Toyota RAV4 1998, Operating Manual

Page: 55 / 227

’98 Rav4.U
55
—Child restraint system
A child restraint system for a small
child or baby must itself be properly
restrained on the seat with either the
lap belt or the lap portion of the lap/
shoulder belt. You must carefully con-
sult the manufacturer’s instructions
which accompany your child restraint
system.
To provide proper restraint, use a child
restraint system following the manufactur-
er’s instructions about the appropriate age
and size of the child for the child restraint
system.
Install the child restraint system correctly
following the instructions provided by its
manufacturer of the system. General
directions are also provided under the fol-
lowing illustrations.
The child restraint system should be
installed on the rear seat. According to
accident statistics, the child is safer when
properly restrained in the rear seat than
in the front seat.
CAUTION
Never put a rear- facing child re-
straint system on the front seat. In
the event of an accident, the force
of the rapid inflation of the airbag
can cause death or serious injury if
a rear- facing child restraint system
is put on the front seat.
Unless it is unavoidable, do not put
a forward- facing child restraint sys-
tem on the front seat.
A forward- facing child restraint sys-
tem should be allowed to put on
the front seat only when it is un-
avoidable. Always move the seat as
far back as possible, because the
force of a deploying airbag could
cause death or serious injury to the
child.
After installing the child restraint
system, make sure it is secured in
place following the manufacturer’s
instructions. If it is not restrained
securely, it may cause death or se-
rious injury to the child in the
event of a sudden stop or accident.
When not using the child restraint system,
keep it secured with the seat belt or place
it somewhere other than the passenger
compartment. This will prevent it from in-
juring passengers in the event of a sud-
den stop or accident.
Your vehicle has anchors for securing the
top strap of a child restraint system. The
anchor nuts are welded beneath the sheet
metal to permit installation of an anchor
bracket for a child restraint system.
To install an anchor bracket, use an 8 mm
X 30 mm X 1.25 mm coarse thread metric
bolt and a 10 mm (0.4 in.) spacer. Note
that the bolts accompanying many child
restraint systems are not metric. You can
damage the anchor nuts on your vehicle
if you force bolts with different thread into
the anchor nuts.
For instructions about how to install the
anchor braket, see ”Top strap anchors and
locations”.
If your child restraint system does not
provide any of the necessary parts, you
can purchase the following items from
your Toyota dealer.
* CRS installation kit
(Part No. 04731- 22012) —contains 1
bolt, 3 types of spacers and 1 locking
clip.