fuel consumption TOYOTA TERCEL 1997 Owners Manual

Part 2Break-in period Fuel
101
INFORMATION
BEFORE DRIVING
YOUR TOYOTA
Break-in period
Fuel
Operation in foreign countries
Three-way catalytic converter
Engine exhaust cautions
Facts about engine oil consumption
Twin ground electrode spark plugs
Brake system
Brake pad wear limit indicators
Luggage stowage precautions
Your Toyota's idenitification
Theft prevention labels
Suspension and chassis
Types of tires
Drive gently and avoid high speeds.
Your vehicle does not need an elaborate
break-in. But following a few simple tips
for the first 1600 km (1000 miles) can add
to the future economy and long life of your vehicle:
Do not drive over 88 km/h (55 mph).
Run the engine at moderate speed be- tween 2000 and 4000 rpm.
Avoid full-throttle starts.
Try to avoid hard stops during the first
300 km (200 miles).
Do not drive slowly with the manual
transmission in a high gear.
Do not drive for a long time at any
single speed, either fast or slow. FUEL TYPE
Your new vehicle must use only un-
leaded gasoline.
To help prevent gas station mixups, your
Toyota has a new smaller fuel tank open- ing.
The special nozzle on pumps with un-
leaded fuel will fit it, but the larger stan-
dard nozzle on pumps with leaded gas will
not.
Do not use leaded gasoline. Use of
leaded gasoline will cause the
three-way catalytic converter tolose its effectiveness and the emis- sion control system to function im-properly. Also, this can increase maintenance costs.
NOTICE
OCTANE NUMBER
Select Research Octane Number 91
(Octane Rating 87) or higher.
Use of unleaded fuel with an octane num- ber rating lower than stated above will
cause persistent heavy knocking. If se-
vere, this will lead to engine damage.

105
FUNCTIONS OF ENGINE OIL
Engine oil has the primary functions of lu-
bricating and cooling the inside of the en-
gine,
and plays a major role in maintaining
the engine in proper working order. ENGINE OIL CONSUMPTION
It is normal that an engine should con-
sume some engine oil during normal
engine operation. The causes of oil
consumption in a normal engine are
as follows. Oil is used to lubricate pistons, piston
rings and cylinders. A thin film of oil is left on the cylinder wall when a piston
moves downwards in the cylinder.
High negative pressure generated
when the vehicle is decelerating sucks
some of this oil into the combustion
chamber. This oil as well as some part
of the oil film left on the cylinder wall is
burned by the high temperature com-
bustion gases during the combustionprocess.
Oil is also used to lubricate the stems
of the intake valves. Some of this oil is
sucked into the combustion chamber
together with the intake air and is
burned along with the fuel. High tem-perature exhaust gases also burn the
oil used to lubricate the exhaust valve stems.
The amount of engine oil consumed
depends on the viscosity of the oil, the
quality of the oil and the conditions
the vehicle is driven under. More oil is consumed by high-speed driv-
ing and frequent acceleration and decel- eration.
A new engine consumes more oil, since
its pistons, piston rings and cylinder walls
have not become conditioned.
When judging the amount of oil con-
sumption, note that the oil may be-come diluted and make it difficult to
judge the true level accurately.
As an example, if a vehicle is used for re-
peated short trips, and consumes a nor- mal amount of oil, the dipstick may not
show any drop in the oil level at all, even after 1000 km (600 miles) or more. This is because the oil is gradually becoming
diluted with fuel or moisture, making it ap-
pear that the oil level has not changed. The diluting ingredients evaporate out
when the vehicle is then driven at high
speeds, as on an expressway, making itappear that oil is excessively consumed
after driving as high speeds.
IMPORTANCE OF ENGINE OIL LEVEL CHECK
One of the most important points in proper vehicle maintenance is to keep the engine
oil at the optimum level so that oil function
will
not be impaired. Therefore, it is essen-
tial that the oil level be checked regularly.
Toyota recommends that the oil level bechecked every time you refuel the vehicle.
Failure to check the oil level
regularly could lead to serious
engine trouble due to insufficientoil.
NOTICE
For detailed information on the oil level
check, see Checking the engine oil levelº
in Chapter 7-2.
Facts about engine oil consumption

11 7
Getting
more kilometers/mileage from a li-
ter/gallon of fuel is easyÐjust take it easy.
It will help make your vehicle last longer,
too. Here are some specific tips on how to
save money on both fuel and repairs: Keep your tires inflated at the cor- rect pressure. Underinflation causes
tire wear and wastes fuel. See Chapter
7-2 for instructions.
Do not carry unneeded weight in
your vehicle. Excess weight puts a
heavier load on the engine, causing greater fuel consumption.
Avoid lenghty warm-up idling.
Once the engine is running smoothly,
begin driving-but gently. Remember,
however, that on cold winter days this
may take a little longer.
Accelerate slowly and smoothly.
Avoid jackrabbit starts. Get into high
gear as quickly as possible.
Avoid long engine idling. If you have
a long wait and you are not in traffic, it
is better to turn off the engine and start
again later.
Avoid engine lug or overrevving.
Use a gear position suitable for the
road on which you are travelling.
Avoid continuous speeding up and
slowing down. Stop-and-go driving
wastes fuel.
Avoid unnecessary stopping and
braking. Maintain a steady pace. Try
to time the traffic signals so you only
need to stop as little as possible or take
advantage of through streets to avoid
traffic lights. Keep a proper distance
from other vehicles to avoid sudden braking. This will also recduce wear on
your brakes.
Avoid heavy traffic or traffic jams
whenever possible.
Do not rest your foot on the clutch
or brake pedal. This causes needless
wear, overheating and poor fuel econ-
omy.
Maintain a moderate speed onhighways. The faster you drive, the
greater the fuel consumption. By re-
ducing your speed, you will cut down
on fuel consumption.
Keep the front wheels in properalignment. Avoid hitting the curb and
slow down on rough roads. Improper
alignment not only causes faster tire
wear but also puts an extra load on the
engine, which, it turn, wastes fuel.
Keep the bottom of your vehicle
free from mud, etc. This not only
lessens weight but also helps preventcorrosion.
Keep your vehicle tuned-up and in
top shape. A dirty air cleaner, improp-
er valve clearance, dirty plugs, dirty oil
and grease, brakes not adjusted, etc.
all lower engine performance and con-
tribute to poor fuel economy. For lon-
ger life of all parts and lower operating
costs, keep all maintenance work on
schedule, and if you often drive under severe conditions, see that your ve-
hicle receives more frequent mainte-
nance (For schedule maintenance in-
formation, please refer to the separate
Owner 's Manual Supplement/Main-
tenance Scheduleº).
CAUTION
Never turn off the engine to coast
down hills. Your power steering
and brake booster will not function
without the engine running. Also,
the emission control system oper-
ates properly only when the engine
is running.!
How to save fuel and make
your vehicle last longer, too