TOYOTA SOLARA 2003 Owners Manual (in English)

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972003 MY SOLARA (OM33573U)
HighLow beams—For high beams, turn
the headlights on and push the lever away
from you (position 1). Pull the lever to-
ward 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)—Pull 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 the knob turned to “OFF”.TURN SIGNALS
To signal a turn, push the headlight/
turn signal lever up or down to position
1.
The key must be in the “ON” 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 traffic hazard.
Always pull as far off the road as pos-
sible.
The turn signal light switch will not work
when the emergency flashers are operat-
ing.
Emergency flashers

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NOTICE
To prevent the battery from being dis-
charged, do not leave the switch on
longer than necessary when the en-
gine is not running.
To adjust the brightness of the instru-
ment panel lights, turn the knob.To turn on the front fog lights, twist
the band of the headlight and turn sig-
nal switch lever. They will come on
only when the headlights are on low
beam.
Instrument panel light control Front fog lights

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To turn on the interior light, slide the
switch.
The interior light switch has the following
positions:
“ON”—Keeps the light on all the time.
“OFF”—Turns the light off.
“DOOR”—Turns the light on when either
door is opened. The light goes off when
both doors are closed. ILLUMINATED ENTRY SYSTEM
With the switch in the “DOOR” position,
the light comes on when either door is
opened. After both doors are closed, the
light remains on for about 15 seconds and
then goes out.
However, in the following cases, the light
goes out immediately:
Both doors are closed when the igni-
tion key is in “ACC” or “ON”
Both doors are closed and locked
When either door is unlocked with the
wireless remote control transmitter, the
light comes on for about 15 seconds,
even if the door is not opened.
For easy access to the ignition switch,
the ignition switch light comes on when
either doors are opened.
The light remains on for about 15 seconds
after both doors are closed.
When either door is unlocked with the
wireless remote control transmitter, the
light comes on for about 15 seconds,
even if the door is not opened.
When both doors are locked or the igni-
tion switch is turned to “ACC” or “ON”
after both doors are closed, the light
fades out.
Interior light Ignition switch light

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Coupe
Convertible
Coupe—
To turn on the personal light, push the
switch. To turn it off, push the switch
once again.
Convertible—
The personal lights operate separately
with each outer switch.
To turn on the light, push the switch on
your side. To turn the light off, push the
switch once again.
The center switch has the following posi-
tions:
“DOOR”—Turn both lights on when either
door is opened.
“OFF”—The lights are off unless you oper-
ate either outside switch.
ILLUMINATED ENTRY SYSTEM
(convertible)
With the switch in the “DOOR” position,
the light comes on when either door is
opened. After both doors are closed, the
light remains on for about 15 seconds and
then goes out. However, in the following cases, the light
goes out immediately:
Both doors are closed when the igni-
tion key is in the “ACC” or “ON” posi-
tion.
Both doors are closed and locked.
When either door is unlocked with the
wireless remote control transmitter, the
light comes on for about 15 seconds,
even if the door is not opened.
Personal lights

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To turn on the windshield wipers, move
the lever to the desired setting.
The key must be in the “ON” position.
Lever position
Speed setting
Position 1Intermittent
Position 2Slow
Position 3Fast
With interval adjuster: The “INT TIME”
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, pull the lever
toward you.
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 fluid” in Section 73.
In freezing weather, warm the windshield
with the defroster before using the washer.
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 wind-
shield is dry. It may scratch the
glass.
Ty p e A
Ty p e B
Windshield wipers and washer
Rear window and outside rear
view mirror defoggers

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To defog or defrost the rear window,
push the switch.
The key must be in the “ON” position.
The thin heater wires on the inside of the
rear window will quickly clear the sur-
faces. An indicator light will illuminate to
indicate the defogger is operating.
On some models, heater panels in the
outside rear view mirrors will also quickly
clear the surfaces.
Push the switch once again to turn the
defogger off.
The system will automatically shut off af-
ter the defogger has operated about 15
minutes.
CAUTION
Since the mirror surfaces can get hot
do not touch them when the defogger
switch is on.
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
stopandgo driving. The defoggers are
not designed for drying rain water or for
melting snow. If the outside rear view mirrors are heavi-
ly coated with ice, use a spray deicer
before operating the switch.
NOTICE

When cleaning the inside of the
rear window, be careful not to
scratch or damage the heater wires
or connectors.
 Convertible: When the convertible
top is completely lowered, keep the
rear window defogger turned off to
avoid damage to the convertible
top.

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OPERATION OF INSTRUMENTS AND
CONTROLS
Gauges, Meters and Service reminder indicators
Fuel gauge 104
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Engine coolant temperature gauge 104
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Tachometer 105
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Odometer and two trip meters 105
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Service reminder indicators and warning buzzers 107
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SECTION 1 5

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Low fuel level
warning light
The gauge indicates the approximate
quantity of the fuel remaining in the
tank when the ignition switch is on.
Nearly full—Needle at “F”
Nearly empty—Needle at “E”
It is a good idea to keep the tank over
1/4 full.
This fuel gauge has a nonreturn type
needle which remains at the last indicated
position when the ignition switch is turned
off.
If the fuel level approaches “E” or the low
fuel level warning light comes on, fill the
fuel tank as soon as possible. On inclines or curves, due to the move-
ment of fuel in the tank, the fuel gauge
needle may fluctuate or the low fuel level
warning light may come on earlier than
usual.
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.The gauge indicates the engine coolant
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
overheats, stop your vehicle and allow the
engine 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.
Fuel gauge
Engine coolant temperature
gauge

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Idling for a long period with the air
conditioning on in stopandgo 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 to con-
trol the flow of coolant to keep the
temperature of the engine within
the specified operating range.
 Do not continue driving with an
overheated engine. See “If your ve-
hicle overheats” in Section 4.
The tachometer indicates engine speed
in thousands of rpm
( revolutions per
minute). Use it while driving to select
correct shift points and to prevent en-
gine lugging and overrevving.
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.
This meter displays the odometer and
two trip meters.
1. Odometer—Shows the total distance the vehicle has been driven.
2. Two trip meters—Show two different distances independently driven since
the last time each trip meter was set
to zero.
You can use one trip meter to calculate
the fuel economy and the other to
measure the distance on each trip. All
trip meter data is cancelled if the elec-
trical power source is disconnected.
Tachometer Odometer and two trip meters

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3. Trip meter reset knob—Resets the two
trip meters to zero, and also change
the meter display.
To change the meter display, quickly
push and release the knob. The meter
display changes in the order from the
odometer to trip meter A to trip meter
B, then back to the odometer each
time you push.
To reset the trip meter A to zero, dis-
play the meter A reading, then push
and hold the knob until the meter is
set to zero. The same process can be
applied for resetting the trip meter B.