TOYOTA AVALON 1997 Manual Online

73
If one of the following conditions occurs,
this
indicates a malfunction somewhere in
the parts monitors by the warning light
system. Contact your Toyota dealer as
soon as possible to service the vehicle.

The light remains on more than 3 sec-
onds after the ignition switch is turned
on.

The light comes on while driving even
if the TRAC OFFº switch is not
pushed.

The light flashes.
(l) Key Reminder Buzzer
This buzzer reminds you to remove the
key when you open the driver's door with
the ignition key in the ACCº or LOCKº
position. CHECKING SERVICE REMINDER
INDI-
CATORS (except the low fuel level
warning light)
1. Apply the parking brake.
2. Open one of the doors. The open door warning light should
come on.
3. Close the door. The open door warning light should go
off.
4. Turn the ignition key to ACCº. The SRS airbag warning light should
come on. It goes off after about 6 sec-
onds.
5. Turn the ignition key to ONº, but do not start the engine.
All the service reminder indicators ex-
cept the open door warning light and
SRS airbag warning light should come
on. The ABSº warning light goes off
after about 3 seconds.
If any service reminder indicator or warn-
ing buzzer does not function as described
above, either the bulb is burned out or the
circuit is in need of repair. Have it checked
by your Toyota dealer as soon as pos-
sible.ProCarManuals.com

74ProCarManuals.com

Part 1
Ignition switch with steering
lock
75
OPERATION OF
INSTRUMENTS AND
CONTROLSÐ
Chapter 1-6
Ignition switch,
Transmission
and Parking brake
Ignition swi tch with steering lock
 Automatic transmission
 Parking brake
 Cruise control
STARTº - Starter motor on. The key
will return to the ONº position when
released.
For starting tips, see Part 3.
ONº - Engine on and all accessories
on.
This is the normal driving position.
ACCº - Accessories such as the ra-
dio operate, but the engine is off.
If you leave the key in the ACCº or
LOCKº position and open the driver's
door, a buzzer will remind you to remove
the key.
LOCKº - Engine is off and the steer-
ing wheel is locked. The key can be re-
moved only at this position. You must push in the key to turn the key
from ACCº to the LOCKº position. On
vehicles with an automatic transmission,
the selector lever must be put in the Pº
position before pushing the key.
When starting the engine, the key may
seem stuck at the LOCKº position. To
free it, first be sure the key is pushed all
the way in, and then rock the steering
wheel slightly
while turning the key gently.
NOTICE
Do not leave the key in the ONº position if the engine is not running.
The battery will discharge and theignition could be damaged.
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When the cruise control is being used, even if you downshift the transmissio\
n by turning off the overdrive switch, engine braking
will not be applied because the cruise control is not cancelled. For ways to\
decrease the vehicle speed, see Cruise controlº i n
this chapter.
76
Automatic transmission

Floor shift type
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When the cruise control is being used, even if you downshift the transmissio\
n by turning off the overdrive switch, engine braking
will not be applied because the cruise control is not cancelled. For ways to\
decrease the vehicle speed, see Cruise controlº i n this
chapter.
77


Column shift typeProCarManuals.com

78Your automatic transmission has a shift
lock system to minimize the possibility of
incorrect operation. This means you can
only shift out of Pº position when the
brake
pedal is depressed (with the ignition
switch in ONº position and the lock re-
lease button on the floor shift type trans-
mission depressed or the selector lever
on the column shift type transmission
pulled toward you).
(a) Normal Driving
1. Start the engine as instructed in How
to start the engineº in Part 3. The trans-
mission must be in Pº or Nº.
2. With your foot holding down the brake pedal, shift the selector lever to Dº.
In Dº position, the automatic transmis-
sion system will select the most suitable
gear for running conditions such as nor-
mal cruising, hill climbing, hard towing,
etc.
Always turn the overdrive switch on for
better fuel economy and quieter driving. If
the engine coolant temperature is low, the
transmission will not shift into overdrive
gear even with the overdrive switch on.
Never put your foot in the accelera-
tor pedal while shifting. CAUTION
!
3. Release the parking brake and brake
pedal. Depress the accelerator pedal
slowly for smooth starting.
(b) Using engine braking
To use engine braking, you can downshift
the transmission as follows:
 Turn off the overdrive switch. The O/D
OFFº indicator light will come on and
the transmission will downshift to the
third gear.
 Shift into the 2º position. The trans-
mission will downshift to the second
gear when the vehicle speed drops
down to or lower than 136 km/h (83
mph), and more powerful engine brak-
ing will be obtained. 
Shift into the Lº position. The trans-
mission will downshift to the first gear
when the vehicle speed drops down to
or lower than 61 km/h (37 mph), and
maximum engine braking will be ap-
plied.
Vehicles with cruise controlÐWhen the
cruise control is being used, even if you
downshift the transmission by turning off
the overdrive switch, engine braking is not
applied because the cruise control is not
cancelled. For ways to decrease the ve-
hicle speed, see Cruise controlº in this
chapter.
Be careful when downshifting on a
slippery surface. Abrupt shifting
could cause the vehicle to spin or
skid. CAUTION
!
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79
(c) Using the 2º and Lº positions
The 2º and Lº positions are used for
strong engine braking as described pre-
viously.
With the selector lever in 2º or Lº, you
can start the vehicle in motion as with the
lever in Dº.
With the selector lever in 2º, the vehicle
will
start in the first gear and automatically
shift to the second gear.
With the selector lever in Lº, the trans-
mission is engaged in the first gear.
NOTICE
Be careful not to overrev the en- gine. Watch the tachometer to
keep engine rpm from going intothe red zone. The approximate
maximum allowable speed foreach position is given below for
your reference: 2º 126 km/h (77 mph). . . . . .
Lº 68 km/h (41 mph) . . . . .
Do not continue hill climbing or
hard towing for a long time in the
2º or Lº position. This maycause severe automatic transmis-
sion damage from overheating.To prevent such damage, Dº
position should be used in hillclimbing or hard towing.
(d) Backing up
1. Bring the vehicle to a complete stop.
2. With the brake pedal held down with
your foot, shift the selector lever to the
Rº position.
NOTICE
Never shift into reverse while the vehicle is moving.
(e) Parking
1. Bring the vehicle to a complete stop.
2. With the brake pedal pressed down, fully depress the parking brake pedal
to apply the parking brake securely.
3. With the brake pedal pressed down, shift the selector lever to the Pº posi-
tion.
While the vehicle is moving, never
attempt to move the selector lever
into Pº position under any circum-
stances. Serious mechanical dam-
age and loss of vehicle control may
result. CAUTION
!
(f) Good driving practice

If the transmission is repeatedly up-
shifted and downshifted between third
gear and overdrive when climbing a
gentle slope, the overdrive switch
should be turned off. Be sure to turn
the switch on immediately afterward.
 When towing a trailer, in order to main-
tain engine braking efficiency, do not
use overdrive.
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80
Always keep your foot on the brake
pedal while stopped with the engine
running. This prevents the vehicle
from creeping.CAUTION
!
NOTICE
Do not hold the vehicle on an upgrade with the accelerator pedal.
It can cause the transmission tooverheat. Always use the brake
pedal or parking brake.
(g) Rocking your vehicle if stuck
If you rock your vehicle to make it
out when it becomes stuck in snow,
mud, sand, etc., first check that
there is no physical object or people
around the vehicle. During opera-
tion, the vehicle may suddenly
move forward or backward, causing
injury or damage to nearby people
or objects. CAUTION
!
NOTICE
If you rock your vehicle, observe the following precautions to prevent
damage to the transmission andother parts.
Do not depress the acceleratorpedal while shifting the selectorlever or before the transmission is
completely shifted to forward orreverse gear.
Do not race the engine and avoidspinning the wheels.
If your vehicle remains stuck afterrocking the vehicle several times,
consider other ways such as tow-ing.
(h) If you cannot shift the selector lever out of Pº position
If you cannot shift the selector lever from
the Pº position even though the brake
pedal is depressed, use the shift lock
override button. For instructions, see If
you cannot shift automatic transmission
selector leverº in Part 4. (i) Driving in PWRº (Power) mode
In the PWRº mode, the transmission is
shifted up and down at a higher vehicle
speed
than in the NORMº (Normal) mode
and a more powerful acceleration is
achieved. To set the PWRº mode, push
in the driving pattern selector button. The
PWRº mode indicator light comes on.
For ordinary driving, Toyota recommends
using the NORMº mode to improve fuel
economy.
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81
Type A
Type BWhen parking, firmly apply the park-
ing brake to avoid inadvertent creep-
ing.
To set: Fully depress the pedal. For better
holding power, first depress the brake
pedal and hold it while setting the brake.
To release: Pull the lever.
To remind you that the parking brake is
set,
the parking brake reminder light in the
instrument panel remains on until you re-
lease the parking brake.
Before driving, be sure the parking
brake is fully released and the park-
ing brake reminder light is off. CAUTION
!
The cruise control allows you to cruise
the vehicle at a desired speed over 40
km/h (25 mph) even with your foot off
the accelerator pedal.
Your cruising speed can be maintained up
or down grades within the limits of engine
performance, although a slight speed
change may occur when driving up or
down the grades. On steeper hills, a
greater speed change will occur so it is
better to drive without the cruise control.

To help maintain maximum con-
trol of your vehicle, do not use the
cruise control when driving in
heavy or varying traffic, or in slip-
pery (rainy, icy or snow-covered)
or winding roads.
 Avoid vehicle speed increases
when driving downhill. If the ve-
hicle speed is too fast in relation to
the cruise control set speed, can-
cel the cruise control then down-
shift the transmission to use en-
gine braking to slow down. CAUTION
!
Parking brake Cruise control
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82
TURNING ON THE SYSTEM
To operate the cruise control, press the
CRUISE ON-OFFº switch. This turns the
system on. The indicator light in the instru-
ment panel shows that you can now set
the vehicle at a desired cruising speed.
Another press will turn the system com-
pletely off.
To avoid accidental cruise control
engagement, keep the CRUISE
ON-OFFº switch off when not using
the cruise control. CAUTION
!
SETTING AT A DESIRED SPEED
On vehicles with automatic transmission,
the transmission must be in Dº before
you set the cruise control speed.
Bring your vehicle to the desired speed,
push the lever down in the SET/COASTº
direction and release it. This sets the ve-
hicle at that speed. If the speed is not sat-
isfactory, tap the lever up for a faster
speed, or tap it down for a slower speed.
Each tap changes the set speed by 1.6
km/h (1.0 mph). You can now take your
foot off the accelerator pedal. If you need acceleration Ð for example,
when passingÐdepress the accelerator
pedal
enough for the vehicle to exceed the
set speed. When you release it, the ve-
hicle will return to the speed set prior to the
acceleration.
CANCELLING THE PRESET SPEED
You can cancel the preset speed by:
a. Pulling the lever in the CANCELº di-
rection and releasing it.
b. Depressing the brake pedal.
If the vehicle speed falls below about 40
km/h (25 mph), the preset speed will auto-
matically cancel out.
If the vehicle speed drops 16 km/h (10
mph) below the preset speed, the preset
speed will also automatically cancel out.
If the preset speed automatically cancels
out other than for the above cases have
your vehicle checked by your Toyota deal-
er at the earliest opportunity.
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