LEXUS SC300 1999 Owners Manual

AIR CONDITIONING AND AUDIO
183
set to OUTSIDE AIR mode. If recirculated air is used during
heating, the windows will fog up more easily.
If manual on±off of the air conditioning is desired ±
Push the
(A/C) button to turn the air conditioning on
and push it again to turn the air conditioning off.
The air conditioning does not work if the outside temperature
is lowered down to around 0C (32F).
If the system is used for ventilation, heating in dry weather or
removing frost or exterior fog on the windshield, turn the air
conditioning off once it is no longer required. This will
improve fuel economy. The air conditioning can be used for
year±round automatic temperature control including cooling
and dehumidifying operation. If the air conditioning compressor does not operate, the
indicator of the
(A/C) button will blink. If the indicator
of the (A/C) button blinks even when the (A/C)
button is pushed again, have the compressor checked by your
nearest Lexus dealer.
(b) Windshield defogging and defrosting
See º(a) Climate controlº for details on each button.
To remove interior fog on the windshield ±
Push the
(WINDSHIELD) button.
To remove frost or exterior fog on the windshield ±
1. Place the temperature control knob at the maximum
temperature.
2. Push the
(WINDSHIELD) button.
3. Push the right side of the fan speed control
(FAN)
button to set the fan speed at the maximum speed.

AIR CONDITIONING AND AUDIO
184
(c) Operating tips

Make sure the air inlet grilles in front of the windshield are
not blocked by leaves or other obstructions.

If air flow control is not satisfactory, check the dashboard
vents. (See ºCenter ventsº, ºSide ventsº and ºLower
ventº.)

To help cool down the interior after parking in the hot sun,
drive for the first few minutes with the windows open.
After the excess heat has blown away, close the windows.

When driving on dusty roads, close all windows. If dust
thrown up by the vehicle is still drawn into the vehicle after
closing the windows, it is recommended that the air intake
control button be left to the OUTSIDE AIR mode and the
fan speed control button be pressed to anywhere except the
ºOFFº button.

If following another vehicle on a dusty road, or driving in
windy and dusty conditions, it is recommended that the air
intake control button be temporarily pressed in to the
RECIRCULATED AIR mode, which will close off the
outside passage and prevent outside air and dust from
entering the vehicle interior.

AIR CONDITIONING AND AUDIO
185
Center vents
The center vents may be opened or closed as shown.Side vents
The side vents may be opened or closed as shown.Lower vent

AIR CONDITIONING AND AUDIO
186
The lower vent may be opened or closed as shown.AUDIO SYSTEM
Car audio operating tips
NOTICE

AIR CONDITIONING AND AUDIO
187
To prevent the battery from being discharged, do not leave
the car audio on longer than necessary when the engine
is not running.
To ensure the correct audio system operation:


Be careful not to spill beverages over the audio system.

Do no put anything other than a cassette tape or CD
magazine into the cassette tape slot or CD changer.

The use of cellular phone inside or near the vehicle
may cause a noise from the speakers of the audio
system which you are listening to. However, this does
not indicate a malfunction.
You can listen to the car audio when the ignition key is at
ºONº or ºACCº. However, if the engine is not running,
the key must be in the ºACCº position.
You can adjust the brightness of the display. See ºInstrument
panel light control on page 64 for details.
Audio operation is described in detail on the following pages:

Radio operation ± See page 187.

Cassette tape player operation ± See page 192.

Compact disc player operation ± See page 196.
Radio operation
(a) Listening to the radio
1. Push the
(AM) or (FM1/2) button to turn the
radio on and select either an AM or FM broadcast.
ºAMº, ºFM1º or ºFM2º will appear on the display.
The radio can also be turned on by pushing the ºPWR.VOLº
knob if the radio was being used when the system was turned
off.
2. Turn the ºPWR.VOLº knob to adjust the volume.
3. Tune in the desired station. (See º(b) Selecting a stationº.)
The radio will change automatically to stereo reception when
an FM stereo broadcast is being received. At the same time
ºSTº will appear on the display. When the receiving signal
gets weak, the channel separation will automatically be
reduced for lowest noise. If the signal becomes extremely
weak, the radio will switch over to monaural reception.
4. Adjust the tone and sound balance. (See º(d) Adjusting the
toneº and º(e) Adjusting the sound balanceº.)
5. To turn the radio off, push the ºPWR.VOLº knob.

AIR CONDITIONING AND AUDIO
188(b) Selecting a station
Tune in the desired station using one of the following
methods. The frequency will appear on the display.
Preset tuning:
Use for tuning±in to a desired preset station.
Push the station selector button to which the desired station
has been preset. The radio will tune in to the station and the
button number will appear on the display. (See º(c) Presetting
a stationº.)
Seek tuning: Use for automatic station search and stop.
Push the
(SEEK) button and hold it until a beep is heard.
The radio will begin seeking up or down for a station of the
nearest frequency and will stop on reception. Each time you
push the button, stations will be searched out one after
another.
Scan tuning: Use for scanning preset station channels or
station±to±station scanning.
Push the
(SCAN) button for longer than 1 seconds. With
ºP. SCANº blinking on the display, the radio will
automatically seek out a preset station of a higher channel
number in the AM/FM mode. If there is a preset station on the
channel, then the tuning is held for 5 seconds. If there is no
station on the channel, then the tuning is only held for 1
second. If the
(SCAN) button is pushed while listening
to a preset station channel, then the scan proceeds to the next
highest channel, proceeding in turn through the 6 channels of
FM1 and then the 6 channels of FM2, then repeating the
process. To continue listening to the channel of your choice, simply push the
(SCAN) button once again.

AIR CONDITIONING AND AUDIO
189
Push the
(SCAN) button for less than 1 seconds. With
ºSCANº on the display, the radio will automatically seek out
a station of higher frequency, hold it for 5 seconds and scan
to the next. To continue listening to the broadcast of your
choice, simply push the
(SCAN) button once again.
Manual tuning: Push the
(TUNE) button briefly. Each
time you push the button, the radio will step up or down to
another frequency.
(c) Presetting a station.
1. Tune in the desired station. (See º(b) Selecting a stationº.)
2. Push one of the station selector buttons and hold it until a
beep is heard. This sets the station to the button and the button
number will appear on the display.
Each button can store one AM station and two FM stations.
To change the preset station to a different one, follow the same
procedure.
The preset station will be cancelled when the power source is
cut off (battery disconnected, blown fuse, etc.).
(d) Adjusting the tone
To adjust the low±pitched tone, push the ºBASSº knob (if
depressed) and turn it.
To adjust the middle±pitched tone, push the ºMIDº knob (if
depressed) and turn it.
To adjust the high±pitched tone, push the ºTREBº knob (if
depressed) and turn it. (e) Adjusting the sound balance
To balance the sound between the right and left speakers, push
the ºBALº knob (if depressed) and turn it.
To balance the sound between the front and rear speakers,
push the ºFADEº knob (if depressed) and turn it.
(f) Automatic sound levelizer
(Except Nakamichi model)
When the audio sound becomes difficult to be heard due to
road noise, wind noise, etc., during driving, push the
(ASL) button. ºASLº appears on the display. The system
adjusts to the optimum volume and tone quality according to
the noise level.

AIR CONDITIONING AND AUDIO
190Radio operating tips
The antenna automatically extends when the radio and
ignition are turned on and retracts when either is turned off.
CAUTION
Before extending the antenna, confirm that no one is close
enough to get injured.
NOTICE
To prevent damage to the antenna, make sure it is
retracted before running your vehicle through an
automatic car wash.
FM reception tips
A vehicle is not an ideal place to listen to a radio. Because it
moves, reception conditions are constantly changing.
Buildings, terrain, signal distance and noise from other
vehicles are all working against good reception. Some
conditions of FM may appear to be problems when they are
not. The following characteristics are completely normal for
a given reception area, and they do not indicate any problem
with the radio itself.

AIR CONDITIONING AND AUDIO
191


Fading and drifting:
FM range is limited to about 40 km (25 miles), except for
some high power stations.
If a vehicle is moving away from the desired station's
transmitter, the signal will tend to fade and/or drift. This
phenomenon is more noticeable with FM than with AM,
and is accompanied by distortion.
Fading and drifting can be minimized to a certain degree
by careful attention to fine tuning, or you should retune the
radio to another stronger station.

Static and Fluttering:
When the line±of±sight link between a transmitter and
vehicle is blocked by large buildings or the like, the radio
sound may be accompanied by static or fluttering because
of the characteristic of FM. In a similar effect, a fluttering
noise is sometimes heard when driving along a tree±lined
road.
This static and fluttering can be reduced by adjusting the
tone control for greater bass response until the disturbance
has passed.

Multipath:
Because of the reflecting characteristics of FM, direct and
reflected signals may reach the antenna at the same time
(multipath) and cancel each other out. As a vehicle moves
through these electronic dead spots, the listener may hear
a momentary flutter or loss of reception.

Station swapping:
When two FM stations are close to each other, and an
electronic dead spot, such as static or multipath area,
interrupts the original signal, sometimes the stronger
second signal will be selected automatically until the
original one returns. This swapping can also occur as you
drive away from the selected station and approach another
station with a stronger signal.

AIR CONDITIONING AND AUDIO
192
Cassette tape player operation
(a) Playing a cassette tape
1. Put the cassette into the slot, with the tape side to the right
and lightly push it in. The tape player will grasp the cassette
and slide it into place to play. If the radio is on when the
cassette is inserted, the radio will automatically turn off.
If the cassette is already in the slot, push the
(TAPE)
button.
At this time, ºTAPEº will appear on the display.
The tape player can also be turned on by pushing the
ºPWR.VOLº knob if the tape player was being used when the
system was turned off.
When a metal or chrome equivalent tape is inserted, the player
will automatically adapt to it and ºMETALº will appear on
the display.
2. If using a tape recorded with Dolby
 NR*, push the right
side of the ( B C) button to select the Dolby B
NR or Dolby C NR mode. The display will indicate which
Dolby noise reduction system is operating.
The Dolby B NR mode reduces tape noise by about 10 dB.
The Dolby C NR mode reduces tape noise by another 10 dB
or about 20 dB total. For best sound reproduction, select the
same NR mode that was used to record the tape. To play a tape
recorded without Dolby NR*, push the button until the Dolby
NR indicator disappears.