tow TOYOTA TACOMA 2005 Owners Manual (in English)

272005 TACOMA from Mar. ’05 Prod. (OM35862U)
Be sure to remove the ignition key
when you leave your vehicle.
Never leave anyone (particularly a
small child) alone in your vehicle,
especially with the ignition key still
inserted. Otherwise, he/she could
use the power window switches and
get trapped in a window. Unat-
tended person (particularly a small
child) can be involved in a serious
accident.
LS12028a
To open the rear window, push the le-
ver and slide the window.
After closing the window, make sure it is
completely closed.
LS12029
To open the tailgate, pull the handle up.
The support cables will hold the tailgate
horizontal.
See “—Stowage precautions” on page 278
in Section 2 for precautions when loading
luggage.
After closing the tailgate, try pulling it to-
ward you to make sure it is securely
locked.
NOTICE
Avoid driving with the tailgate open.
Rear windowTailgate

302005 TACOMA from Mar. ’05 Prod. (OM35862U)
CAUTION
After inserting the support rod into
the slot, make sure the rod supports
the hood securely to prevent injury
due to unexpected, sudden hood clo-
sure.
LS12036
This indicates that the fuel filler door
is on the left side of your vehicle.
LS12037
1. To open the fuel filler door, pull thedoor toward out as shown.
When refueling, turn off the engine.
CAUTION
Do not smoke, cause sparks or al-
low open flames when refueling.
The fumes are flammable.
When opening the cap, do not re-
move the cap quickly. In hot weath-
er, fuel under pressure could cause
injury by spraying out of the filler
neck if the cap is suddenly re-
moved.
Fuel tank cap

342005 TACOMA from Mar. ’05 Prod. (OM35862U)
While the vehicle is being driven, all ve-
hicle occupants should have the seatback
upright, sit well back in the seat and prop-
erly wear the seat belts provided.
CAUTION
Do not drive the vehicle unless the
occupants are properly seated. Do
not allow any passengers to sit on
top of a foldeddown seatback, or
in the luggage compartment or car-
go area. Persons not properly
seated and/or not properly re-
strained by seat belts can be se-
verely injured in the event of emer-
gency braking or a collision.
During driving, do not allow any
passengers to stand up or move
around between seats. Otherwise,
severe injuries can occur in the
event of emergency braking or a
collision.
Driver seat
CAUTION
The SRS driver airbag deploys with
considerable force, and can cause
death or serious injury especially if
the driver is very close to the airbag.
The National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration (“NHTSA”) advises:
Since the risk zone for driver airbag
is the first 50—75 mm (2—3 in.) of
inflation, placing yourself 250 mm (10
in.) from your driver airbag provides
you with a clear margin of safety.
This distance is measured from the
center of the steering wheel to your
breastbone. If you sit less than 250
mm (10 in.) away now, you can
change your driving position in sever-
al ways:
Move your seat to the rear as far
as you can while still reaching the
pedals comfortably.
Slightly recline the back of the
seat. Although vehicle designs vary,
many drivers can achieve the 250
mm (10 in.) distance, even with the
driver seat all the way forward, sim-
ply by reclining the back of the
seat somewhat. If reclining the back
of your seat makes it hard to see
the road, raise yourself by using a
firm, nonslippery cushion, or raise
the seat if your vehicle has that
feature.
If your steering wheel is adjustable,
tilt it downward. This points the air-
bag toward your chest instead of
your head and neck.
The seat should be adjusted as rec-
ommended by NHTSA above, while
still maintaining control of the foot
pedals, steering wheel, and your view
of the instrument panel controls.
Seats Front seats—
—Front seat precautions

402005 TACOMA from Mar. ’05 Prod. (OM35862U)
LS13156
You should use the seatback as a tempo-
rary table only when the vehicle is
stopped.
CAUTION
To avoid serious injury:
Do not set up the seatback table
while the vehicle is moving.
Do not sit on the folded seatback.
Make sure the front passenger ’s
seat is securely locked in sliding
position when you set the seat as
a temporary table.
NOTICE
To prevent damage to the seat, avoid
putting heavy loads on the temporary
table.
LS13147
To flip over the bottom cushion, pull
the lock release strap.
See “—Stowage precautions” on page 278
in Section 2 for precautions when loading
luggage.
CAUTION
When returning the bottom cushion to
its original position, make sure the
seat belts are not twisted or caught
under the bottom cushion and are ar-
ranged in their proper position and
are ready to use.
Flipover jump seats (access
cab models)

412005 TACOMA from Mar. ’05 Prod. (OM35862U)
LS13148a
BEFORE FOLDING REAR SEATS1. Stow the rear seat belt buckles as shown in the illustration.
This prevents the seat belt buckles from
falling out when you fold the seatback.
NOTICE
To prevent damage to the seat belt
buckles, the seat belt buckles must
be stowed before you fold the seat-
back.
LS13183
2. Make sure the shoulder belt passes through the hanger when folding the
rear seat.
This prevents the shoulder belt from being
damaged.
CAUTION
The seat belt must be removed from
the hanger when the seat belt is in
use.
LS13150b
FOLDING REAR SEATS 1. Swing the bottom cushion up by pulling the lock rel ease strap, and
remove the head restraint.
If desired, each bottom cushion may be
raised separately.
NOTICE
To prevent damage to the box under
the seat, do not sit on the box when
the bottom cushion is in the raised
position.
Folding rear seats (double cab
models)

492005 TACOMA from Mar. ’05 Prod. (OM35862U)
LS13095
To release the concave end tab, insert the
key into the hole on buckle 1 (with light
gray buckle−release button) and allow the
belt to retract.
LS13096
CAUTION
Do not use the center seat belt of the
bench seat with either buckle re-
leased. Fastening only the shoulder
belt or lap belt may cause severe per-
sonal injury in case of sudden brak-
ing or a collision.
LS13091a
The buckles can be fixed when not in
use.
When taking out the buckle from the hold-
er, pull on the belt webbing to remove the
buckle from the lower portion.
—Stowing the rear seat belt
buckles (access cab models)

1402005 TACOMA from Mar. ’05 Prod. (OM35862U)
LS15009
To turn on the personal lights, push the
lens. To turn the lights off, push the
lens once again.
LS15010c
To turn on the windshield wipers, move
the lever to the desired setting.
The key must be in the “ON” position.Lever position
Speed setting
Position 1Intermittent
Position 2Slow
Position 3Fast
For a single sweep of the windshield,
push the lever up and release it. The “INT TIME” band lets you adjust the
wiping time interval when the wiper lever
is in the intermittent position (position 1).
Twist the band upward to increase the
time between sweeps, and downward to
decrease it.
To squirt washer fluid, pull the lever
toward you and release it.
If the windshield wipers are off, they will
operate a couple of times after the washer
squirts.
For instructions on adding washer fluid,
see “Adding washer fluid” on page 363 in
Section 7
−3.
In freezing weather, warm the windshield
with the defroster before using the washer.
This will help prevent the washer fluid
from freezing on your windshield, which
can block your vision.
NOTICE
Do not operate the wipers if the wind-
shield is dry. It may scratch the
glass.
Personal lights Windshield wipers and washer
(type A)

1412005 TACOMA from Mar. ’05 Prod. (OM35862U)
When waxing your vehicle, make sure that
the washer nozzles do not become
blocked. If a nozzle becomes blocked,
contact your Toyota dealer to have the
vehicle serviced.
NOTICE
If a nozzle becomes blocked, do not
try to clear it with a pin or other
object. The nozzle will be damaged.
LS15011d
To turn on the windshield wipers, move
the lever to the desired setting.
The key must be in the “ON” position.Lever position
Speed setting
Position 1Slow
Position 2Fast
For a single sweep of the windshield,
push the lever up and release it.
To squirt washer fluid, pull the lever
toward you and release it.
For instructions on adding washer fluid,
see “Adding washer fluid” on page 363 in
Section 7 −3. In freezing weather, warm the windshield
with the defroster before using the washer.
This will help prevent the washer fluid
from freezing on your windshield, which
can block your vision.
NOTICE
Do not operate the wipers if the wind-
shield is dry. It may scratch the
glass.
When waxing your vehicle, make sure that
the washer nozzles do not become
blocked. If a nozzle becomes blocked,
contact your Toyota dealer to have the
vehicle serviced.
NOTICE
If a nozzle becomes blocked, do not
try to clear it with a pin or other
object. The nozzle will be damaged.
Windshield wipers and washer
(type B)

1452005 TACOMA from Mar. ’05 Prod. (OM35862U)
Driving up a long hill on a hot day.
Reducing speed or stopping after high
speed driving.
Idling for a long period with the air
conditioning on in stop−and− go traffic.
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” in Section 4.
LS16003
The tachometer indicates engine speed
in thousands of rpm (revolutions per
minute). Use it while driving to select
correct shift points and to prevent en-
gine lugging and overrevving.
Driving with the engine running too fast
causes excessive engine wear and poor
fuel economy. Remember, in most cases
the slower the engine speed, the greater
the fuel economy.
NOTICE
Do not let the indicator needle get
into the red zone. This may cause
severe engine damage.
LS16004
This meter displays the odometer and
two trip meters.
1. Odometer—Shows the total distance the vehicle has been driven.
2. Two trip meters—Show two different distances independently driven since
the last time each trip meter was set
to zero.
You can use one trip meter to calculate
the fuel economy and the other to
measure the distance on each trip. All
trip meter data is cancelled if the elec-
trical power source is disconnected.
Tachometer Odometer and two trip meters

1602005 TACOMA from Mar. ’05 Prod. (OM35862U)
(b) Normal driving1. Start the engine as instructed in “How to start the engine” in Section 3. The
transmission must be in “P” or “N”.
When the front drive control switch knob
is in “L4” (low −speed position, four −wheel
drive), the driving pattern selector setting
has no effect on gear shift timing. (See
“Four −wheel drive system” on page 169 in
this Section for information of the front
drive control lever.)
2. With your foot holding down the brake pedal, shift the selector lever to “D”.
When the lever is in the “D” position, the
automatic transmission system will select
the most suitable gear for running condi-
tions such as normal cruising, hill climb-
ing, hard towing, etc.
Always use the “D” position for better fuel
economy and quieter driving. If the engine
coolant temperature is low or when the
front drive control switch knob is in “L4”
(low −speed position, four −wheel drive), the
transmission will not shift into the over-
drive gear even in the “D” position. (See
“Four −wheel drive system” on page 169 in
this Section for information of the front
drive control.)CAUTION
Never put your foot on the accelera-
tor pedal while shifting.
3. Release the parking brake and brake pedal. Depress the accelerator pedal
slowly for smooth starting.
(c) Using engine braking
To use engine braking, you can downshift
the transmission as follows:
Shift into the “4” position. The trans-
mission will downshift to fourth gear
and engine braking will be enabled.
Shift into the “3” position. The trans-
mission will downshift to third gear
when the vehicle speed drops down to
or lower than the following speed, and
stronger engine braking will be en-
abled. PreRunner 133 km/h (83 mph) . . . . . . Four
−wheel drive models
Front drive control switch knob at
“H2” or “H4” 133 km/h (83 mph)
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Front drive control switch knob at
“L4” 51 km/h (32 mph)
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Shift into the “2” position. The trans-
mission will downshift to second gear
when the vehicle speed drops down to
or lower than the following speed, and
stronger engine braking will be en-
abled.
PreRunner 88 km/h (55 mph) . . . . . . . . .
Four −wheel drive models
Front drive control switch knob at
“H2” or “H4” 88 km/h (55 mph)
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Front drive control switch knob at
“L4”
34 km/h (21 mph)
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .