TOYOTA TACOMA 2008 Owners Manual (in English)

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2008 TACOMA from Apr. ’08 Prod. (OM35898U)
Foreword
Welcome to the growing group of value−conscious people who drive Toyotas. We are proud of the advanced engineering and
quality construction of each vehicle we build.
This Owner ’s Manual explains the operation of your new Toyota. Please read it thoroughly and have all the occupants
follow the instructions carefully. Doing so will help you enjoy many years of safe and troublefree motoring. For
important information about this manual and your Toyota, read the following pages carefully.
When it comes to service, remember that your Toyota dealer knows your vehicle very well and is interested in your complete
satisfaction. Your Toyota dealer will provide quality maintenance and any other assistance you may require.
If there is not a Toyota dealer near you, please call the following number:
U.S. OWNERS
:When traveling in the U.S. mainland or Canada:
Toyota Customer Experience Center Tollfree:18003314331
Hawaii:
Servco Automotive Customer Services Tollfree:18882725515
CANADIAN OWNERS:
When traveling in Canada or the U.S. mainland: Toyota Canada Customer Interaction Centre Tollfree:1888TOYOTA8 or 18888696828
Please leave this Owner ’s Manual in this vehicle at the time of resale. The next owner will need this information also.
All information and specifications in this manual are current at the time of printing. However, because of Toyota’s policy of
continual product improvement, we reserve the right to make changes at any time without notice.
Please note that this manual applies to all models and explains all equipment, including options. Therefore, you may
find some explanations for equipment not installed on your vehicle.
Please access our websites for further information.
The U.S. mainland www.toyota.com
Hawaiiwww.toyotahawaii.com
Canada www.toyota.ca
©2008 TOYOTA MOTOR CORPORATION
All rights reserved. This material may not be reproduced or copied, in whole or in part, without the written permission of Toyo ta
Motor Corporation.

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Important information about this manual
Safety and vehicle damage warnings
Throughout this manual, you will see safety and vehicle dam-
age warnings. You must follow these warnings carefully to
avoid possible injury or damage.
The types of warnings, what they look like, and how they are
used in this manual are explained as follows:
CAUTION
This is a warning against anything which may cause
injury to people if the warning is ignored. You are
informed about what you must or must not do in
order to reduce the risk of injury to yourself and
others.
NOTICE
This is a warning against anything which may cause
damage to the vehicle or its equipment if the warning
is ignored. You are informed about what you must or
must not do in order to avoid or reduce the risk of
damage to your vehicle and its equipment.
Safety symbol
When you see the safety symbol
shown above, it means: “Do not...”;
“Do not do this”; or “Do not let this
happen”.

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2008 TACOMA from Apr. ’08 Prod. (OM35898U)
Important information about your Toyota
Occupant restraint systems
Toyota encourages you and your family to take the time to
read Section 1−3 of this Owner’s Manual carefully. In
terms of helping you understand how you can receive the
maximum benefit of the occupant restraint systems this
vehicle provides, Section 1 −3 of this Owner ’s Manual is
the most important Section for you and your family to
read.
Section 1 −3 describes the function and operation concern-
ing seats, seat belts, SRS airbags and child restraint sys-
tems of this vehicle and some potential hazards you
should be aware of. These systems work together along
with the overall structure of this vehicle in order to provide
occupant restraint in the event of a crash. The effect of
each system is enhanced when it is used properly and
together with other systems. No single occupant restraint
system can, by itself, provide you or your family with the
equal level of restraint which these systems can provide
when used together. That is why it is important for you and
your family to understand the purpose and proper use of
each of these systems and how they relate to each other.
The purpose of all occupant restraint systems is to help
reduce the possibility of death or serious injury in the
event of a collision. None of these systems, either individ-
ually or together, can ensure that there is no injury in the
event of collision. However, the more you know about
these systems and how to use them properly, the greater
your chances become of surviving an accident without
death or serious injury.
Seat belts provide the primary restraint to all occupants of
the vehicle, and every occupant of the vehicle should wear
seat belts properly at all times. Children should always be
secured in child restraint systems that are appropriate for
their age and size. SRS (Supplemental Restraint System)
airbags are, as their names imply, designed to work with,
and be supplemental to, seat belts and are not substitutes
for them. SRS airbags can be very effective in reducing
the risk of head and chest injuries by preventing contact of
the head and chest with interior portions of the vehicle.

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In order to be effective, the SRS airbags must deploy with
tremendous speed. The rapid deployment of the SRS air-
bags makes the SRS airbags themselves potential sources
of death or serious injury if an occupant is too close to an
airbag, or if an object or some part of his or her body has
been placed between the occupant and the airbag at the
time of deployment. This is just one example of how the
instructions in Section 1−3 of this Owner ’s Manual will help
ensure proper use of the occupant restraint systems, and
increase the safety they can provide to you and your fami-
ly in the event of an accident.
Toyota recommends you to read the provisions in Section
1 −3 carefully and refer to them as needed during your time
of ownership of this vehicle.Event data recorder
Your vehicle has computers that monitor and control cer-
tain aspects of your vehicle. These computers assist in
driving and maintaining optimal vehicle performance. Be-
sides storing data useful for troubleshooting, there is a
system to record data in a crash or a near car crash
event. This is called an Event Data Recorder (EDR).
The SRS airbag sensor assembly contains the EDR. In a
crash or a near car crash event, this device may record
some or all of the following information:
 Engine speed
 Whether the brake pedal was applied or not
 Vehicle speed
 To what extent the accelerator pedal was depressed
 Position of the transmission selector lever
 Whether the driver and front passenger wore the
seat belts or not
 Driver ’s seat position
 Front passenger ’s occupant classification

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SRS airbag deployment data
 SRS airbag system diagnostic data
If your vehicle is equipped with a vehicle stability control
(VSC) system, its Electronic Control Unit (ECU) may con-
tain another EDR. There are a variety of driving situations
which include activating the VSC under which the VSC
EDR will record certain information. The VSC EDR may
record some or all of the following information:
 Behavior of the vehicle
 Steering wheel angle
 Vehicle speed
 To what extent the accelerator pedal was depressed
 To what extent the brake pedal was applied
 To what extent the ECU controlled the condition of
the 4 wheels
 vehicle stability control system diagnostic data
The information above is intended to be used for the pur-
pose of improving vehicle safety performance. Unlike gen-
eral data recorders, the EDR does not record sound data
such as conversation between passengers.Toyota will not disclose the data recorded in an EDR to a
third party except when:
 An agreement from the vehicle’s owner (or the leas-
ing company for a leased vehicle) is obtained
 Officially requested by the police or other authorities
 Used as a defense for Toyota in a law suit
 Ordered by the court
However, if necessary Toyota will:
 Use the data for research on Toyota vehicle safety
performance
 Disclose the data to a third party for research pur-
poses without disclosing details of the vehicle own-
er, and only when it is deemed necessary
 Disclose summarized data cleared of vehicle identifi-
cation information to a non −Toyota organization for
research purposes

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New vehicle warranty
Your new vehicle is covered by the following Toyota limited
warranties: New vehicle warranty
 Emission control systems warranty
 Others
For further information, please refer to the “Owner’s
Warranty Information Booklet” or “Owner ’s Manual
Supplement”.
Your responsibility for maintenance
It is the owner ’s responsibility to make sure that the speci-
fied maintenance is performed. Section 6 gives details of
these maintenance requirements. Also included in Section
6 is general maintenance. For scheduled maintenance in-
formation, please refer to the “Scheduled Maintenance
Guide” or “Owner ’s Manual Supplement”.
Important health and safety
information about your Toyota
CAUTION
WARNING: Engine exhaust, some of its constitu- ents, and a wide variety of automobile compo-
nents contain or emit chemicals known to the
State of California to cause cancer and birth de-
fects and other reproductive harm. In addition,
oils, fuels and fluids contained in vehicles as
well as waste produced by component wear con-
tain or emit chemicals known to the State of
California to cause cancer and birth defects or
other reproductive harm.
Battery posts, terminals and related accessories contain lead and lead compounds. Wash your
hands after handling. Used engine oil contains
chemicals that have caused cancer in laboratory
animals. Always protect your skin by washing
thoroughly with soap and water.

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Accessories, spare parts andmodification of your Toyota
A wide variety of non −genuine spare parts and accessories
for Toyota vehicles are currently available in the market.
You should know that Toyota does not warrant these prod-
ucts and is not responsible for their performance, repair, or
replacement, or for any damage they may cause to, or
adverse effect they may have on, your Toyota vehicle.
This vehicle should not be modified with non −genuine
Toyota products. Modification with non −genuine Toyota
products could affect its performance, safety or durability,
and may even violate governmental regulations. In addi-
tion, damage or performance problems resulting from the
modification may not be covered under warranty.
Spark ignition system of your To y o t a
The spark ignition system in your Toyota meets all require-
ments of the Canadian Interference −Causing Equipment
Standard.
Installation of a mobile twoway radio system
As the installation of a mobile two −way radio system in
your vehicle could affect the following electronic systems,
be sure to check with your Toyota dealer for precautionary
measures or special instructions regarding installation.
 Multiport fuel injection system/sequential multiport
fuel injection system
 SRS airbag system
 Seat belt pretensioner system

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Traction control system
 “AUTO LSD” system
 Vehicle stability control system
 Downhill assist control system
 Hill −start assist control system
(automatic transmission only)
 Cruise control system
 Anti −lock brake system
 Electronic throttle control system
 Tire pressure warning systemTires and loading on your
To y o t a
Underinflated or overinflated tire inflation pressure
and the excess load may result in the deterioration
of steering ability and braking ability, leading to
an accident. Check the tire inflation pressure
periodically and be sure to keep the load limits
given in this Owner ’s Manual. For details about
tire inflation pressure and load limits, see
“Checking tire inflation pressure” on page 376 in
Section 7 −2 and “Vehicle load limits” on page 299
in Section 2.

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Scrapping of your Toyota
The SRS airbag and seat belt pretensioner devices in your
Toyota contain explosive chemicals. If the vehicle is
scrapped with the airbags and pretensioners left as they
are, this may cause an accident such as fire. Be sure to
have the systems of the SRS airbag and seat belt preten-
sioner removed and disposed of by a qualified service
shop or by your Toyota dealer before you dispose of your
vehicle.
Onpavement and offroaddriving tips
(fourwheel drive models and PreRunner)
This vehicle will handle and maneuver differently from an
ordinary passenger car because it is also designed for
off−road use. It has a significantly higher rollover rate than
other types of vehicles. In addition, this vehicle has a
higher ground clearance and center of gravity than that of
an ordinary passenger car. This vehicle design feature
causes this type of vehicle to be more likely to rollover.
Failure to operate this vehicle correctly may result in loss
of control, accidents or vehicle rollover causing death or
serious injury. Be sure to read “Off −road vehicle
precautions” on page 270 in Section 2 and “Off −road
driving precautions” on page 307 in Section 3.

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2008 TACOMA from Apr. ’08 Prod. (OM35898U)
Leak detection pump
This pump performs fuel evaporation leakage check. This
check is done approximately five hours after the engine is
turned off. So you may hear sound coming from under-
neath the deck for several minutes. It does not indicate a
malfunction.
Perchlorate Material
Special handling may apply,
See www.dtsc.ca.gov/hazardouswaste/perchlorate.
Your vehicle has components that may contain perchlorate.
These components may include airbag, seat belt preten-
sioners, and wireless remote control batteries.