brake TOYOTA 4RUNNER 1996 Owner's Manual

133
Your engine is fitted with twin ground electrode spark plugs.
NOTICE
Use only twin ground electrode spark plugs for your engine perfor-
mance.
TANDEM MASTER CYLINDER BRAKE SYSTEM
The tandem master cylinder brake sys-
tem is a hydraulic system with two sepa-
rate sub-systems. If either sub-system
should fa il, the other will still work. Howev-
er, the pedal will be harder to press, and
your stopping distance will be longer.
Also, the brake system warning light may come on.
CAUTION!
Do not drive your vehicle with only a single brake system. Have your
brakes fixed immediately.
BRAKE BOOSTER
The brake booster uses engine vacuum to
power-assist the brakes. If the engine
should quit while you are driving, you can
bring the vehicle to a stop with normal
pedal pressure. There is enough reservevacuum for one or two stopsÐbut no more!
CAUTION!
Do not pump the brake pedal if the
engine stalls. Each push on the
pedal uses up your vacuum re- serve.
Even if the power assist is com-
pletely lost, the brakes will still
work. But you will have to push the
pedal hardÐmuch harder than nor-
mal. And your braking distance will
be longer.
ANTI-LOCK BRAKE SYSTEM (with ABSº warning light)
The anti-lock brake system is designed to prevent lock-up of the wheels during sud-
den braking or braking on slippery road surfaces. This assists the driver in con-
trolling the vehicle under these circum-stances.
The anti-lock brake system becomes op- erative after the vehicle has accelerated
to a speed in excess of approximately 10
km/h (6 mph). It stops operating when the
vehicle decelerates to a speed below
approximately 5 km/h (3 mph).
You may hear a sound in the engine
compartment for a few seconds when the
engine is started or just after the vehicleis started. This means that the anti-lock
brake system is in the self check mode,
and does not indicate a malfunction.
Twin ground electrode spark
plugs (5VZ-FE engine) Brake system

134
When the anti-lock brake system function is in action, you may feel the brake pedal
pulsating and hear a noise. In this situa-
tion, to let the anti-lock brake system work for you, just hold the brake pedal
down
more firmly. Do not pump the brake.
The brake pedal pulsation caused by the
anti-lock brake system may indicate haz- ardous road surface conditions. Althoughthe anti-lock brake system assists in pro-
viding vehicle control, it is still important to
drive with all due care, because the anti-
lock brake system cannot overcome the
laws of physics that act on your vehicle: Braking capab ility is dependent on tire
friction with the road surface.
Even though the anti-lock brake sys-
tem is operating, a driver cannot main- tain full control on certain slippery road
surfaces, when cornering at highspeeds, or in violent maneuvers.
Avoid high speeds on wet roads. The
anti-lock brake system cannot elimi-
nate the risk of hydroplaning and lossof tire friction. Always maintain a safe distance from the
vehicle in
front of you. Compared with ve-
hicles not fitted with an anti-lock brake
system, your vehicle may require a longer
stopping distance in the following cases: Driving on rough, gravel or snow-cov-
ered roads.
Driving with tire chains installed.
Driving on roads where the road sur-
face is pitted or has other differencesin surface height.
CAUTION!
Do not use tires other than the
manufacturer 's designated tires,
and do not mix tires or wheels of dif-
ferent sizes. You may prevent the an-
tilock brake system from operatingat full effectiveness.
Vehicles with rear differential lock sys-
temÐThe anti-lock brake system does
not operate when the rear differential islocked. It is normal operation for the
ABSº warning light to be on at this time.Type A
Type B

135
ABSº warning light
This light comes on when the ignition key is turned to the ONº position. After about
3 seconds, the light will go off.
When the light is on with the rear dif
feren-
tial locked, it indicates the anti-lock brake
system will not operate.
If either of the following conditions occurs, this indicates a malfunction somewhere inthe parts monitored by the warning light
system. Contact your Toyota dealer as
soon as possible to service the vehicle. The light does not come on as de-
scribed above, or remains on.
The light comes on while driving with
the rear differential unlocked.
The light does not come on with the
rear differential locked.
The light comes on while driving.
Even if the anti-lock brake system should
fail, the brake system will still operate con-
ventionally. Have your vehicle checked by
your Toyota dealer as soon as possible.
The brake pad wear limit indicators on your disc brakes give a warning noise
when the brake pads are worn to
where replacement is required.
If you hear a squealing or scraping noise
while driving, have the brake pads
checked and replaced by your Toyota
dealer as soon as possible. Expensive ro-
tor damage can result if the pads are not
replaced when necessary. When stowing luggage or cargo in the ve-
hicle, observe the following:
Put luggage or cargo in the luggage
compartment when at all possible. Besure all items are secured in place.
Be careful to keep the vehicle bal-anced. Locating the weight as far
forward as possible helps maintainbalance.
For better fuel economy, do not carry
unneeded weight.CAUTION!
To prevent luggage or packages
from sliding forward during brak-
ing, do not stack anything in the
luggage compartment higher than
the seatbacks. Keep luggage or
packages low, as close to the floor
as possible.
Never allow anyone to ride in the
luggage compartment. It is not de-
signed for passengers. They
should ride in their seats with their
seat belts properly fastened.
Otherwise, they are much more
likely to suffer serious bodily inju-
ry, in the event of sudden braking or a collision.
Brake pad wear limit indicators Luggage stowage precautions

Part 3How to start the engineÐ
(a) Before cranking
Before starting the engine
139
STARTING AND DRIVING
Before starting the engine
How to start the engine
Tips for driving in various conditions
Off-road driving precautions
Winter driving tips
Trailer towing
How to save fuel and make your
vehicle last longer, too
1. Check the area around the vehicle be-
fore entering it.
2. Adjust seat position, seatback angle,
seat cushion angle, head restraint height and steering wheel angle.
3. Adjust inside and outside rear view mirrors.
4. Lock all doors.
5. Fasten seat belts.
1. Apply the parking brake firmly.
2. Turn off unnecessary lights and acces- sories. 3.
Manual transmission: Press the
clutch pedal to the floor and shift the trans-
mission into neutral. Hold the clutch pedal
to the floor until the engine is started. A
starter safety device will prevent the start-
er from operating if the clutch pedal is not fully depressed.
Automatic transmission: Put the selec-
tor lever in Pº. If you need to restart the
engine while the vehicle is moving, put the
selector lever in Nº. A starter safety de-vice will prevent the starter from operating
if the selector lever is in any drive position. 4. Automatic transmission only: De-
press the brake pedal and hold it to the
floor until driving off.

140Before starting the engine, be sure to fol-
low the instructions in (a) Before crank- ingº.
Normal starting procedure
The multiport fuel injection system/se-
quential multiport fuel injection system in
your engine automatically controls the
proper air-fuel mixture for starting. You can start a cold or hot engine as follows:
1. With your foot off the accelerator ped- al, crank the engine by turning the key to
STARTº. Release it when the enginestarts.
2. After
the engine runs for about 10 sec-
onds, you are ready to drive.
If the weather is below freezing, let the en-
gine warm up for a few minutes before driving.
If the engine stalls...
Simply restart it, using the correct proce- dure given in normal starting. If the engine will not startÐ
See If your vehicle will not startº in Part 4.
NOTICE
Do not crank for more than 15 sec-
onds at a time. This may overheat
the starter and wiring systems.
Do not race a cold engine.
If the engine becomes difficult to
start or stalls frequently, have theengine checked immediately.
Always slow down in gusty cross- winds. This will allow you much better control.
Drive slowly onto curbs and, if pos-
sible, at a right angle. Avoid drivingonto high, sharp-edged objects and
other road hazards. Failure to do so
can lead to severe tire damage result-
ing in tire bursts.
When parking on a hill, turn the front
wheels until they touch the curb so that
the vehicle will not roll. Apply the park-
ing brake, and place the transmission in Pº (automatic) or in first or reverse
(manual). If necessary, block thewheels.
Washing your vehicle or driving
through deep water may get the
brakes wet. To see whether they are
wet, check that there is no traffic near
you, and then press the pedal lightly. If
you do not feel a normal braking force,
the brakes are probably wet. To dry
them, drive the vehicle cautiously
while lightly pressing the brake pedal
with the parking brake pulled. If they
still do not work safely, pull to the side
of the road and call a T oyota dealer for
assistance.
(b) Starting the engine
Tips for driving in variousconditions

141

Four-wheel drive modelsÐToyota
recommends not using four-wheel
drive on dry hard-surfaced roads, be-
cause four-wheel driving will causeunnecessary noise and wear, and poor
fuel economy.
Four-wheel drive modelsÐIn cold
temperatures, noise may occur when
driving in two-wheel drive before the
transfer is warmed up. Therefore, first
drive in four-wheel drive until the
transfer is warmed up.
CAUTION!
Before driving off, make sure that
the parking brake is fully released
and the parking brake reminder
light is off.
Do not leave your vehicle unat- tended while the engine is run-ning.
Do not rest your foot on the brake
pedal while driving. It can cause
dangerous overheating, needless
wear, and poor fuel economy.
To drive down a long or steep hill,
reduce your speed and downshift.
Remember, if you ride the brakes
excessively, they may overheat
and not work properly.
Be careful when accelerating, up-
shifting, downshifting or braking
on a slippery surface. Sudden ac-
celeration or engine braking, could cause the vehicle to spin or skid.
Do not drive in excess of the speed
limit. Even if the legal speed limit
permits it, do not drive over 140
km/h (85 mph) unless your vehicle
has high-speed capability tires.
Driving over 140 km/h (85 mph)
may result in tire failure, loss of
control and possible injury. Be sure to consult a tire dealer to de-
termine whether the tires on your
vehicle are high-speed capability
tires or not before driving at such speeds.
Do not continue normal driving
when the brakes are wet. If they are
wet, your vehicle will require a lon-
ger stopping distance, and it may
pull to one side when the brakes
are applied. Also, the parking
brake will not hold the vehicle se-
curely. When driving your vehicle off-road,
please observe the following precautions
to ensure your driving enjoyment and to
help prevent the closure of areas to off-
road vehicles.
a. Drive your vehicle only in areas where
off-road vehicles are permitted to travel.
b. Respect private property. Get owner's
permission before entering private prop-
erty.
c. Do not enter areas that are closed.
Honor gates, barriers and signs that re-
strict travel.
d. Stay on established roads. When con- ditions are wet, driving techniques should
be changed or travel delayed to prevent
damage to roads.
For owners in U.S. mainland, Hawaii and Puerto Rico:
To obtain additional information pertaining
to driving your vehicle off-road, consultthe following organizations.
State and Local Parks and Recreation Departments
State Motor Vehicle Bureau
Recreational Vehicle Clubs
U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of
Land Management
Off-road driving precautions

142
CAUTION!
Always observe the following pre-
cautions to minimize the risk of seri-
ous personal injury or damage to
your vehicle: Drive carefully when off the road.
Do not take unnecessary risks by
driving in dangerous places.
Do not grip the steering wheel
spokes when driving off-road. A
bad bump could jerk the wheel and
injure your hands. Keep both
hands and especially your thumbs
on the outside of the rim.
Always check your brakes for ef- fectiveness immediately after driv-
ing in sand, mud, water or snow.
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 under-
body. If the vehicle is used with these materials trapped or adher-
ing to the underbody, a breakdown
or fire could occur.
The driver and all passengers
should fasten their seat belts
whenever the vehicle is moving.
NOTICE
If driving through water, such as
when crossing shallow streams,
first check the depth of the waterand the bottom of the river bed forfirmness. Drive slowly and avoid
deep water.
Take all necessary safety mea-sures to ensure that water damage
to the engine or other components does not occur.
Water entering the engine air in-take will cause severe engine dam-
age.
Water can wash the grease fromwheel bearings, causing rusting
and premature failure, and mayalso enter the differential, trans-
mission and transfer case, reduc- ing the gear oil's lubricating quali-ties.
Sand and mud that has accumu-lated in brake drums and around
brake discs may affect braking ef-ficiency and may damage brakesystem components.
Always perform a maintenance in-
spection after each day of off-road driving that has taken you
through rough terrain, sand, mud, or water. For scheduled mainte-nance information, refer to the
separate Owner's Manual Sup-
plement/Maintenance Scheduleº.

143
Make sure you have ethylene-glycol
antifreeze in the radiator.
NOTICE
Do not use alcohol type antifreeze.
Check the condition of the battery and cables. Cold temperatures reduce the capacity of
any battery, so it must be in top shape to provide enough power for winter starting.Chapter 7-3 tells you how to visually in-
spect the battery. Your Toyota dealer and
most service stations will be pleased tocheck the level of charge.
Make sure the engine oil viscosity is
suitable for the cold weather.
See Chapter 7-2 for recommended vis-
cosity. Leaving a heavy summer oil in your
vehicle during winter months may cause
harder starting. If you are not sure about
which oil to use, call your Toyota deal- erÐhe will be pleased to help. Keep the door locks from freezing. Squirt lock de-icer or glycerine into the
locks to keep them from freezing. To open
a frozen lock, try heating the key before in-serting it. Use a washer fluid containing an anti-
freeze solution.
This product is available at your Toyota
dealer and most auto parts stores. Follow
the manufacturer's directions for how
much to mix with water.
NOTICE
Do not use engine antifreeze or any other substitute because it may
damage your vehicle's paint.
Do not use your parking brake when there is a possibility it could freeze. When parking, put the transmission into
Pº (automatic) or into first or reverse
(manual) and block the rear wheels. Do
not use the parking brake, or snow or wa-
ter accumulated in and around the parkingbrake mechanism may freeze, 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 emer- gency equipment.
Some of
the things you might put in the ve-
hicle are tire chains, window scraper, bag of sand or salt, flares, small shovel, jump- er cables, etc.
Winter driving tips

145
The trailer cargo load should be
distributed so t hat the tongue load
is 9 to 11% of the total trailer
weight, not exceeding the maxi-
mum of the following. Never load
the trailer with more weight in the back than in the front. About 60 % of the trailer load should be in the
front half of the trailer and the re-
maining 40 % in the rear.
3RZ-FE engine158 kg (350 lb.)
5VZ-FE engine 226 kg (500 lb.) HITCHES
Use only a weight carrying hitch de-
signed for the total trailer weight. Toyo-
ta does not recommend using a weight
distribution (load equalizing) hitch.
The hitch must be bolted securely to
the vehicle frame and installed accord-
ing to the hitch manufacturer's instruc- tions.
The hitch ball and king pin should havea light coat of grease.
Toyota recommends removing the hitch when not towing to prevent injury
and/or damage due to the hitch in
event of a rear end collision. After re-moval of the hitch, seal the installation
area to prevent entry of exhaust fumes
and mud.
NOTICE
Do not use an axle-mounting hitch as it may cause damage to the axle
housing, wheel bearings, wheelsand or tires.
BRAKES AND SAFETY CHAINS Toyota recommends trailers with
brakes that conform to any applica-
ble federal and state/provincial reg- ulations.
A safety chain must always be used
between the towing vehicle and the
trailer. Leave sufficient slack in the
chain for turns. The chain shouldcross under the trailer tongue to
prevent the tongue from dropping
to the ground in case it becomes
damaged or separated. For correct
safety chain procedures, follow the
hitch or trailer manufacturer's rec-ommendations.
CAUTION!
If the total trailer weight exceeds
453 kg (1000 lb.), trailer brakes are required.
Never tap into your vehicle's hy- draulic system as it would lower
its braking effectiveness.
Never tow a trailer without using a
safety chain securely attached to
both the trailer and the vehicle. If
damage occurs to the coupling
unit or hitch ball, there is danger of the trailer wandering over into
another lane.

147

Because stopping distance may be in-
creased, vehicle-to-vehicle distance
should be increased when towing a
trailer. For each 16 km/h (10 mph) ofspeed, allow at least one vehicle and
trailer length between you and the ve-
hicle ahead. Avoid sudden braking as you may skid, resulting in jackknifing
and loss of control. This is especially
true on wet or slippery surfaces.
Avoid jerky starts or sudden accelera-tion. If your vehicle has manual trans-
mission, prevent excessive clutch slip-
page by keeping engine rpm low and
not racing the engine. Always start out
in first gear.
Avoid jerky steering and sharp turns.
The trailer could hit your vehicle in a
tight turn. Slow down before making a
turn to avoid the necessity of suddenbraking.
Remember that when making a turn,the trailer wheels will be closer than the vehicle wheels to the inside of the
turn. Therefore, compensate for this
by making a larger than normal turning
radius with your vehicle.
Crosswinds and rough roads will ad-
versely affect handling of your vehicle
and trailer, causing sway. Pay atten-
tion to the rear from time to time to pre-
pare yourself for being passed by largetrucks or buses, which may cause your
vehicle and trailer to sway. If swaying
happens, firmly grip the steering wheel
and reduce speed immediately but
gradually. Never increase speed.
Steer straight ahead. If you make no
extreme correction with the steering or
brakes, the vehicle and trailer will sta-bilize.
Be careful when passing other ve-hicles. Passing requires considerable
distance. After passing a vehicle, do
not forget the length of your trailer and
be sure you have plenty of room be-
fore changing lanes.
In order to maintain engine braking ef-
ficiency, do not use fifth gear (manual
transmission) or overdrive (automatic transmission).
Because of the added load of the trail-
er, your vehicle's engine may overheat
on hot days (at temperatures over30 5C [85 5F]) when going up a long or
steep grade with a trailer. If the engine
coolant temperature gauge indicates
overheating, immediately turn off the
air conditioning (if in use), pull off the
road and stop in a safe spot. Refer to
If your vehicle overheatsº in Part 4 ofthis manual.
Always place wheel blocks under both
the vehicle and trailer wheels whenparking. Apply the parking brake firm-
ly. Put the transmission in Pº (auto-
matic) or in first or reverse (manual).
Avoid parking on a slope with a trailer, but if it cannot be avoided, do so only after performing the following:
1. Apply the brakes and hold.
2. Have someone place wheel blocks un-
der both the vehicle and trailer wheels.
3. When the wheel blocks are in place,
release your brakes slowly until the blocks
absorb the load.
4. Apply the parking brake firmly.
5. Shift into first or reverse (manual) or
Pº (automatic) and turn off the engine.