engine TOYOTA HIGHLANDER 2021 Owners Manual (in English)

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HIGHLANDER_U
Pictorial indexSearch by illustration
For safety
and securityMake sure to read through them
(Main topics: Child seat, theft deterrent system)
Vehicle status
information and
indicatorsReading driving-related information
(Main topics: Meters, multi-information display)
Before driving
Opening and closing the doors and windows,
adjustment before driving
(Main topics: Keys, doors, seats)
Driving
Operations and advice which are necessary for
driving
(Main topics: Starting engine, refueling)
Interior featuresUsage of the interior features
(Main topics: Air conditioner, storage features)
Maintenance
and careCaring for your vehicle and maintenance
procedures
(Main topics: Interior and exterior, light bulbs)
When trouble
arisesWhat to do in case of malfunction and emergency
(Main topics: Battery discharge, flat tire)
Vehicle
specificationsVehicle specifications, customizable features
(Main topics: Fuel, oil, tire inflation pressure)
For ownersReporting safety defects for U.S. owners, and seat
belt, SRS airbag and headlight aim instructions for
Canadian owners
IndexSearch by symptom
Search alphabetically

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HIGHLANDER_UTABLE OF CONTENTS
For your information ........................
6
Reading this manual ...................... 11
How to search ................................ 12
Pictorial index ................................ 13
1-1. For safe use Before driving ........................ 24
For safe driving ..................... 25
Seat belts .............................. 27
SRS airbags .......................... 34
Front passenger occupant clas- sification system.................. 43
Exhaust gas precautions....... 48
1-2. Child safety Riding with children ............... 49
Child restraint systems .......... 50
1-3. Emergency assistance Safety Connect ..................... 65
1-4. Theft deterrent system Engine immobilizer system ... 71
Alarm ..................................... 73
2-1. Instrument cluster Warning lights and indicators............................................ 76
Gauges and meters .............. 81
Multi-information display (4.2-inch display)................. 84
Multi-information display (7-inch display)................................ 93
Head-up display ................. 103
Fuel consumption information ......................................... 1083-1. Key information
Keys ................................... 114
3-2.
Opening, closing and locking
th

e doors
Side doors .......................... 117
Back door ........................... 121
Smart key system .............. 133
3-3. Adjusting the seats Front seats ......................... 141
Rear seats.......................... 142
Driving position memory .... 147
Head restraints................... 150
3-4. Adjust
ing the steering wheel
and mirrors
Ste

ering wheel ...................153
Inside rear view mirror ....... 154
Digital Rearview Mirror....... 155
Outside rear view mirrors ... 165
3-5. Opening, closing the win- dows and moon roof
Power windows .................. 167
Moon roof ........................... 170
Panoramic moon roof......... 173
4-1. Before driving Driving the vehicle.............. 179
Cargo and luggage ............ 186
Vehicle load limits .............. 189
Trailer towing...................... 190
Dinghy towing .................... 201
4-2. Driving procedures Engi

ne (ignition) switch ...... 202
Automatic transmission ...... 206
Turn signal lever................. 210
Parking brake ..................... 211
1For safety and security
2Vehicle status information
and indicators
3Before driving
4Driving

4TABLE OF CONTENTS
HIGHLANDER_U
Emission inspection and mainte-nance (I/M) programs....... 406
6-3. Do-it-yourself maintenance Do-it-yourself service precau-tions ................................. 408
Hood .................................. 410
Positioning a floor jack ....... 411
Engine compartment .......... 412
Tires ................................... 419
Tire inflation pressure......... 431
Wheels ............................... 433
Air conditioning filter ........... 434
Electronic key battery ......... 436
Checking and replacing fuses ......................................... 438
Headlight aim ..................... 440
Light bulbs .......................... 441
7-1. Essential information Emergency flashers ........... 450
If your vehicle has to be stopped in an emergency .............. 450
If the vehicle is trapped in rising water ................................ 451
7-2. Steps to take in an emergency If your vehicle needs to be towed......................................... 453
If you think something is wrong ......................................... 456
Fuel pump shut off system ......................................... 457
If a warning light turns on or a warning buzzer sounds .... 458
If a warning message is dis- played .............................. 468
If you have a flat tire ........... 472
If the engine will not start ... 486
If you lose your keys .......... 487If the fuel filler door cannot be
opened ............................. 488
If the electronic key does not operate properly............... 489
If the vehicle battery is dis- charged ............................ 491
If your vehicle overheats .... 495
If the vehicle becomes stuck ......................................... 497
8-1. Specifications Maintenance data (fuel, oil level, etc.) .................................. 500
Fuel information ................. 509
Tire information .................. 511
8-2. Customization Customizable features ....... 521
8-3. Initialization Items to initialize ................ 533
9-1. For owners Reporting safety defects for U.S. owners ............................. 536
Seat belt instructions for Cana- dian owners (in French) ... 536
SRS airbag instructions for Canadian owners (in French)......................................... 538
Headlight aim instructions for Canadian owners (in French)
........
................................. 545
What to do if... (Troubleshooting) ......................................... 548
Alphabetical Index.............. 551
7When trouble arises
8Vehicle specifications
9For owners
Index

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HIGHLANDER_U
Please note that this manual
applies to explains all models
and all equipment, including
options. Therefore, you may find
some explanations for equip-
ment not installed on your vehi-
cle.
All specifications provided in this
manual are current at the time of
printing. However, because of
the Toyota policy of continual
product improvement, we
reserve the right to make
changes at any time without
notice.
Depending on specifications,
the vehicle shown in the illustra-
tions may differ from your vehi-
cle in terms of color and
equipment.
Approximately five hours after
the engine is turned off, you
may hear sound coming from
under the vehicle for several
minutes. This is the sound of a
fuel evaporation leakage check
and, it does not indicate a mal-
function.A wide variety of non-genuine
spare parts and accessories for
Toyota vehicles are currently
available in the market. You
should know that Toyota does
not warrant these products and
is not responsible for their per-
formance, repair, or replace-
ment, or for any damage they
may cause to, or adverse effect
they may have on, your Toyota
vehicle.
This vehicle should not be modi-
fied with non-genuine Toyota
products. Modification with
non-genuine Toyota products
could affect its performance,
safety or durability, and may
even violate governmental regu-
lations. In addition, damage or
performance problems resulting
from the modification may not
be covered under warranty.
Also, remodeling like this will
have an effect on advanced
safety equipment such as Toy-
ota Safety Sense 2.5 + and
there is a danger that it will not
work properly or the danger that
it may work in situations where it
should not be working.
For your information
Main Owner’s Manual
Noise from under vehicle
after turning off the engine
Accessories, spare parts
and modification of your
To y o t a

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HIGHLANDER_U
The installation of a mobile
two-way radio system in your
vehicle could affect electronic
systems such as:
Multiport fuel injection sys-
tem/sequential multiport fuel
injection system
 Toyota Safety Sense 2.5 +
 Anti-lock brake system
 SRS airbag system
 Seat belt pretensioner system
Be sure to check with your Toy-
ota dealer for precautionary
measures or special instructions
regarding installation of a mobile
two-way radio system.
The vehicle is equipped with
sophisticated computers that will
record certain data, such as:
• Engine speed/Electric motor speed (traction motor speed)
• Accelerator status
• Brake status
• Vehicle speed
• Operation status of the driving assist systems
• Images from the cameras
Your vehicle is equipped with cam-
eras. Contact your Toyota dealer for
the location of recording cameras.
The recorded data varies
according to the vehicle grade level and options with which it is
equipped.
These computers do not record
conversations or sounds, and
only record images outside of
the vehicle in certain situations.

Data Transmission
Your vehicle may transmit the data
recorded in these computers to
Toyota without notification to you.
Data usage
Toyota may use the data recorded
in this computer to diagnose mal-
functions, conduct research and
development, and improve quality.
Toyota will not disclose the
recorded data to a third party
except:
• With the consent of the vehicle
owner or with the consent of the
lessee if the vehicle is leased
• In response to an official request by the police, a court of law or a
government agency
• For use by Toyota in a lawsuit
• For research purposes where the data is not tied to a specific vehi-
cle or vehicle owner
 Recorded image information
can be erased by your Toyota
dealer.
The image recording function can
be disabled. However, if the func-
tion is disabled, data from when the
system operates will not be avail-
able.
To learn more about the vehi-
cle data collected, used and
shared by Toyota, please visit
Installation of a mobile
two-way radio system
Vehicle data recording

14Pictorial index
HIGHLANDER_UPrecautions for winter season....
.......................................... P.327
To prevent freezing (windshield wiper de-icer) ............. P.338, 343
Precautions for car wash
*.................................................... P.397
Fuel filler door .................................................................... P.227
Refueling method ................................................................. P.227
Fuel type/fuel tank capacity ................................................. P.501
Tires..................................................................................... P.419
Tire size/inflation pressure ........................................... P.419, 505
Winter tires/tire chains ......................................................... P.327
Checking/rotation/tire pressure warning system .................. P.419
Coping with flat tires............................................................. P.472
Hood .................................................................................... P.410
Opening ............................................................................... P.410
Engine oil ............................................................................. P.502
Coping with overheating ...................................................... P.495
Warning messages .............................................................. P.468
Front turn signal lights/parking lights
*................... P.210P.216
Parking lights
*.................................................................... P.216
Headlights/daytime running lights
*.................................. P.216
Headlights........................................................................... P.216
Daytime running lights ............... ....................................... P.216
Front side marker lights .................................................... P.216
Parking lights
*/daytime running lights*........................... P.216
Front fog lights
*.................................................................. P.222
Stop/tail lights .................................................................... P.216
Tail lights............................................................................. P.216
Back-up lights
Shifting the shift lever to R ................................................... P.206
Light bulbs of the exterior lights for driving
(Replacing method: P.441, Watts: P.507)

16Pictorial index
HIGHLANDER_U
■Instrument panel
Engine switch ..................................................................... P.202
Starting the engine/changing the modes ............................. P.202
Emergency stop of the engine ............................................. P.450
When the engine will not start .............................................. P.486
Warning messages .............................................................. P.468
Shift lever............................................................................ P.206
Changing the shift position................................................... P.207
Precautions for towing . ........................................................ P.453
When the shift lever does not move..................................... P.208
Meters ................................................................................... P.81
Reading the meters/adjusting the instrument panel light . P.81, 83
Warning lights/indicator lights ................................................ P.76
When a warning light turns on ............................................. P.458
Multi-information display ........... ................................... P.84, 93
Display ............................................................................. P.84, 93
When the warning messages are displayed ........................ P.468

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For safety and security
HIGHLANDER_U
For safety and security
.1-1. For safe useBefore driving ................. 24
For safe driving .............. 25
Seat belts ....................... 27
SRS airbags ................... 34
Front passenger occupant classification system .... 43
Exhaust gas precautions ..................................... 48
1-2. Child safety Riding with children ........ 49
Child restraint systems... 50
1-3. Emergency assistance Safety Connect .............. 65
1-4. Theft deterrent system Engine immobilizer system..................................... 71
Alarm.............................. 73

251-1. For safe use
1
For safety and security
HIGHLANDER_U
Adjust the angle of the seat-
back so that you are sitting
straight up and so that you do
not have to lean forward to
steer. (P.141)
Adjust the seat so that you
can depress the pedals fully
and so that your arms bend
slightly at the elbow when
gripping the steering wheel.
( P.141)
Lock the head restraint in
place with the center of the
head restraint closest to the
top of your ears. ( P.150)
Wear the seat belt correctly.
( P.27)
WARNING
■Before driving
●Check that the floor mat is
securely fixed in the correct
place with all the provided
retaining hooks (c lips). Be espe-
cially careful to perform this
check after cleaning the floor.
●With the engine stopped and
the shift lever in P, fully depress
each pedal to the floor to make
sure it does not interfere with
the floor mat.
For safe driving
For safe driving, adjust the
seat and mirror to an appro-
priate position before driv-
ing.
Correct driving posture

361-1. For safe use
HIGHLANDER_U
Airbag sensor assembly
Your vehicle is equipped wi th ADVANCED AIRBAGS designed
based on the US motor vehicle safety standards (FMVSS208). The
airbag sensor assembly (ECU) controls airbag deployment based on
information obtained from the sensors etc. shown in the system
components diagram above. This information includes crash sever-
ity and occupant information. As the airbags deploy, a chemical
reaction in the inflators quickly fills the airbags with non-toxic gas to
help restrain the motion of the occupants.
■If the SRS airbags deploy
(inflate)
●Slight abrasions, burns, bruising
etc., may be sustained from SRS
airbags, due to the extremely high
speed deployment (inflation) by
hot gases.
●A loud noise and white powder will
be emitted.
●Parts of the airbag module (steer-
ing wheel hub, airbag cover and
inflator) as well as the front seats,
parts of the front and rear pillars,
and roof side rails, may be hot for
several minutes. The airbag itself
may also be hot.
●The windshield may crack.
●All of the doors will be unlocked.
(  P.118)
●The brakes and st op lights will be
controlled automatically. ( P.322)
●The interior lights will turn on auto-
matically. ( P.365)
●The emergency flashers will turn
on automatically. ( P.450)
●Fuel supply to the engine will be
stopped. ( P.457)
●For Safety Connect subscribers, if
any of the following situations
occur, the system is designed to
send an emergency call to the
response center, notifying them of
the vehicle’s location (without
needing to push the “SOS” button)
and an agent will a ttempt to speak
with the occupants to ascertain the level of emergency and assis-
tance required. If the occupants
are unable to communicate, the
agent automatically treats the call
as an emergency and helps to dis-
patch the necessary emergency
services. (
P. 6 5 )
• An SRS airbag is deployed.
• A seat belt pretensioner is acti-
vated.
• The vehicle is involved in a severe
rear-end collision.
■SRS airbag deployment condi-
tions (SRS front airbags)
●The SRS front airbags will deploy
in the event of an impact that
exceeds the set threshold level
(the level of force corresponding
to an approximately 12 - 18 mph
[20 - 30 km/h] fr ontal collision with
a fixed wall that does not move or
deform).
However, this threshold velocity will
be considerably higher in the follow-
ing situations:
• If the vehicle strikes an object, such as a parked vehicle or sign
pole, which can move or deform
on impact
• If the vehicle is involved in an underride collision, such as a colli-
sion in which the front of the vehi-
cle “underrides”, or goes under,
the bed of a truck
●Depending on the type of collision,
it is possible that only the seat belt
pretensioners and SRS seat cush-
ion airbag will activate.