tow TOYOTA AVALON 2003 XX20 / 2.G Owners Manual

’03 AVALON U (L/O 0206)
292003 AVALON (OM41401U)
CAUTION
To avoid serious personal injury, you
must do the following.
Always make sure the heads, hands
and other parts of the bodies of all
occupants are kept completely in-
side the vehicle before you close
the power windows. If someone’s
neck, head or hands get caught in
a closing window, it could result in
a serious injury. When anyone
closes the power windows, make
sure that he/she operates the win-
dows safely.
When small children are in the ve-
hicle, never let them use the power
window switches without supervi-
sion. Use the window lock switch to
prevent them from making unex-
pected use of the switches.
Never leave small children alone in
the vehicle, especially with the igni-
tion key still inserted. They could
use the power window switches and
get trapped in a window. Unat-
tended children can be involved in
serious accidents.
To open the trunk lid from the outside,
insert the master key and turn it clock-
wise.
See “Luggage stowage precautions” in
Section 2 for precautions in loading lug-
gage.
To close the trunk lid, lower it and press
down on it. After closing the trunk lid, try
pulling it up to make sure it is securely
closed.
Vehicles with wireless remote control sys-
tem—The trunk lid can be opened with the
wireless remote control transmitter, see
“—Wireless remote control” in this section.
CAUTION
Keep the trunk lid closed while driv-
ing. This not only keeps the luggage
from being thrown out but also pre-
vents exhaust gases from entering
the vehicle.
Tr u n k lid
(lock release lever type)—

’03 AVALON U (L/O 0206)
312003 AVALON (OM41401U)
If a person is locked in the trunk, he
or she can pull down the phosphores-
cent handle lever on the inside of trunk
lid in case of emergency to open the
trunk lid.
The phosphorescent (glowinthedark)
handle will continue to glow for a time
after the trunk lid is closed. Exposing the
handle to stronger light will cause it to
glow longer.
CAUTION
Always lock the trunk lid and all
doors, and keep away the vehicle
keys out of children’s reaches.
Never leave children unattended in
the vehicle. Unsupervised children
may lock themselves in the vehicle
or trunk and suffer serious injuries
or death.
To open the trunk lid from the outside,
insert the master key and turn it clock-
wise.
See “Luggage stowage precautions” in
Section 2 for precautions in loading lug-
gage.
To close the trunk lid, lower it and press
down on it. After closing the trunk lid, try
pulling it up to make sure it is securely
closed.
Vehicles with wireless remote control sys-
tem—The trunk lid can be opened with the
wireless remote control transmitter, see
“—Wireless remote control” in this section.
—Internal trunk release handleTr u n k lid
(lock release switch type)—

’03 AVALON U (L/O 0206)
472003 AVALON (OM41401U)
CAUTION
Do not start the vehicle while the
adjustment are being made.
Take care not to select the wrong
button, or the seat could strike the
rear passenger or hit your body
against the steering wheel. If this
happens, you can stop the move-
ment by pressing another driving
position memory switch, or de-
pressing the brake pedal.
1. Pull down the armrest in the rear
seat.2. Push down the handle of the armrest
door and open the armrest door.
Access to the trunk can be prevented by
locking the armrest door with the master
key.
To lock: Turn the key clockwise.
See “Luggage stowage precautions” in
Section 2 for precautions in loading lug-
gage.
Trunk storage extension

’03 AVALON U (L/O 0206)
552003 AVALON (OM41401U)
To o h i g h
Adjust to
a snug fit
Keep as low on hips as possible
Remove excess length of the belt and
adjust the belt position.
To shorten the belt, pull the free end of
the belt.
Position the lap belt as low as possible
on your hips—not on your waist, then ad-
just it to a snug fit.
CAUTION
Both highpositioned and loosefit-
ting lap belts could cause serious in-
juries due to sliding under the lap
belt during a collision or other unin-
tended result. Keep the lap belt posi-
tioned as low on hips as possible.
To release the belt, press the bucklere-
lease button.The front center seat belt can be
stowed when not in use.
—Stowing the front center
seat belt

’03 AVALON U (L/O 0206)
922003 AVALON (OM41401U)
CAUTION
When using the lower anchorages
for the child restraint system, be
sure that there are no irregular ob-
jects around the anchorages and
that the seat belt is not caught.
Push and pull the child restraint
system in different directions to
make sure it is secure. Follow all
the installation instructions pro-
vided by its manufacturer.
Do not install a child restraint sys-
tem on the rear seat if it interferes
with the lock mechanism of the
front seats. This can cause death or
serious injury to a child and front
passenger in case of a sudden
braking or a collision.To change the steering wheel angle,
hold the steering wheel, pull the lock
release lever toward you, tilt the steer-
ing wheel to the desired angle and re-
lease the lever.
When the steering wheel is in a low posi-
tion, it will spring up as you release the
lock release lever.
CAUTION
Do not adjust the steering wheel
while the vehicle is moving. Doing
so may cause the driver to mishan-
dle the vehicle and an accident may
occur resulting in death or serious
injuries.
After adjusting the steering wheel,
try moving it up and down to make
sure it is locked in position.
Tilt steering wheel

’03 AVALON U (L/O 0206)
1072003 AVALON (OM41401U)
To turn on the windshield wipers, move
the lever to the desired setting.
The key must be in the “ON” position.
Lever position
Operation
Position 1Intermittent
operation
Position 2Low speed
operation
Position 3High speed
operation
Position 4Washer on
The “INT TIME” band lets you adjust the
wiping time interval when the wiper lever
is in the intermittent 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 (position 4).
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
or may damage wiper blades.
Automatic control adjuster
To turn on the windshield wipers, move
the lever to the desired setting.
The key must be in the “ON” position.
Lever position
Operation
Position 1Automatic
operation
Position 2Low speed
operation
Position 3High speed
operation
Position 4Washer on
Windshield wipers and washer
(intermittent operation type)Windshield wipers and washer
(raindrop detection type)

’03 AVALON U (L/O 0206)
1082003 AVALON (OM41401U)
Automatic operation (position 1)
The wiper speed is determined by the
amount of raindrops and sunlight detected
by the automatic wiper control sensor.
The automatic wiper control sensor is on
the inside of the windshield as shown
above.
If you feel that the operation of the auto-
matic wiper control is too fast or too slow,
twist the automatic control adjuster in the
“” direction to lower sensitivity, and “+”
direction to boost the sensitivity.Even if the wiper lever is in the position
1, the system will switch to intermittent
operations in the following conditions:
When the windshield gets extremely
cold (at less than 10C or 14F)
When the system malfunctions
However, when the windshield gets ex-
tremely hot (at more than 90C or 194F),
the wipers do not operate even if the
wiper lever is in the position 1.
When the ignition switch is turned off with
the wiper lever in the position 1, and then
the ignition switch is turned on again, the
automatic operation may not work even if
raindrops are on the windshield.
In this case, move the lever to another
position and return it to the position 1
again.
CAUTION
Be careful not to get your fingers
caught between the wipers and wind-
shield.
When the wiper lever is in the posi-
tion 1 with the ignition switch on, the
wipers could operate automatically in
the following cases:
If you touch the upper center of the
windshield adjacent to the sensor.
If you wipe the upper center of the
windshield (adjacent to which the
sensor is located) with a towel or
other object.
If the windshield vibrates.
If you touch the sensor.
NOTICE
Do not apply detergent to or wet the
automatic wiper control sensor when
cleaning the inside of the windshield.

’03 AVALON U (L/O 0206)
1092003 AVALON (OM41401U)
To squirt washer fluid, pull the lever
toward you (position 4).
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
or may damage wiper blades.
The wiper blades retract under the hood
when the wipers are turned off.
In the following cases, the wipers should
be shifted from the retracted position
(position 2) to the rest position (position
1) above the hood level.
When cleaning the windshield
When inspecting or replacing the wip-
ers
When the retraction may be obstructed
by snow, etc., at the bottom of the
windshield
Other than the above cases, keep the
wipers in the retracted position.
SHIFTING TO THE REST POSITION
Hold the connection of the wiper arm
and wiper blade and pull it upward for
more than 10 cm (3.9 in.) along the
windshield glass with the force of
about 98 N (10 kgf, 22 lbf).
NOTICE
To prevent the wiper blades from be-
ing deformed, be sure to hold the
connection of the wiper arm and wip-
er blade securely.
Shifting the windshield wiper
position

’03 AVALON U (L/O 0206)
11 52003 AVALON (OM41401U)
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.
Ty p e A
Ty p e B
Tachometer Odometer and two trip meters

’03 AVALON U (L/O 0206)
1262003 AVALON (OM41401U)
(b) Overdrive switch
You can select either third gear (with
overdrive off) or fourth gear (with over-
drive on) by pushing this switch.
To turn the overdrive off, push the switch.
The “O/D OFF” indicator light should come
on. To turn the overdrive on again, push
the switch again. The “O/D OFF” indicator
light should go off.
Always drive your vehicle with the over-
drive on for better fuel economy and
quieter driving.
If the engine is turned off when the over-
drive is off and restarted, the overdrive
will automatically be on.When the cruise control is being used,
even if you downshift the transmission by
pushing and releasing the overdrive
switch, engine braking will not be enabled
because the cruise control is not can-
celled.
For ways to decrease the vehicle speed,
see “Cruise control” in this section.
(c) Normal driving
1. Start the engine as instructed in “How
to start the engine” in Section 3. The
transmission must be in “P” or “N”.
2. With your foot holding down the brake
pedal, shift the selector lever to “D”.
When the lever is in the “D” position, the
automatic transmission system will select
the most suitable gear for running condi-
tions such as normal cruising, hill climb-
ing, hard towing, etc.
Always turn the overdrive on for better
fuel economy and quieter driving. If the
engine coolant temperature is low, the
transmission will not shift into the over-
drive gear even with the overdrive on.
CAUTION
Never put your foot on the accelera-
tor pedal while shifting.
3. Release the parking brake and brake
pedal. Depress the accelerator pedal
slowly for smooth starting.
If the automatic locking operation linked
with the shift position is set, all doors are
automatically locked when the selector le-
ver is moved out of the “P” position after
the ignition switch is turned to the “ON”
position and all the doors are closed. For
details, see “—Automatic door locking and
unlocking functions” in Section 12.
(d) Using engine braking
To use engine braking, you can downshift
the transmission as follows:
Push the overdrive switch. The “O/D
OFF” indicator light will come on and
the transmission will downshift to third
gear.
Shift into the “2” position. The trans-
mission will downshift to second gear
when the vehicle speed drops down to
or lower than 132 km/h (82 mph), and
stronger engine braking will be en-
abled.
Shift into the “L” position. The trans-
mission will downshift to first gear
when the vehicle speed drops down to
or lower than 59 km/h (36 mph), and
maximum engine braking will be en-
abled.