1996 TOYOTA 4RUNNER Owners Manual

126

Part 2Off-road vehicle precautions
127
INFORMATION
BEFORE DRIVING
YOUR TOYOTA
Off-road vehicle precautions
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 identification
Theft prevention labels
Suspension and chassis
Types of tires
This vehicle is one of the class of ve-
hicles which have higher ground
clearance and narrower tread in rela-
tion to the height of their center of
gravity to make them capable of per-forming in a wide variety of off-road applications. Specific design charac-
teristics
give it a higher center of gravi-
ty than ordinary cars. An advantage of
the higher ground clearance is a better
view of the road allowing you to antici-
pate problems. It is not designed for
cornering at the same speeds as con-
ventional two-wheel drive vehicles
any more than low-slung sports cars
are designed to perform satisfactorilyunder off-road conditions.
CAUTION!
Always observe the following pre-
cautions to minimize the risk of se-
rious personal injury or damage toyour vehicle: Avoid sharp turns or abrupt ma-
neuvers, if at all possible. As with
other vehicles of this type, failure
to operate this vehicle correctly
may result in loss of control or ve-
hicle rollover.
Avoid loading any items on the
roof that will make the center of
gravity even higher.
Always slow down in gusty cross-
winds. Because of its high center
of gravity, your vehicle is more
sensitive to side winds than an or-
dinary passenger car. Slowing
down will allow you to have much
better control.
Do not drive horizontally across steep slopes. Driving straight up
or straight down is preferred. Your
vehicle (or any similar off-road
vehicle) can tip over sideways
much more easily than forward or backward.

128
When driving off-road or in
rugged terrain, do not drive at ex- cessive speeds, jump the vehicle,
or strike objects, etc. This may cause loss of control or vehicle
rollover. You are also risking ex-
pensive damage to your vehicle's suspension and chassis. 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.
Do not tow a trailer during the first 800
km (500 miles) FUEL TYPE
Your new vehicle must use only un-
leaded gasoline.
To help
prevent gas station mix-ups, 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.
NOTICE
Do not use leaded gasoline. Use of leaded gasoline will cause the
three-way catalytic converter to lose its effectiveness and the emis-sion control system to function im- properly. Also, this can increasemaintenance costs.
OCTANE NUMBER
Select Research Octane Number 91
(Octane Rating 87) or higher.
Use of unleaded fuel with an octane num- ber or rating lower than stated above will
cause persistent heavy knocking. If se-
vere, this will lead to engine damage.
Break-in period Fuel

129
If your engine knocks...
If you detect heavy knocking even when
using the recommended fuel, or if you
hear steady knocking while holding a
steady sp
eed on level roads, consult your
Toyota dealer.
However, now and then, you may notice
light knocking for a short time while accel-
erating or driving up hills. This is no cause
for concern.
GASOLINES CONTAINING DETER-
GENT ADDITIVES
Toyota recommends use of gasolines
that contain detergent additives to
avoid build-up of engine deposits.
For further details, ask your Toyota dealer
or a local gasoline retailer.
GASOLINES CONTAINING MTBE
Gasolines that contain MTBE (Methyl
Tertiary-Butyl Ether) are available in
the market. If you use a gasoline mixed
with MTBE, make certain that it does
not contain more than 15% of MTBE.
If the use of gasolines containing MTBE causes poor driveability and/or poor fuel
economy, you should discontinue the use
of fuels containing MTBE. GASOLINES CONTAINING ALCOHOL
If you use gasohol in your Toyota, be sure that it is unleaded, has an octane
rating no lower than 87 and does not
contain more than 10% ethanol.
Gasohol is a
mixture of gasoline and etha-
nol.
Toyota does not recommend the use of
gasolines containing m ethanol. If you use
gasoline containing methanol, use only
gasoline meeting the requirements above
and also containing less than 5% metha-
nol with cosolvents and corrosion inhibi-
tors for methanol.
NOTICE
Do not use gasohol other than
stated above. It will cause fuel
system damage or vehicle per-formance problems.
If driveability problems are en-
countered (poor hot starting, va- porizing, engine knock, etc.),discontinue the use.
Take care not to spill gasohol
during refueling. Gasohol maycause paint damage.
FUEL TANK CAPACITY
70 L (18.5 gal., 15.4 Imp. gal.)

130
If you plan to drive your Toyota in
another country... First,
comply with the vehicle registration
laws. Second, confirm the availability of the
correct fuel (unleaded and minimum oc- tane number).
The three-way catalytic converter is
an emission control device installed in
the exhaust system.
The purpose is to reduce pollutants in the exhaust gas.
CAUTION!
Keep people and combustible ma- terials away from the exhaust pipe
while the engine is running. The
exhaust gas is very hot.
Do not drive, idle or park your ve-
hicle over anything that might burn
easily such as grass, leaves, paper
or rags.
NOTICE
A large amount of unburned gases flowing into the three-way catalytic
converter may cause it to overheat and create a fire hazard. To preventthis and other damage, observe the following precautions:
Use only unleaded gasoline.
Do not drive with an extremelylow fuel level; running out of fuelcould cause the engine to misfire,
creating an excessive load on the
three-way catalytic converter.
Do not allow the engine to run at idle speed for more than 20 min- utes.
Avoid racing the engine.
Do not push-start or pull-start
your vehicle.
Do not turn off the ignition whilethe vehicle is moving.
Three-way catalytic converter
Operation in foreign countries

131
Keep your engine in good running
order. Malfunctions in the engine
electrical system, electronic igni-tion system/distributor ignitionsystem or fuel systems could
cause an extremely high three-way catalytic converter tempera-ture.
If the engine becomes difficult to
start or stalls frequently, take your
vehicle in for a check-up as soon
as possible. Remember, your To-yota dealer knows your vehicleand its three-way catalytic con-
verter system best.
To ensure that the three-way cata-lytic converter and the entire
emission control system operateproperly, your vehicle must re-ceive the periodic inspections re-
quired by the Toyota Maintenance
Schedule. For scheduled mainte- nance information, refer to the
separate Owner's Manual Sup-
plement/Maintenance Scheduleº.
CAUTION!
Avoid inhaling the engine exhaust.
It contains carbon monoxide,
which is a colorless and odorless
gas. It can cause unconscious- ness or even death.
Make sure the exhaust system has
no holes or loose connections. The system should be checked
from time to time. If you hit some-
thing, or notice a change in the
sound of the exhaust, have the
system checked immediately.
Do not run the engine in a garage
or enclosed area except for the
time needed to drive the vehicle in
or out. The exhaust gases cannot
escape, making this a particularlydangerous situation.
Do not remain for a long time in a
parked vehicle with the engine
running. If it is unavoidable, how-
ever, do so only in an unconfined
area and adjust the heating or
cooling system to force outside air
into the vehicle.
Keep the back door and back win-
dow closed while driving. An open
or unsealed back door and back
window, may cause exhaust gases
to be drawn into the vehicle. If you
must drive with the trunk lid open
to accommodate a large object,
close the windows, open all the in-
strument panel vents and have the
heating or cooling system deliver
fresh air into the vehicle by turning
the fan to high speed with the air in-
take control set at the outside air position.
To allow proper operation of your
vehicle's ventilation system, keep
the inlet grilles in front of the wind-
shield clear of snow, leaves, or oth-
er obstructions.
If you smell exhaust fumes in the
vehicle, drive with the windows
open and the back door and back
window closed. Have the cause im-
mediately located and corrected.
Engine exhaust cautions

132
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 isleft 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 the fuel or moisture, making it
appear 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 at 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.
NOTICE
Failure to check the oil level regular- ly could lead to serious engine
trouble due to insufficient oil.
For detailed information on the oil level
check, see Checking the engine oil levelº
in Chapter 7-2.
Facts about engine oil consumption

133
Your engine is fitted with twin ground electrode spark plugs.
NOTICE
Use only twin ground electrode spark plugs for your engine perfor-
mance.
TANDEM MASTER CYLINDER BRAKE SYSTEM
The tandem master cylinder brake sys-
tem is a hydraulic system with two sepa-
rate sub-systems. If either sub-system
should fa il, the other will still work. Howev-
er, the pedal will be harder to press, and
your stopping distance will be longer.
Also, the brake system warning light may come on.
CAUTION!
Do not drive your vehicle with only a single brake system. Have your
brakes fixed immediately.
BRAKE BOOSTER
The brake booster uses engine vacuum to
power-assist the brakes. If the engine
should quit while you are driving, you can
bring the vehicle to a stop with normal
pedal pressure. There is enough reservevacuum for one or two stopsÐbut no more!
CAUTION!
Do not pump the brake pedal if the
engine stalls. Each push on the
pedal uses up your vacuum re- serve.
Even if the power assist is com-
pletely lost, the brakes will still
work. But you will have to push the
pedal hardÐmuch harder than nor-
mal. And your braking distance will
be longer.
ANTI-LOCK BRAKE SYSTEM (with ABSº warning light)
The anti-lock brake system is designed to prevent lock-up of the wheels during sud-
den braking or braking on slippery road surfaces. This assists the driver in con-
trolling the vehicle under these circum-stances.
The anti-lock brake system becomes op- erative after the vehicle has accelerated
to a speed in excess of approximately 10
km/h (6 mph). It stops operating when the
vehicle decelerates to a speed below
approximately 5 km/h (3 mph).
You may hear a sound in the engine
compartment for a few seconds when the
engine is started or just after the vehicleis started. This means that the anti-lock
brake system is in the self check mode,
and does not indicate a malfunction.
Twin ground electrode spark
plugs (5VZ-FE engine) Brake system