towing TOYOTA HIGHLANDER HYBRID 2007 XU40 / 2.G Owners Manual

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Road accident cautions
CAUTION
Pull your vehicle off the road, put the transmis-
sion in the “P” position, apply the parking brake, turn the hybrid system off and remove the key.
In order to avoid death or serious injuries, do not
touch high voltage wiring, connectors and high voltage parts (inverter unit, hybrid battery and
etc.).
If exposed electric wires are protruding inside or
outside of your vehicle, an electric shock may oc-
cur. Never touch the electric wires.
If fluid leaks or gets into some parts of the ve-
hicle, never touch it because it may be strong al-
kaline electrolyte from the hybrid battery. If it con-
tacts your skin or eyes, wash it off immediately
with a large amount of water or if possible, boric
acid solution. Get immediate medical attention in order to help avoid serious injury.
If a fire occurs in the hybrid vehicle, leave the
vehicle as soon as possible. Never use a fire ex-
tinguisher that is not meant for use on electric
fires. Using a small amount of water may be also dangerous.
If your vehicle needs to be towed, do it with the
front wheels raised (front wheel drive models) or
all four wheels raised (all wheel drive models). If
the wheels with the traction motor are on the
ground when towing, the motor may continue to
generate electricity. This may cause the electricity
leakage. Depending on the severity of the damage,
electricity leakage may cause fire. See “If your
vehicle needs to be towed” on page 353 in Section 4.

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CAUTION
Pull your vehicle off the road, put
the transmission in the “P” posi-
tion, apply the parking brake, turn
the hybrid system off and remove
the key.
In order to avoid personal injuries,
do not touch high voltage wiring,
connectors or high voltage parts
(inverter unit, hybrid battery and
etc.).
If exposed electric wires are pro-
truding inside or outside of your
vehicle, an electric shock may oc-
cur. Never touch the electric wires.
If fluid leaks or gets into some
parts of the vehicle, never touch it
because it may be strong alkaline
electrolyte from the hybrid battery.
If it contacts your skin or eyes,
wash it off immediately with a large
amount of water or if possible, bo-
ric acid solution. Get immediate
medical attention in order to help
avoid serious injury.
If a fire occurs in the hybrid ve-
hicle, leave the vehicle as soon as
possible. Never use a fire extin-
guisher that is not meant for elec-
tric fires. Using a small amount of
water may be also dangerous.
If your vehicle needs to be towed,
do it with the front wheels raised
(front wheel drive models) or all
four wheels raised (all models). If
the wheels with the traction motor
are on the ground when towing, the
motor may continue to generate
electricity. This may cause the elec-
tricity leakage. Depending on the
severity of the damage, electricity
leakage may cause fire. See “If your
vehicle needs to be towed” on page
353 in Section 4.
The emergency shut off system blocks
off the high voltage current and stops
the fuel pump to minimize the risk of
the electric leakage and the fuel leak-
age when a certain level of impact is
detected by the impact sensor. If the
system activates, your vehicle will not
restart. To restart the hybrid system,
contact a Toyota dealer.
CAUTION
Check to see if there are exposed
high voltage parts and cables. Nev-
er touch the parts and cables. See
“—High voltage components” on
page 6 in this Section for the loca-
tions of the high voltage parts and
cables.
Inspect the ground under the ve-
hicle. If you find that liquid has
leaked onto the ground, the fuel
system may have been damaged.
Leave the vehicle as soon as pos-
sible.
Road accident cautions——Emergency shut off system

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Second seat (vehicles with third seat)
Second seat (vehicles without third seat)Third seats
The second and third seat seat belt
buckles can be stowed when not in
use.
Seat belt buckles must be stowed before
you fold the seatback. (See “—Folding
down second seats” on page 57 and
“—Folding down third seat” on page 61 in
this Section.)
—Stowing the second and
third seat seat belt buckles

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To stow the third seat seat belt, first
insert tab 1 into the slot and then in-
sert tab 2 into the slot. Make sure the
tabs are securely locked in the slot.
Seat belt must be stowed before you fold
the seatback. (See “—Folding down third
seat” on page 61 in this Section.)
NOTICE
Stow the third seat seat belt when
not in use.
If your seat belts cannot be fastened se-
curely because they are not long enough,
a personalized seat belt extender is avail-
able from your Toyota dealer free of
charge.
Please contact your local Toyota dealer to
order the proper required length for the
extender. Bring the heaviest coat you ex-
pect to wear for proper measurement and
selection of length. Additional ordering in-
formation is available at your Toyota deal-
er.
CAUTION
When using the seat belt extender,
observe the following precautions.
Failure to follow these instructions
could reduce the effectiveness of the
seat belt restraint system in case of
an accident, increasing the chance of
death or serious injury.
Remember that the extender pro-
vided for you may not be safe when
used on a different vehicle, for
another person, or at a different
seating position than the one origi-
nally intended.
If the seat belt extender has been
connected to the driver ’s seat belt
buckle without wearing the seat belt
when using the extender in the
driver ’s seat, the SRS driver ’s air-
bag system will judge that the driv-
er wears the seat belt even if not
wearing it. In this case, the driver ’s
airbag may not activate correctly,
causing death or serious injury in
the event of collision. Be sure to
wear the seat belt with the seat belt
extender.
—Stowing the third seat seat
belt—Seat belt extender

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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 con-
trol 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 ve-
hicle overheats” on page 341 in
Section 4.
The power meter indicates the instanta-
neous output from the hybrid system in
approximate kilowatts.
While the hybrid system is regenerating
energy, the meter indicates negative.
Power meter

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REMOVING LUGGAGE COVER
To remove the luggage cover, push in
the left end to release the right end,
and lift the luggage cover out.
After you remove the luggage cover, stow
it under deck board as described below.
This will prevent passengers from injury in
the event of a sudden stop or accident.STOWING LUGGAGE COVER
To stow the luggage cover, do the fol-
lowing.1. Remove the side deck boards and open the center deck board.

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Vehicle load limits include total load
capacity, seating capacity, towing ca-
pacity and cargo capacity. Follow the
load limits shown below. Total load ca-
pacity and seating capacity are also
described on the tire and loading in-
formation label. For location of the tire
and loading information label, see
“Checking tire inflat ion pr es s ur e” on
page 390.
Total load capacity:
Without third seat390 kg (860 lb.)
With third seat 526 kg (1159 lb.)
Total load capacity means combined
weight of occupants, cargo and lug-
gage. Tongue load is included when
trailer towing.
Seating capacity:
Without third seatTotal 5 (Front 2, Rear 3)
With third seat
Total 7 (Front 2, Rear 5) Seating capacity means the maximum
number of occupants whose esti-
mated average weight is 68 kg (150
lb.) per person. Depending on the
weight of each person, the seating ca-
pacity given may exceed the total
load capacity.
NOTICE
Even if the number of occupants are
within the seating capacity, do not ex-
ceed the total load capacity.
Towing capacity:
Without towing package 905 kg (2000 lb.)
With towing package
1588 kg (3500 lb.)
Towing capacity means the maximum
gross trailer weight (trailer weight plus
its cargo weight) that your vehicle is
able to tow. Cargo capacity
Cargo capacity may increase or de-
crease depending on the size (weight)
and the number of occupants. For de-
tails, see “—Capacity and distribu-
tion” on page 319.
CAUTION
Do not apply the load more than
each load limit. That may cause
not only damage to the tires, but
also deterioration to the steering
ability and braking ability, which
may cause an accident.
Veh icle lo ad limit s

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When stowing cargo and luggage in
the vehicle, observe the following: Put cargo and luggage in the lug-
gage compartment when at all
possible. Be sure all items are se-
cured in place.
 Be careful to keep the vehicle bal-
anced. Locating the weight as far
forward as possible helps maintain
balance.
 For better fuel economy, do not
carry unneeded weight.CAUTION
To prevent cargo and l uggage
from sliding forward during
braking, do not stack anything
in the luggage compartment
higher than the seatbacks.
Keep cargo and luggage low,
as close to the floor as pos-
sible.
 Never allow anyone to ride in
the luggage compartment. It is
not designed for passengers.
They should ride in their seats
with their seat belts properly
fastened. Otherwise, they are
much more likely suffer death
or serious bodily injury, in the
event of s udden braking or a
collision.
 Do not place anything on the
flattened seat, or it may slide
forward during braking.
Do not place anything on the
luggage cover. Such items may
be thrown about and possibly
injure people in the vehicle
during sudden braking or an
accident. Secure all items in a
safe place.
 Do not drive with objects left
on top of the instrument panel.
They may interfere with the
driver’s field of view. Or they
may move during sharp vehicle
acceleration or turning, and im-
pair the driver’s control of the
vehicle. In an accident they
may injure the vehicle occu-
pants.
 Do not put objects in the con-
tainer which can shift, roll out
or be thrown out in the event
of sudden stops or accidents.
Objects which come out of the
container can create a safety
hazard due to interference with
pedal operation or driver dis-
traction.
Cargo and luggage—
—Stowage precautions

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Cargo capacity depends on the to-
tal weight of the occupants.
(Cargo capacity) = (Total load capac-
ity) – (Total weight of occupants)
Steps for Determining Correct
Load Limit—
(1) Locate the statement “The com-bined weight of occupants and
cargo should never exceed XXX
kg or XXX lbs.” on your vehicle’s
placard.
(2) Determine the combined weight of the driver and passengers that
will be riding in your vehicle.
(3) Subtract the combined weight of the driver and passengers from
XXX kg or XXX lbs. (4) The resulting figure equals the
available amount of cargo and
luggage load capacity. For exam-
ple, if the “ XXX” amount equals
1400 lbs. and there will be five
150 lb passengers in your ve-
hicle, the amount of available
cargo and luggage load capacity
is 650 lbs. (1400–750
(5x150)=650 lbs.)
(5) Determine the combined weight of luggage and cargo being
loaded on the vehicle. That
weight may not safely exceed the
available cargo and luggage load
capacity calculated in Step 4.
(6) If your vehicle will be towing a trailer, load from your trailer will
be transferred to your vehicle.
Consult this manual to determine
how this reduces the available
cargo and luggage load capacity
of your vehicle.
For details about trailer towing, see
page 330.
Cargo
capacity
Total load
capacity
Example on Your Vehicle
In case that 2 people with the com-
bined weight of 166 kg (366 lb.) are
riding in your vehicle, the available
amount of cargo and luggage load ca-
pacity will be as follows:
Without third seat
Total load capacity: 390 kg (860 lb.) 390 kg – 166 kg = 224 kg.
( 860 lb. – 366 lb. = 494 lb. )
With third seat
Total load capacity: 526 kg (1159 lb.) 526 kg – 166 kg = 360 kg.
( 1159 lb. – 366 lb. = 793 lb. )
—Capacity and distribution

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STARTING AND DRIVING
Starting and driving
Before starting the hybrid system324
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How to start the hybrid system 324
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Tips for driving in various conditions 325
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Off −road driving precautions 326
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Winter driving tips 328
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Dinghy towing 329
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Trailer towing 330
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How to save fuel and make your vehicle last longer 335
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SECTION 3