Page 30 of 576
301-1. For safe use
HIGHLANDER HV_U
1Take the plate out of the
holder, and then pull down
the seat belt.
2 Push plate into buckle
until a click sound is heard.
3 Push plate into buckle
until a click sound is heard. 1
To release plate , press the
release button on buckle
.
2 To release plate , insert the
mechanical key ( P.128) or
plate into the hole on
buckle .
Retract the belt slowly when releas-
Fastening the seat belt
(for the third center seat)WARNING
■When using the third center
seat belt
Do not use the third center seat
belt with either buckle released.
Fastening only one of the buckles
may result in death or serious
injury in case of sudden braking,
sudden swerving or a collision.
Fastening the seat belt
(for the third center seat)
Page 31 of 576

311-1. For safe use
1
For safety and security
HIGHLANDER HV_Uing and stowing the seat belt.
3
Stow the plate and in
the holder on the roof.
In order to securely stow them,
firmly insert them as far as possi-
ble.
1Push the seat belt shoulder
anchor down while pressing
the release button .
2 Push the seat belt shoulder anchor up while pressing the
release button .
Move the height adjuster up and
down as needed until you hear a
click.
If the shoulder belt sits close to
a person’s neck, use the seat
belt comfort guide.
1
Pull the comfort guide from
the pocket.
2 Slide the belt past the slot of
the guide.
The elastic cord must be behind the
Adjusting the seat belt
shoulder anchor height
(front seats)
WARNING
■Adjustable shoulder anchor
Always make sure the shoulder
belt is positioned across the cen-
ter of your shoulder. The belt
should be kept away from your
neck, but not falling off your shoul-
der. Failure to do so could reduce
the amount of protection in an
accident and cause death or seri-
ous injuries in the event of a sud-
den stop, sudden swerve or
accident.
Seat belt comfort guide
(for the third center seat)
Page 32 of 576

321-1. For safe use
HIGHLANDER HV_Useat belt.
3
Buckle the seat belt and posi-
tion it comfortably.
The pretensioners help the seat
belts to quickly restrain the
occupants by retracting the seat
belts when the vehicle is sub-
jected to certain types of severe
frontal or side collision or a vehi-
cle rollover.
The pretensioners do not activate
in the event of a minor frontal
impact, a minor side impact or a
rear impact.
■Replacing the belt after the pre-
tensioner has been activated
If the vehicle is involved in multiple
collisions, the pretensioner will acti-
vate for the first collision, but will not
activate for the second or subse-
quent collisions.
■PCS-linked seat belt preten-
sioner control
If the PCS (Pre-Collision System)
determines that the possibility of a
collision with a vehi cle is high, the
seat belt pretensioners will be pre-
WARNING
■Using a seat belt comfort
guide
Failure to obser ve the following
precautions could reduce the
effectiveness of the seat belt in an
accident, causing death or seri-
ous injury.
●Make sure the belt is not twisted
and that it lies flat. The elastic
cord must be behind the belt
and the guide must be on the
front.
●To reduce the chance of injury
in case of a sudden stop, sud-
den swerve or accident while
driving, remove and store the
comfort guide in its pocket when
it is not in use.
●Always make sure the shoulder
belt is positioned across the
center of the shoulder. The belt
should be kept away from the
neck, and should not fall off the
shoulder.
Seat belt pretensioners
(front seats)
Page 33 of 576
331-1. For safe use
1
For safety and security
HIGHLANDER HV_Upared to operate.
WARNING
■Seat belt pretensioners
Observe the following precautions
to reduce the risk of injury in the
event of sudden braking, sudden
swerving or an accident. Failure
to do so may cause death or seri-
ous injury.
●Do not place anything, such as
a cushion, on the front passen-
ger’s seat. Doing so will
disperse the passenger’s
weight, which prevents the sen-
sor from detecting the passen-
ger’s weight properly. As a
result, the seat belt pretensioner
for the front passenger’s seat
may not activate in the event of
a collision.
●If the pretensioner has acti-
vated, the SRS warning light will
come on. In that case, the seat
belt cannot be used again and
must be replaced at your Toyota
dealer.
Page 35 of 576
351-1. For safe use
1
For safety and security
HIGHLANDER HV_U
SRS curtain shield airbags
• Can help protect primarily the head of occupants in the outer seats
• Can help prevent the occupants from being thrown from the vehi cle in the
event of vehicle rollover
■SRS airbag system components
Front passenger airbag
“PASS AIR BAG ON” and “PASS AIR BAG OFF” indicator lights
Front side airbags
Curtain shield airbags
Side impact sensors (rear)
SRS warning light
Front passenger occupant classification system (ECU and sen-
sors)
Driver airbag
Side impact sensors (front door)
Side impact sensors (front)
Seat belt pretensioners and force limiters
Seat cushion airbag
Driver’s seat position sensor
Driver’s knee airbag
Driver’s seat bel t buckle switch
Front impact sensors
Page 39 of 576

391-1. For safe use
1
For safety and security
HIGHLANDER HV_U
●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
damaged.
●The front passenger’s seat cush-
ion surface is scratched, cracked,
or otherwise damaged.
●The surface of the seats with the
SRS side airbag is scratched,
cracked, or otherwise damaged.
●The portion of the front pillars, rear
pillars or roof side rail garnishes
(padding) containing the SRS cur-
tain shield airbags inside is scratched, cracked, or otherwise
damaged.
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 seat
belts properly.
The SRS airbags are supple-
mental 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 provides
you with a clear margin of
safety. This distance is mea-
sured from the c enter of the
steering wheel to your breast-
bone. If you sit less than 10 in.
(250 mm) away now, you can
change your driv ing position in
several ways:
• Move your seat to the rear as far as you can while still reach-
ing the pedals comfortably.
Page 40 of 576

401-1. For safe use
HIGHLANDER HV_U
WARNING
• 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, 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 adjust- able, 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 maintaining control of
the foot pedals, steering wheel,
and your view of the instrument
panel controls.
●If the seat belt extender has
been connected 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 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
collision, resulting in death or
serious injury in the event of a
collision. Be su re to wear the
seat belt with the seat belt
extender.
●The SRS front passenger air-
bag also deploys with consider-
able 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 seat-
back adjusted, so the front pas-
senger sits upright.
Page 41 of 576

411-1. For safe use
1
For safety and security
HIGHLANDER HV_U
WARNING
●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
system. Toyota strongly recom-
mends that all infants and chil-
dren 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. 5 0 )
●Do not sit on the edge of the
seat or lean against the dash-
board.
●Do not allow a child to stand in
front of the SRS front passenger
airbag unit or sit on the knees of
a front passenger.
●Do not allow the front seat occu-
pants to hold items on their
knees.
●Do not lean against the door,
the roof side rail or the front,
side and rear pillars.
●Do not allow anyone to kneel on
the passenger seat toward the
door or put their head or hands
outside the vehicle.
●Do not attach anything to or
lean anything against areas
such as the dashboard, steering
wheel pad and lower portion of
the instrument panel.
These items can become pro-
jectiles when th e SRS driver,
front passenger and knee air-
bags deploy.