1996 TOYOTA 4RUNNER engine

71
Your automatic transmission has a shift
lock system to minimize the possibility of
incorrect operation. This means you can
only shift out of Pº position when the brake
pedal is depressed (with the ignition
switch in ONº position and the lock re-
lease button depressed).
(a) Normal driving
1. Start the engine as instructed in How
to start the engineº in Part 3. The trans- mission must be in Pº or Nº.
When the front drive control lever is in L4º
(low-speed position, four-wheel drive),
the driving pattern selector setting has no
effect on gear shift timing. (See Four-
wheel drive systemº in this chapter for in-
formation of the front drive control lever.)
2. With your foot holding down the brake
pedal, shift the selector lever to Dº.
In Dº position, the automatic transmis-
sion system will select the most suitable
gear for running conditions such as nor-
mal cruising, hill climbing, hard towing, etc. Always turn the overdrive switch on for
better
fuel economy and quieter driving. If
the engine coolant temperature is low or
when the front drive control lever is in L4º
(low-speed position, four-wheel drive)
the transmission will not shift into the
overdrive gear even with the overdrive
switch on. (See Four-wheel drive sys-
temº in this chapter for information of the
front drive control lever.)
Never put your foot on the accelera- tor pedal while shifting. CAUTION
!
3. Release the parking brake and brake
pedal. Depress the accelerator pedal
slowly for smooth starting.
(b) Using engine braking
To use engine braking, you can downshift the transmission as follows: Turn off the overdrive switch. The O/D
OFFº indicator light will come on andthe transmission will downshift to the
third gear.
Shift into the 2º position. The trans-
mission will downshift to the second
gear when the vehicle speed dropsdown to or lower than the followingspeed, and more powerful engine
braking will be obtained.
Front drive control lever in H2º or H4º 3RZ-FE engine 105 km/h (65 mph) . .
5VZ-FE engine 114 km/h (70 mph) . . .
Front drive control lever in L4º
3RZ-FE engine 38 km/h (23 mph) . . . .
5VZ-FE engine 41 km/h (25 mph) . . . .
Shift into the Lº position. The trans-mission will downshift to the first gear
when the vehicle speed drops down to
or lower than the following speed, and
maximum engine braking will be ap-plied.
Front drive control lever in H2º or H4º 3RZ-FE engine 51 km/h (31 mph) . . . .
5VZ-FE engine 55 km/h (34 mph) . . . .
Front drive control lever in L4º
3RZ-FE engine 11 km/h (6 mph) . . . . .
5VZ-FE engine 12 km/h (7 mph) . . . . .

72Vehicles with cruise controlÐWhen the
cruise control is being used, even if you
downshift the transmission by turning offthe overdrive switch, engine braking will
not be applied because the cruise control is not cancelled. For ways to decrease the vehicle speed,
see Cruise controlº in this chapter.
Be careful when downshifting on a
slippery surface. Abrupt shifting
could cause the vehicle to spin orskid.
CAUTION
!
(c) Using the 2º and Lº positions The 2º and Lº positions are used for
strong engine braking as described pre-
viously. With the selector lever in 2º or Lº, you
can start the vehicle in motion as with the
lever in Dº. With the selector lever in 2º, the vehicle
will start in the first gear and automatically
shift to the second gear.
With the selector lever in Lº, the trans-
mission is engaged in the first gear.
NOTICE
Be careful not to overrev the en- gine. Watch the tachometer to
keep engine rpm from going intothe red zone. The approximate
maximum allowable speed foreach position is given below for
your reference:
Front drive control lever in H2º or
H4º
3RZ-FE engine 2º 111 km/h (88 mph) . . . . . . . .
Lº 60 km/h (37 mph) . . . . . . . .
5VZ-FE engine
2º 118 km/h (73 mph). . . . . . . .
Lº 64 km/h (40 mph) . . . . . . . .
Front drive control lever in L4º 3RZ-FE engine 2º 43 km/h (26 mph) . . . . . . . . .
Lº 23 km/h (14 mph) . . . . . . . .
5VZ-FE engine 2º 46 km/h (28 mph) . . . . . . . . .
Lº 25 km/h (15 mph) . . . . . . . .
Do not continue hill climbing or
hard towing for a long time in the 2º
or Lº position. This may cause se- vere automatic transmission dam-age from overheating. To preventsuch damage, Dº position should be used in hill climbing or hard tow-ing.
(d) Backing up
1. Bring the vehicle to a complete stop.
2. With the brake pedal held down with your foot, shift the selector lever to the Rº
position.
NOTICE
Never shift into reverse while the vehicle is moving.
(e) Parking
1. Bring the vehicle to a complete stop.
2. Pull the parking brake lever fully to se- curely apply the parking brake.
3. With the brake pedal pressed down,
shift the selector lever to the P position.

73
While the vehicle is moving, never
attempt to move the selector lever
into Pº position under any circum-
stances. Serious mechanical dam-
age and loss of vehicle control mayresult.CAUTION
!
(f) Good driving practice If the transmission is repeatedly up-
shifted and downshifted between third
gear and overdrive when climbing a
gentle slope, the overdrive switch
should be turned off. Be sure to turn the switch on immediately afterward.
When towing a trailer, in order to main-
tain engine braking efficiency, do notuse overdrive.
Always keep your foot on the brake
pedal while stopped with the engine
running. This prevents the vehicle
from creeping. CAUTION
!
NOTICE
Do not hold the vehicle on an upgrade with the accelerator pedal.
It can cause the transmission tooverheat. Always use the brake pedal or parking brake.
(g) Driving in PWRº(Power) mode
In the PWRº mode, the transmission is shifted up and down at a higher vehicle
speed than in the NORMº (Normal) mode
and a more powerful acceleration is
achieved. To set the PWRº mode, push
in the driving pattern selector button. The
PWRº mode indicator light comes on.
For ordinary driving, Toyota recommends
using the NORMº mode to improve fuel
economy.
(h) If you cannot shift the selector lever
out of Pº position
If you cannot shift the selector lever from the Pº position even though the brake
pedal is depressed, use the shift lock
override lever. For instructions, see If you
cannot shift automatic transmission se- lector leverº in Part 4.
The shift pattern is as shown above.
Press the clutch pedal down fully while
shifting, and then release it slowly. Do not
rest your foot on the pedal while driving, because it will cause clutch trouble. And do not use the clutch to hold the vehicle
when stopped on an uphill gradeÐuse the
parking brake.
Manual transmission

74Recommended shifting speeds
The transmission is fully synchronized
and upshifting or downshifting is easy.
For the best compromise between fuel
economy and vehicle performance, you
should upshift or downshift at the follow-
ing speeds:
gear km/h (mph)
1 to 2 or 2 to 1 24 (15)
2 to 3 or 3 to 2 40 (25)
3 to 4 or 4 to 3 64 (40)
4 to 5 or 5 to 4 72 (45)
Downshift to the appropriate gear if accel-
eration is needed when you are cruising
below the above downshifting speeds.
Upshifting too soon or downshifting too late will cause lugging, and possibly, ping-
ing. Regularly revving the engine to maxi-
mum speed in each gear will cause exces-
sive engine wear and high fuel consumption. Maximum allowable speeds
To get on a highway or to pass slower traf- fic, maximum acceleration may be neces-
sary.
Make sure you observe the following
maximum allowable speeds in each gear:
Two-wheel drive models gear km/h (mph)
1 48 (29)
2 90 (55)
3 139 (86)
4 165 (102)
Four-wheel drive models 3RZ-FE enginegear km/h (mph)
H2º and H4º L4º
1 45 (28) 17 (11)
2 84 (52) 32 (20)
3 130 (81) 50 (31)
4 165 (102) 64 (39)
5VZ-FE engine
gear km/h (mph) H2º and H4º L4º
1 48 (29) 18 (11)
2 89 (55) 34 (21)
3 127 (79) 49 (31)
4 165 (102) 64 (39)
NOTICE
Do not downshift if you are going faster than the maximum allowable
speed for the next lower gear.
Good driving practice If it is difficult to shift into reverse, put
the transmission in neutral, release
the clutch pedal momentarily, and then
try again.
When towing a trailer, in order to main-
tain engine braking efficiency, do not
use the fifth gear.
Be careful when downshifting on a
slippery surface. Abrupt shifting
could cause the vehicle to spin orskid. CAUTION
!
NOTICE
Make sure the vehicle is completely
stopped before shifting into re-
verse.

80
To lock the rear differential, push the switch.
Be sure to stop the wheels before locking
the differential.
Vehicles with manual transmissionÐFor
easy locking, depress the clutch pedal,
push the lock switch and slowly releasethe clutch pedal.
The indicator light will blink when the
switch is turned on. Wait a few seconds for
the system to complete operation. After
the differential is locked, the light will stop
blinking and remain on. The anti-lock brake system does not op-
erate when the rear differential is locked.
It is normal operation for the ABSº warn-
ing light to be on at this time.

Do not lock the differential until
the wheels have stopped spin-
ning. Otherwise, the vehicle may
move in an unexpected direction
when the differential lock is en-
gaged, resulting in an accident.
This may also lead to possible
damage to differential lock com-
ponent parts.
Do not drive over 8 km/h (5 mph)
when the differential is locked. CAUTION
!
To unlock the differential, push the
switch once again.
Unlock the differential as soon as the ve- hicle moves out.
For easy unlocking, slightly turn the steer-
ing wheel in either direction while the ve-hicle is in motion.
When the differential lock is disengaged, the indicator light will go out. The differential will also unlock if you shift
the front drive control lever out of L4º. Never
forget to turn off the switch after us-
ing this feature.
To check the indicator bulb, turn the igni-
tion key to the ONº position, but do not
start the engine.
Do not keep driving with the differ- ential lock switch on. CAUTION
!

81
When parking, firmly apply the park-
ing brake to avoid inadvertent creep- ing.
To set: Pull up the lever.
To release: Pull up the lever slightly, press
the thumb button, and lower.
To remind you that the parking brake is
set, the parking brake reminder light in the
instrument panel remains on until you re-lease the parking brake.
Before driving, be sure the parking brake is fully released and the park-
ing brake reminder light is off. CAUTION
! The cruise control allows you to cruise
the vehicle at a desired speed over 40 km/h (25 mph) even with your foot offthe accelerator pedal.
Your cruising speed can be maintained up
or down grades within the limits of engine
performance, although a slight speed
change may occur when driving up or
down the grades. On steeper hills, a greater speed change will occur so it is
better to drive without the cruise control.

To help maintain maximum con-
trol of your vehicle, do not use the
cruise control when driving in heavy or varying traffic, or on slip-
pery (rainy, icy or snow-covered)
or winding roads.
Avoid vehicle speed increases
when driving downhill. If the ve-
hicle speed is too fast in relation to
the cruise control set speed, can-
cel the cruise control then down-
shift the transmission to use en-
gine braking to slow down. CAUTION
!TURNING ON THE SYSTEM
To operate the cruise control, press the
CRUISE ON-OFFº button. This turns thesystem on. The indicator light in the instru-
ment panel shows that you can now set
the vehicle at a desired cruising speed.
Another press will turn the system com-
pletely off.
To avoid accidental cruise control
engagement, keep the CRUISE
ON-OFFº
switch off when not using
the cruise control. CAUTION
!
Parking brake Cruise control

82
SETTING AT A DESIRED SPEED
On vehicles with automatic transmission,
the transmission must be in Dº beforeyou set the cruise control speed.
Bring your vehicle to the desired speed, push the lever down in the SET/COASTº
direction and release it. This sets the ve-
hicle at that speed. If the speed is not sat-
isfactory, tap the lever up for a faster
speed, or tap it down for a slower speed.
Each tap changes the set speed by 1.6
km/h (1.0 mph). You can now take your
foot off the accelerator pedal. If you need accelerationÐfor example,
when passingÐdepress the accelerator
pedal
enough for the vehicle to exceed the
set speed. When you release it, the ve-
hicle will return to the speed set prior to the
acceleration.
For manual transmission:
While driving with the cruise control
on, do not shift to neutral without
depressing the clutch pedal, as this
may cause engine racing or overrev-ving. CAUTION
!
CANCELLING THE PRESET SPEED
You can cancel the preset speed by:
a. Pulling the lever in the CANCELº di- rection and releasing it.
b. Depressing the brake pedal.
c. Depressing the clutch pedal (manual transmission).
If the vehicle speed falls below about 40
km/h (25 mph), the preset speed will auto-
matically cancel out.
If the vehicle speed drops 16 km/h (10 mph) below the preset speed, the presetspeed will also automatically cancel out. If the preset speed automatically cancels
out other than for the above cases, have your
vehicle checked by your Toyota deal-
er at the earliest opportunity.
RESETTING AT A FASTER SPEED Push the lever up in the RES/ACCº direc-
tion and hold it. Release the lever when
the desired speed is attained. While the
lever is held up, the vehicle will graduallygain speed.
However, a faster way to reset is to accel-
erate the vehicle and then push the lever down in the SET/COASTº direction.
RESETTING AT A SLOWER SPEED Push the lever down in the SET/COASTº
direction and hold it. Release the lever
when the desired speed is attained. While
the lever is held down, the vehicle speedwill gradually decrease.
However, a faster way to reset is to de- press the brake pedal and then push the
lever down in the SET/COASTº direction.

83
On vehicles with automatic transmission,
even if you turn off the overdrive switch with the cruise control on, engine braking
will
not be applied because the cruise con-
trol is not cancelled. To decrease the ve-
hicle speed, reset to a slower speed with
the cruise control lever or depress the brake pedal. If you use the brake pedal, cruise control is cancelled. RESUMING THE PRESET SPEED
If the preset speed is cancelled by pulling
the control lever or by depressing the
brake pedal or clutch pedal, pushing the
lever up in the RES/ACCº direction will
restore the speed set prior to cancellation.
However, once the vehicle speed falls be-
low about 40 km/h (25 mph), the preset
speed will not be resumed.
CRUISE CONTROL FAILURE WARN- ING
If the CRUISEº indicator light in the in-
strument cluster flashes when using the
cruise control, press the CRUISE ON-
OFFº button to turn the system off and then press it again to turn it on. If any of the following conditions then oc-
curs, there is some trouble in the cruise control system.
The indicator light does not come on.
The indicator light flashes again.
The indicator light goes out after it
comes on.
If this is the case, contact your Toyota
dealer and have your vehicle inspected.
To crank the engine without depress- ing the clutch pedal, push the switch
with the ignition on.
The switch stays on as long as the ignition
is on. And it will automatically turn off
when the ignition is off.
This switch cancels the clutch start sys-
tem, which is designed to keep the starter
motor from operating if the clutch pedal is
not depressed all the way down.
The switch allows the vehicle to be driven
out of difficult situations by cranking the
engine with the clutch engaged.
Clutch start cancel switch (four-wheel drive modelswith manual transmission)