tow TOYOTA SEQUOIA 2020 (in English) Owner's Guide

2074-1. Before driving
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Driving
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●Always place wheel blocks under both the vehicle’s and the trai ler’s
wheels when parking. Apply the parking brake firmly, and put th e
transmission in P. Avoid parking on a slope, but if unavoidable , do
so only after perform ing the following:
Apply the brakes and keep them applied.
Have someone place wheel blocks under both the vehicle’s and
trailer’s wheels.
When the wheel blocks are in pl ace, release the brakes slowly
until the blocks absorb the load.
Apply the parking brake firmly.
Shift into P and turn off the engine.
● When restarting afte r parking on a slope:
With the transmission in P, start the engine. Be sure to keep t he
brake pedal pressed.
Shift into a forward gear. If reversing, shift into R.
Release the parking brake and brake pedal, and slowly pull or
back away from the wheel bloc ks. Stop and apply the brakes.
Have someone retrieve the blocks.
■ Matching trailer ball height to trailer coupler height
1
2
3
4
5
1
2
3
4
No matter which class of tow hitch
applies, for a safer trailer hookup, the
trailer ball setup must be the proper
height for the coupler on the trailer.
Coupler
Trailer ball
STO41ADU06

2084-1. Before driving
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Before towing
Check that the following conditions are met:
●Ensure that your vehicle’s tires are properly inflated. ( P. 527)
● Trailer tires are inflated according to the trailer manufacture r’s recommen-
dation.
● All trailer lights work as required by law.
● All lights work each time you connect 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 imprope r 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/provincial or
local regulations. If they do not, install rear view mirrors ap propriate for tow-
ing purposes.
● Depress “TOW/HAUL” button (if equipped)
■ AVS (adaptive variable suspension system) (if equipped)
The suspension can be switched for improvement in drivability. (P. 314)
■ Break-in schedule
If your vehicle is new or equipped with any new power train com ponents
(such as an engine, transmission, differential or wheel bearing ), Toyota rec-
ommends that you do not tow a trailer until the vehicle has bee n 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 veh icle 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 frequent m aintenance due
to the additional load. (See “Scheduled Maintenance Guide” or “ Owner’s
Manual Supplement”.)
● Retighten the fixing bolts of the towing ball and bracket after approximately
600 miles (1000 km) of trailer towing.

2094-1. Before driving
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Driving
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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 swaying by turning the steering w heel.
• Begin releasing the accelerator pedal immediately but very gra dually 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 occupants 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 overloaded 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 combination.
Drive at a lower speed to prevent instability. Remember that sw aying of the
towing vehicle-trailer increases as speed increases.

2104-1. Before driving
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WARNING
■Trailer towing precautions
● To tow a trailer safely, use extreme care and drive the vehicle in accor-
dance with the trailer’s characteristics and operating conditio ns. Failure to
do so could cause an accident resulting in death or serious injury. Vehicle
stability and braking performance are affected by trailer stabi lity, brake set-
ting and performance, and the hitch. Your vehicle will handle d ifferently
when towing a trailer.
● Vehicles with electronically modulated air suspension: Set the vehicle
height to the “N” mode and turn off the rear height control air suspension
when you connect a trailer, otherwise the vehicle height may ch ange due
to the automatic leveling function, and you may catch part of your body in
the vehicle, resulting in an accident.
■ To avoid accident or injury
● Do not exceed the TWR, unbraked TWR, GCWR, GVWR or GAWR.
● If the gross trailer weight is over 2000 lb. (907 kg), a sway control device
with sufficient capacity is required.
● If the gross trailer weight is over 5000 lb. (2268 kg), a weigh t distributing
hitch with sufficient capacity is required.
● Adjust the tongue weight within the appropriate range. Place he avier loads
as close to the trailer axle as possible.
● Do not exceed 65 mph (104 km/h), the posted towing speed limit or the
speed limit for your trailer as set forth in your trailer owner ’s manual,
whichever is lowest. Slow down sufficiently before making a tur n, in cross
winds, on wet or slippery surface, etc. to help avoid an accident. If you
experience a vehicle-trailer instability from reducing a certai n speed, slow
down and make sure you keep your vehicle speed under the speed of
which you experience the instability.
● Do not make jerky, abrupt or sharp turns.

2114-1. Before driving
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Driving
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WARNING
●Do not apply the brakes suddenly as you may skid, resulting in jackknifing
and loss of vehicle control. This is especially true on wet or slippery sur-
faces.
● Do not exceed the trailer hitch assembly weight, gross vehicle weight,
gross axle weight and trailer tongue weight capacities.
● Do not use cruise control when towing.
● Slow down and downshift before descending steep or long downhill
grades. Do not make sudden downshifts while descending steep or long
downhill grades.
● Vehicle-trailer instability is more likely on steep long downhi lls. Before
descending steep or long downhill grades, slow down and downshi ft. Do
not make sudden downshifts when descending steep or long downhi ll
grades. Avoid holding the brake pedal down too long or applying the
brakes too frequently. This could cause the brakes to overheat and result
in reduced braking efficiency.
● Do not tow a trailer when the temporary spare tire is installed on your vehi-
cle.
■ Hitch
Trailer hitch assemblies have different weight capacities estab lished by the
hitch manufacturer. Even though the vehicle may be physically capable of
towing a higher weight, the operator must determine the maximum weight
rating of the particular hitch assembly and never exceed the ma ximum
weight rating specified for the trailer-hitch. Exceeding the ma ximum weight
rating set by the trailer-hitch manufacturer can cause an accid ent resulting
in death or serious personal injuries.

2124-1. Before driving
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WARNING
■When towing a trailer
Toyota recommends trailers with brakes that conform to any appl icable fed-
eral and state/provincial regulations.
● If the gross trailer weight exceeds unbraked TWR, trailer brake s are
required. Toyota recommends trailers with brakes that conform t o all appli-
cable federal and state/provincial regulations.
● Never tap into your vehicle’s hydraulic system, as this will lo wer the vehi-
cle’s braking effectiveness.
● Never tow a trailer without using a safety chain securely attac hed to both
the trailer and the vehicle. If damage occurs to the coupling u nit or hitch
ball, there is danger of the trailer wandering into another lan e.
NOTICE
■When installing a trailer hitch
Use only the position recommended by your Toyota dealer. Do not install
the trailer hitch on the bumper; this may cause body damage.
■ Do not directly splice trailer lights
Do not directly splice trailer lights. Directly splicing traile r lights may damage
your vehicle’s electrical system and cause a malfunction.

2134-1. Before driving
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Driving
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Dinghy towing
Your vehicle is not designed to be dinghy towed (with 4 wheels
on the ground) behind a motor home.
NOTICE
■To avoid serious damage to your vehicle
Do not tow your vehicle with the four wheels on the ground.

2224-2. Driving procedures
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Use “TOW/HAUL” mode when pulling a trailer or hauling a heavy
load.
Press the “TOW/HAUL” switch.
The indicator will come on.
Press the switch once more to can-
cel the mode.
■S mode
When the shift range is 3 or lower, holding the shift lever tow ard “+” sets the
shift range to 5.
■ AI-SHIFT
AI-SHIFT automatically selects the optimal gear according to driver perfor-
mance and driving conditions.
AI-SHIFT automatically operates when the shift lever is in the D position.
(Shifting the shift lever to the S position cancels the functio n.)
The engine speed may remain high after releasing the accelerato r pedal. This
does not indicate a malfunction.
■ When driving with dynamic r adar cruise control system
Engine braking will not occur in S mode, even when downshifting to 5 or 4.
( P. 276)
■ Shift lock system
The shift lock system is a system to prevent accidental operation of the shift
lever in starting.
The shift lever can be shifted from P only when the engine swit ch is in ON
and the brake pedal is being depressed.
“TOW/HAUL” switch (with towing package)

2284-3. Operating the lights and wipers
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For CanadaThe headlights, daytime
running lights ( P. 2 2 9 )
and all the lights listed
above turn on and off
automatically. (When
the engine switch is in
ON)
The side marker, park-
ing, tail, license plate,
instrument panel lights
and daytime running
lights ( P. 229) turn on.
The headlights and all
lights listed above
(except daytime run-
ning lights) turn on.
With the headlights on, push
the lever away from you to turn
on the high beams.
Pull the lever toward you to the
center position to turn the high
beams off.
Pull the lever toward you and
release it to flash the high
beams once.
You can flash the high beams with the headlights on or off.
Turning on the high beam headlights

2344-3. Operating the lights and wipers
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The high beam may be turned on or off when the driver does not expect it.
● Bicycles or similar objects may not be detected.
● In the situations shown below, the system may not be able to accurately
detect surrounding brightness levels. This may cause the low be ams to
remain on or the high beams to cause problems for pedestrians, vehicles
ahead or other parties. In these cases, manually switch between the high
and low beams.
• In bad weather (rain, snow, fog, sandstorms, etc.)
• The windshield is obscured by fog, mist, ice, dirt, etc.
• The windshield is cracked or damaged.
• The camera sensor is deformed or dirty.
• The camera sensor temperature is extremely high.
• Surrounding brightness levels are equal to those of headlights , tail lights
or fog lights.
• Vehicles ahead have headlights that are either switched off, d irty, are
changing color, or are not aimed properly.
• When driving through an area of intermittently changing brightness and darkness.
• When frequently and repeatedly driving ascending/descending roads, or
roads with rough, bumpy or uneven surfaces (such as stone-paved
roads, gravel tracks, etc.).
• When frequently and repeatedly taking curves or driving on a w inding
road.
• There is a highly reflective object ahead of the vehicle, such as a sign or a mirror.
• The back of a vehicle ahead is highly reflective, such as a co ntainer on a
truck.
• The vehicle’s headlights are damaged or dirty.
• The vehicle is listing or tilting, due to a flat tire, a trailer being towed, etc.
• The high beam and low beam are repeatedly being switched betwe en in
an abnormal manner.
• The driver believes that the high beam may be causing problems or dis-
tress to other drivers or pedestrians nearby.