light TOYOTA CAMRY 1996 Owner's Manual

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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72(c) Backing up
1. Bring the vehicle to a complete stop.
2. With the brake pedal held down with
your foot, shift the selector lever to the Rº
position.
NOTICE
Never shift into reverse while the
vehicle is moving.
(d) Parking
1. Bring the vehicle to a complete stop.
2. Pull the parking brake lever up fully to
securely apply the parking brake.
3. With the brake pedal pressed down,
shift the selector lever to the Pº position.
While the vehicle is moving, never
attempt to move the selector lever
into Pº position under any circum-
stances. Serious mechanical dam-
age and loss of vehicle control may
result.CAUTION
!
(e) Good driving practice

If the transmission is repeatedly up-
shifted and downshifted between the
third gear and overdrive when climbing
a gentle slope, the overdrive switch
should be turned off. Be sure to turn
the switch on immediately afterward.

When towing a trailer, in order to main-
tain engine braking efficiency, do not
use overdrive.
Always keep your foot on the brake
pedal while stopped with the engine
running. This prevents the vehicle
from creeping.CAUTION
!
NOTICE
Do not hold the vehicle on an
upgrade with the accelerator pedal.
It can cause the transmission to
overheat. Always use the brake
pedal or parking brake.
(f) Driving in PWRº mode
In the PWRº mode, the transmission is
shifted up and down at a higher vehicle
speed than in the NORMº mode and a
more powerful acceleration is achieved.
To set the PWRº mode, push in the driv-
ing pattern selector button. The PWRº
mode indicator light comes on.
For ordinary driving, Toyota recommends
using the NORMº mode to improve fuel
economy.
(g) If you cannot shift the selector lever
out of Pº position
If you cannot shift the selector lever from
Pº position even though the brake pedal
is depressed, use the shift lock override
button. For instructions, see If you can-
not shift automatic transmission selector
leverº in Part 4.
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74
Be careful when downshifting on a
slippery surface. Abrupt shifting
could cause the vehicle to spin or
skid.CAUTION
!
NOTICE
Make sure the vehicle is completely
stopped before shifting into reverse.
To set: Pull up the lever.
To release: Pull up slightly, press the
thumb button, and lower.
Before leaving your vehicle, firmly apply
the parking brake.
Before driving, be sure the parking
brake is fully released and the park-
ing brake reminder light is off.CAUTION
!
To set: Fully depress the pedal.
To release: Pull the lever.
Before leaving your vehicle, firmly apply
the parking brake.
Before driving, be sure the parking
brake is fully released and the park-
ing brake reminder light is off.CAUTION
! Parking brake (pedal type) Parking brake (lever type)
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75
The cruise control allows you to cruise
the vehicle at a desired speed over 40
km/h (25 mph) even with your foot off
the accelerator pedal.
Your cruising speed can be maintained up
or down grades within the limits of engine
performance, although a slight speed
change may occur when driving up or
down the grades. On steeper hills, a
greater speed change will occur so it is
better to drive without the cruise control.

To help maintain maximum control
of your vehicle, do not use the
cruise control when driving in
heavy or varying traffic, or on slip-
pery (rainy, icy or snow-covered)
or winding roads.

Avoid vehicle speed increases
when driving downhill. If the ve-
hicle speed is too fast in relation to
the cruise control set speed, can-
cel the cruise control then down-
shift the transmission to use en-
gine braking to slow down.CAUTION
!
TURNING ON THE SYSTEM
To operate the cruise control, push the
CRUISE ON-OFFº switch. This turns the
system on. The indicator light in the instru-
ment panel shows that you can now set
the vehicle at a desired cruising speed.
Another push will turn the system com-
pletely off.
To avoid accidental cruise control
engagement, keep the CRUISE
ON-OFFº switch off when not using
the cruise control.CAUTION
!
SETTING AT A DESIRED SPEED
On vehicles with automatic transmission,
the transmission must be in Dº before
you set the cruise control speed.
Bring your vehicle to the desired speed,
press the SET/COASTº direction and re-
lease it. This sets the vehicle at that
speed. Now you may take your foot off the
accelerator pedal. If you need accelera-
tionÐfor example, when passingÐde-
press the accelerator pedal enough for
the vehicle to exceed the set speed.
When you release it, the vehicle will return
to the speed set prior to the acceleration.
For manual transmission:
While driving with the cruise control
on, do not shift to neutral without
depressing the clutch pedal, as this
may cause engine racing or overrev-
ving.CAUTION
! Cruise control
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76CANCELLING THE PRESET SPEED
You can cancel the preset speed by:
a. Pulling the control lever in the CAN-
CELº direction and releasing it.
b. Depressing the brake pedal.
c. Depressing the clutch pedal (manual
transmission).
If the vehicle speed falls below about 40
km/h (25 mph), the preset speed will auto-
matically cancel out.
If the vehicle speed drops 16 km/h (10
mph) below the preset speed, the preset
speed will also automatically cancel out.
If the preset speed automatically cancels
out other than for the above cases, have
your vehicle checked by your Toyota deal-
er at the earliest opportunity.
RESETTING AT A FASTER SPEED
Push the control lever upward in the
RES/ACCº direction and hold it. Release
the lever when the desired speed is at-
tained. While the lever is held upward, the
vehicle will gradually gain speed.
However, a faster way to reset is to accel-
erate the vehicle and then press the con-
trol lever downward in the SET/COASTº
direction.RESETTING AT A SLOWER SPEED
Push the control lever downward in the
SET/COASTº direction and hold it. Re-
lease the lever when the desired speed is
attained. While the lever is held down-
ward, the vehicle speed will gradually de-
crease.
However, a faster way to reset is to de-
press the brake pedal and then press the
control lever downward in the SET/
COASTº direction.
RESUMING THE PRESET SPEED
If the preset speed is cancelled by pulling
the control lever or by depressing the
brake pedal or clutch pedal, pushing the
lever up in the RES/ACCº direction will
restore the speed set prior to cancellation.
However, once the vehicle speed falls be-
low about 40 km/h (25 mph), the preset
speed will not be resumed.
CRUISE CONTROL FAILURE WARNING
If the CRUISEº indicator light in the in-
strument cluster flashes when using the
cruise control, there is some trouble in the
cruise control system. Contact your Toyo-
ta dealer and have your vehicle inspected.ProCarManuals.com

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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79
COMPACT DISC PLAYER
Use only Compact Discs labeled as
shown, having no dirt, damage or
warp.
Never attempt to disassemble or oil
any part of the player unit. Do not in-
sert any object other than a Disc into
the slot.
Remember there are no user-serviceable
parts inside.
Do not put fingerprints, stickers,
scratches or pen marks on the sur-
faces of the Disc.
Hold the Disc only on the edge or center
hole.A new disc may have rough edges on
its inner and outer perimeter. Remove
the rough edges by pressing the side
of a ball-point pen or pencil against
the inner and outer perimeter of the
Disc as shown.
If you continue to play a Disc with rough
edges, flakes will fall on to the signal side
of the Disc and cause sound skipping or
other problems.When not in use, take the Disc out of
the player, put it back into its case and
store it away from dust, heat, damp
and direct sunlight.
Leaving Discs on the dashboard in the
sun may damage or warp them.
If the Disc gets dirty, wipe it clean with
a soft cloth, wiping radially out from
the center.
Do not use a conventional record cleaner
or anti-static record preservative.
Compact Disc players use invisible
laser beam which could cause haz-
ardous radiation exposure if di-
rected outside the unit. Be sure to
operate the player correctly as
instructed.CAUTION
!
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