LEXUS RX330 2006 Owners Manual

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420
4Acceleration cruising function: If the vehicle ahead
changes lanes, your vehicle cruising speed will be
gradually increased up to the preset speed, and your
vehicle resumes fixed−speed cruising.
This system operates by detecting primarily the reflectors
of the vehicle ahead. The distance may not be accurately
or absolutely detected in the following cases:
 The vehicle ahead has higher ground clearance, which
means that the placement of the reflectors is in a higher
position.
 The rear section of the vehicle ahead is extremely dirty.
 The vehicle ahead or other vehicles around you are
flinging up water or snow.
 Excessive exhaust gas (black smoke) is coming from
the vehicle ahead or other vehicles around you,
obscuring your front view.
 There is an obstruction (protective film, sticker , etc.) on
the reflectors on the vehicle ahead, or reflectors are not
installed on the vehicle ahead or are damaged.
 Heavy luggage in the luggage compartment or rear
seats is causing the nose of your vehicle to tilt up.CAUTION
To avoid accidents, always keep the laser radar sensor
glass clean and never allow it to be covered with icicle
or any substance, so it can detect the vehicle in front.
(See “(k) Laser radar sensor” on page 430.)

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421
CAUTION
Do not rely excessively on dynamic laser cruise control.
Observe the following precautions in order to avoid
serious injury or death:
 Under certain conditions when the vehicle in front
slows abruptly, or is stopped, the dynamic laser
cruise control may be unable to decelerate
automatically or to warn you. You must apply the
brakes manually in order to maintain a safe
vehicletovehicle distance or avoid collision.
Therefore, pay careful attention to following
distance, even when using the dynamic laser cruise
control.
 Do not use dynamic laser cruise control in the
following conditions:
In bad weather (such as rain, fog, snow, sandstorms
or direct sunlight, or when raindrops or snowflakes
get on the laser radar sensor glass), the
vehicletovehicle distance will not be measured
accurately.
When using the windshield wipers at high or low
speeds, the dynamic laser cruise control turns off.
On roads with heavy traffic or sharp bends, an
appropriate speed cannot be maintained and an
accident may occur.
On slippery road surfaces (icy or snowcovered road
surfaces), the tires will race and you will be unable to
control the vehicle.
When there is no vehicle detected ahead on steep
downhill slopes, the preset speed will be easily
exceeded because of inefficient engine braking. (In
this case, automatic braking will not work.) If there is
a vehicle detected ahead, the delay in deceleration
timing could cause serious injury or death.
When the alarm sounds frequently (because of
frequent changes of speed or insufficient
vehicletovehicle distance), this indicates that the
system cannot maintain an appropriate
vehicletovehicle distance and an accident may
occur.
On roads with steep and short inclines and declines,
failure to detect the vehicle ahead will shorten the
distance between your vehicle and the vehicle ahead
and an accident may occur.

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422
Deceleration cruising function and approach
warning do not operate when the vehicle ahead is at
a stop or driving very slowly.
 If the vehicle ahead of you decelerates abruptly or if
another vehicle cuts in ahead of you, your vehicle
may collide with the vehicle ahead unless you
manually depress the brake pedal to slow down your
vehicle.
 Depending on the road configuration (curved, left
and right continuous curved, the start or end of a
curve, or narrow driving lanes due to road
construction) or your vehicle condition (steering
wheel maneuvering, position in the lane, or unstable
driving because of an accident or breakdown),
vehicles in other lanes or surrounding objects may
be detected, resulting in a control failure or the
approach warning activation. This may also result in
a very close distance between vehicles due to a
failure to detect the vehicle ahead.
Dynamic laser cruise control should not be used in
circumstances which are inappropriate for any cruise control,
such as entering free way on− ramps or off−ramps.
CAUTION
Do not use dynamic laser cruise control when exiting
from or when entering or merging onto a freeway.
When you are following a slower moving vehicle and
exiting, the sensor does not detect the vehicle and
will accelerate to the preset speed.

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423
If other vehicles are driving outside of the laser radar
detection range, a delay in the detection of the
vehicle cutting in at short range or failure to detect a
motorcycle running on the side of the same lane will
occur. In this case, the dynamic laser cruise control
system will not function properly.
 When a slower vehicle in front of you leaves the lane,
the dynamic laser cruise control will no longer detect
a vehicle ahead and will attempt to accelerate the
vehicle to the faster preset speed.
(b) Turning the system on and off
To turn the dynamic laser cruise control on, press the
“ON−OFF” button. The “CRUISE” and “READY” indicator
lights on the instrument cluster will come on to indicate that the
vehicle −to−vehicle distance control mode is operational.
Pressing the “ON −OFF” button again turns the system off.
When the system is turned off, cruising speed and
vehicle −to−vehicle distance must be reset when the
vehicle −to−vehicle distance control mode is turned on again.
When the ignition is turned off, the system is also automatically
turned off. To use dynamic laser cruise control again, press the
“ON−OFF” button again to turn it on.
When the ignition is turned off, all the preset data is cleared.
When you use the dynamic laser cruise control again, you
need to reset the data.

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424
CAUTION
To avoid accidentally engaging the cruise control, turn
the system off when it is not in use. Make sure the
“CRUISE” indicator light is off.
(c) Setting the cruising speed
The transmission must be in the “D” position or the shift range
position must be “4” (fourth range) or “5” (fifth range) in “\
S”
mode (with multi−mode type) before you set the cruising
speed.

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425
Bring your vehicle to the desired speed, push the lever down
in the “−
SET” direction and release it. This sets the vehicle at
that speed. At this time, the display indicates settings such as
the preset vehicle speed, whether a vehicle is present ahead
and the selected following distance. If no vehicle is detected
ahead, the display does not indicate the vehicle ahead. You
can now take your foot off the accelerator pedal.
If you need to accelerate — for example, when passing —
depress the accelerator pedal enough for the vehicle to exceed
the preset speed. When you release the accelerator pedal, the
vehicle will return to the control prior to acceleration.
You cannot set a desired speed if the master warning light
comes on, the alarm sounds and the display indicates one of
the warning codes “E1”, “E2” or “E3”. If any of the above codes
appears on the display, see “(l) Vehicle −to−vehicle distance
control mode failure warning” on page 431. (d) Cancelling the vehicletovehicle distance control
mode
The vehicle
−to−vehicle distance control mode may be
temporarily cancelled by the driver or by the system itself under
certain circumstances. Temporary cancellation allows the set
cruising speed and vehicle −to−vehicle distance to remain in
memory.
The vehicle −to−vehicle distance control mode can be
temporarily cancelled by doing the following:
 Pulling the lever in the “CANCEL” direction and releasing it
 Depressing the brake pedal
Under certain circumstances, the vehicle −to− vehicle distance
control mode is temporarily cancelled:
 When vehicle speed falls below 40 km/h (25 mph)
 When vehicle stability control is activated
The “READY” indicator light comes on to indicate that the
system is still in operation.
To turn the system off, press the “ON −OFF” button. Make sure
the “CRUISE” indicator light is off.
If one of the warning codes “E1”, “E2” or “E3” appears\
on the
display, the preset speed automatically cancels out. See “(l)
Vehicle −to−vehicle distance control mode failure warning” on
page 431.
If the vehicle− to−vehicle distance control mode automatically
cancels out other than for the above cases, have your vehicle
checked by your Lexus dealer at the earliest opportunity.

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426(e) Resuming the vehicletovehicle distance control
mode
If the vehicle
−to− vehicle distance control mode is temporarily
cancelled, the cruising speed and vehicle −to− vehicle distance
can be resumed by pushing the lever up in the “+ RES”
direction.
Vehicle speed must be above 40 km/h (25 mph).
In vehicle −to−vehicle distance control mode, when vehicles
ahead leave your lane, your vehicle will gradually accelerate
up to the preset speed. Pushing the lever up in the “+RES”
direction returns your vehicle to the preset speed mode quickly. (f) Resetting to a faster speed
Push the lever up in the “+ RES” direction and hold it. The
displayed speed will increase in increments of 5 mph (for the
U.S.A.) or 5 km/h (for Canada). Release the lever when the
desired speed is attained. The vehicle speed will gradually
increase to the displayed speed.
However, a
faster way to reset is to accelerate the vehicle and
then push the lever down in the “ − SET” direction.
CAUTION
When the vehicletovehicle distance control is on,
your cruising speed is regulated to match the speed of
the vehicle ahead. Increasing the preset speed using
the control lever does not accelerate the vehicle.
However, if the vehicle ahead leaves your lane, your
cruising speed will increase to the speed set with the
control lever. Confirm the setting on the display.

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(g) Resetting to a slower speed
Push the lever down in the “
− SET” direction and hold it. The
displayed speed will decrease in increments of 5 mph (for
U.S.A.) or 5 km/h (for Canada). Release the lever when the
desired speed is attained. The vehicle speed will gradually
decrease to the displayed speed.
However, a faster way to reset is to depress the brake pedal
and then push the lever down in the “ − SET” direction.
If the control lever is released when the vehicle speed exceeds
the upper limit of the preset speed traveling downhill while you
are pushing the lever down, the system will memorize the
upper limit of the preset speed as a preset speed.
With automatic transmission (standard type) —
Even if you downshift the transmission from “D” to “4” in th\
e
vehicle −to−vehicle distance control mode, engine braking will
not be enabled because this mode is not cancelled. To
decrease the vehicle speed, reset to a slower speed with the
cruise control lever or depress the brake pedal. If you use the
brake pedal, cruise control is cancelled.
With automatic transmission (multi −mode type) —
Even if you downshift the transmission from “D” or “5” (fif\
th
range) to the “4” (fourth range) in the vehicle −to−vehicle
distance control mode, engine braking will not be enabled
because this mode is not cancelled. To decrease the vehicle
speed, reset to a slower speed with the cruise control lever or
depress the brake pedal. If you use the brake pedal, cruise
control is cancelled. (h) Changing vehicletovehicle distance
1Long2Middle3Short
You can select one of the distances listed below.
1. Long
2. Middle
3. Short
Pulling the distance switch briefly towards you allows you to
toggle between long, middle and short vehicle −to−vehicle
distances. You can confirm the setting on the display.
Your vehicle speed changes to match the speed of the vehicle
ahead, maintaining the selected distance. However, if the
vehicle ahead slows, the actual vehicle −to−vehicle distance
will be shorter than the set distance.
When the vehicle−to−vehicle distance control mode is
activated or the “READY” indicator comes on, the
vehicle −to−vehicle distance setting can be changed.

STARTING AND DRIVING
428The vehicle
−to− vehicle distance is always set to long when the
ignition switch is turned on.
Select the vehicle −to−vehicle distance considering traffic
conditions. The approximate vehicle −to−vehicle distance
based on time interval when driving at 88 km/h (55 mph) is
shown below:
Long about 75 m (245 ft.)
. . . . . . . . . .
Middle about 50 m (165 ft.)
. . . . . . . .
Short about 30 m (100 ft.)
. . . . . . . . .
If vehicle speeds are slower than 88 km/h (55 mph), the
distance will be shorter than that listed above.
During long downhill driving, the actual vehicle −to−vehicle
distance may be less than that selected by the driver. (i) Braking control
Dynamic laser cruise control is not a collision avoidance
system. If the approach warning is activated, decelerate by
applying the brakes to ensure an appropriate
vehicle
−to−vehicle distance.
If you are nearing the vehicle ahead traveling at a higher speed
than the vehicle ahead or if engine braking cannot be applied
properly, braking control is automatically activated. At this
time, the display flashes.
Braking control operates only when the vehicle −to−vehicle
distance control mode is selected and your vehicle speed
exceeds about 40 km/h (25 mph). If the speed falls below
about 40 km/h (25 mph), braking control will cease, requiring
the manual application of brakes.

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CAUTION
Braking control will not ensure that your vehicle will
reduce speed appropriately. You must depress the
brake pedal to slow down, in order to avoid a collision
or to maintain sufficient vehicletovehicle distance.
(j) Approach warning
While you are cruising in the vehicle−to−vehicle distance
control mode, if the vehicle ahead decelerates abruptly or if
another vehicle cuts in ahead of you, your vehicle may come
closer to the vehicle ahead. The display will flash and beep to
alert you.
CAUTION
 If the display flashes and beeps, this indicates that
you must depress the brake pedal in order to slow
down sufficiently to avoid a collision or maintain
appropriate vehicletovehicle distance.
 In the following conditions, the approach warning
may not turn on even if the vehicle drives closer to the
vehicle ahead, and an accident may occur:
Your vehicle and the vehicle ahead are cruising at
almost the same speed.
The vehicle ahead is cruising at a faster speed than
yours. (The distance between the vehicles will
become longer.)
The vehicle ahead is at a stop or driving very slowly.
Pay special attention to a very slow vehicle at the end
of the line in heavy traffic or at a tollgate.
The speed has just been set.
The accelerator pedal is depressed or has just been
released.