mileage TOYOTA TERCEL 1997 Owners Manual

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

163
WHEN TO REPLACE YOUR WHEELS
If you have wheel damage such as
bending, cracks or heavy corrosion,
the wheel should be replaced.
If you fail to replace damaged wheels, the
tire may slip off the wheel or they may cause loss of handling control. WHEEL SELECTION
When replacing wheels, care should
be taken to ensure that the wheels are
replaced by ones with the same load
capacity, diameter, rim width, and off-set.
This m
ust be observed on compact spare
tires, too.
Correct replacement wheels are available
at your Toyota dealer.
A wheel of a different size or type may ad-
versely affect handling, wheel and bear-
ing life, brake cooling, speedometer/
odometer calibration, stopping ability,
headlight aim, bumper height, vehicle
ground clearance, and tire or snow chain clearance to the body and chassis. Replacement
with used wheels is not rec-
ommended as they may have been sub- jected to rough treatment or high mileage
and could fail without warning. Also, bent
wheels which have been straightened
may have structural damage and there-
fore should not be used. Never use an in-
ner tube in a leaking wheel which is de-
signed for a tubeless tire.
Replacing wheels