1996 TOYOTA AVALON ESP

153
3. Rinse thoroughlyÐdried soap can
cause streaking. In hot weather you may
need to rinse each section right after you
wash it.
4. To prevent water spots, dry the vehicle
using a clean soft cotton towel. Do not rub
or press hardÐyou might scratch the
paint.
Automatic car wash
Your vehicle may be washed in an auto-
matic car wash, but remember that the
paint can be scratched by some types of
brushes, unfiltered washing water, or the
washing process itself. Scratching re-
duces
paint durability and gloss, especial-
ly on darker colors. The manager of the
car wash should be able to advise you
whether the process is safe for the paint
on your vehicle.
Waxing your Toyota
Polishing and waxing is recom-
mended to maintain the original
beauty of your Toyota's finish.
1. Always wash and dry the vehicle be-
fore you begin waxing, even if you are us-
ing a combined cleaner and wax. 2. Use a good quality polish and wax. If
the finish has become extremely weath-
ered, use a car-cleaning polish, followed
by a separate wax. Carefully follow the
manufacturer 's instructions and precau-
tions. Be sure to polish and wax the
chrome trim as well as the paint.
3. Wax the vehicle again when water
does
not bead but remains on the surface
in large patches.
Always remove the plastic bumpers
if your vehicle is re-painted and
placed in a high heat paint waxingbooth. High temperatures coulddamage the bumpers.
NOTICE
CAUTION
Do not wash the vehicle floor with
water, or allow water to get onto the
floor when cleaning the vehicle in-
terior or exterior. Water may get into
audio components or other electri-
cal components above or under the
floor carpet (or mat) and cause a
malfunction; and it may cause body
corrosion.!
Vinyl interior
The vinyl upholstery may be easily
cleaned with a mild soap or detergent
and water.
First vacuum over the upholstery to re-
move loose dirt. Then, using a sponge or
soft cloth, apply the soap solution to the vi-
nyl. After allowing it to soak in for a few
minutes to loosen the dirt, remove the dirt
and wipe off the soap with a clean damp
cloth. If all the dirt does not come off, re-
peat the procedure. Commercial foam-
ing-type vinyl cleaners are also available
which work well. Follow the manufactur-
er's instructions.
Do not use solvent, thinner,
gasoline or window cleaner on the
interior.
NOTICE
Cleaning the interior
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155

Use of a nylon brush or synthetic
fiber cloth, etc. may scratch the
fine grained surface of the leather.
Mildew may develop on soiled
leather upholstery. Be especially
careful to avoid oil spots. Try tokeep your upholstery alwaysclean.
Long exposure to direct sunlight
may cause the leather surface toharden and shrink. Keep your ve-
hicle in a shaded area, especiallyin the summer.
The interior of your vehicle is aptto heat up on hot summer days, soavoid placing on the upholsteryitems made of vinyl or plastic or
containing wax as these tend tostick to leather when warm.
Improper cleaning of the leatherupholstery could result in discol-oration or staining.
If you have any questions about the
cleaning of your Toyota, your local To-
yota dealer will be pleased to answer
them.
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Part 6
157
VEHICLE
MAINTENANCE AND
CARE

Maintenance requirements

General maintenance

Does your vehicle need
repairing?
For scheduled maintenance
information, please refer to the
separate Owner's Manual
Supplement/Maintenance
Scheduleº.
Your Toyota vehicle has been designed
for fewer maintenance requirements with
longer service intervals to save both your
time and money. However, each regular
maintenance, as well as day-to-day
care, is more important than ever before
to ensure smooth, and trouble-free, safe,
and economical driving.
It is the owner's responsibility to make
sure the specified maintenance, including
general maintenance service, is per-
formed. Note that both the new vehicle
and emission control system warranties
specify that proper maintenance and care
must be performed. See Owner's Guide,
Owner 's Manual Supplement or W arranty
Booklet for complete warranty informa-
tion.
General maintenance
General maintenance items are those
day-to-day care practices that are impor-
tant to your vehicle for proper operation.
It is the owner's responsibility to insure
that the general maintenance items are
performed regularly.
These checks or inspections can be done
either by yourself or a qualified technician,
or if you prefer, your Toyota dealer will be
pleased to do them at a nominal cost. Scheduled maintenance
The scheduled maintenance items listed
in the Owner's Manual Supplementº are
those
required to be serviced at regular in-
tervals.
For details of your maintenance Sched-
ule, read the separate ºOwner's Manual
Supplementº.
It is recommended that any replace-
ment parts used for maintenance or
for the repair of the emission control
system be Toyota supplied.
The owner may elect to use non-To-
yota supplied parts for replacement
purposes without invalidating the
emission control system warranty.
However, use of replacement parts
which are not of equivalent quality
may impair the effectiveness of the
emission control systems.
You may also elect to have mainte-
nance, replacement, or repair of the
emission control devices and system
performed by any automotive repair
establishment or individual without
invalidating this warranty. See Own-
er's Guide, Owner's Manual Supple-
ment or Warranty Booklet for complete
warranty information.
Maintenance requirements
ProCarManuals.com

164
If you perform maintenance by your-
self, be sure to follow the correct pro-
cedure given in this part.
You should be aware that improper or in-
complete servicing may result in operat-
ing problems.
Performing do-it-yourself maintenance
during the warranty period may affect
your warranty coverage. Read the sepa-
rate Toyota Warranty statement for details
and suggestions.
This part gives instructions only for those
items that are relatively easy for an owner
to perform. As explained in Part 6, there
are still a number of items that must be
done by a qualified technician with special
tools.
For information on tools and parts for do-
it-yourself maintenance, see Parts and
toolsº.
Utmost care should be taken when work-
ing on your vehicle to prevent accidental
injury. Here are a few pr ecautions that you
should be especially careful to observe:

When the engine is running, keep
hands, clothing, and tools away
from the moving fan and engine
drive belts. (Removing rings,
watches, and ties is advisable.)

Right after driving, the engine
compartmentÐthe engine, radia-
tor, exhaust manifold, power
steering fluid reservoir and spark
plug boots, etc.Ðwill be hot. So
be careful not to touch them. Oil,
fluids and spark plugs may also be
hot.

If the engine is hot, do not remove
the radiator cap or loosen the
drain plugs to prevent burning
yourself.

Do not smoke, cause sparks or al-
low open flames around fuel or the
battery. Their fumes are flam-
mable.

Be extremely cautious when work-
ing on the battery. It contains poi-
sonous and corrosive sulfuric
acid.

Do not get under your vehicle with
just the body jack supporting it.
Always use automotive jack
stands or other solid supports. CAUTION
!
Do-it-yourself service
precautions
ProCarManuals.com

196This
information has been prepared in ac-
cordance with regulations issued by the
National Highway Traffic Safety Adminis-
tration of the U.S. Department of Trans-
portation. It provides the purchasers and/
or prospective purchasers of Toyota
vehicles with information on uniform tire
quality grading.
Your Toyota dealer will help answer any
questions you may have as you read this
information.
DOT quality gradesÐAll passenger
vehicle tires must conform to Federal
Safety Requirements in addition to
these grades. These quality grades are
molded on the sidewall.
Treadwear ÐThe treadwear grade is a
comparative rating based on the wear
rate of the tire when tested under con-
trolled conditions on a specified govern-
ment test course. For example, a tire
graded 150 would wear one and a half
(1-1/2) times as well on the government
course as a tire graded 100. The relative
performance of tires depends upon the
actual conditions of their use, however,
and may depart significantly from the
norm due to variations in driving habits,
service practices and differences in road
characteristics and climate. Traction A, B, CÐThe traction grades,
from highest to lowest, are A, B, and C,
and they represent the tire's ability to stop
on wet pavement as measured under
controlled
conditions on specified govern-
ment test surfaces of asphalt and con-
crete. A tire marked C may have poor trac-
tion performance.
Warning: The traction grade assigned to
this tire is based on braking (straight
ahead) traction tests and does not include
cornering (turning) traction.
Temperature A, B, C ÐThe temperature
grades are A (the highest), B, and C, rep-
resenting the tire's resistance to the gen-
eration of heat and its ability to dissipate
heat when tested under controlled condi-
tions on a specific indoor laboratory test
wheel. Sustained high temperature can
cause the material of the tire to degener-
ate and reduce tire life, and excessive
temperature can lead to sudden tire fail-
ure. The grade C corresponds to a level of
performance which all passenger car tires
must meet under the Federal Motor Ve-
hicle Safety Standard No. 109. Grades B
and A represent higher levels of perfor-
mance on the laboratory test wheel than
the minimum required by law. Warning: The temperature grades for this
tire
are established for a tire that is proper-
ly inflated and not overloaded. Excessive
speed, underinflation, or excessive load-
ing, either separately or in combination,
can cause heat buildup and possible tire
failure.
Uniform tire quality grading
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New vehicle warranty
Your new vehicle is covered by the following Toyota
limited warranties:
For further information, please refer to the separate
Owner 's Guideº, Owner's Manual Supplementº or
Warranty Bookletº.
New vehicle warranty
 Emission control systems warranty
 Others
Your responsiblity for maintenance
It is the owner's responsibility to make sure that the
specified maintenance is performed. Part 6 gives de-
tails of these maintenance requirements. Also in-
cluded in Part 6 is general maintenance. For sched-
uled maintenance information, please refer to the
separate Owner's Manual Supplement/Mainte-
nance Scheduleº.
Accessories, spare parts and
modification of your Toyota
A wide variety of non genuine spare parts and acces-
sories for Toyota vehicles are currently available in
the market. You should know that Toyota does not
warrant these products and is not responsible either
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 pr oducts. Modification with non genuine Toyo-
ta products could affect its performance, safety or du-
rability, and may even violate governmental regula-
tions. In addition, damage or performance problems
resulting from the modification may not be covered
under warranty.
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