2012 Lexus ES350 ECT

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ES350_U
1-7. Safety information
Correct driving posture
Drive in a good posture as follows:
Sit upright and well back in
the seat. (→P. 50)
Adjust the position of the seat
forward or backward to
ensure the pedals can be
reached and easily
depressed to the extent
required. ( →P. 50)
Adjust the seatback so that
the controls are easily opera-
ble. ( →P. 50)
Adjust the tilt and telescopic
positions of the steering
wheel downward so the
airbag is facing your chest.
(→ P. 6 5 )
Lock the head restraint in
place with the center of the
head restraint closest to the
top of your ears. ( →P. 5 7 )
Wear the seat belt correctly.
(→ P. 5 9 )

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1-7. Safety information
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Before driving
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CAUTION
■While driving
●Do not adjust the position of the driver’s seat while driving.
Doing so could cause the driver to lose control of the vehicle.
●Do not place a cushion between the driver or passenger and the seatback.
A cushion may prevent correct posture from being achieved, and reduce the
effectiveness of the seat belt and head restraint, increasing the risk of death or
serious injury to the driver or passenger.
●Do not place anything under the front seats.
Objects placed under the front seats may become jammed in the seat tracks and
stop the seat from locking in place. This may lead to an accident. The adjustment
mechanism may also be damaged.
■Adjusting the seat position:
●Take care when adjusting the seat position to ensure that other passengers are
not injured by the moving seat.
●Do not put your hands under the seat or near the moving parts to avoid injury.
Fingers or hands may become jammed in the seat mechanism.

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1-7. Safety information
ES350_U
SRS airbags
The SRS airbags inflate when the vehicle is subjected to certain types of
severe impacts that may cause significant injury to the occupants. They
work together with the seat belts to help reduce the risk of death or serious
injury.
Front airbags
Driver airbag/front passenger airbag
Can help protect the head and chest of the driver and front passen-
ger from impact with interior components.
Knee airbags
Can help provide driver and front passenger protection.
Side and curtain shield airbags
Side airbags
Can help protect the torso of the front seat occupants and rear seat
outside occupants.
Curtain shield airbags
Can help protect primarily the head of outside occupants.

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1-7. Safety information
ES350_UThe main SRS airbag system components are shown above. The SRS air-
bag system is controlled by the airbag sensor assembly. The airbag sen-
sor 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. 3 5 0 )
■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
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●The SRS front airbags for the front passenger will not activate if there is no pas-
senger sitting in the front passenger seat. However, the SRS front airbags for the
front passenger may deploy if luggage is put in the seat, even if the seat is unoc-
cupied. (→P. 99)
■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 ori-
entation at an approximate speed of 12 - 18 mph [20 - 30 km/h]).
●The SRS side airbag on the passenger seat will not activate if there is no passen-
ger sitting in the front passenger seat. However, the side airbag on the passen-
ger seat may deploy if luggage is put in the seat, even if the seat is unoccupied.
(→ P. 9 9 )
■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.
●Hitting a curb, edge of pavement or hard
surface
●Falling into or jumping over a deep hole
●Landing hard or vehicle falling

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1-7. Safety information
ES350_U
■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.
■Types of collisions that may not deploy the SRS airbag
(side and curtain shield airbags)
The SRS side airbag and curtain shield airbag system may not activate if the vehicle
is subjected to a collision from the side at certain angles, or a collision to the side of
the vehicle body other than the passenger compartment.
The SRS side airbags and curtain shield airbags are not generally designed to
inflate if the vehicle is involved in a frontal or rear collision, if it rolls over, or if it is
involved in a low-speed side collision.
●Collision from the rear
●Collision from the side
●Vehicle rollover
●Collision from the side to the vehicle body
other than the passenger compartment
●Collision from the side at an angle
●Collision from the rear
●Collision from the front
●Vehicle rollover

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1-7. Safety information
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Before driving
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■When to contact your Lexus dealer
In the following cases, contact your Lexus dealer as soon as possible.
●Any of the SRS airbags have been inflated.
●The front of the vehicle is damaged or
deformed, or was involved in an accident
that was not severe enough to cause the
SRS airbags to inflate.
●A portion of the doors is damaged or
deformed, or the vehicle was involved in an
accident that was not severe enough to
cause the SRS side airbags and curtain
shield airbags to inflate.
●The pad section of the steering wheel,
dashboard near the front passenger airbag
or lower portion of the instrument panel is
scratched, cracked, or otherwise dam-
aged.
●The portion of the containing the side air-
bag is scratched, cracked, or otherwise
damaged.
●The portion of the front pillars, rear pillars
or roof side rail garnishes (padding) con-
taining the curtain shield airbags inside is
scratched, cracked, or otherwise dam-
aged.

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1-7. Safety information
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Before driving
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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 4 )
●If the seat belt extender has been con-
nected to the front seat belt buckles but the
seat belt extender has not also been fas-
tened to the latch plate of the seat belt, the
SRS front airbags will judge that the driver
and front passenger are wearing the seat
belt even though the seat belt has not been
connected. In this case, the SRS front
airbags may not activate correctly in a colli-
sion, resulting in death or serious injury in
the event of a collision. Be sure to wear the
seat belt with the seat belt extender.