TOYOTA HIGHLANDER 2023 Owners Manual

1713-5. Opening, closing the windows and moon roof
3
Before driving
WARNING
●Check to make sure that all pas-
sengers do not have any part of
their body in a position where it
could be caught when the pan-
oramic moon roof is being oper-
ated.
●When exiting the vehicle, turn
the engine switch off, carry the
key and exit the vehicle along
with the child. There may be
accidental operation, due to
mischief, etc., that may possibly
lead to an accident.
■Jam protection function
●Never use any part of your body
to intentionally activate the jam
protection function.
●The jam protection function may
not work if something gets
caught just before the pan-
oramic moon roof or electronic
sunshade is fully closed. Also,
the jam protecti on function is
not designed to operate while
the switch is being pressed.
Take care so that your fingers,
etc. do not get caught.
■To prevent burns or injuries
Do not touch the area between
the underside of the panoramic
moon roof and the electronic sun-
shade. Your hand may get caught
and you could injure yourself.
Also, if the vehicle is left in direct
sunlight for a long time, the under-
side of the panoramic moon roof
could become very hot and could
cause burns.
NOTICE
■To prevent damage to the
panoramic moon roof
●Before opening the panoramic
moon roof, make sure that there
are no foreign objects, such as
stones or ice, around the open-
ing.
●Do not hit the surface or edge of
the panoramic moon roof with
hard objects.
■After the vehicle has been
washed or rained on
Before opening the panoramic
moon roof, wipe any water off the
panoramic moon roof. Otherwise,
water may enter the cabin when
the panoramic moon roof is
opened.

1723-5. Opening, closing the windows and moon roof

173
4
4
Driving
Driving
.4-1. Before drivingDriving the vehicle....... 174
Cargo and luggage ..... 181
Vehicle load limits ....... 184
Trailer towing............... 185
Dinghy towing ............. 196
4-2. Driving procedures Engine (ignition) switch.................................. 197
Automatic transmission .................................. 201
Turn signal lever.......... 204
Parking brake .............. 205
Brake Hold .................. 208
4-3. Operating the lights and wipers
Headlight switch .......... 210
Automatic High Beam . 213
Fog light switch ........... 216
Windshield wipers and washer....................... 216
Rear windshield wiper and washer....................... 219
4-4. Refueling Opening the fuel tank cap.................................. 221
4-5. Using the driving support
systems
Toyota Safety Sense 2.5 + .................................. 223
PCS (Pre-Collision System) .................................. 228LTA (Lane Tracing Assist)
.................................. 239
Dynamic radar cruise con- trol with full-speed range.................................. 249
RSA (Road Sign Assist) .................................. 261
Stop & Start system .... 264
BSM (Blind Spot Monitor) .................................. 270
Intuitive parking assist . 275
RCTA (Rear Cross Traffic Alert) function ............ 283
PKSB (Parking Support Brake) ........................ 289
Parking Support Brake func- tion (static objects) .... 296
Parking Support Brake func- tion (rear-crossing vehi-
cles) ........................... 299
Driving mode select switch .................................. 300
Multi-terrain Select ...... 301
Snow mode switch ...... 304
Downhill assist control sys- tem ............................ 305
Driving assist systems .................................. 307
4-6. Driving tips Winter driving tips........ 314
Utility vehicle precautions .................................. 317

1744-1. Before driving
4-1.Before driving
■Starting the engine
 P. 1 9 7
■Driving
1 With the brake pedal
depressed, shift the shift
lever to D. ( P.201)
2 Release the parking brake.
( P.205)
If the parking brake is in automatic
mode, the parking brake is
released automatically when shift-
ing the shift lever to any position
other than P. ( P.205)
3 Gradually release the brake
pedal and gently depress the
accelerator pedal to acceler-
ate the vehicle.
■Stopping
1 With the shift lever in D,
depress the brake pedal.
Vehicles with a Stop & Start system:
If the Stop & Start system is
enabled, depressing the brake
pedal will stop the engine.
2If necessary, set the parking
brake. ( P.205)
If the vehicle is to be stopped for an
extended period of time, shift the
shift lever to P or N. ( P.201)
■Parking the vehicle
1 With the shift lever in D,
depress the brake pedal.
2 Set the parking brake
( P.205), and shift the shift
lever to P ( P.201).
3 Press the engine switch to
stop the engine.
4 Lock the door, making sure
that you have the electronic
key on your person.
If parking on a hill, block the wheels
as needed.
■Starting off on a steep
uphill
1 With the brake pedal
depressed, shift the shift
lever to D. ( P.202)
2 Pull the parking brake switch
and parking brake is set man-
ually. ( P.205)
3 Release the brake pedal and
gently depress the accelera-
tor pedal to accelerate the
vehicle.
4 Push the parking brake
switch and parking brake is
released manually.
When the following unusual
operation is performed with the
accelerator pedal depressed,
the engine output may be
restrained.
Driving the vehicle
The following procedures
should be observed to
ensure safe driving:
Driving procedure
Sudden start restraint
control (Drive-Start Con-
trol [DSC])

1754-1. Before driving
4
Driving
When the shift lever is shifted
to R
*.
 When the shift lever is shifted
from P or R to forward drive
shift position such as D
*.
When the system operates, a
message appears on the
multi-information display. Read
the message and follow the
instruction.
*: Depending on the situation, the shift position may not be
changed.
■When starting off on a uphill
The hill-start assis t control will acti-
vate. ( P.307)
■Driving in the rain
●Drive carefully whe n it is raining,
because visibility will be reduced,
the windows may become
fogged-up, and the road will be
slippery.
●Drive carefully whe n it starts to
rain, because the road surface will
be especially slippery.
●Refrain from high speeds when
driving on an expressway in the
rain, because there may be a
layer of water between the tires
and the road surface, preventing
the steering and brakes from
operating properly.
■Engine speed while driving
In the following conditions, the
engine speed may become high
while driving. This is due to auto-
matic up-shifting control or
down-shifting implementation to
meet driving conditions. It does not
indicate sudden acceleration.
●The vehicle is judged to be driving
uphill or downhill
●When the accelerator pedal is released
●When the bra
ke pedal is
depressed
■Restraining the engine output
(Brake Override System)
●When the accelera tor and brake
pedals are depressed at the same
time, the engine output may be
restrained.
●A warning message is displayed
on the multi-information display
while the system is operating.
■Drive-Start Control (DSC)
When the TRAC is turned off
(  P.308), sudden start restraint
control also does not operate. If
your vehicle have trouble escaping
from the mud or fr esh snow due to
sudden start restraint control opera-
tion, deactivate TRAC ( P.308) so
that the vehicle may become able to
escape from the mud or fresh snow.
Also, sudden start restraint control
will not operate in the following con-
ditions:
●When Multi-terrain Select is
selected (AWD models)
■Breaking in your new Toyota
To extend the life of the vehicle,
observing the following precautions
is recommended:
●For the first 200 miles (300 km):
Avoid sudden stops.
●For the first 500 miles (800 km):
Do not tow a trailer.
●For the first 600 miles (1000 km):
• Do not drive at extremely high speeds.
• Avoid sudden acceleration.
• Do not drive continuously in low gears.
• Do not drive at a constant speed
for extended periods.
■Operating your v ehicle in a for-
eign country
Comply with the relevant vehicle

1764-1. Before driving
registration laws and confirm the
availability of the correct fuel.
( P.475)
■Eco-friendly driving
 P.89, 100
WARNING
Observe the following precau-
tions.
Failure to do so m ay 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 y ou 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 respon se 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 i f 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.How-
ever, in the event of an emer-
gency, such as if it becomes
impossible to stop the vehicle in
the normal way:
P.424
●Use engine braking (downshift)
to maintain a safe speed when
driving down a steep hill.Using
the brakes continuously may
cause the brakes to overheat
and lose effectiveness.
(
P.201)
●Do not adjust the positions of
the steering wheel, the seat, or
the inside or outside rear view
mirrors while driving.Doing so
may result 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. Drive with due
care if it becomes unavoidable
to drive off-road.

1774-1. Before driving
4
Driving
WARNING
●Do not drive across a river or
through other bodies of
water.This may cause elec-
tric/electronic components to
short circuit, damage the engine
or cause other serious damage
to the vehicle.
●Do not drive in excess of the
speed limit. Even if the legal
speed limit permits it, do not
drive over 85 mph (140 km/h)
unless your vehicle has
high-speed capability tires. Driv-
ing over 85 mp h (140 km/h)
may result in tire failure, loss of
control and possible injury. Be
sure to consult a tire dealer to
determine whether the tires on
your vehicle are high-speed
capability tires or not before
driving at such speeds.
■When driving on slippery
road surfaces
●Sudden braking, acceleration
and steering may cause tire
slippage and reduce your ability
to control the vehicle.
●Sudden acceleration, engine
braking due to shifting, or
changes in engine speed could
cause the vehicle to skid.
●After driving through a puddle,
lightly depress the brake pedal
to make sure that the brakes
are functioning properly. Wet
brake pads may prevent the
brakes from functioning prop-
erly. If the brakes on only one
side are wet and not functioning
properly, steering control may
be affected.
■When shifting the shift lever
●Do not let the vehicle roll back-
ward while the shift lever is in a
driving position, or roll forward
while the shift lever is in
R.Doing so may cause the
engine to stall or lead to poor
brake and steering perfor-
mance, resulting in an accident
or damage to the vehicle.
●Do not shift the sh ift lever to P
while the vehicle is mov-
ing.Doing so can damage the
transmission and may result in a
loss of vehicle control.
●Do not shift the sh ift lever to R
while the vehicle is moving for-
ward.Doing so can damage the
transmission and may result in a
loss of vehicle control.
●Do not shift the shift lever to a
driving position while the vehicle
is moving backward.Doing so
can damage the transmission
and may result in a loss of vehi-
cle control.
●Shifting the shift lever to N while
the vehicle is moving will disen-
gage the engine. Engine brak-
ing is not availa ble when N is
selected.
●Be careful not to shift the shift
lever with the accelerator pedal
depressed. Shifting the shift
lever to any position other than
P or N may lead to unexpected
rapid acceleration of the vehicle
that may cause an accident and
result in death or serious injury.

1784-1. Before driving
WARNING
■If you hear a squealing or
scraping noise (brake pad
wear limit indicators)
Have the brake pads checked and
replaced by your Toyota dealer as
soon as possible.Rotor damage
may result if th e pads are not
replaced when needed.
It is dangerous to drive the vehicle
when the wear limits of the brake
pads and/or those of the brake
discs are exceeded.
■When the vehicle is stopped
●Do not race the engine.If the
shift lever is in any position
other than P or N, the vehicle
may accelerate suddenly and
unexpectedly, causing an acci-
dent.
●In order to prev ent accidents
due to the vehicle rolling away,
always keep depressing the
brake pedal while the engine is
running, and apply the parking
brake as necessary.
●If the vehicle is stopped on an
incline, in order to prevent acci-
dents caused by the vehicle roll-
ing forward or backward, always
depress the brake pedal and
securely apply the parking
brake as needed.
●Avoid revving or racing the
engine.Running the engine at
high speed while the vehicle is
stopped may cause the exhaust
system to overheat, which could
result in a fire if combustible
material is nearby.
■When the vehicle is parked
●Do not leave glasses, cigarette
lighters, spray cans, or soft
drink cans in the vehicle when it
is in the sun.Doing so may
result in the following:
• Gas may leak from a cigarette lighter or spray can, and may
lead to a fire.
• The temperature inside the vehicle may cause the plastic
lenses and plastic material of
glasses to deform or crack.
• Soft drink cans may fracture, causing the contents to spray
over the interior of the vehicle,
and may also cause a short cir-
cuit in the vehicle’s electrical
components.
●Do not leave cigarette lighters in
the vehicle. If a cigarette lighter
is in a place such as the glove
box or on the floor, it may be lit
accidentally when luggage is
loaded or the se at is adjusted,
causing a fire.
●Do not attach adhesive discs to
the windshield or windows. Do
not place containers such as air
fresheners on the instrument
panel or dashboard. Adhesive
discs or containers may act as
lenses, causing a fire in the
vehicle.
●Do not leave a door or window
open if the curved glass is
coated with a metallized film
such as a silver-colored one.
Reflected sunlight may cause
the glass to act a s a lens, caus-
ing a fire.

1794-1. Before driving
4
Driving
WARNING
●Always apply the parking brake,
shift the shift lever to P, stop the
engine and lock the vehicle.Do
not leave the vehicle unat-
tended while the engine is run-
ning.If the vehicle is parked with
the shift lever in P but the park-
ing brake is not set, the vehicle
may start to move, possibly
leading to an accident.
●Do not touch the exhaust pipes
while the engine is running or
immediately after turning the
engine off.Doing so may cause
burns.
■When taking a nap in the vehi-
cle
Always turn the engine off. Other-
wise, if you accidentally move the
shift lever or dep ress 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 a re wet, drive
more cautiously.Braking dis-
tance 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 vehi-
cle.
●If the brake booster device does
not operate, do not follow other
vehicles closely and avoid hills
or sharp turns t hat require brak-
ing.In this case, braking is still
possible, 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.

1804-1. Before driving
NOTICE
■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 vehi cle 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.
●When driving over bumps on
the road, drive as slowly as pos-
sible to avoid damaging the
wheels, underside of the vehi-
cle, etc.
■If you get a flat tire while driv-
ing
A flat or damaged tire may cause
the following situations. Hold the
steering wheel firmly and gradu-
ally depress the brake pedal to
slow down the vehicle.
●It may be difficult to control your
vehicle.
●The vehicle will make abnormal
sounds or vibrations.
●The vehicle will lean abnor-
mally.
Information on what to do in case
of a flat tire (
P.446)
■When encountering flooded
roads
Do not drive on a road that has
flooded after heavy rain etc.
Doing so may cause the following
serious damage to the vehicle:
●Engine stalling
●Short in electrical components
●Engine damage caused by
water immersion
In the event that you drive on a
flooded road and the vehicle is
flooded, be sure to have your Toy-
ota dealer check the following:
●Brake function
●Changes in quantity and quality
of oil and fluid used for the
engine, transaxle, transfer
(AWD models), rear differential
(AWD models), etc.
●Lubricant condition for the pro-
peller shaft (AWD models),
bearings and suspension joints
(where possible), and the func-
tion of all joints, bearings, etc.