1996 TOYOTA TACOMA Owners Manual

Part 1Clock
93
OPERATION OF INSTRUMENTS AND CONTROLSÐ
Chapter 1-8 Other equipment
Clock
Cigarette lighter and ashtray
Glovebox
Cup holder
Floor mat
The digital clock indicates the time.
The key must be in the ``ACCº or ``ON'' position.
To reset the hour: Push the Hº button.
To reset the minutes: Push the Mº button.
If quick adjustment to a full hour is de- sired, push the :00º button.
For example, if the :00º button is de-
pressed when the time is between
1:01Ð1:29, the time will change to 1:00.
If the time is between 1:30Ð1:59, the time
will change to 2:00.
Once the electrical power source has
been disconnected from the clock, the
time is automatically set to 1:00 (oneo'clock). When the instrument panel lights turned
on, the brightness of the time indication
will be reduced.

94
CIGARETTE LIGHTER
To use the cigarette lighter, press it in.
When it becomes heated, it automati-
cally pops out ready for use.
If the engine is not running, the key must be in the ACCº position.
Do not hold the cigarette lighter pressed in.
Use a Toyota genuine cigarette lighter or equivalent for replacement.ASHTRAY
To use the ashtray, pull it out. When finished with your cigarette, thor-
oughly extinguish it in the ashtray to pre-
vent other cigarette butts from catching
fire. After using the ashtray, push it back
in completely.
To remove the ashtray, press down on the lock spring plate and pull out.To reduce the chance of injury in
case of an accident or sudden stop while driving, always push the ash-tray back in completely after using.
CAUTION
!
To open the glovebox door, pull the le-
ver.
On some models, the glovebox light will come on when the glovebox is open withthe instrument panel lights on.
To reduce the chance of injury in
case of an accident or sudden stop,
always keep the glovebox door
closed while driving.
CAUTION
!
Cigarette lighter and ashtray
Glovebox

95
The cup holder is designed for holding
cups or drink-cans fit snugly in its holes.
To use the cup holder, pull it out.
Do not place anything else on the
cup holder, as such items may be
thrown about and possibly injure people in the vehicle during sud-
den braking or an accident.
Keep the cup holder shut when
not in use.
CAUTION!
The cup holder is designed for holding
cups fit snugly in its holes.
To use the cup holder, raise the folding
table under the right-rear seat. Stand the
table by compressing and turning down the table legs.
Do not place anything else on the
cup holder, as such items may be
thrown about and possibly injure
people in the vehicle during sud-
den braking or an accident.
Keep the cup holder shut when
not in use.
CAUTION!
Cup holder (all models) Cup holder (Xtra-cab models)

96
Use a floor mat of the correct size.
Make sure the floor mat is properly
placed on the floor carpet. If the
floor mat slips and interferes with
the movement of the pedals duringdriving, it may cause an accident.CAUTION
!
Floor mat

Part 2Off-road vehicle precautions (four-wheel drive models only)
97
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
Rear step bumper
Your Toyota's identification
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 hi
gher center or grav-
ity than ordinary cars. An advantage ofthe higher ground clearance is a betterview 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 m inimize the risk of seri-
ous personal injury or damage to
your 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 sensi-
tive to side winds than an ordinary
passenger car. Slowing down will
allow you to have much better con-
trol.
Do not drive horizontally across
steep slopes. Driving straight up or
straight down is preferred. Your ve-
hicle (or any similar off- road ve-
hicle) can tip over sideways much
more easily than forward or back-
ward.

98
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 rol-
lover. You are also risking expen-
sive damage to your vehicle's sus-
pension 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)
Four-wheel drive models with free-
wheeling hubs onlyÐ For the first 500 km (300 miles):
We recommend that you use high range,
two-wheel drive, with both free-wheeling
hubs engaged. For information on thefour-wheel drive system and the front hubs, see Four-wheel drive systemº in Chapter 1-6. FUEL TYPE
Your new vehicle must use only un-
leaded gasoline.
To help prevent gas station mixups, 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.
Do not use leaded gasoline. Use of
leaded gasoline will cause the
three-way catalytic converter to lose its effectiveness and theemission control system to func- tion improperly. Also, this can in-crease maintenance costs.
NOTICE
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.
Fuel
Break-in period

99
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 I
f you use of gasohol in your Toyota,
be sure that it is unleaded, has an oc- tane rating no lower than 87 and doesnot contain more than 10% ethanol.
Gasohol is a mixture of gasoline and etha-
nol.
Toyota does not recommend the use of
gasolines containing methanol. 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.

Do not use gasohol other thanstated above. It will cause fuel
system damage or vehicle perfor-
mance problems.
If driveability problems are en-countered (poor hot starting, va-porizing, engine knock, etc.), dis-continue the use.
Take care not to spill gasohol dur-
ing refueling. Gasohol may causepaint damage.
NOTICE
FUEL TANK CAPACITY
Two-wheel drive models
57 L (15.1 gal., 12.5 Imp. gal.)
Four-wheel drive models 68 L (18.0 gal., 15.0 Imp. gal.) 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).
Operation in foreign countries

100
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.
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 extremely lowfuel 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 atidle 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.
NOTICEKeep 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.
Three-way catalytic converter