2012 TOYOTA PRIUS C Owners Manual

73
1-3. Opening, closing and locking the doors
1
Before driving
CAUTION
■
When children are in the vehicle
Observe the following precautions.
Failure to do so may result in death or serious injury.
●Do not leave children alone in the luggage compartment.
If a child is accidentally locked in the luggage compartment, they could
have heat exhaustion.
● Do not allow a child to open or close the back door.
Doing so may cause the back door to move unexpectedly, or cause the
child’s hands, head, or neck to be caught by the closing back door.
■ Operating the back door
Observe the following precautions.
Failure to do so may cause parts of the body to be caught, resulting in death
or serious injury.
●Remove any heavy loads, such as snow and ice, from the back door
before opening it. Failure to do so may cause the back door to fall closed
again after it is opened.
● When opening or closing the back door, thoroughly check to make sure
the surrounding area is safe.
● If anyone is in the vicinity, make sure they are safe and let them know that
the back door is about to open or close.
● Use caution when opening or closing the back door in windy weather as it
may move abruptly in strong wind.

74 1-3. Opening, closing and locking the doors
CAUTION
●Do not pull on the back door damper stay to close the back door, and do
not hang on the back door damper stay.
Doing so may cause hands to be caught or the back door damper stay to
break, causing an accident.
● If a bicycle carrier or similar heavy object is attached to the back door, it
may fall closed again after being opened, causing someone’s hands, head
or neck to be caught and injured. When installing an accessory part to the
back door, using a genuine Toyota part is recommended.
●The back door may fall if it is not
opened fully. It is more difficult to open
or close the back door on an incline
than on a level surface, so beware of
the back door unexpectedly opening or
closing by itself. Make sure that the
back door is fully open and secure
before using the luggage compartment.
● When closing the back door, take extra
care to prevent your fingers etc. from
being caught.
● When closing the back door, make sure
to press it lightly on its outer surface. If
the back door handle is used to fully
close the back door, it may result in
hands or arms being caught.

75
1-3. Opening, closing and locking the doors
1
Before driving
NOTICE
■
Back door damper stays
The back door is equipped with damper stays that hold the back door in
place.
Observe the following precautions.
Failure to do so may cause damage to the back door damper stay, resulting
in malfunction.
●Do not attach any foreign objects, such
as stickers, plastic sheets, or adhesives
to the damper stay rod.
● Do not touch the damper stay rod with
gloves or other fabric items.
● Do not attach any accessories other
than genuine Toyota parts to the back
door.
● Do not place your hand on the damper
stay or apply lateral forces to it.

76
1-4. Adjustable components (seats, mirrors, steering wheel)
Front seats
CAUTION
■Seat adjustment
●Be careful that the seat does not hit passengers or luggage.
● To reduce the risk of sliding under the lap belt during a collision, do not
recline the seat more than necessary.
If the seat is too reclined, the lap belt may slide past the hips and apply
restraint forces directly to the abdomen, or your neck may contact the
shoulder belt, increasing the risk of death or serious injury in the event of
an accident.
Adjustments should not be made while driving as the seat may unexpect-
edly move and cause the driver to lose control of the vehicle.
● After adjusting the seat, make sure that the seat is locked in position.
Seat position adjustment
lever
Seatback angle adjustment
lever
Vertical height adjustment
lever (if equipped)

77
1
1-4. Adjustable components (seats, mirrors, steering wheel)
Before driving
Rear seats
Folding down the rear seatbacks■ Before folding down the rear seatbacks
Stow the rear seat belt buckles
as shown.
Stow the seat belts.
Center
 P. 8 6
Outside Use the seat belt hangers to pre-
vent the belts from being tan-
gled.
The seatbacks of the rear seats can be folded down.
STEP1
STEP2

78 1-4. Adjustable components (seats, mirrors, steering wheel)
Remove the outside head restraints. ( P. 81)
Lower the center head restraint to the lowest position.
(  P. 8 1 )
■ Folding down rear seatbacks
Vehicles with a split rear seats Pull the seatback lock release
knob and fold the seatback
down.
Each seatback may be folded
separately.
Vehicles with a non-split rear seatPull both seatback lock release
knobs at the same time and fold
the seatback down.
STEP3
STEP4

79
1-4. Adjustable components (s
eats, mirrors, steering wheel)
1
Before driving
CAUTION
■When folding the rear seatbacks down
Observe the following precautions. Failure to do so may result in death or
serious injury.
●Do not fold the seatbacks down while driving.
● Stop the vehicle on level ground, set the parking brake and shift the shift
lever to P.
● Do not allow anyone to sit on a folded seatback or in the luggage compart-
ment while driving.
● Do not allow children to enter the luggage compartment.
● For vehicles with split rear seats, do not allow anyone sit on the rear center
seat if the rear right seat is folded down, as the seat belt buckle for \
the rear
center seat belt is then concealed under the folded seat and cannot be
used.
● Be careful not to catch your hand when folding the rear seatbacks.
● If it is necessary to detach the head restraints, remove it from the vehicle
or store it securely in the luggage compartment. This will prevent it from
injuring passengers in the event of sudden braking, sudden swerving or an
accident.
● Adjust the position of the front seat before folding down the rear seatbacks
so that the front seat does not interfere with the rear seatbacks when fold-
ing down the rear seatbacks.

80 1-4. Adjustable components (seats, mirrors, steering wheel)
CAUTION
■After returning the rear seatback to the upright position
Observe the following precautions. Failure to do so may result in death or
serious injury.
●Check that the seat belts are not twisted or caught in the seatback.
NOTICE
■Stowing the seat belts
The seat belts and the buckles must be stowed before you fold down the
rear seatbacks.
●Make sure that the seatback is securely
locked in position by lightly pushing it
back and forth.
If the seatback is not securely locked,
the red marking will be visible on the
seatback lock release knob. Make sure
that the red marking is not visible.