1997 Toyota Avalon Owners Manual - Page 47

Child restraint- -Child restraint precautions Toyota strongly urges the use of child restraint systems for children small enough to use them. The laws of all fifty states in the U.S.A. and Canada now require the use of a child restraint system. Your vehicle conforms to SAEJ1819. If a child is too large for a child restraint system, the child should sit in the rear seat and must be restrained using the vehicle's seat belt. See "Seat belts" for details. In the following cases, contact your Toyota dealer as soon as possible: S The SRS airbags have been inflated. S The front part of the vehicle (shaded in the illustration) was involved in an accident not of the extent to cause the SRS airbags to inflate S The pad section of the steering wheel or front passenger airbag cover (shaded in the illustration) is scratched, cracked, or otherwise damaged. S Toyota strongly urges use of a proper child restraint system which conforms to the size of the child and is put on the rear seat. According to accident statistics, the child is safer when properly restrained in the rear seat than in the front seat. S Never install a rear-facing child restraint system on the front seat. In the event of an accident, the force of the rapid inflation of the airbag can cause severe injury if a rearfacing child restraint system is put on the front seat. S Unless it is unavoidable, do not put a forward-facing child restraint system on the front seat. S If you must install a forward-facing child restraint system on the front seat, move the seat as far back as possible. S Make sure that you have complied with all installation instructions provided by the child restraint manufacturer and that the system is properly secured. ! CAUTION S For effective protection in automobile accidents and sudden stops, children must be properly restrained using a seat belt or child restraint system depending on the age and size of the child. Holding a child in your arms is not a substitute for a child restraint system. In an accident, the child can be crushed against the windshield, or between you and the vehicle's interior. 41