco-friendly acceleration (Eco
driving), Eco Driving Indicator Light will
turn on.
Eco Driving Indicator Zone Display
Suggests Zone of Eco driving with current
Eco driving ratio based on acceleration.
Zone of Eco driving
Eco driving ratio based on acceleration
Vehicle to exceed Zone of Eco driving, the
right of Eco Driving Indicator Zone Dis-
play will blink and Eco Driving Indicator
Light will turn off.
Eco Driving Indicator will operate when the
vehicle is being driven with the shift lever in D.

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2-4. Using other driving systems
ES350_U
■Vehicle-to-vehicle distance settings
Select a distance from the table below. Note that the distances shown correspond
to a vehicle speed of 50 mph (80 km/h). Vehicle-to-vehicle distance increases/
decreases in accordance with vehicle speed.
■Radar sensor and grille cover
Always keep the sensor and grille cover clean to ensure that the vehicle-to-vehicle
distance control operates properly. (Some obstructions, such as snow, ice and plas-
tic objects, cannot be detected by the obstruction sensor.)
Dynamic radar cruise control is canceled if an obstruction is detected.
Distance optionsVehicle-to-vehicle distance
LongApproximately 160 ft. (50 m)
MediumApproximately 130 ft. (40 m)
ShortApproximately 100 ft. (30 m)
Grille cover
Radar sensor