
421-1. For safe use
HIGHLANDER_U
SRS airbag system components
Front passenger airbag
Curtain shield airbags
Side  impact  sensors  (front
doors)
“AIR  BAG  ON”  and  “AIR  BAG
OFF” indicator lights
Seat  belt  pretensioners  and
force limiters
Side airbags
Seat cushion airbag
SRS warning light
Driver airbagSide impact sensors (rear)
Front  passenger’s  seat  belt
buckle switch
Driver’s seat p
osition sensor
Driver’s  seat  belt  buckle
switch
Driver’s knee airbag
Front  passenger  occupant
classification  system  (ECU
and sensors)
Front impact sensors
Airbag sensor assembly1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17 

431-1. For safe use
1
For safety and security
HIGHLANDER_U
Your vehicle is equipped with ADVANCED AIRBAGS designed based
on  the  US  motor  vehicle  safety  standards  (FMVSS208).  The  airbag
sensor  assembly  (ECU)  controls  airbag  deployment  based  on  infor-
mation  obtained  from  the  sensors  etc.  shown  in  the  system  compo -
nents  diagram  above.  This  informat ion  includes  crash  severity  and
occupant  information.  As  the  airbags  deploy,  a  chemical  reactio n  in
the inflators quickly fills the  airbags with non-toxic gas to h elp restrain
the motion of t he occupants.
WARNING
■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  se at  belts
properly.
The SRS airbags are supplemental devices to be used with the se at 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) advi ses:
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 reach ing the ped-
als 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,  si mply  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 f irm, 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,  whil e
still  maintaining  control  of  the  foot  pedals,  steering  wheel,  and  your  view
of the instrument panel controls. 

471-1. For safe use
1
For safety and security
HIGHLANDER_U
WARNING
■SRS airbag precautions
● If the areas where the SRS airbags are stored, such as the steering wheel
pad  and  front  and  rear  pillar  garnishes,  are  damaged  or  cracked ,  have
them replaced by your Toyota dealer.
● Do  not  place  anything,  such  as  a  cushion,  on  the  front  passenger’s  seat.
Doing so will disperse the passenger’s weight, which prevents t he sensor
from detecting the passenger’s weight properly. As a result, th e SRS front
airbags for the front passenger may not deploy in the event of  a collision.
■ Modification and disposal of  SRS airbag system components
Do not dispose of your vehicle or perform any of the following modifications
without consulting your Toyota dealer. The SRS airbags may malfunction or
deploy (inflate) accidentally, causing death or serious injury.
● Installation, removal, disassembly and repair of the SRS airbag s
● Repairs,  modifications,  removal  or  replacement  of  the  steering  wheel,
instrument panel, dashboard, seats or seat upholstery, front, s ide and rear
pillars or roof side rails
● Repairs  or  modifications  of  the  front  fender,  front  bumper  or  s ide  of  the
occupant compartment
● Installation  of  a  grille  guard  (bull  bars,  kangaroo  bar,  etc.),   snow  plows,
winches or roof luggage carrier
● Modifications to the vehicle’s suspension system
● Installation  of  electronic  devices  such  as  mobile  two-way  radio s  and  CD
players
● Modifications to your vehicle for a person with a physical disa bility 

121
3
Operation of each component
HIGHLANDER_U
3-2. Opening, closing and locking the doors
◆Entry function (vehicles with a smart key system)
Carry the electronic key  to enable this function.
Front doors
Grip  the  driver’s  door  handle
to  unlock  the  door.  Grip  the
passenger's  door  handle  to
unlock all the doors.
*
Make  sure  to  touch  the  sensor
on the back of the handle.
The  doors  cannot  be  unlocked
for 3 seconds after the doors are
locked.
*: The door unlock settings can be changed. (P. 127)
Touch the lock sensor (indentation on the upper part of the doo r
handle) to lock all the doors.
Check that the door is securely locked.
Back door
Press  the  unlock  button  to
unlock all the doors.
The  doors  cannot  be  unlocked
for 3 seconds after the doors are
locked.
Press  the  lock  button  to  lock
all the doors.
Check  that  the  door  is  securely
locked.
Side doors
Unlocking and locking the doors from the outside
1
2
1
2 

1243-2. Opening, closing and locking the doors
HIGHLANDER_U■
When the door cannot be locked by the lock sensor on the upper  part of
the front door handle (veh icles with a smart key system)
■ Door lock buzzer (vehicles with a smart key system)
If  an  attempt  to  lock  the  doors  using  the  entry  function  or  wir eless  remote
control  is  made when a  door  is  not  fully  closed,  a  buzzer  will  sound  continu-
ously  for  5  seconds.  Fully  close  the  door  to  stop  the  buzzer,  a nd  lock  the
doors again.
■ Wireless reservation lock (vehicles without a smart key system)
If a door is not fully closed and the wireless remote control i s used to lock the
doors, the  doors  other  than the open  door  will  be locked. The o pen  door  will
be locked after it is fully closed.
■ Power back door reservation lo ck (vehicles with a power back do or)
Vehicles without a smart key system
If the wireless remote control is used to lock the doors while  the power back
door is closing with all side doors fully closed, the side door s are locked. The
back door will be locked when it is fully closed.
Vehicles with a smart key system
If the wireless remote control is used to lock the doors while  the power back
door  is  closing  with  all  side  doors  fully  closed,  a  buzzer  will   sound  and  the
emergency flashers will flash to indicate that the reservation  lock is activated.
At this time the side doors are locked. The back door will be l ocked when it is
fully closed.
■ Alarm (if equipped)
Locking the doors will set the alarm system. ( P. 88)
■ If the smart key system or the wireless remote control does not operate
properly
Vehicles with a smart key system: Use the mechanical key to loc k and unlock
the doors. ( P. 637)
Replace the key battery with a new one if it is depleted. ( P. 551)
If the door will not lock even when the top-
side  sensor  area  is  touched,  try  touching
both  the  topside  and  underside  sensor
areas at the same time. 

1413-2. Opening, closing and locking the doors
3
Operation of each component
HIGHLANDER_U
NOTICE
■To  prevent  back  door  closer  malfu nction  (vehicles  with  a  power back
door)
Do not apply excessive force to the back door while the back door closer is
operating.
■ To prevent damage to the po wer back door (if equipped)
● Make  sure  that  there  is  no  ice  between  the  back  door  and  frame  that
would prevent movement of the back door. Operating the power ba ck door
when  excessive  load  is  present  on  the  back  door  may  cause  a  mal func-
tion.
● Do  not apply excessive force to the  back door while  the  power  b ack door
is operating.
● Take care not to damage the sensors (installed on the right and  left edges
of the power back door) with a knife or other sharp object. If  the sensor is
disconnected, the power back door will not close automatically. 

1513-2. Opening, closing and locking the doors
3
Operation of each component
HIGHLANDER_U■
Note for the entry function
●Even when the electronic key is within the effective range (det ection areas),
the system may not operate properly in the following cases:
• The electronic key is too close to the window or outside door  handle, near
the ground, or in a high place when the doors are locked or unl ocked.
• The  electronic  key  is  near  the  ground  or  in  a  high  place,  or  t oo  close  to
the rear bumper center when the back door is opened.
• The  electronic  key  is  on  the  instrument  panel  or  floor,  or  in  the  auxiliary
box of the driver's side instrument panel, door pockets or glove box when
the engine is started or engine switch modes are changed.
● Do  not  leave  the  electronic  key  on  top  of  the  instrument  panel  or  near  the
door pockets when exiting the vehicle. Depending on the radio w ave recep-
tion conditions, it may be detected by the antenna outside the  cabin and the
door will become lockable from the outside, possibly trapping the electronic
key inside the vehicle.
● As long as the electronic key is within the effective range, th e doors may be
locked or unlocked by anyone. However, only the doors detecting  the elec-
tronic key can be used to unlock the vehicle.
● Even if the electronic key is not inside the vehicle, it may be  possible to start
the engine if the electronic key is near the window.
● The  doors  may  unlock  or  lock  if  a  large  amount  of  water  splashe s  on  the
door handle, such as in the rain or in a car wash when the elec tronic key is
within  the  effective  range.  (The  doors  will  automatically  be  lo cked  after
approximately 60 seconds if the doors are not opened and closed.)
● If  the  wireless  remote  control  is  used  to  lock  the  doors  when  t he  electronic
key  is  near  the  vehicle,  there  is  a  possibility  that  the  door  m ay  not  be
unlocked  by  the  entry  function.  (Use  the  wireless  remote  contro l  to  unlock
the doors.)
● Touching  the  door  lock  or  unlock  sensor  while wearing  gloves  ma y  prevent
lock  or  unlock  operation.  Remove  the  gloves  and  touch  the  lock  or  unlock
sensor again.
● When the lock operation is performed using the lock sensor, rec ognition sig-
nals  will  be  shown  up  to  two  consecutive  times. After  this,  no  recognition
signals will be given.
● If the  door  handle becomes  wet while the  electronic  key  is with in the  effec-
tive range, the door may lock and unlock repeatedly. In that ca se, follow the
following correction procedures to wash the vehicle:
• Place  the  electronic  key  in  a  location  6  ft.  (2  m)  or  more  awa y  from  the
vehicle. (Take care to ensure that the key is not stolen.)
• Set  the  electronic  key  to  battery-saving  mode  to  disable  the  s mart  key
system. ( P. 149) 

1523-2. Opening, closing and locking the doors
HIGHLANDER_U●
If  the  electronic  key  is  inside  the  vehicle  and  a  door  handle  b ecomes  wet
during  a  car  wash,  a  message  may  be  shown  on  the  multi-informat ion  dis-
play and a buzzer will sound outside the vehicle. To turn off t he alarm, lock
all the doors.
● The  lock  sensor  may  not  work  properly  if  it  comes  into  contact  with  ice,
snow,  mud,  etc.  Clean  the  lock  sensor  and  attempt  to  operate  it   again,  or
use the lock sensor on the lower part of the door handle.
● A sudden handle operation or a handle operation immediately aft er entering
the  effective  range  may  prevent  the  doors  from  being  unlocked.  Touch  the
door unlock sensor and check that the doors are unlocked before pulling the
door handle again.
● Unlocking the vehicle may take more time if another electronic  key is within
the effective range.
■ When the vehicle is not driven for extended periods
●To prevent theft of the vehicle, do not leave the electronic ke y within 6 ft. (2
m) of the vehicle.
● The smart key system can be deactivated in advance. ( P. 682)
■ To operate the system properly
Make sure to carry the electronic key when operating the system. Do not get
the electronic key too close to the vehicle when operating the  system from the
outside of the vehicle.
Depending on the position and holding condition of the electron ic key, the key
may not be detected correctly and the system may not operate pr operly. (The
alarm  may  go  off  accidentally,  or  the  door  lock  prevention  func tion  may  not
operate.)
■ If the smart key system does not operate properly
●Locking and unlocking the doors: Use the mechanical key. ( P. 637)
● Starting the engine:  P. 638
■ Customization
Settings (e. g. smart key system) can be changed. 
(Customizable features:  P. 682)
■ If the smart key system has been d eactivated in a customized setting
● Locking and unlocking the doors:
Use the wireless remote control or mechanical key. ( P. 122, 637)
● Starting the engine and changing engine switch modes:  P. 638
● Stopping the engine: P. 228