ignition TOYOTA CAMRY 1996 User Guide

64
The gauge indicates the engine cool-
ant temperature when the ignition
switch is on. The engine operating
temperature will vary with changes in
weather and engine load.
If the needle points to the red zone or high-
er, stop your vehicle and allow the engine
to cool.
Your vehicle may overheat during severe
operating conditions, such as:

Driving up a long hill on a hot day.

Reducing speed or stopping after high
speed driving.

Idling for a long period with the air con-
ditioning on in stop-and-go 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
control 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
vehicle overheatsº in Part 4.
The tachometer indicates engine
speed in thousands of rpm (revolu-
tions per minute). Use it while driving
to select correct shift points and to
prevent engine lugging and overrev-
ving.
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.
Tachometer Engine coolant temperature
gauge
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66(a) Brake System Warning Light
This light has the following functions:
Parking brake reminder
If this light is on, make sure the parking
brake is fully released. The light should go
off.
Low brake fluid level warning
If this light comes on and stays on while
you are driving, slow down and pull off the
road. Then stop the vehicle carefully.
There may be a problem somewhere in
the brake system. Check the fluid level of
the see-through reservoir.
To make sure the parking brake has not
caused the warning light to come on,
check to see that the parking brake is fully
released.
If the brake fluid level is low...
At a safe place, test your brakes by start-
ing and stopping.

If you judge that the brakes still work
adequately, drive cautiously to your
nearest dealer or shop for repairs.

If the brakes are not working, have the
vehicle towed in for repairs. (For tow-
ing information, see Part 4.)
It is dangerous to continue driving
normally when the brake fluid level
is low.CAUTION
!
If the brake fluid level is correct...
Have the warning system checked by
your Toyota dealer.
(b) Seat Belt Reminder Light and Buzzer
Once the ignition key is turned to ONº or
STARTº, the reminder light and buzzer
come on if the driver's seat belt is not fas-
tened. Unless the driver fastens the belt,
the light stays on and the buzzer stops af-
ter about 4 to 8 seconds.
(c) Discharge Warning Light
This light warns that the battery is being
discharged.
If it comes on while you are driving, there
is a problem somewhere in the charging
system.
The engine ignition will continue to oper-
ate, however, until the battery is dis-
charged. Turn off the air conditioning,
blower, radio, etc., and drive directly to the
nearest Toyota dealer or repair shop.
NOTICE
Do not continue driving if the
engine drive belt is broken or loose.
(d) Malfunction Indicator Lamp
This lamp comes on in the following
cases.
a. The fuel tank is completely empty.
(See Fuel gaugeº in Chapter 1-5 for in-
structions.)b. The fuel tank cap is not tightened se-
curely. (See Fuel tank capº in Chapter
1-2 for instructions.)
c. There is a problem somewhere in your
engine or automatic transmission electri-
cal system.
If it comes on while you are driving in case
c, have your vehicle checked/repaired by
your Toyota dealer as soon as possible.
(e) Low Fuel Level Warning Light
This light comes on when the fuel level in
the tank becomes nearly empty. Fill up the
tank as soon as possible.
(f) Low Oil Pressure Warning Light
This light warns that the engine oil pres-
sure is too low.
If it flickers or stays on while you are driv-
ing, pull off the road to a safe place and
stop the engine immediately. Call a Toyota
dealer or qualified repair shop for assis-
tance.
The light may occasionally flicker when
the engine is idling or it may come on brief-
ly after a hard stop. There is no cause for
concern if it then goes out when the en-
gine is accelerated slightly.
The light may come on when the oil level
is extremely low. It is not designed to indi-
cate low oil level, and the oil level must be
checked using the level dipstick.
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67
NOTICE
Do not drive the vehicle with the
warning light onÐeven for one
block. It may ruin the engine.
(g) ABSº Warning Light
This light warns that there is a problem
somewhere in your anti-lock brake sys-
tem.
If the light comes on while you are driving,
have your vehicle checked by your Toyota
dealer as soon as possible.
The light will come on when the ignition
key is turned to the ONº position. After
about 3 seconds, the light will go off.
When the ABSº warning light is on (and
the brake system warning light is off), the
brake system operates conventionally but
without anti-lock function.
(h) Open Door Warning Light
This light remains on until all the doors
and back door are completely closed.
(i) Rear Light Failure Warning Light
If this light comes on when the headlight
switch is turned on (at the first or second
clickstop), it indicates that one or more of
the tail lights are burned out.
If it comes on when the brake pedal is de-
pressed, one or more stop lights are
burned out.Have defective bulbs replaced as soon as
possible.
(j) SRS Airbag Warning Light
This light will come on when the igni-
tion key is turned to the ACCº or ONº
position. After about 6 seconds, the
light will go off. This means the airbag
system is operating properly.
The warning light system monitors the
front airbag sensors, center airbag sensor
assembly, inflators, warning light, inter-
connecting wiring and power sources.
If either of the following conditions occurs,
this indicates a malfunction somewhere in
the 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 when the
ignition key is turned to the ACCº or
ONº position or remains on.

The light comes on while driving.
(k) Key Reminder Buzzer
This buzzer reminds you to remove the
key when you open the driver's door with
the ignition key in the ACCº or LOCKº
position.CHECKING SERVICE REMINDER INDI-
CATORS (except the low fuel level
warning light)
1. Apply the parking brake.
2 . Open one of the side doors or back door.
The open door warning light should come
on.
3. Close the door.
The open door warning light should go off.
4. Turn the ignition key to ACCº.
The SRS airbag warning light should
come on. It goes off after about 6 sec-
onds.
5. Turn the ignition key to ONº, but do not
start the engine.
All the service reminder indicators except
the open door warning light and SRS air-
bag warning light should come on. The
ABSº warning light goes off after about 3
seconds.
If any service reminder indicator or warn-
ing buzzer does not function as described
above, either the bulb is burned out or the
circuit is in need of repair. Have it checked
by your Toyota dealer as soon as pos-
sible.
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Part 1Ignition switch with steering lock
69
OPERATION OF
INSTRUMENTS
AND CONTROLSÐ
Chapter 1-6
Ignition switch,
Transmission
and Parking brake

Ignition switch with steering lock

Automatic transmission

Manual transmission

Parking brake

Cruise control
STARTºÐStarter motor on. The key
will return to the ONº position when
released.
For starting tips, see Part 3.
ONºÐEngine on and all accessories
on.
This is the normal driving position.
ACCºÐAccessories such as the ra-
dio operate, but the engine is off.
If you leave the key in the ACCº or
LOCKº position and open the driver's
door, a buzzer will remind you to remove
the key.
LOCKºÐEngine is off and the steer-
ing wheel is locked. The key can be re-
moved only at this position.You must push in the key to turn the key
from ACCº to the LOCKº position. On
vehicles with an automatic transmission,
the selector lever must be put in the Pº
position before pushing the key.
When starting the engine, the key may
seem stuck at the LOCKº position. To
free it, first be sure the key is pushed all
the way in, and then rock the steering
wheel slightly while turning the key gently.For manual transmission:
Never remove the key when the ve-
hicle is moving, as this will lock the
steering wheel and result in loss of
steering control.CAUTION
!
NOTICE
Do not leave the key in the ONº
position if the engine is not running.
The battery will discharge and the
ignition could be damaged.
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71 Your automatic transmission has a shift
lock system to minimize the possibility of
incorrect operation. This means you can
only shift out of Pº position when the
brake pedal is depressed (with the ignition
switch in ONº position and the lock re-
lease button depressed).
(a) Normal driving
1. Start the engine as instructed in How
to start the engineº in Part 3. The trans-
mission must be in Pº or Nº.
2. With your foot holding down the brake
pedal, shift the selector lever to Dº.
In Dº position, the automatic transmis-
sion system will select the most suitable
gear for the running conditions such as
normal cruising, hill climbing, hard towing,
etc.
Always turn the overdrive switch on for
better fuel economy and quieter driving. If
the engine coolant temperature is low, the
transmission will not shift into overdrive
gear even with the overdrive switch on.
Never put your foot on the accelera-
tor pedal while shifting.CAUTION
!
3. Release the parking brake and brake
pedal. Depress the accelerator pedal
slowly for smooth starting.
(b) Using engine braking
To use engine braking, you can downshift
the transmission as follows:

Turn off the overdrive switch. The O/D
OFFº indicator light will come on and
the transmission will downshift to the
third gear.

Shift into the 2º position. The trans-
mission will downshift to the second
gear when the vehicle speed drops
down to or lower than the maximum al-
lowable speed for second gear, and
more powerful engine braking will be
obtained.

Shift into the Lº position. The trans-
mission will downshift to the first gear
when the vehicle speed drops down to
or lower than the maximum allowable
speed for Lº position and maximum
engine braking will be applied.MAXIMUM ALLOWABLE SPEEDS
km/h (mph)
2º Lº
5S-FE engine 120 (75) 66 (41)
1MZ-FE engine 128 (80) 70 (44)
Be careful when downshifting on a
slippery surface. Abrupt shifting
could cause the vehicle to spin or
skid.CAUTION
!
NOTICE
Be careful not to overrev the en-
gine. Watch the tachometer to
keep engine rpm from going into
the red zone. The maximum allow-
able speed (approximate) for each
position is given above for your
reference.
Do not continue hill climbing for a
long time in the 2º or Lº posi-
tion. This may cause severe auto-
matic transmission damage from
overheating. To prevent such
damage, use Dº position for hill
climbing or hard towing.
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Part 1Car audio system operating tips
77
OPERATION OF
INSTRUMENTS
AND CONTROLSÐ
Chapter 1-7
Car audio system and
Air conditioning
system
Car audio system operating tips
AM-FM radio with electronic
tuner
AM-FM radio with electronic
tuner and cassette tape player
AM-FM radio with electronic
tuner, cassette tape player and
Compact Disc player
Air conditioning controls
Heater controls
Side vents
Lower vent
You can listen to the car audio system
when the ignition key is at ONº or
ACCº. However, if the engine is not
running, the key must be in the ACCº
position.
ILLUMINATION CONTROL LOGIC
On some audio-units, when the instru-
ment panel lights are on, the letters on op-
erable buttons of the mode in current use
light up together with the mode selection
and eject buttons.
RADIO
FM reception tips
Most of us are not aware that a vehicle is
not an ideal place to listen to a radio. Be-
cause it moves, reception conditions
change continuously. Buildings, terrain,
signal distance and noise from other ve-
hicles are all working against good recep-
tion. Some FM reception conditions may
appear to be problems even though they
are normal.
The following characteristics are normal
for a given reception area, and they do not
indicate any problem with the radio itself.Fading and drifting: On the average,
the broadcast range of FM stations is
limited to about 40 km (25 miles), ex-
cept 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 phe-
nomenon is more noticeable with FM
than with AM, and is accompanied by
distortion.
Fading and drifting can be minimized
to a certain degree by fine tuning, or
you should tune in to a stronger signal.
Static and Fluttering: When the line-
of-sight path between a transmitter
and vehicle is blocked by large build-
ings or the like, static or fluttering may
occur because of the characteristic of
FM. In a similar effect, a fluttering
noise is sometimes heard when driv-
ing along a tree-lined road.
This static and fluttering can be re-
duced by adjusting the tone control for
greater bass response until the distur-
bance has passed.
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78Multipath: Because of the reflection
characteristics of FM, direct and re-
flected signals may reach the antenna
at the same time (a phenomenon
called multipath reception) and cancel
each other out. As a vehicle moves
through these electronic dead spots,
the listener may hear a momentary
flutter or lose reception.
Station swapping: When two FM sta-
tions are close to each other, and an
electronic dead spot, such as is
caused by static or multipath recep-
tion, interrupts the original signal,
sometimes the stronger second signal
is picked up 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.
On models with a power antenna, the an-
tenna automatically extends to its full
height when the radio and ignition are
turned on.
To lower the power antenna, turn off the
audio system by pushing PWR VOLº, or
turn the ignition key to LOCKº.
On some models, the power antenna au-
tomatically retracts when the radio mode
is switched off to turn on the cassette tape
player or compact disc player.Before extending the power antenna,
confirm that no one is close enough to get
injured by it.
To prevent damage to the antenna,
make sure it is retracted before
running your vehicle through an
automatic car wash.
NOTICE
CASSETTE TAPE PLAYER
Use only undamaged cassette tapes of
good quality. Avoid using tapes with a
total playing time longer than 90 min-
utes.
Using damaged tapes will cause trouble
with the tape player. Longer tapes are not
recommended because of their thinness.
Before inserting a cassette, make sure
the tape is not slack and that the label
is firmly stuck on the shell.
Wind the tape firmly by turning the hub
with a pencil or the like.
Be careful not to touch the exposed tape
surface.
When not in use, take the cassette out
of the player, put it back into its case
and store it away from dust, magnets
and direct sunlight.
Leaving cassettes on the dashboard in
the sun could damage your tapes.Keep the playback head, capstan and
pinch roller clean.
Remove tape coating residue accumu-
lated on the head, capstan and pinch roll-
er once or twice a month. A cleaning tape
is available on the market.
Do not oil any part of the player and
do not insert anything other than
cassette tapes into the slot, or the
tape player may be damaged.
NOTICE
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91 RVMº button (radio monitor system):
Use for automatic station reception.
Push the RMº button. RMº appears on
the display. In this mode, if you push the
REW FF (TUNE)º button on either side
when listening to the tape, the system will
change the radio mode and automatically
receive the last station which was set. At
the time, the received station condition
appears on the display.
The system will be cancelled out when the
power source is severed (battery discon-
nected, burnt fuse etc.)(i) Anti-theft system
To deter theft of your radio unit, the sys-
tem is designed so that the radio unit be-
comes inoperable if the unit is stolen from
the vehicle.
The system is not preset at factory. You
must input a three-digit identification
number decided by you.
NOTICE
If you pushed any wrong buttons on
the anti-theft system, the following
messages will appear on the
display.
ErrºÐYou have pushed wrong
buttons.
1-9ºÐIndicates the number of er-
rors you have made. You may
make up to nine errors, but no
more!
HELPºÐThe number of errors
you can make was exceeded. The
audio system is completely inop-
erable. Contact you Toyota dealer.
Setting the anti-theft system
1. Make sure the radio unit is turned off
with the ignition switch in ACCº.
2. While holding the 1º and 6º buttons
in, push and hold the PWR VOLº knob in
until SECº appears on the display.
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92
3. Press the 1º button while holding the
right side of TUNEº button in. - - -º and
the tape operation indicator will appear on
the display.4. Input your identification number by
pressing the 1º, 2º and 3º buttons re-
peatedly. Use the 1º button for the first
digit, the 2º button for the second digit
and the 3º button for the last digit. For ex-
ample, if your number is 824, press the 1º
button nine times, the 2º button three
times and the 3º button five times. if the
display returns to - - -º while inputting,
try again.
We recommend that your identification
number be associated with something
easy to remember. In case you are unsure
of the number, write it in a notebook you
normally carry. Do not leave it behind in
your vehicle.5. With your identification number ap-
pearing on the display, press the SCANº
button and hold it in until SECº appears
on the display. SECº will go off to indicate
the system is set. If invalid buttons have
been used, Errº will appear on the display
before SECº appears. Try again from the
step 3.
Once the system is set, the indicator light
turns on and off with the ignition switch in
OFFº and SECº will appear each time
the key is turned to the ACCº position.
To change the identification number for
some reason, cancel the system (See
Cancelling the anti-theft systemº) and
set it again with a new number.
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104
Setting the anti-theft system
1. Make sure the radio unit is turned off
with the ignition switch in ACCº.
2. While holding the 1 and 6 buttons in,
push and hold the PWR VOLº knob in un-
til SECº appears on the display3. Press the 1 button while holding the
right side of TUNEº button in. - - -º will
appear on the display.4. Input your identification number by
pressing the 1, 2 and 3 buttons repeated-
ly. Use the 1 button for the first digit, the
2 button for the second digit and the 3 but-
ton for the last digit. For example, if your
number is 210, press the 1 button three
times, the 2 button twice and the 3 button
once. If the display returns to - - -º while
inputting, try again.
We recommend that your identification
number be associated with something
easy to remember. In case you are unsure
of the number, write it in a notebook you
normally carry. Do not leave it behind in
your vehicle.
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