TOYOTA CELICA 1996 Owners Manual

144
Convertible top
Wash using mild soap suds, lukewarm
water and a sponge.
NOTICE
Do not use harsh or abrasive cleaners or bleaching agents on the
top material or damage may result.
If further cleaning is required after using
soap and water, a mild foaming cleaner
can be used. First, rinse the top, then use
a mild foaming cleaner on the entire top.
Scrub with a small soft bristle handbrush.
Add water as needed until the cleaner
gets soapy. Use a cloth or sponge to re-
move dirt so it will not be ground into the
top. Be careful to keep any cleaner from
drying on the body paint as it may cause
streaks.
After the top has been cleaned, rinse ve-
hicle with cl ean water to remove all traces
of cleaner.
After cleaning, always make sure the top
is completely dry before your lowered it.
Lowering the top while wet or damp may
cause interior water damage, water stains
or mildew of the top material. Vinyl interior
The vinyl upholstery may be easily
cleaned with a mild soap or detergent
and water.
First vacuum over the upholstery to re-
move loose dirt. Then, using a sponge or
soft
cloth, apply the soap solution to the vi-
nyl. After allowing it to soak in for a few
minutes to loosen the dirt, remove the dirt
and wipe off the soap with a clean damp
cloth. If all the dirt does not come off, re-
peat the procedure. Commercial foam-
ing-type vinyl cleaners are also available
which work well. Follow the manufactur-
er's instructions.
NOTICE
Do not use solvent, thinner, gasoline or window cleaner on the
interior.
Carpets
Use a good foam-type shampoo to
clean the carpets.
Begin by vacuuming thoroughly to re-
move as much dirt as possible. Several
types of foam cleaners are available,
some are in aerosol cans and others are
powders or liquids which you mix with wa-
ter to produce a foam. To shampoo the
carpets, use a sponge or brush to apply
the foam. Rub in overlapping circles. Do not apply water ± the best results are
obtained by keeping the carpet as dry as
possible. Read the shampoo instructions
and follow them closely.
Seat belts
The seat belts may be cleaned with
mild soap and water or with lukewarm
water.
Use a cloth or sponge. As you are clean-
ing, check the belts for excessive wear,
fraying, or cuts.
NOTICE
Do not use dye or bleach on the belts-it may weaken them.
Windows
The windows may be cleaned with any
household window cleaner.
When cleaning the inside of the windows, be careful not to scratch
or damage the heater wires on therear window.
NOTICE
Air conditioning control panel, car au-
dio, instrument panel, console panel,
and switches
Use a soft damp cloth for cleaning.
Soak a clean soft cloth in water or luke-
warm water then lightly wipe off any dirt.
Cleaning the interior
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Do not use organic substances(solvents, kerosene, alcohol, gas-
oline, etc.) or alkaline or acidicsolutions. These chemicals cancause discoloring, staining or
peeling of the surface.
If you use cleaners or polishingagents, make sure their ingredi-
ents do not include the sub-stances mentioned above.
If you use a liquid car freshener,do not apply the liquid onto the ve-
hicle's interior surfaces. It may contain the ingredients men-
tioned above. Immediately cleanany spill using the method men-tioned above.
NOTICE
Leather Interior
The leather uphostery may be cleaned
with neutral detergent for wool.
Remove dirt using a soft cloth dampened
with 5% solution of neutral detergent for
wool. Then throughly wipe off all traces of
detergent with a clean damp cloth.
After cleaning or whenever any part of the
leather gets wet, dry with a soft clean
cloth. Allow the leather to dry in a vente-
lated shaded area. 
If a stain should fail to come out
with a neutral detergent, apply a
cleaner that does not contain anorganic solvent.
Never use organic substancessuch as benzine, alcohol or gaso-line, or alkaline or acid solutionsfor cleaning the leather as these
could cause discoloring.
Use of a nylon brush or syntheticfiber cloth, etc. may scratch the
fine grained surface of the leather.
Mildew may develop on soiled
leather upholstery. Be especially
careful to avoid oil spots. Try tokeep your upholstery alwaysclean.
Long exposure to direct sunlight
may cause the leather surface toharden and shrink. Keep your ve-
hicle in a shaded area, especiallyin the summer.
The interior of your vehicle is aptto heat up on hot summer days, soavoid placing on the upholsteryitems made of vinyl or plastic or
containing wax as these tend tostick to leather when warm.
Improper cleaning of the leatherupholstery could result in discol-oration or staining.
NOTICEIf you have any questions about the
cleaning of your Toyota, your local To-
yota dealer will be pleased to answer
them.
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146ProCarManuals.com

Part 6Maintenance requirements147
VEHICLE
MAINTENANCE AND
CARE

Maintenance requirements

General maintenance

Does your vehicle need
repairing?
For scheduled maintenance
information, please refer to the
separate Owner's Manual
Supplement/Maintenance
Scheduleº.
Your Toyota vehicle has been designed to
for fewer maintenance requirements with
longer service intervals to save both your
time and money. However, each regular
maintenance, as well as day-to-day
care, is more important than ever before
to ensure smooth, and trouble-free, safe,
and economical drivings.
It is the owner's responsibility to make
sure the specified maintenance, including
general maintenance service, is per-
formed. Note that both the new vehicle
and emission control system warranties
specify that proper maintenance and care
must be performed. See Owner's Guide,
Owner 's Manual Supplement or W arranty
Booklet for complete warranty informa-
tion.
General maintenance
General maintenance items are those
day-to-day care practices that are impor-
tant to your vehicle for proper operation.
It is the owner's responsibility to ensure
that the general maintenance items are
performed regularly.
These checks or inspections can be done
either by yourself or a qualified technician,
or if you prefer, your Toyota dealer will be
pleased to do them at a nominal cost. Scheduled maintenance
The scheduled maintenance items listed
in the Owner's Manual Supplement/
Maintenance Scheduleº are those re-
quired to be serviced at regular intervals.
For details of your maintenance schedule,
read the separate ºOwner's Manual Sup-
plement/Maintenance Scheduleº.
It is recommended that any replace-
ment parts used for maintenance or
for the repair of the emission control
system be Toyota supplied.
The owner may elect to use non-Toyo-
ta supplied parts for replacement pur-
poses without invalidating the emis-
sion
control system warranty. Howev-
er, use of replacement parts which are
not of equivalent quality may impair
the effectiveness of the emission con-
trol systems.
You may also elect to have mainte-
nance, replacement, or repair of the
emission control devices and system
performed by any automotive repair
establishment or individual without
invalidating this warranty. See Own-
er's Guide, Owner's Manual Supple-
ment or Warranty Booklet for complete
warranty information.
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Where to go for service?
Toyota technicians are well-trained spe-
cialists and are kept up to date with the lat-
est service information through technical
bulletins, service tips, and in-dealership
training programs. They learn to work on
Toyotas before they work on your vehicle,
rather than while they are working on it.
You can be confident that your Toyota
dealer's service department performs the
best job to meet the maintenance require-
ments on your vehicleÐreliably and eco-
nomically.
Your copy of the repair order is proof that
all required maintenance has been per-
formed for warranty coverage. And if any
problems should arise with your vehicle
while under warranty, your Toyota dealer
will promptly take care of it. Again, be sure
to keep a copy of the repair order for any
service performed on your Toyota.
What about do-it-yourself mainte-
nance?
Many of the maintenance items are easy
to do yourself if you have a little mechani-
cal ability and a few basic automotive
tools. Simple instructions for how to per-
form them are presented in Part 7. If you are a skilled do-it-yourself me-
chanic, the Toyota service manuals are
recommended. Please be aware that do-
it-yourself maintenance can affect your
warranty coverage. See Owner's Guide,
Owner 's
Manual Supplement or W arranty
Booklet for the details. Listed
below are the general maintenance
items that should be performed as fre-
quently as specified. In addition to check-
ing the items listed, if you notice any un-
usual noise, smell or vibration, you should
investigate the cause or take your vehicle
to your T oyota dealer or a qualified service
shop immediately. It is recommended
that any problem you notice be brought to
the attention of your dealer or the qualified
service shop for their advice.
Make these checks only where
adequate ventilation can be ob-
tained if you run the engine. CAUTION
!
OUTSIDE THE VEHICLE
Items listed below should be per-
formed from time to time, unless
otherwise specified.
Tire pressure
Check the pressure with a gauge every
two weeks, or at least once a month. See
Chapter 7-2 for additional information.
General maintenance
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Tire surface and wheel nuts
Check the tires carefully for cuts, damage
or excessive wear. See Chapter 7-2 for
additional information. When checking
the tires, make sure no nuts are missing,
and check the nuts for looseness. T ighten
them if necessary.
Tire rotation
Rotate the tires every 12000 km (7500
miles). See Chapter 7-2 for additional in-
formation.
Fluid leaks
Check underneath for leaking fuel, oil, wa-
ter or other fluid after the vehicle has been
parked for a while. If you smell fuel fumes
or notice any leak, have the cause found
and corrected immediately.
Doors and engine hood
Check that all doors including trunk lid or
back door operate smoothly and all
latches lock securely. Make sure the en-
gine hood secondary latch secures the
hood from opening when the primary latch
is released.
INSIDE THE VEHICLE
Items listed below should be checked
regularly, e.g. while performing peri-
odic services, cleaning the vehicle,
etc. Lights
Make sure the headlights, stop lights, tail
lights, turn signal lights, and other lights
are all working. Check headlight aim.
Service reminder indicators and
warn-
ing buzzers
Check that all service reminder indicators
and warning buzzers function properly.
Steering wheel
Be alert for changes in steering condition,
such as hard steering or strange noise.
Seats
Check that all front seat controls such as
seat adjusters, seatback recliner, etc. op-
erate smoothly and that all latches lock
securely in any position. Check that the
head restraints move up and down
smoothly and that the locks hold securely
in any latched postiion. For folding-down
rear seatbacks, check that the latches
lock securely.
Seat belts
Check that the seat belt system such as
buckles, retractors and anchors operate
properly and smoothly. Make sure the belt
webbing is not cut, frayed, worn or dam-
aged. Accelerator pedal
Check
the pedal for smooth operation and
uneven pedal effort or catching.
Clutch pedal
Check the pedal for smooth operation.
Brake pedal
Check the pedal for smooth operation and
that the pedal has the proper clearance.
Check the brake booster function.
Brakes
At a safe place, check that the brakes do
not pull to one side when applied.
Parking brake
Check that the lever has the proper travel
and that, on a safe incline, your vehicle is
held securely with only the parking brake
applied.
Automatic transmission Parkº mech-
anism
Check the lock release button of the se-
lector lever for proper and smooth opera-
tion. On a safe incline, check that your ve-
hicle is held securely with the selector
lever in Pº position and all brakes re-
leased.
IN THE ENGINE COMPARTMENT
Items listed below should be checked
from time to time , e.g. each time when
refueling.
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150
Washer fluid
Make sure there is sufficient fluid in the
tank. See Chapter 7-3 for additional infor-
mation.
Engine coolant level
Make sure the coolant level is between
the FULLº and LOWº lines on the see-
through reservoir when the engine is cold.
See Chapter 7-2 for additional informa-
tion.
Battery electrolyte level
Make sure the electrolyte level of all bat-
tery cells is between upper and lower level
lines on the case. Add only distilled water
when replenishing. See Chapter 7-3 for
additional information.
Brake fluid level
Make sure the brake fluid level is correct.
See Chapter 7-2 for additional informa-
tion.
Engine oil level
Check the l evel on the dipstick with the en-
gine turned off and the vehicle parked on
a level spot. See Chapter 7-2 for addition-
al information.
Power steering fluid level
Check the level on the dipstick (vehicles
with 7A-FE engine), or check the level
through the reservoir (vehicles with 5S-
FE engine). The level should be in the
HOTº or COLDº range depending on the
fluid temperature. See Chapter 7-2 for
additional information. Exhaust system
If you notice any change in the sound of
the exhaust or smell exhaust fumes, have
the cause located and corrected immedi-
ately. (See engine exhaust cautions in
Part 2.)
Be on the alert for changes in perfor-
mance, sounds, and visual tip-offs
that in-
dicate service is needed. Some important
clues are as follows:

Engine missing, stumbling, or pinging

Appreciable loss of power

Strange engine noises

A leak under the vehicle (however, wa-
ter dripping from the air conditioning
after use is normal.)

Change in exhaust sound (This may
indicate a dangerous carbon monox-
ide leak. Drive with the windows open
and have the exhaust system checked
immediately.)

Flat-looking tire; excessive tire squeal
when cornering; uneven tire wear

Vehicle pulls to one side when driving
straight on a level road

Strange noises related to suspension
movement

Loss of brake effectiveness; spongy
feeling brake or clutch pedal; pedal al-
most touches floor; vehicle pulls to one
side when braking

Engine coolant temperature continual-
ly higher than normal
Does your vehicle need
repairing?
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If you notice any of these clues, take your
vehicle to your Toyota dealer as soon as
possible. It probably needs adjustment or
repair.
Do not continue driving with the ve-
hicle unchecked. It could result in
serious vehicle damage and possi-
bly personal injury.CAUTION
!
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Part 7
153
DO-IT-YOURSELF
MAINTENANCEÐ
Chapter 7-1
Introduction
Engine compartment overview
 Fuse locations
 Do-it-yourself service
precautions
 Parts and tools
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