TOYOTA AVALON 2006 XX30 / 3.G Owners Manual

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Steering wheel
Instrument cluster
1. Cruise control switch
2. Distance switch
3. “CRUISE” indicator light
4. “NORM.” indicator light (conventional cruise control mode
indicator light)
5. Display
6. Master warning light
7. “READY” indicator light (ready mode indicator light)
Vehicletovehicle distance control mode
Conventional (fixed speed) cruise control
mode
—Dynamic laser cruise control
modes

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The dynamic laser cruise control func-
tion has two cruise control modes.
Vehicle−to −vehicle distance control
mode for maintaining an appropriate
distance between vehicles
Conventional (fixed speed) cruise con-
trol mode for cruising at preset speeds
You can change the mode by using the
control lever.
The two cruise control modes function dif-
ferently. If you use dynamic laser cruise
control, always confirm which mode is se-
lected.
For the vehicle −to −vehicle distance control
mode, see “—Vehicle −to −vehicle distance
control mode” on page 174. For the con-
ventional (fixed speed) cruise control
mode, see “—Conventional (fixed speed)
cruise control mode” on page 185. The laser radar sensor in this system
primarily detects the reflectors of the
vehicle ahead of you to determine the
presence of the vehicle ahead as well
as measuring the vehicletovehicle dis-
tance. The detection range of the sen-
sor is about 120 m (400 ft.) ahead.
CAUTION
Dynamic laser cruise control is not a
collisionavoidance system and will
not prevent accidents. Dynamic laser
cruise control is a vehicle speed con-
trol device that is intended for use
only on freeways or roads where the
traffic is light or moderate. To avoid
serious injury, you must use caution
and be attentive to road and traffic
conditions while using dynamic laser
cruise control.
—Vehicletovehicle distance
control mode

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DYNAMIC LASER CRUISE CONTROL
OPERATIONS
The dynamic laser cruise control func-
tion operates automatically and depend-
ing on whether a vehicle is detected
ahead may change the speed of your
vehicle as follows.
If no vehicle is running ahead of you—1. Cruising at a fixed speed: If there is
no vehicle detected ahead, your
cruising speed is maintained at the
preset speed from about 45 km/h (28
mph) to about 135 km/h (85 mph). The
preset speed is displayed in the
display. For the vehicle speed setting,
see “SETTING THE DESIRED SPEED”
on page 179. If a vehicle is detected ahead of you—
2. Deceleration cruising function: If a
slower moving vehicle is detected
ahead of you, your vehicle cruising
speed decreases within the range of
about 40 km/h (25 mph) to about 135
km/h (85 mph). The display shows the
preset speed, the detected vehicle
ahead and selected vehicle −to −vehicle
distance. If your vehicle gets closer to
the vehicle ahead because of insuffi-
cient automatic deceleration, then the
alarm warns you to also manually ap-
ply brakes.
3. Followup cruising function: After de-
celeration, your vehicle cruising speed
changes in proportion to the speed of
the vehicle ahead to maintain an ap-
propriate distance from your vehicle to
the vehicle ahead. The vehicle −to −ve-
hicle distance can be changed. For de-
tails, see “CHANGING VEHICLE −TO −
VEHICLE DISTANCE” on page 181.
4. Acceleration cruising function: If the
vehicle ahead changes lanes, your ve-
hicle cruising speed will be gradually
increased up to the preset speed, and
your vehicle resumes fixed −speed
cruising. This system operates by detecting pri-
marily the reflectors of the vehicle
ahead. The distance may not be accu-
rately or absolutely detected in the fol-
lowing cases:
The vehicle ahead has higher ground
clearance, which means that the
placement of the reflectors is in a
higher position.
The rear section of the vehicle ahead
is extremely dirty.
The vehicle ahead or other vehicles
around you are flinging up water or
snow.
Excessive exhaust gas (black smoke)
is coming from the vehicle ahead or
other vehicles around you, obscuring
your front view.
There is an obstruction (protective
film, sticker, etc.) on the reflectors
on the vehicle ahead, or reflectors
are not installed on the vehicle
ahead or are damaged.
Heavy luggage in the luggage
compartment or rear seats is caus-
ing the nose of your vehicle to tilt
up.

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CAUTION
To avoid accidents, always keep the
laser radar sensor glass clean and
never allow it to be covered with
icicle or any substance, so it can de-
tect the vehicle in front. (See “LASER
RADAR SENSOR” on page 183.)
CAUTION
Do not rely excessively on dynamic
laser cruise control. Observe the fol-
lowing precautions in order to avoid
serious injury or death:
Under certain conditions where the
vehicle in front slows drastically, or
is stopped, the dynamic laser cruise
control will neither warn you nor
decelerate. You must depress the
brake pedal to slow down, ensuring
collision avoidance or that suffi-
cient vehicletovehicle distance is
maintained.
Do not use dynamic laser cruise
control in the following conditions:
In bad weather (such as rain, fog,
snow, sandstorms or direct sun-
light, or when raindrops or snow-
flakes get on the laser radar sensor
glass), the vehicletovehicle dis-
tance will not be measured accura-
tely.
When using the windshield wipers
at high or low speeds the dynamic
laser radar cruise control turns off.
On roads with heavy traffic or
sharp bends, an appropriate speed
cannot be maintained and an acci-
dent may occur.
On slippery road surfaces (icy or
snowcovered road surfaces), the
tires will race and you will be un-
able to control the vehicle.
When there is no vehicle detected
ahead on steep downhill slopes, the
preset speed will be easily exceed-
ed because of inefficient engine
braking. (In this case, automatic
braking will not work.) If there is a
vehicle detected ahead, the delay in
deceleration timing could cause se-
rious injury or death.
When the alarm sounds frequently
(because acceleration or decelera-
tion was repeated or sufficient ve-
hicletovehicle distance was not
maintained), an appropriate vehicle
speed cannot be attained and an
accident may occur.

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On roads with steep and short in-
clines and declines, failure to de-
tect the vehicle ahead will shorten
the distance between your vehicle
and the vehicle ahead and an acci-
dent may occur.
Deceleration cruising function and
approach warning do not operate
when the vehicle ahead is at a stop
or driving very slowly.
If the vehicle ahead of you deceler-
ates abruptly or if another vehicle
cuts in ahead of you, your vehicle
may collide with the vehicle ahead
unless you manually depress the
brake pedal to slow down your ve-
hicle.
Depending on the road configura-
tion (curved, left and right continu-
ous curved, the start or end of a
curve, or narrow driving lanes due
to road construction) or your ve-
hicle condition (steering wheel ma-
neuvering, position in the lane, or
unstable driving because of an acci-
dent or breakdown), vehicles in oth-
er lanes or surrounding objects
may be detected, resulting in a con-
trol failure or the approach warning
activation. This may also result in
a very close distance between vehi-
cles due to a failure to detect the
vehicle ahead.
Dynamic laser cruise control should not
be used in circumstances which are inap-
propriate for any cruise control, such as
entering free way on−ramps or off −ramps.
CAUTION
Do not use dynamic laser cruise
control when exiting from or when
entering or merging onto a freeway.
When you are following a slower
moving vehicle and exiting, the sen-
sor does not detect the vehicle and
will accelerate to the preset speed.

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If other vehicles are driving outside
of the laser radar detection range,
a delay in the detection of the ve-
hicle cutting in at short range or
failure to detect a motorcycle run-
ning on the side of the same lane
will occur. In this case, the dynamic
laser cruise control system will not
function properly.
When a slower vehicle in front of
you leaves the lane, the dynamic
laser cruise control will no longer
detect a vehicle ahead and will at-
tempt to accelerate the vehicle to
the faster preset speed.
TURNING THE SYSTEM ON
To operate dynamic laser cruise control,
press the “ON−OFF” button. This turns the
system on. When the “CRUISE” and
“READY” indicator lights in the instrument
cluster come on, you can now set your
desired cruising speed and vehicle −to −ve-
hicle distance. Pressing the “ON −OFF”
button again will turn the system com-
pletely off.
When the ignition is turned off, the system
is also automatically turned off. To use
dynamic laser cruise control again, press
the “ON −OFF” button again to turn it on. When the ignition is turned off, all the
preset data is cleared. When you use the
dynamic laser cruise control again, you
need to reset the data.
CAUTION
To avoid accidentally engaging the
cruise control, keep the “ONOFF”
button off when not using the dynam-
ic laser cruise control.

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SETTING THE DESIRED SPEED
The transmission must be in the “D” posi-
tion or the shift range position must be “4”
(fourth range) or “5” (fifth range) in “S”
mode before you set the cruise control
speed.
Bring your vehicle to the desired speed,
push the lever down in the “− SET” direc-
tion and release it. This sets the vehicle
at that speed. At this time, the display
indicates settings such as the preset ve-
hicle speed, whether a vehicle is present
ahead and selected vehicle −to −vehicle dis-
tance. If there is no vehicle detected
ahead, the display does not indicate the
vehicle ahead. 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 control prior to acceleration.
You cannot set a desired speed if the
master warning light comes on, the alarm
sounds and the display indicates one of
the warning codes “C1”, “C2” or “E3”. If
any of the above codes appears on the
display, see “VEHICLE
−TO −VEHICLE
DISTANCE CONTROL MODE FAILURE
WARNING” on page 183.
CANCELLING THE PRESET SPEED
You can cancel the preset speed by doing
any of the following:
a. Pulling the lever in the “CANCEL” direction.
b. Depressing the brake pedal. c. Pressing the “ON −OFF” button.
If cancelled by a. or b., the “READY”
indicator comes on and the dynamic laser
cruise control enters the ready mode.
If cancelled by c., the “CRUISE” indicator
light goes off in the instrument panel. In
this case, the preset speed data is
cleared, and you must set the speed from
the beginning. In the following cases, the preset speed
automatically cancels out:
a. The vehicle speed falls below about 40 km/h (25 mph). (40 km/h [25 mph] is
designated as a cancel speed.)
b. The slip indicator light blinks and an alarm sounds. (This occurs when the
vehicle is about to skid.)
If cancelled by a. or b., the “READY”
indicator comes on and the dynamic laser
cruise control enters the ready mode.
If one of the warning codes “C1”, “C2” or
“E3” appears on the display, the preset
speed automatically cancels out. See
“VEHICLE −TO −VEHICLE DISTANCE
CONTROL MODE FAILURE WARNING” on
page 183.
If the preset speed automatically cancels
out for other than the above reasons, do
not operate the dynamic laser cruise con-
trol. Although there is no problem to con-
tinue driving, please contact your Toyota
dealer.

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RESETTING TO A FASTER SPEED
Push the lever up in the “+ RES” direction
and hold it. The displayed speed will in-
crease in increments of 5 mph. Release
the lever when the desired speed is attai-
ned. The vehicle speed will gradually in-
crease to the display speed.
However, a faster way to reset is to ac-
celerate the vehicle and then push the
lever down in the “− SET” direction.
CAUTION
When the vehicletovehicle distance
control is on, your cruising speed is
regulated in proportion to the speed
of the vehicle ahead, so increasing
the preset speed using the control
lever does not accelerate the vehicle.
However, if the vehicle ahead leaves
the lane, your cruising speed will in-
crease to the preset speed because
the preset speed has been set higher
using the control lever. Confirm the
setting on the display.
RESETTING TO A SLOWER SPEED
Push the lever down in the “− SET” direc-
tion and hold it. The displayed speed will
decrease in increments of 5 mph. Release
the lever when the desired speed is attai-
ned. The vehicle speed will gradually de-
crease to the display speed.
However, a faster way to reset is to de-
press 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 sys-
tem will memorize the upper limit of the
preset speed as a preset speed.
Even if you downshift the transmission
from “D” position or “5” (fifth range) to “4”
(fourth range) in sequential mode in the
vehicle− to−vehicle distance control mode,
engine braking will not be enabled be-
cause this mode is not cancelled. To de-
crease the vehicle speed, reset to a slow-
er speed with the cruise control lever or
depress the brake pedal. If you use the
brake pedal, cruise control is cancelled. RESUMING THE PRESET SPEED
If the preset speed has been cancelled,
when you push the lever up in the
“+ RES” direction while the “READY” indi-
cator in the instrument cluster comes on
at a vehicle speed of more than 40 km/h
(25 mph), the speed set prior to cancella-
tion will be restored.
During follow
−up cruising, if there are no
vehicles ahead because they have
changed lanes, your vehicle will accelerate
gradually up to the preset speed. At this
time, pushing the lever up in the “+ RES”
direction will quickly speed up your ve-
hicle in vehicle −to −vehicle distance control
mode.

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CHANGING VEHICLETOVEHICLE
DISTANCE
You can select one of the following ve-
hicle−to −vehicle distances.
1. LONG
2. MIDDLE
3. SHORT
Each time you push the distance switch
briefly, the setting changes from LONG to
MIDDLE to SHORT and then back to
LONG. You can confirm the setting on the
display.
Your vehicle speed changes in proportion
to the speed of the vehicle ahead, main-
taining the selected distance. However, if
the vehicle ahead is slower, the selected
distance will be shorter than the desig-
nated distance.
When the vehicle −to −vehicle distance con-
trol mode is activated or the “READY”
indicator comes on, the vehicle −to −vehicle
distance setting can be changed.
The vehicle −to −vehicle distance is always
set to LONG when the ignition switch is
turned on. Select the vehicle
−to −vehicle distance con-
sidering traffic conditions. The approximate
vehicle −to −vehicle distance based on time
interval when driving at 88 km/h (55 mph)
is shown below:
LONG about 75 m (245 ft.)
. . . . . . . . . . .
MIDDLE about 50 m (165 ft.)
. . . . . . . . . .
SHORT about 30 m (100 ft.)
. . . . . . . . . .
If the vehicle speed is slower than 88
km/h (55 mph), the distance will be short-
er than the above.
During long downhill driving, the vehicle −
to −vehicle distance will be shorter than
the selected distance.

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BRAKING CONTROL
Dynamic laser cruise control is not a colli-
sion avoidance system. If the approach
warning is activated, depress the brake
pedal to decelerate to ensure an appropri-
ate vehicle−to−vehicle distance.
If you are getting closer to the vehicle
ahead at a relatively higher speed than
that of the vehicle ahead or if engine
braking cannot be applied properly, brak-
ing control is automatically activated. At
this time, the display flashes. Braking control is operating only when the
vehicle−
to−vehicle distance control mode
is selected and your vehicle speed ex-
ceeds about 40 km/h (25 mph). If the
speed decreases below about 40 km/h (25
mph), braking control will cease, requiring
the manual application of brakes.
CAUTION
Braking control will not ensure that
your vehicle will reduce speed ap-
propriately. You must depress the
brake pedal to slow down, ensuring
collision avoidance or that sufficient
vehicletovehicle distance is main-
tained.
APPROACH WARNING
While you are cruising in the vehicle −to −
vehicle distance control mode, if the ve-
hicle ahead decelerates abruptly or if
another vehicle cuts in ahead of you, in-
adequate braking will make your vehicle
become closer to the vehicle ahead of you
and the display will flash and beep.
CAUTION
If the display flashes and beeps,
you must depress the brake pedal
to slow down to avoid a collision
or maintain sufficient vehicletove-
hicle distance.
In the following conditions, the ap-
proach warning may not turn on
even if the vehicle drives closer to
the vehicle ahead, and an accident
may occur:
Your vehicle and the vehicle ahead
are cruising at almost the same
speed.
The vehicle ahead is cruising at a
faster speed than yours. (The dis-
tance between the vehicles will be-
come longer.)
The vehicle ahead is at a stop or
driving very slowly. Pay special
attention to a very slow vehicle at
the end of the line in heavy traffic
or at a tollgate.
The speed has just been set.
The accelerator pedal is depressed
or has just been released.