2012 TOYOTA PRIUS ESP

144 1-8. Safety information
■SRS airbag deployment conditions (SRS 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 approxi-
mately 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 in the following
situations:
• If the vehicle strikes an object, such as a parked vehicle or sign pole,
which can move or deform on impact
• If the vehicle is involved in an underride collision such as a collision in which the front of the vehicle “underrides”, or goes under, the bed of a
truck
● Depending on the type of collision, it is possible that only the seat belt
pretensioners will activate.
● The SRS front airbags for the front passenger will not activate if there is
no passenger 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 unoccupied. ( P. 154)
■ SRS airbag deployment conditions (S RS side and curtain shield air-
bags)
The SRS side 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 collid-
ing with the vehicle cabin from a direction perpendicular to the vehicle orien-
tation at an approximate speed of 12 - 18 mph [20 - 30 km/h]).

148 1-8. Safety information
CAUTION
■SRS airbag precautions
Observe the following precautions regarding the SRS 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 the driver’s airbag is the first 2 - 3 in. (50 - 75 mm)
of inflation, placing yourself 10 in. (250 mm) from your driver airbag pro-
vides 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 pedals comfortably.
• Slightly recline the back of the seat. Although vehicle designs vary, many drivers can achieve the 10 in.
(250 mm) distance, even with the driver seat all the way forward, sim-
ply 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 air- bag toward your chest instead of your head and neck.
The seat should be adjusted as recommended by NHTSA above, while still
maintaining control of the foot pedals, steering wheel, and your view of the
instrument panel controls.

149
1-8. Safety information
1
Before driving
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 air-
bag as possible with the seatback adjusted, so the front passenger sits
upright.
● Improperly seated and/or restrained infants and children can be killed or
seriously 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 sys-
tem. Toyota strongly recommends that all infants and children be placed in
the rear seats of the vehicle and properly restrained. The rear seats are
safer for infants and children than the front passenger seat. ( P. 160)
●If the seat belt extender has been con-
nected to the front seat belt buckles but
the seat belt extender has not also
been fastened to the latch plate of the
seat belt, the SRS front airbags will
judge that the driver and front passen-
ger are wearing the seat belt even
though the seat belt has not been con-
nected. In this case, the SRS front air-
bags may not activate correctly in a
collision, resulting in death or serious
injury in the event of a collision. Be sure
to wear the seat belt with the seat belt
extender.

181
2-1. Driving procedures
2
When driving
Starting off on a uphill
Firmly set the parking brake with the brake pedal depressed,
and then shift the shift position to D.
Release the brake pedal and gently depress the accelerator
pedal.
Release the parking brake.
■When starting off on a uphill
The hill-start assist control is available. ( P. 301)
■ 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 Toyota
To extend the life of the vehicle, observing the following precautions is rec-
ommended:
●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 at a constant speed for extended periods.
STEP 1
STEP 2
STEP 3

183
2-1. Driving procedures
2
When driving
CAUTION
■
When starting the vehicle
Always keep your foot on the brake pedal while stopped with the hybrid sys-
tem operating. This prevents the vehicle from creeping.
■ When driving the vehicle
●Do not drive if you are unfamiliar with the location of the brake and accel-
erator pedals to avoid depressing the wrong pedal.
• Accidentally depressing the accelerator pedal instead of the brake
pedal will result 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 diffi- culty 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. This allows you to depress the brake and acceler-
ator pedals properly.
• Depress the brake pedal using your right foot. Depressing the brake pedal using your left foot may delay response in an emergency, result-
ing in an accident.
● Because there is no engine noise when the vehicle is being driven using
the electric motor, pedestrians in the vicinity may not notice the vehicle.
Even though the vehicle is equipped with the vehicle proximity notification
system, drive with care as pedestrians in the vicinity may still not notice
the vehicle if the surrounding area is noisy.
● Do not drive the vehicle over or stop the vehicle near flammable materials.
The exhaust system and exhaust gases can be extremely hot. These hot
parts may cause a fire if there is any flammable material nearby.
● Do not let the vehicle roll backward while a forward driving position is\
selected, or roll forward while the shift position is in R.
Doing so may result in an accident or damage to the vehicle.

204 2-1. Driving procedures
■Selecting a driving mode
The following modes can be selected to suit driving conditions:
Eco drive mode
Suitable for improving the fuel economy, because the torque corre-
sponding to the accelerator pedal depression amount can be gener-
ated more smoothly than it is in normal conditions and the operation of
the air conditioning system (heating/cooling) will be minimized.
When the “ECO MODE” switch is pressed, the “ECO MODE” indicator
comes on.
Power mode
Use when high levels of response and feeling are desirable, such as
when driving in mountainous r egions or when overtaking.
When the power mode switch is pressed, the power mode indicator
comes on.

248 2-2. Instrument cluster
■When driving on snowy roads or in other bright environments
When the highest level of brightness has been reached, the display can b\
e
made even brighter by pressing and holding “ ” on the brightness control
button.
Pressing “ ” on the brightness control button or turning the “POWER” switch
off will cause the brightness level to revert to the original level.
■ Display speed setting function
The speedometer can be set to display only when a desired vehicle speed is
reached.
Press and hold the “HUD” main switch while the vehicle is stopped
and while the head-up display is showing only the speedometer.
The speedometer will begin to flash.
Set the desired display speed on the speedometer by pressing “ ”
and “ ” on the display position adjustment button.
Press “ ” to raise the speed and “ ” to lower. The speed will change
by 1 mph (1.6 km/h) each time the button is pressed, and continu-
ously by 10 mph (16 km/h) when the button is pressed and held.
Press and hold the “HUD” main switch to finish setting.
■ Head-up display
The head-up display may seem dark and hard to see when viewed through
sunglasses, especially polarized sunglasses.
Adjust the brightness of the head-up display or remove your sunglasses.
■ When the 12-volt battery is disconnected
The head-up display settings will be reset.
STEP 1
STEP 2
STEP 3

273
2-4. Using other
driving systems
2
When driving
■Changing the vehicle -to-vehicle distance
Pressing the button changes
the vehicle-to-vehicle dis-
tance as follows:
Long
Medium
Short
The vehicle-to-vehicle distance
is set automatically to long
mode when the “POWER”
switch is turned to ON mode.
If a vehicle is running ahead of
you, the preceding vehicle
mark will also be displayed.
■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). Vehi-
cle-to-vehicle distance increases/decreases in accordance with
vehicle speed.
Preceding vehicle mark
Distance optionsVehicle-to-vehicle distance
LongApproximately 160 ft. (50 m)
MediumApproximately 130 ft. (40 m)
ShortApproximately 100 ft. (30 m)