stop start TOYOTA HIGHLANDER HYBRID 2023 Owner's Manual

1844-1. Before driving
4-1.Before driving
■Starting the hybrid system
 P. 2 0 7
■Driving
1 With the brake pedal
depressed, shift the shift
lever to D. ( P.213)
2 Release the parking brake.
( P.217)
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.218)
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.
2 If necessary, set the parking
brake. ( P.217)
If the vehicle is to be stopped for an
extended period of time, shift the
shift lever to P or N. ( P.213)
■Parking the vehicle
1 With the shift lever in D,
depress the brake pedal. 2
Set the parking brake
( P.217), and shift the shift
lever to P ( P.213).
3 Press the power switch to
stop the hybrid system.
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.214)
2 Pull the parking brake switch
and parking brake is set man-
ually. ( P.217)
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 hybrid system output may be
restrained.
 When the shift lever is shifted
to R
*.
Driving the vehicle
The following procedures
should be observed to
ensure safe driving:
Driving procedure
Sudden start restraint
control (Drive-Start Con-
trol [DSC])

1854-1. Before driving
4
Driving
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.311)
■For fuel-efficient driving
Keep in mind that hybrid vehicles
are similar to conventional vehicles,
and it is necessary to refrain from
activities such as sudden accelera-
tion. ( P.318)
■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.
■ECO Accelerator Guidance
(  P.99, 110)
It is easier to drive in an Eco-friendly
manner by driving while referring to
the ECO Accelerator Guidance dis-
play. Also, by using the ECO Accel-
erator Guidance it is easier to
increase the “Eco Score” evaluation.
●When starting off: While staying
within the ECO Accelerator Guid-
ance range, gradually depress the
accelerator pedal and accelerate
to the desired speed. If excessive
acceleration is avoided, the “Start”
score will increase.
●When driving: After accelerating to
the desired speed, release the
accelerator pedal and drive at a
stable speed within the ECO
Accelerator Guidance range. By
keeping the vehicle within the
ECO Accelerator Guidance range,
the “Cruise” sco re will increase.
●When stopping: When stopping
the vehicle, early releasing the
accelerator pedal will cause the
“Stop” score to increase.
■Restraining the hybrid system
output (Brake Override System)
●When the accelera tor and brake
pedals are depressed at the same
time, the hybrid system 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.312), 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.312) 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 Trail Mode is turned on
(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):

1864-1. Before driving
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 vehicle in a for-
eign country
Comply with the relevant vehicle
registration laws and confirm the
availability of the correct fuel.
(  P.491)
■Eco-friendly driving
 P.88, 94
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 “READY” indicator is illumi-
nated. 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 response in an emer-
gency, resulting in an accident.
●The driver should pay extra
attention to pedestrians when
the vehicle is powered only by
the electric motor (traction
motor). As there is no engine
noise, the pedestrians may mis-
judge the vehicle’s movement.
Even though the vehicle is
equipped with the acoustic vehi-
cle alerting system, drive with
care as pedestrians in the vicin-
ity may still not n otice the vehi-
cle if the surrounding area is
noisy.
●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.

1894-1. Before driving
4
Driving
WARNING
●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 as a lens, caus-
ing a fire.
●Always apply the parking brake,
shift the shift lever to P, stop the
hybrid system and lock the vehi-
cle.Do not leave the vehicle
unattended while the “READY”
indicator is illuminated.If the
vehicle is parked with the shift
lever in P but the parking brake
is not set, the vehicle may start
to move, possibly leading to an
accident.
●Do not touch the exhaust pipes
while the “READY” indicator is
illuminated or immediately after
turning the hybrid system
off.Doing so may cause burns.
■When taking a nap in the vehi-
cle
Always turn the hybrid system off.
Otherwise, if you accidentally
move the shift lever or depress
the accelerator pedal, this could
cause an accident or fire due to
hybrid system overheating. Addi-
tionally, if the vehicle is parked in
a poorly ventilated area, exhaust
gases may collect and enter the
vehicle, leading to death or a seri-
ous health hazard.
■When braking
●When the brakes are 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 electronically controlled
brake system does not operate,
do not follow other vehicles
closely and avoid hills or sharp
turns that require braking. In this
case, braking is still possible,
but the brake pedal should be
depressed more firmly than
usual. Also, the braking dis-
tance will increase. Have your
brakes fixed immediately.
●The brake system consists of 2
or more individual hydraulic sys-
tems; if one of the systems fails,
the other(s) will still operate. In
this case, the brake pedal
should be depressed more
firmly than usual and the brak-
ing 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 hybrid system out-
put.

1934-1. Before driving
4
Driving
WARNING
●Even if the total load of occu-
pant’s weight and the cargo
load is less than the total load
capacity, do not apply the load
unevenly. Improper loading may
cause deteriorat ion of steering
or braking control which may
cause death or serious injury.
■When using a roof luggage
carrier (vehicles with roof
rails)
Observe the following precau-
tions:
●Place the cargo so that its
weight is distributed evenly
between the front and rear
axles.
●If loading long or wide cargo,
never exceed the vehicle overall
length or width. (
P.490)
●Before driving, make sure the
cargo is securel y fastened on
the roof luggage carrier.
●Loading cargo on the roof lug-
gage carrier will make the cen-
ter of gravity of the vehicle
higher. Avoid high speeds, sud-
den starts, sharp turns, sudden
braking or abrupt maneuvers,
otherwise it may result in loss of
control or vehicle rollover due to
failure to operate this vehicle
correctly and resu lt in death or
serious injury.
●If driving for a long distance, on
rough roads, or at high speeds,
stop the vehicle now and then
during the trip to make sure the
cargo remains in its place.
●Do not exceed 165 lb. (75 kg)
cargo weight on the roof lug-
gage carrier.
NOTICE
■When loading cargo
Be careful not to scratch the sur-
face of the moon roof or pan-
oramic moon roof.

1964-1. Before driving
●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 regu lations. 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, hybrid
transmission, rear differential or
wheel bearing), 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 f requent 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 contr ol 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 place. 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.

2034-1. Before driving
4
Driving
cut-off function stops the power
flowing to the trailer lights to prevent
damage to the vehicle’s electrical
system.
This function is activated when the
rated current of any of the following
trailer light circuit components is
exceeded:
●Tail lights: maximum 4.5 A
●Stop/turn signal light (right): maxi-
mum 7.8 A
●Stop/turn signal light (left): maxi-
mum 4.5 A
■When the auto current cut func-
tion is activated
If a trailer light d oes not come on
due to the activation of the auto cur-
rent cut function , the light system
will need to be reset.
Follow the reset procedure shown
below.
●If a tail light doe s not come on,
turn off the headlight switch.
●If the right-side stop/turn signal
light does not com e on, put the
turn signal in the off position or
remove foot from t he brake pedal.
●If the left-side stop/turn signal light
does not come on, put the turn
signal in the off position or remove
foot from the brake pedal.
If the emergency flashers do not
operate, press the emergency
flasher switch to turn them off.
After the light syst em is reset, oper-
ate the light switches again to see if
the lights operate normally.
If the lights do not operate normally,
have the vehicle inspected by your
Toyota dealer.
Your vehicle will handle differ-
ently when towing a trailer. Help
to avoid an accident, death or
serious injury, keep the following
in mind when towing:
 Speed limits for towing a
trailer vary by state or prov-
ince. Do not exceed the
posted towing speed limit.
 Toyota recommends that the
vehicle-trailer speed limit is 65
mph (104 km/h) on a flat,
straight, dry road. Do not
exceed this limit, the posted
towing speed limit or the
speed limit for your trailer as
set forth in your trailer owner’s
manual, whichever is lowest.
Instability of the towing vehi-
cle-trailer combination (trailer
sway) increases as speed
increases. Exceeding speed
limits may cause loss of con-
trol.
 Before starting out, check the
trailer lights, tires and the
vehicle-trailer connections.
Recheck after driving a short
distance.
NOTICE
■Do not directly splice trailer
lights
Do not directly splice trailer lights.
Directly splicing trailer lights may
damage your vehicle’s electrical
system and cause a malfunction.
Trailer towing tips

2044-1. Before driving
Practice turning, stopping and
reversing with the trailer
attached in an area away
from traffic until you become
accustomed to the feel of the
vehicle-trailer combination.
 Reversing with a trailer
attached is difficult and
requires practice. Grip the
bottom of the steering wheel
and move your hand to the
left to move the trailer to the
left. Move your hand to the
right to move the trailer to
right. (This is generally oppo-
site to reversing without a
trailer attached.) Avoid sharp
or prolonged turning. Have
someone guide you when
reversing to reduce the risk of
an accident.
 As stopping distance is
increased when towing a
trailer, vehicle-to vehicle dis-
tance should be increased.
For each 10 mph (16 km/h) of
speed, allow at least one
vehicle and trailer length.
 Avoid sudden braking as you
may skid, resulting in the
trailer jackknifing and a loss of
vehicle control. This is espe-
cially true on wet or slippery
surfaces.
 Avoid jerky starts or sudden
acceleration.
 Avoid jerky steering and
sharp turns, and slow down
before making turn. 
Note that when making a turn,
the trailer wheels will be
closer than the vehicle wheels
to the inside of the turn. Com-
pensate by making a wider
than normal turning radius.
 Slow down before making a
turn, in cross winds, on wet or
slippery surfaces, etc.
Increasing vehicle speed can
destabilize the trailer.
 Take care when passing other
vehicles. Passing requires
considerable distance. After
passing a vehicle, do not for-
get the length of your trailer,
and be sure you have plenty
of room before changing
lanes.
 To maintain engine braking
efficiency and charging sys-
tem performance when using
engine braking, do not put the
transmission in D. If in the S
mode, the hybrid transmission
shift range position must be in
5 or lower. ( P.213)
 Instability happens more fre-
quently when descending
steep or long downhill grades.
Before descending, slow
down and downshift. Do not
make sudden downshifts
while descending steep or
long downhill grades.
 Avoid holding the brake pedal
down too long or applying the
brakes too frequently. This
could cause the brakes to

2054-1. Before driving
4
Driving
overheat and result in
reduced braking efficiency.
 Due to the added load of the
trailer, your vehicle’s engine
may overheat on hot days (at
temperatures over 85°F
[30°C]) when driving up a long
or steep grade. If the engine
coolant temperature gauge
indicates overheating, imme-
diately turn off the air condi-
tioning (if in use), pull your
vehicle off the road and stop
in a safe spot. ( P.484)
 Always place wheel blocks
under both the vehicle’s and
the trailer’s wheels when
parking. Put the transmission
in P and apply the parking
brake. Avoid parking on a
slope, but if unavoidable, do
so only after performing the
following:
1 Apply the brakes and keep
them applied.
2 Have someone place wheel
blocks under both the vehi-
cle’s and trailer’s wheels.
3 When the wheel blocks are in
place, release the brakes
slowly until the blocks absorb
the load.
4 Shift into P and apply the
parking brake.
5 Turn off the hybrid system.
 When restarting after parking
on a slope: 1
With the transmission in P,
start the hybrid system. Be
sure to keep the brake pedal
depressed.
2 Shift into a forward gear. If
reversing, shift into R.
3 If the parking brake is in man-
ual mode, release the park-
ing brake. ( P.217)
4 Release the brake pedal, and
slowly pull or back away from
the wheel blocks. Stop and
apply the brakes.
5 Have someone retrieve the
blocks.

2084-2. Driving procedures
■Conditions affecting operation
 P. 1 4 3
■Note for the entry function
 P. 1 4 4
■If the “READY” indicator does
not come on
In the event that the “READY” indi-
cator does not come on even after
performing the proper procedures
for starting the vehicle, contact your
Toyota dealer immediately.
■If the hybrid system is malfunc-
tioning
 P. 7 6
■Electronic key battery
 P. 4 2 3
■Operation of the power switch
●If the switch is not pressed shortly
and firmly, the power switch mode
may not change or the hybrid sys-
tem may not start.
●If attempting to re start the hybrid
system immediately after turning
the power switch off, the hybrid
system may not start in some
cases. After turn ing the power
switch off, please wait a few sec-
onds before restarting the hybrid
system.
■Customization
If the smart key system has been
deactivated in a customized setting,
refer to P.477.
1 Stop the vehicle completely.
2 Set the parking brake
( P.217), and shift the shift
lever to P.
Check the parking brake indicator
is illuminated.
3 Press the power switch.
The hybrid system will stop, and the
meter display will be extinguished.
4Release the brake pedal and
check that “ACCESSORY” or
“IGNITION ON” is not shown
on the multi-information dis-
play.
■Automatic hybrid system shut
off feature
●The vehicle is equipped with a
feature that automatically shuts off
the hybrid system when the shift
lever is in P with the hybrid system
operating for an extended period.
●The hybrid system will automati-
WARNING
■When starting the hybrid sys-
tem
Always start the hybrid system
while sitting in the driver’s seat.
Do not depress the accelerator
pedal while starting the hybrid
system under any circumstances.
Doing so may cause an accident
resulting in death or serious injury.
NOTICE
■When starting the hybrid sys-
tem
If the hybrid system becomes diffi-
cult to start, have your vehicle
checked by your Toyota dealer
immediately.
■Symptoms indicating a mal-
function with the power
switch
If the power switch seems to be
operating somewhat differently
than usual, such as the switch
sticking slightly, there may be a
malfunction. Contact your Toyota
dealer immediately.
Stopping the hybrid sys-
tem