TOYOTA AVALON 1996 Workshop Manual

50
NOTICE
To prevent the battery from being discharged, do not leave the lights
on for a long period when theengine is not running.
Daytime running light system (Canada
only)
The headlights turn on when the parking
brake is released with the engine started,
even with the light switch in the OFFº
position. They will not go off until the igni-
tion switch is turned off.
To turn on the other exterior lights and in-
strument panel lights, twist the knob to the
position 1.
Under the daytime running light system,
the headlights turn on at reduced intensi-
ty. Twist the knob to the position 2 to turn
to full intensity for driving at night.
High-Low beamsÐFor high beams,
turn the headlights on and push the lever
away from you (position 1). Pull the lever
toward you (position 2) for low beams.
The headlight high beam indicator light
(blue light) on the instrument panel will tell
you that the high beams are on.
Flashing the high beam headlights
(position 3)ÐPull the lever all the way
back. The high beam headlights turn off
when you release the lever.
You can flash the high beam headlights
with knob turned to OFFº.TURN SIGNALS
To signal a turn, push the headlight/
turn signal lever up or down to posi-
tion 1.
The key must be in the ONº position.
The lever automatically returns after you
make a turn, but you may have to return
it by hand after you change lanes.
To signal a lane change, move the lever
up or down to the pressure point (position
2) and hold it.
If the turn signal indicator lights (green
lights) on the instrument panel flash faster
than normal, a front or rear turn signal bulb
is burned out.
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HEADLIGHTS
To turn on the following lights: Twist
the headlight/turn signal lever knob.
Position 1ÐParking, tail, license plate,
side marker and instrument panel lights
Position 2ÐHeadlights and all of the
above
The lights automatically turn off when the
driver's door is opened with the ignition
key turned off. To turn them on again, turn
the key to the ONº position or actuate the
headlight switch. If you are going to park
for over one week, make sure the head-
light switch is off.
NOTICE
To prevent the battery from being discharged, do not leave the lights
on for a long period when the engineis not running.
Daytime running light system (Canada
only)
The headlights turn on when the parking
brake is released with the engine started,
even with the light switch in the OFFº
position. They will not go off until the igni-
tion switch is turned off.
To turn on the other exterior lights and in-
strument panel lights, twist the knob to the
position 1.
Under the daytime running light system,
the headlights turn on at reduced intensi-
ty. Twist the knob to the position 2 to turn
to full intensity for driving at night.
High-Low beamsÐFor high beams,
turn the headlights on and push the lever
away from you (position 1). Pull the lever
toward you (position 2) for low beams.
The headlight high beam indicator light
(blue light) on the instrument panel will tell
you that the high beams are on.
Flashing the high beam headlights
(position 3)ÐPull the lever all the way
back. The high beam headlights turn off
when you release the lever.
You can flash the high beam headlights
with knob turned to OFFº.
Headlights and turn signals
(without automatic light
control system)
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TURN SIGNAL
To signal a turn, push the headlight/
turn signal lever up or down to posi-
tion 1.
The key must be in the ONº position.
The lever automatically returns after you
make a turn, but you may have to return
it by hand after you change lanes.
To signal a lane change, move the lever
up or down to the pressure point (position
2) and hold it.
If the turn signal indicator lights (green
lights) on the instrument panel flash faster
than normal, a front or rear turn signal bulb
is burned out.To turn on the emergency flashers,
push the switch.
All the turn signal lights will flash. To turn
them off, push the switch once again.
Turn on the emergency flashers to warn
other drivers if your vehicle must be
stopped where it might be a traf fic hazard.
Always pull as far off the road as possible.
The turn signal light switch will not work
when the emergency flashers are operat-
ing.
NOTICE
To prevent the battery from being discharged, do not leave the switch
on longer than necessary when theengine is not running.
Emergency flashers
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To adjust the brightness of the instru-
ment panel lights, turn the dial.Type A
Type B
Type C
To turn on the interior light, slide the
switch.
The interior light switch has the following
positions:
ONºÐKeeps the light on all the time.
OFFºÐTurns the light off.
DOORºÐTurns the light on when a door
is opened. The light goes off when the
doors is closed.
Instrument panel light control Interior light
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With moon roof
Without moon roofTo turn on the front personal lights,
push the switch. To turn the lights off,
push the switch once again.
To turn on the rear personal light, push
the switch. To turn the light off, push
the switch once again.
Front personal lights
Rear personal lights
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For easy access to the ignition switch,
the ignition switch light comes on
when any of the side doors are
opened.
The light remains on for a certain time af-
ter all the side doors are closed.To turn on the windshield wipers,
move the lever to the desired setting.
The key must be in the ONº position.Lever position
Speed setting
Position 1Intermittent
Position 2Slow
Position 3Fast
For a single sweep of the windshield, pull
the lever toward you and release it.
With interval adjuster: The INT TIMEº
band lets you adjust the wiping time inter-
val when the wiper lever is in the intermit-
tent position (position 1). Twist the band
upward to increase the time between
sweeps, and downward to decrease it. To squirt washer fluid, push the button
at the end of the lever.
If the windshield wipers are off, they will
operate a couple of times after the washer
squirts.
For instructions on adding washer fluid,
see Adding washer fluidº in Chapter 7-3.
In freezing weather, warm the windshield
with the defroster before using the wash-
er. This will help prevent the washer fluid
from freezing on your windshield, which
can block your vision.
NOTICE
Do not operate the wipers if the windshield is dry. It may scratch the
glass.
Ignition switch light Windshield wipers and washer
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To spray fluid on the headlights, turn
the headlights on and push the switch.
The key must be in the ONº position.
Check the fluid level of the see-through
headlight cleaner tank every so often.
Use washer fluid for replenishment. For
information on adding fluid, see Adding
washer fluidº in Chapter 7-3.
NOTICE
Do not turn the headlight cleaner on with the tank empty. It may cause
the cleaner motor to overheat.
To defog or defrost the rear window,
push the switch.
The key must be in the ONº position.
The thin heater wires on the inside of the
rear window will quickly clear the surface.
An indicator light will illuminate to indicate
the defogger is operating.
Push the switch once again to turn the de-
fogger off.
The system will automatically shut off af-
ter the defogger has operated about 15
minutes. Make sure you turn the defoggers off
when the surfaces are clear. Leaving the
defoggers on for a long time could cause
the battery to discharge, especially during
stop-and-go driving. The defoggers are
not designed for drying rain water or for
melting snow.
NOTICE
When cleaning the inside of the rear
window, be careful not to scratch or
damage the heater wires.
Headlight cleaner Rear window defogger
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Part 1Fuel gauge
57
OPERATION OF
INSTRUMENTS AND
CONTROLSÐ
Chapter 1-5
Gauges, Meters
and Service reminder
indicators

Fuel gauge

Engine coolant temperature
gauge

Tachometer

Odometer and trip meter

Thermometer

Service reminder indicators
and warning buzzers
The gauge works when the ignition
switch is on and indicates the approxi-
mate quantity of fuel remaining in the
tank.
Nearly fullÐNeedle at Fº
Nearly emptyÐNeedle at Eº
It is a good idea to keep the tank over 1/4
full.
This fuel gauge has a non-return type
needle wh ich remains at the last indicated
position when the ignition switch is turned
off.
If the fuel level approaches Eº or the low
fuel level warning light comes on, fill the
fuel tank as soon as possible.
If the fuel tank is completely empty, the
malfunction indicator lamp comes on. Fill
the fuel tank immediately. The indicator lamp goes off after driving
several times. If the indicator lamp does
not go off, contact your Toyota dealer as
soon as possible.
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The gauge indicates the engine cool-
ant temperature when the ignition
switch is on. The engine operating
temperature will vary with changes in
weather and engine load.
If the needle moves into the red zone,
your engine is too hot. If your vehicle over-
heats, stop your vehicle and allow the en-
gine to cool.
Your vehicle may overheat during severe
operating conditions, such as:

Driving up a long hill on a hot day.

Reducing speed or stopping after high
speed driving.

Idling for a long period with the air con-
ditioning on in stop-and-go traffic.

Towing a trailer.
NOTICE
Do not remove the thermostat in
the engine cooling system as this
may cause the engine to overheat. The thermostat is designed tocontrol the flow of coolant to keep
the temperature of the engine within the specified operatingrange.
Do not continue driving with an
overheated engine. See If yourvehicle overheatsº in Part 4.
The tachometer indicates engine
speed in thousands of rpm (revolu-
tions per minute). Use it while driving
to select correct shift points and to
prevent engine lugging and overrev-
ving.
Driving with the engine running too fast
causes excessive engine wear and poor
fuel economy. Remember, in most cases
the slower the engine speed, the greater
the fuel economy.
NOTICE
Do not let the indicator needle get into the red zone. This may cause
severe engine damage.
Tachometer
Engine coolant temperature
gauge
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These meters show the running dis-
tance.
1. OdometerÐIt shows the total distance
the vehicle has been driven.
2. Trip meterÐIt shows the distance driv-
en since the last time it was set to zero.
The black digits on white indicate tenths of
kilometers or miles.
3. Trip meter reset knobÐIt resets the
trip meter to zero.
To reset the trip meter, push the knob.Type A
Type B The thermometer indicates the out-
side air temperatures with the ignition
key at the ONº position.
When the tail lights are turned on, the
brightness of the display will be reduced.
Odometer and trip meter Thermometer
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