1996 TOYOTA SUPRA brakes

53
If the brake fluid level is low...
At a safe place, test your brakes by start-
ing and stopping.
If you judge that the brakes still work
adequately, drive cautiously to your nearest dealer or shop for repairs.
If the brakes are not working, have the
vehicle towed in for repairs. (For tow-ing information, see Part 4.)
It is dangerous to continue driving
normally when the brake fluid level
is low. CAUTION
!
If the brake fluid level is correct...
Have the warning system checked by
your Toyota dealer.
(c) Seat Belt Reminder Light and Buzzer
Once the ignition key is turned to ONº or
STARTº, the reminder light and buzzer
come on if the driver's seat belt is not fas-tened. Unless the driver fastens the belt,
the light stays on and the buzzer stops af-
ter about 4 to 8 seconds.
(d) Discharge Warning Light
This light warns that the battery is being discharged.
If it comes on while you are driving, there
is a problem somewhere in the charging system. The engine ignition will continue to oper-
ate, however, until the battery is dischar-
ged. Turn off the air conditioning, blower,
radio, etc., and drive directly to the near-
est Toyota dealer or repair shop.
NOTICE
Do not continue driving if the engine drive belt is broken or loose.
(e) Malfunction Indicator Lamp
This lamp comes on in the following cases.
a. The fuel tank is completely empty. (See Fuel gaugeº in Chapter 1-5 for in-structions.)
b. There is a problem somewhere in your
engine or automatic transmission electri- cal system.
If it comes on while you are driving in case
b, have your vehicle checked/repaired by
your Toyota dealer as soon as possible.
(f) Low Fuel Level Warning Light
This light comes on when the fuel level in
the tank becomes nearly empty. Fill up the
tank as soon as possible.
(g) Low Oil Pressure Warning Light
This light warns that the engine oil pres-
sure is too low. If it flickers or stays on while you are driv-
ing, pull off the road to a safe place and
stop the
engine immediately. Call a Toyota
dealer or qualified repair shop for assis- tance.
The light may occasionally flicker when
the engine is idling or it may come on brief-
ly after a hard stop. There is no cause for concern if it then goes out when the en-
gine is accelerated slightly.
The light may come on when the oil level
is extremely low. It is not designed to indi-cate low oil level, and the oil level must be checked using the level dipstick.
NOTICE
Do not drive the vehicle with the warning light onÐeven for one
block. It may ruin the engine.
(h) Low Engine Oil Level Warning Light
The light warns that the engine oil level is
too low. Add oil as soon as possible. (For instructions, see Checking the engine oil
levelº in Chapter 7-2.)
NOTICE
Continued engine operation with low engine oil will damage the
engine.

105
Leave the system on during ordinary
driving so that it can operate when
needed. When traction control is ap-
plied, the slip indicator light blinks. If
your vehicle still skids even though
traction control is applied, more pow-
erful
traction control is applied and the
SNOWº indicator light comes on.
You may hear a slight clicking noise in the
engine compartment when the engine is
started. This means that the traction con-
trol system is in the self-check mode, and
does not indicate malfunction. When the
traction control system is operating, you
may feel vibration of your vehicle, causedby operation of the brakes. This indicates
the system is functioning properly.
When getting the vehicle out of mud or
new snow, etc. the traction control system
will operate to prevent the wheels from
spinning. Even though the accelerator
pedal is fully depressed, the engine speed
will be restrained to a certain level.
MANUAL SNOW OPERATION
You can select the snow mode by
pushing the SNOWº switch. The
SNOWº indicator light will come on.
To select the automatic mode, push
the OFFº switch. The SNOWº indi-cator light will go off. If your vehicle
still skids, the system automatically operates.
MANUAL TRACTION CONTROL OFF
OPERATION
You can turn off the traction control
system by pushing the OFFº switch.
The TRAC OFFº indicator/warning
light will come on. Pushing the OFFº
switch a second time turns on the trac-
tion control system and the TRAC
OFFº indicator/warning light will go off. If the SNOWº indicator light is on,
pushing the OFFº switch once se-lects the automatic mode and pushing
it a second time turns off the traction
control system.

111
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 di-
luted 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 it appear 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 be checked every time you refuel the vehicle.
NOTICE
Failure to check the oil level regularly could lead to serious
engine trouble due to insufficientoil.
For detailed information on oil level check,
see Checking the engine oil levelº in Chapter 7-2. 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 fail, the other w
ill 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.
Do not drive your vehicle with only
a single brake system. Have your
brakes fixed immediately.
CAUTION!
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!
Do not pump the brake pedal if the
engine stalls. Each push on the
pedal uses up your vacuum re- serve.
CAUTION!
Brake system

11 2
Even if the power assist is com-
pletely lost, the brakes will still
work. But you will have to push the
pedal hardÐmuch harder t han nor-
mal. And your braking distance will
be longer.
ANTI-LOCK BRAKE SYSTEM
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 vehicle is started. This means that the anti-lock
brake system is in the self check mode,
and does not indicate a malfunction.
When the anti-lock brake system function is in action, you may feel the brake pedal
pulsating and hear a noise. In this situa-
tion, to let the anti-lock brake system work for you, just hold the brake pedal
down more firmly. Do not pump the brake. The brake pedal pulsation caused by the
anti-lock brake system may indicate haz- ardous road surface conditions. Althoughthe anti-lock brake system assists in pro-
viding
vehicle control, it is still important to
drive with all due care, because the anti-
lock brake system cannot overcome the
laws of physics that act on your vehicle: Braking c apability is dependent on tire
friction with the road surface.
Even though the anti-lock brake sys-
tem is operating, a driver cannot main- tain full control on certain slippery road
surfaces, when cornering at highspeeds, or in violent maneuvers.
Avoid high speeds on wet roads. The
anti-lock brake system cannot elimi-
nate the risk of hydroplaning and lossof tire friction.
Always maintain a safe distance from the
vehicle in front of you. Compared with ve-
hicles not fitted with an anti-lock brake
system, your vehicle may require a longer
stopping distance in the following cases: Driving on rough, gravel or snow-cov-
ered roads.
Driving with tire chains installed.
Driving on roads where the road sur-
face is pitted or has other differences in surface height.
ABSº warning light
This light comes on when the ignition key is turned to the ONº position. After about
3 seconds, the light will go off.
If either of the following conditions occurs, this indicates a malfunction somewhere inthe parts monitored by the warning light
system. Contact your Toyota dealer as
soon as possible to service the vehicle. The light does not come on as de-
scribed above, or remains on.
The light comes on while driving.

11 3
Even if the anti-lock brake system
should
fail, the brake system will still operate con-
ventionally. Have your vehicle checked by
your Toyota dealer as soon as possible.
DRUM-IN-DISC TYPE PARKING BRAKE SYSTEM
Your vehicle has a drum-in-disc type
parking brake system. This type of brake
system needs bedding-down of the brake
shoes periodically or whenever the park-
ing brake shoes and/or drums are re- placed.
Have your Toyota dealer perform the bed-
ding-down.
The brake pad wear limit indicators on
your disc brakes give a warning noise
when the brake pads are worn to
where replacement is required.
If you hear a squealing or scraping noise
while driving, have the brake pads
checked and replaced by your Toyota
dealer as soon as possible. Expensive ro-
tor damage can result if the pads are not
replaced when necessary. When stowing luggage or cargo in or on the vehicle, observe the following:
Put luggage or cargo in the luggage
compartment when at all possible. Be sure all items are secured in place.
Be careful to keep the vehicle bal-
anced. Locating the weight as far for-
ward as possible helps maintain this.
For better fuel economy, do not carry unneeded weight.
CAUTION!
To prevent luggage or packages
from sliding forward during brak-
ing, do not stack anything in the
luggage compartment higher than
the seatbacks. Keep luggage or
packages low, as close to the floor
as possible.
Never allow anyone to ride in the lug-
gage compartment. It is not de-
signed for passengers. They s hould
ride in their seats with their seat belts
properly fastened. Otherwise, they
are much more likely to suffer seri-
ous bodily injury, in the event of sud-
den braking or a collision.
Do not place anything on the lug-
gage cover. Such items may be
thrown about and possibly injure people in the vehicle during sud-
den braking or an accident.
Brake pad wear limit indicators
Luggage stowage precautions

11 9

Always slow down in gusty cross- winds. This will allow you much better control.
Drive slowly onto curbs and, if pos-
sible, at a right angle. Avoid drivingonto high, sharp-edged objects and
other road hazards. Failure to do so
can lead to severe tire damage result-
ing in tire bursts.
When parking on a hill, turn the front
wheels until they touch the curb so that
the vehicle will not roll. Apply the park-
ing brake, and place the transmission in Pº (automatic) or in first or reverse
(manual). If necessary, block thewheels.
Washing your vehicle or driving
through deep water may get the
brakes wet. To see whether they are
wet, check that there is no traffic near
you, and then press the pedal lightly. If
you do not feel a normal braking force,
the brakes are probably wet. To dry
them, drive the vehicle cautiously
while lightly pressing the brake pedal
with the parking brake pulled. If they
still do not work safely, pull to the side
of the road and call a T oyota dealer for
assistance.
CAUTION
Before driving off, make sure the
parking brake is fully released and the parking brake reminder light is off.
Do not leave your vehicle unat- tended while the engine is run-ning.
Do not rest your foot on the brake
pedal while driving. It can cause
dangerous overheating, needless
wear, and poor fuel economy.
To drive down a long or steep hill,reduce your speed and downshift.
Remember, if you ride the brakes
excessively, they may overheat
and not work properly.
Be careful when accelerating, up-
shifting, downshifting or braking
on a slippery surface. Sudden ac-
celeration or engine braking could cause the vehicle to spin or skid.!
Do not drive in excess of the speed
limit. Even if the legal speed limit
permits it, do not drive over 140
km/h (85 mph) unless your vehicle
has high-speed capability tires.
Driving over 140 km/h (85 mph)
may result in tire failure, loss of
control and possible injury. Be sure to consult a tire dealer to de-
termine whether the tires on your
vehicle are high-speed capability tires or not before driving at suchspeeds.
Do not continue normal driving
when the brakes are wet. If they are
wet, your vehicle will require a lon-
ger stopping distance, and it may
pull to one side when the brakes
are applied. Also, the parking
brake will not hold the vehicle se-
curely.
Tips for driving in various conditions

121
Toyota does not recommend towing a
trailer with your Supra. It is not designed for trailer towing.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 lengthy warm-up idling.
Once the engine is running smoothly,
begin drivingÐbut 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 andbraking. 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 reduce 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 on highways. 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 proper alignment. 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, in turn, wastes fuel.
Keep the bottom of your vehicle
free from mud, etc. This not only
lessens weight but also helps prevent corrosion.
How to save fuel and make
your vehicle last longer, too
Trailer towing

122
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 undersevere conditions, see that your ve-
hicle receives more frequent mainte-
nance (For scheduled 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 with-
out the engine running. Also, theemission control system operates
properly only when the engine isrunning.!