power steering TOYOTA HIGHLANDER 2021 Owners Manual (in English)

2
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

18Pictorial index
HIGHLANDER_U
■Switches
Driving position memory switches*1................................ P.147
Window lock switch .... ................................................ ....... P.169
Power window switches ................................. ................... P.167
Door lock switches ............................................................ P.120
Outside rear view mirror switches ................................... P.165
“ODO TRIP” switch .............................................................. P.83
Instrument panel light control switches ............................ P.83
Automatic High Beam switch ........................................... P.219
Camera switch
*1, 2
Power back door switch*1................................................. P.124
Heated steering wheel switch
*1........................................ P.360
Windshield wiper de-icer
*1................................................ P.351
*1: If equipped
*2: Refer to “NAVIGATION AND MU LTIMEDIA SYSTEM OWNER’S MAN-
UAL”.

772-1. Instrument cluster
2
Vehicle status information and indicators
HIGHLANDER_U
7-inch display
The units used on the meters and some indicators may differ
depending on the target region.
Warning lights inform the driver
of malfunctions in the indicated
vehicle’s systems.
Warning lights
(U.S.A.)
Brake system warning
light
*1 (  P.458)
(red)
(Canada)
Brake system warning
light
*1 (  P.458)
(yellow)
Brake system warning
light
*1 ( P.458)
High coolant temperature
warning light
*2 (  P.458)
Charging system warning
light
*1 (  P.459)
Low engine oil pressure
warning light
*2 (  P.459)
(U.S.A.)
Malfunction indicator
lamp
*1 ( P.459)
(Canada)
Malfunction indicator
lamp
*1 ( P.459)
SRS warning light
*1
(  P.459)
(U.S.A.)
ABS warning light*1
(  P.460)
(Canada)
ABS warning light*1
(  P.460)
Brake Override System
warning light/Drive-Start
Control warning light
*2
(  P.460)
(red/yel-
low)
Electric power steering
system warning light
( P.460)
Low fuel level warning
light
*1(  P.461)
Driver’s and front passen-
ger’s seat belt reminder
light ( P.461)

113
3
3
Before driving
HIGHLANDER_U
Before driving
.3-1. Key informationKeys ............................ 114
3-2. Opening, closing and locking the 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. Adjusting the steering wheel and mirrors
Steering 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

1623-4. Adjusting the steering wheel and mirrors
HIGHLANDER_U
SymptomLikely causeSolution
The image is diffi-
cult to see.
The mirror surface is dirty.
Clean the mirror surface
gently, using a soft dry
cloth.
Sunlight or headlights are
shining directly into the Dig-
ital Rearview Mirror.
Change to optical mirror
mode.
(If the light is coming
through the moon roof or
panoramic moon roof,
close the sunshade or
electronic sunshade.)
• The vehicle is in a dark area.
• The vehicle is near a TV tower, broadcasting sta-
tion, electric power plant,
or other location where
strong radio waves or
electrical noise may be
present.
• The temperature around the camera is extremely
high/low.
• The ambient temperature is extremely low.
• It is raining or humid.
• Sunlight or headlights are shining directly into the
camera lens.
• The vehicle is under fluo- rescent lights, sodium
lights, mercury lights, etc.
• Exhaust gas is obstruct- ing the camera.
Change to optical mirror
mode.
(Change back to digital
mirror mode when the
conditions have
improved.)

1814-1. Before driving
4
Driving
HIGHLANDER_U
WARNING
Observe the following precau-
tions.
Failure to do so may result in
death or serious injury.
■When starting the vehicle
Always keep your foot on the
brake pedal while stopped with
the engine running. This prevents
the vehicle from creeping.
■When driving the vehicle
●Do not drive if you are unfamil-
iar with the location of the brake
and accelerator pedals to avoid
depressing the wrong pedal.
• Accidentally depressing the accelerator pedal instead of the
brake pedal will result in sudden
acceleration that may lead to an
accident.
• When backing up, you may twist your body around, leading to a
difficulty in operating the pedals.
Make sure to operate the pedals
properly.
• Make sure to keep a correct driving posture even when mov-
ing the vehicle only slightly. This
allows you to depress the brake
and accelerator pedals properly.
• Depress the brake pedal using your right foot. Depressing the
brake pedal using your left foot
may delay response in an emer-
gency, resulting in an accident.
●Do not drive the vehicle over or
stop the vehicle near flammable
materials.
The exhaust system and
exhaust gases can be
extremely hot. These hot parts
may cause a fire if there is any
flammable material nearby.
●During normal driving, do not
turn off the engine. Turning the
engine off while driving will not
cause loss of steering or brak-
ing control, but the power assist
to these systems will be lost.
This will make it more difficult to
steer and brake, so you should
pull over and stop the vehicle as
soon as it is safe to do so.
However, in the event of an
emergency, such as if it
becomes impossible to stop the
vehicle in the normal way:
P.450
●Use engine braking (downshift)
to maintain a safe speed when
driving down a steep hill.
Using the brakes continuously
may cause the brakes to over-
heat and lose effectiveness.
(
P.206)
●Do not adjust the positions of
the steering wheel, the seat, or
the inside or outside rear view
mirrors while driving.
Doing so may resu lt in a loss of
vehicle control.
●Always check that all passen-
gers’ arms, heads or other parts
of their body are not outside the
vehicle.
●AWD models: This is not an
AWD vehicle designed for
off-road driving. Proceed with all
due caution if it becomes
unavoidable to drive off-road.
●Do not drive across a river or
through other bodies of water.
This may cause electric/elec-
tronic components to short cir-
cuit, damage the engine or
cause other serious damage to
the vehicle.

1844-1. Before driving
HIGHLANDER_U
WARNING
■When taking a nap in the vehi-
cle
Always turn the engine off. Other-
wise, if you accidentally move the
shift lever or depress the acceler-
ator pedal, this could cause an
accident or fire due to engine
overheating. Additionally, if the
vehicle is parked in a poorly venti-
lated area, exhaust gases may
collect and enter the vehicle, lead-
ing to death or a serious health
hazard.
■When braking
●When the brakes are wet, drive
more cautiously.
Braking distance increases
when the brakes are wet, and
this may cause one side of the
vehicle to brake differently than
the other side. Also, the parking
brake may not securely hold the
vehicle.
●If the brake booster device does
not operate, do not follow other
vehicles closely and avoid hills
or sharp turns that require brak-
ing.
In this case, braking is still pos-
sible, but the brake pedal
should be depressed more
firmly than usual. Also, the brak-
ing distance will increase. Have
your brakes fixed immediately.
●Do not pump the brake pedal if
the engine stalls.
Each push on the brake pedal
uses up the reserve for the
power-assisted brakes.
●The brake system consists of 2
individual hydraulic systems; if
one of the systems fails, the
other will still operate. In this
case, the brake pedal should be
depressed more firmly than
usual and the braking distance
will increase. Have your brakes
fixed immediately.
■If the vehicle becomes stuck
(AWD models)
Do not spin the wheels exces-
sively when any of the tires is up
in the air, or the vehicle is stuck in
sand, mud, etc. This may damage
the driveline components or pro-
pel the vehicle forward or back-
ward, causing an accident.
NOTICE
■When driving the vehicle
●Do not depress the accelerator
and brake pedals at the same
time during driving, as this may
restrain the engine output.
●Do not use the accelerator
pedal or depress the accelera-
tor and brake pedals at the
same time to hold the vehicle on
a hill.
■When parking the vehicle
Always set the parking brake and
shift the shift lever to P. Failure to
do so may cause the vehicle to
move or the vehicle may acceler-
ate suddenly if the accelerator
pedal is accidentally depressed.
■Avoiding damage to vehicle
parts
●Do not turn the steering wheel
fully in either direction and hold
it there for an extended period
of time.
Doing so may damage the
power steering motor.

1914-1. Before driving
4
Driving
HIGHLANDER_U
●All trailer lights work as required
by law.
●All lights work each time you con-
nect them.
●The trailer ball is set at the proper
height for the coupler on the
trailer.
●The trailer is level when it is
hitched.
Do not drive if the trailer is not
level, and check for improper
tongue weight, overloading, worn
suspension, or other possible
causes.
●The trailer cargo is securely
loaded.
●The rear view mirrors conform to
all applicable federal, state/provin-
cial or local regulations. If they do
not, install rear view mirrors
appropriate for towing purposes.
■Break-in schedule
If your vehicle is new or equipped
with any new power train compo-
nents (such as an engine, transaxle,
transfer [AWD models], rear differ-
ential [AWD models] or wheel bear-
ing), Toyota recommends that you
do not tow a trailer until the vehicle
has been driven for over 500 miles
(800 km).
After the vehicle has been driven for
over 500 miles (800 km), you can
start towing. However, for the next
500 miles (800 km), drive the vehi-
cle at a speed of less than 50 mph
(80 km/h) when towing a trailer, and
avoid full throttle acceleration.
■Maintenance
●If you tow a trailer, your vehicle
will require more fr equent mainte-
nance due to the additional load.
(See “Scheduled Maintenance
Guide” or “Owner’s Manual Sup-
plement”.)
●Retighten the fixing bolts of the
towing ball and bracket after
approximately 600 miles (1000
km) of trailer towing.
■If trailer sway occurs
One or more factors (crosswinds,
passing vehicles, rough roads, etc.)
can adversely affect handling of
your vehicle and trailer, causing
instability.
●If trailer swaying occurs:
• Firmly grip the steering wheel. Steer straight ahead.
Do not try to control trailer sway-
ing by turning the steering wheel.
• Begin releasing the accelerator pedal immediately but very gradu-
ally to reduce speed.
Do not increase speed. Do not
apply vehicle brakes.
If you make no extreme correction
with the steering or brakes, your
vehicle and trailer should stabilize.
(if enabled, Trailer Sway Control can
also help to stabilize the vehicle and
trailer.)
●After the trailer swaying has
stopped:
• Stop in a safe pl ace. Get all occu-
pants out of the vehicle.
• Check the tires of the vehicle and the trailer.
• Check the load in the trailer.
Make sure the load has not
shifted.
Make sure the tongue weight is
appropriate, if possible.
• Check the load in the vehicle. Make sure the vehicle is not over-
loaded after occupants get in.
If you cannot find any problems, the
speed at which trailer swaying
occurred is beyond the limit of your
particular vehicle-trailer combina-
tion. Drive at a lower speed to pre-
vent instability. Remember that
swaying of the towing vehicle-trailer
increases as speed increases.

2044-2. Driving procedures
HIGHLANDER_U
on the multi-information dis-
p l a y.
■Automatic engine shut off fea-
ture
●The vehicle is equipped with a
feature that automatically shuts off
the engine when the shift lever is
in P with the engine running for an
extended period.
●The engine will automatically shut
off after approximately 1 hour if it
has been left running while the
shift lever is in P.
●The timer for the automatic engine
shut off feature will reset if the
brake pedal is depressed or if the
shift lever is in a position other
than P.
●After the vehicle is parked, if the
door is locked with the door lock
switch (P.120) from the inside or
the mechanical key from the out-
side, the automatic engine shut off
feature will be disabled. The timer
for the automatic engine shut off
feature will be re -enabled if the
driver’s door is opened.
WARNING
■Stopping the engine in an
emergency
●If you want to stop the engine in
an emergency while driving the
vehicle, press and hold the
engine switch for more than 2
seconds, or press it briefly 3
times or more in succession.
(
P.450)
However, do not touch the
engine switch while driving
except in an emergency. Turn-
ing the engine off while driving
will not cause loss of steering or
braking control, but the power
assist to these systems will be
lost. This will make it more diffi-
cult to steer and brake, so you
should pull over and stop the
vehicle as soon as it is safe to
do so.
●If the engine switch is operated
while the vehicle is running, a
warning message will be shown
on the multi-information display
and a buzzer sounds.
●To restart the engine after per-
forming an emergency shut-
down, shift the shift lever to N
and then press the engine
switch.
■When parking
Exhaust gases include harmful
carbon monoxide (CO), which is
colorless and odorless. Observe
the following precautions.
Failure to do so may cause
exhaust gases to enter the vehicle
and may lead to an accident
caused by light-headedness, or
may lead to death or a serious
health hazard.
●If the vehicle is in a poorly venti-
lated area or a closed area,
such as a garage, stop the
engine.

2434-5. Using the driving support systems
4
Driving
HIGHLANDER_U(road sign, billboard, etc.)
• When approaching an electric toll gate barrier, parking area barrier,
or other barrier that opens and
closes
• When using an automatic car wash
• When driving through or under
objects that may contact your
vehicle, such as thick grass, tree
branches, or a banner
• When driving through steam or smoke
• When driving near an object that reflects radio waves, such as a
large truck or guardrail
• When driving near a TV tower, broadcasting station, electric
power plant, radar equipped vehi-
cles, etc., or other location where
strong radio waves or electrical
noise may be present
• When there are many things which can reflect the radio waves
of the radar in the vicinity (tunnels,
truss bridges, gravel roads, snow
covered road that have tracks,
etc.)
• While making a right/left turn, when an oncoming vehicle or a
crossing pedestrian has already
exited the path of your vehicle
• While making a right/left turn, closely in front of an oncoming
vehicle or a crossing pedestrian. • While making a right/left turn,
when an oncoming vehicle or a
crossing pedestrian stops before
entering the path of your vehicle
• While making a right/left turn, when an oncoming vehicle turns
right/left in front of your vehicle
• While steering into the direction of oncoming traffic
■Situations in which the system
may not operate properly
●In some situations such as the fol-
lowing, an object may not be
detected by the radar sensor and
front camera, preventing the sys-
tem from operating properly:
• When a detectable object is
approaching your vehicle
• When your vehicle or a detectable object is wobbling
• If a detectable object makes an abrupt maneuver (such as sudden
swerving, acceleration or deceler-
ation)
• When your vehicle approaches a detectable object rapidly
• When a detectable object is not directly in front of your vehicle
• When a detectable object is near a wall, fence, guardrail, manhole
cover, vehicle, steel plate on the
road, etc.
• When a detectable object is under a structure