transmission LEXUS RX330 2006 Owner's Guide

STARTING AND DRIVING
412
Check surroundings for safety.
If a bright light (for example, sunlight reflected off the vehicle
body) is picked up by the camera, the smear effect* peculiar to
the camera may occur.
*: Smear effect — A phenomenon that occurs when a bright
light (for example, sunlight reflected off the vehicle body) is
picked up by the camera; when transmitted by the camera, the
light source appears to have a vertical streak above and below
it.
CRUISE CONTROL
The cruise control is designed to maintain a set cruising
speed without requiring the driver to operate the
accelerator. Cruising speed can be set to any speed above
40 km/h (25 mph).
Within the limits of the engine’s capabilities, cruising speed can
be maintained up or down grades. However, changes in
vehicle speed may occur on steeper grades.
CAUTION
 To help maintain maximum control of your vehicle,
do not use the cruise control when driving in heavy
or varying traffic, or on slippery (rainy, icy or
snowcovered) or winding roads.
 Avoid vehicle speed increases when driving
downhill. If the vehicle speed is too fast in relation to
the cruise control set speed, cancel the cruise
control then downshift the transmission to use
engine braking to slow down.

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413
(a) Turning the system on and off
To turn the cruise control on, press the “ON−OFF” button. The
“CRUISE” indicator light in the instrument cluster will come on
to indicate that the cruise control is operational. Pressing the
“ON−OFF” button again turns the system off.
When the system is turned off, cruising speed must be reset
when the cruise control is turned on again.
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.
(b) Setting operation
 Each function is described below.
1Setting 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.
Bring the vehicle to the desired speed, press the control lever
downward in the “ − SET” direction and release it. This sets the
vehicle at that speed. Now you may take your foot off the
accelerator pedal. If you need acceleration — for example,
when passing — depress the accelerator pedal enough for the
vehicle to exceed the set speed. When you release the
accelerator pedal, the vehicle will return to the speed set prior
to the acceleration.

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415
5Resetting to a slower speed
Press the control lever downward in the “ − SET” direction and
hold it. Release the lever when the desired speed is attained.
While the lever is held downward, the vehicle speed will
gradually decrease.
When the difference between the actual vehicle speed and the
set speed is less than 5 km/h (3 mph), the set speed can be
lowered 1.6 km/h (1 mph) each time by pressing the control
lever downward in the “ − SET” direction quickly.
However, a quicker way to reset is to depress the brake pedal
and then press the control lever downward in the “ − SET”
direction.
Vehicle with automatic transmission (standard type) —
Even if you downshift the transmission from the “D” position to
“4” with the cruise control on, engine braking will not be
enabled because the cruise control 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.
Vehicle with automatic transmission (multi −mode type) —
Even if you downshift the transmission from the “D” or “5” (fifth
range) to the “4” (fourth range) with the cruise control on,
engine braking will not be enabled because the cruise control
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.Cruise control failure warning
If the “CRUISE” indicator light flashes when using the cruise
control, press the “ON− OFF” button to turn the system off and
then press it again to turn it on.
If any of the following conditions then occurs, there is some
trouble in the cruise control system.
 The indicator light does not come on.
 The indicator light flashes again.
 The indicator light goes out after it comes on.
If this is the case, contact your Lexus dealer and have your
Lexus inspected.

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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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427
(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.

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433
Conventional (fixed speed) cruise control
mode
The conventional cruise control mode is designed to
maintain a set cruising speed without requiring the driver
to operate the accelerator. Cruising speed can be set to
any speed above 45 km/h (28 mph).
Within the limits of the engine’s capabilities, cruising speed can
be maintained up or down grades. However, changes in
vehicle speed may occur on steeper grades.
CAUTION
 In the conventional cruise control mode, the
approach warning does not activate and no alarm will
sound even if you are too close to the vehicle ahead,
as neither the presence of the vehicle ahead nor the
vehicletovehicle distance is detected. Pay special
attention to the distance between your vehicle and
the vehicle ahead. Always confirm the cruise control
mode on the display.
 Do not use the conventional mode in the following
conditions, or serious injury or death could result:
To help maintain maximum control of your vehicle,
do not use conventional cruise control mode when
using dynamic laser cruise control while driving in
heavy or varying traffic, or on slippery (rainy, icy or
snowcovered) or winding roads.
Avoid vehicle speed increasing when driving
downhill. If the vehicle speed is too fast in relation to
the preset speed in the conventional cruise control
mode, cancel the conventional cruise control mode
and then downshift the transmission to use engine
braking to slow down.

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(b) Setting the cruising speed
With automatic transmission (standard type) —
The transmission must be in “D” before you set the cruising
speed.
With automatic transmission (multi
−mode type) —
The transmission must be in “D”, “5” (fifth range) or “\
4” (fourth
range) before you set the cruising speed.
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 and the display shows the preset speed. 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 speed set prior to acceleration. You cannot set a desired speed if the master warning light
comes on, the alarm sounds and the display indicates the
warning
code “E3”. If this code appears on the display, see “(g)
Conventional cruise control mode failure warning” on page
437.
(c) Cancelling the conventional cruise control mode
The conventional cruise control mode may be temporarily
cancelled by the driver or by the system itself under certain
circumstances. T emporary cancellation allows the set cruising
speed to remain in memory.
The conventional cruise 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 conventional cruise control
mode is temporarily cancelled:
 When vehicle speed falls below 40 km (25 mph)
 When vehicle stability control is activated
When vehicle speed drops 16 km/h (10 mph) below the set
speed, the conventional cruise control mode is cancelled and
the set speed is erased from memory.
The “CRUISE” indicator light remains on to indicate that the
system is still in operation.

STARTING AND DRIVING
436To turn the system off, push the “ON
−OFF” button. Make sure
the “CRUISE” indicator light is off.
If the conventional cruise control mode automatically cancels
out other than for the above cases, have your vehicle checked
by your Lexus dealer at the earliest opportunity.
(d) Resuming the conventional cruise control mode
If the conventional cruise control mode is temporarily
cancelled, the cruising speed can be resumed by pushing the
lever up in the “+ RES” direction.
Vehicle speed must be above 40 km/h (25 mph).
(e) Resetting to a faster speed
Push the lever up in the “+ RES” direction and hold it. Release
the lever when the desired speed is attained. While the lever
is held up, the vehicle will gradually gain speed.
When the difference between the actual vehicle speed and the
set speed is less than 5 km/h (3 mph), the set speed can be
increased 1.6 km/h (1 mph) each time by pushing the lever up
in the “+ RES” direction quickly within 0.6 seconds.
However, a faster way to reset is to accelerate the vehicle and
then push the lever down in the “ − SET” direction. (f) Resetting to a slower speed
Push the lever down in the “
− SET” direction and hold it.
Release the lever when the desired speed is attained. While
the lever is held down, the vehicle speed will gradually
decrease.
When the difference between the actual vehicle speed and the
set speed is less than 5 km/h (3 mph), the set speed can be
lowered 1.6 km/h (1 mph) each time by pushing the lever down
in the “− SET” direction quickly within 0.6 seconds.
However, a faster way to reset is to accelerate the vehicle and
then push the lever down in the “ − SET” direction.
With automatic transmission (standard type) —
Even if you downshift from “D” to “4” in the conventional cruise
control mode, engine braking will not be enabled because this
mode is not cancelled. To decrease the vehicle’s 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 from “D” or “5” (fifth range) to “4” (fourth
range) in the conventional cruise control mode, engine braking
will not be enabled because this mode is not cancelled. To
decrease the vehicle’s 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.

DRIVING TIPS
473
After driving through tall grass, mud, rock, sand,
rivers, etc., check that there is no grass, bush, paper,
rags, stone, sand, etc. adhering or trapped on the
underbody. Clear off any such matter from the
underbody. If the vehicle is used with these materials
trapped or adhering to the underbody, a breakdown
or fire could occur.
 In a rollover crash, an unbelted person is
significantly more likely to die than a person wearing
a seat belt. Therefore, the driver and all passengers
should fasten their seat belts whenever the vehicle is
moving.
 When driving offroad or in rugged terrain, do not
drive at excessive speeds, jump, make sharp turns,
strike objects, etc. This may cause loss of control or
vehicle rollover causing death or serious injury. You
are also risking expensive damage to your vehicle’s
suspension and chassis.NOTICE
 If driving through water, such as when crossing
shallow streams, first check the depth of the water
and the bottom of the river bed for firmness. Drive
slowly and avoid deep water.
 Take all necessary safety measures to ensure that
water damage to the engine or other components
does not occur.
Water entering the engine air intake will cause severe
engine damage.
Water can wash the grease from wheel bearings,
causing rusting and premature failure, and may also
enter the differentials, transmission and transfer
case, reducing the gear oil’s lubricating qualities.
 Sand and mud that has accumulated in brake drums
and around brake discs may affect braking ef ficiency
and may damage brake system components.
 Always perform a maintenance inspection after each
day of offroad driving that has taken you through
rough terrain, sand, mud, or water. For scheduled
maintenance information, refer to the “Owner’s
Manual Supplement / Scheduled Maintenance”.

DRIVING TIPS
475
Do not use your parking brake when there is a possibility
it could freeze.
When
parking, put the transmission into “P” and block the rear
wheels. Do not use the parking brake, or snow or water
accumulated in and around the parking brake mechanism may
freeze the parking brake, making it hard to release.
Keep ice and snow from accumulating under the fenders.
Ice and snow built up under your fenders can make steering
difficult. During bad winter driving, stop and check under the
fenders occasionally.
Depending on where you are driving, we recommend you
carry some emergency equipment.
Some of the things you might put in the vehicle are tire chains,
window scraper, bag of sand or salt, flares, small shovel,
jumper cables, etc.
DINGHY TOWING
Your vehicle is not designed to be dinghy towed (with four
wheels on the ground) behind a motorhome.
NOTICE
Do not tow your vehicle with four wheels on the ground.
This may cause serious damage to your vehicle.