1997 TOYOTA AVALON light

71
(a) Brake System Warning Light
This light has the following functions:
Parking brake reminder
If this light is on, make sure the parking
brake is fully released. The light should go
off.
Low brake fluid level warning
If this light comes on and stays on while
you are driving, slowdown and pull off the
road. Then stop the vehicle carefully.
There may be a problem somewhere in
the brake system. Check the fluid level of
the see-through reservoir.
To make sure the parking brake has not
caused the warning light to come on,
check to see that the parking brake is fully
released.
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.
(b) 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.
(c) 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 dis-
charged. Turn off the air conditioning,
blower, ra
dio, etc., and drive directly to the
nearest Toyota dealer or repair shop.
NOTICE
Do not continue driving if the engine drive belt is broken or loose.
(d) Low Oil Level 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 Toyo-
ta 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.
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72
NOTICE
Do not drive the vehicle with the warning light onÐeven for one
block. It may ruin the engine.
(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. The fuel tank cap is not tightened se-
curely. (See Fuel tank capº in Chapter
1-2 for instructions.)
c. There is a problem somewhere in
your engine or automatic transmission
electrical system.
If it comes on while you are driving in case
c, 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) ABSº Warning Light
This light warns that there is a problem
somewhere in your anti-lock brake sys-
tem.
If the light comes on while you are driving,
have your vehicle checked by your T
oyota
dealer as soon as possible.
The light will come on when the ignition
key is turned to the ONº position. After
about 3 seconds, the light will go off.
When the ABSº warning light is on (and
the brake system warning light is off), the
brake system operates conventionally but
anti-lock brake system is not assisting
brake performance so that the wheels can
lock-up during sudden braking or braking
on slippery road surfaces.
(h) Open Door Warning Light
This light remains on until all the doors are
completely closed.
(i) Rear Light Failure Warning Light
If this light comes on when the headlight
switch is turned on (at the position 1 or
position 2), it indicates that one or more of
the tail lights are burned out.
If it comes on when the brake pedal is de-
pressed, one or more stop lights are
burned out. Have
defective bulbs replaced as soon as
possible.
(j) SRS Airbag Warning Light
This light will come on when the igni-
tion key is turned to the ACCº or ONº
position. After about 6 seconds, the
light w ill go off. This means the airbag
system is operating properly.
The warning light system monitors airbag
sensor assembly, inflators, warning light,
interconnecting wiring and power
sources.
If either of the following conditions occurs,
this indicates a malfunction somewhere in
the 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 when the
ignition key is turned to the ACCº or
ONº position or remains on.

The light comes on while driving.
(k) TRAC OFFº Indicator/Warning light
This light comes on when the ignition key
is turned to ONº, and will go off after 3
seconds. This means that the system is
operating properly.
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73
If one of the following conditions occurs,
this
indicates a malfunction somewhere in
the parts monitors by the warning light
system. Contact your Toyota dealer as
soon as possible to service the vehicle.

The light remains on more than 3 sec-
onds after the ignition switch is turned
on.

The light comes on while driving even
if the TRAC OFFº switch is not
pushed.

The light flashes.
(l) Key Reminder Buzzer
This buzzer reminds you to remove the
key when you open the driver's door with
the ignition key in the ACCº or LOCKº
position. CHECKING SERVICE REMINDER
INDI-
CATORS (except the low fuel level
warning light)
1. Apply the parking brake.
2. Open one of the doors. The open door warning light should
come on.
3. Close the door. The open door warning light should go
off.
4. Turn the ignition key to ACCº. The SRS airbag warning light should
come on. It goes off after about 6 sec-
onds.
5. Turn the ignition key to ONº, but do not start the engine.
All the service reminder indicators ex-
cept the open door warning light and
SRS airbag warning light should come
on. The ABSº warning light goes off
after about 3 seconds.
If any service reminder indicator or warn-
ing buzzer does not function as described
above, either the bulb is burned out or the
circuit is in need of repair. Have it checked
by your Toyota dealer as soon as pos-
sible.ProCarManuals.com

Part 1
Ignition switch with steering
lock
75
OPERATION OF
INSTRUMENTS AND
CONTROLSÐ
Chapter 1-6
Ignition switch,
Transmission
and Parking brake
Ignition swi tch with steering lock
 Automatic transmission
 Parking brake
 Cruise control
STARTº - Starter motor on. The key
will return to the ONº position when
released.
For starting tips, see Part 3.
ONº - Engine on and all accessories
on.
This is the normal driving position.
ACCº - Accessories such as the ra-
dio operate, but the engine is off.
If you leave the key in the ACCº or
LOCKº position and open the driver's
door, a buzzer will remind you to remove
the key.
LOCKº - Engine is off and the steer-
ing wheel is locked. The key can be re-
moved only at this position. You must push in the key to turn the key
from ACCº to the LOCKº position. On
vehicles with an automatic transmission,
the selector lever must be put in the Pº
position before pushing the key.
When starting the engine, the key may
seem stuck at the LOCKº position. To
free it, first be sure the key is pushed all
the way in, and then rock the steering
wheel slightly
while turning the key gently.
NOTICE
Do not leave the key in the ONº position if the engine is not running.
The battery will discharge and theignition could be damaged.
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78Your 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 on the floor shift type trans-
mission depressed or the selector lever
on the column shift type transmission
pulled toward you).
(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.
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, the
transmission will not shift into overdrive
gear even with the overdrive switch on.
Never put your foot in 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 and
the 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 drops
down to or lower than 136 km/h (83
mph), and more powerful engine brak-
ing will be obtained. 
Shift into the Lº position. The trans-
mission will downshift to the first gear
when the vehicle speed drops down to
or lower than 61 km/h (37 mph), and
maximum engine braking will be ap-
plied.
Vehicles with cruise controlÐWhen the
cruise control is being used, even if you
downshift the transmission by turning off
the overdrive switch, engine braking is not
applied because the cruise control is not
cancelled. For ways to decrease the ve-
hicle speed, see Cruise controlº in this
chapter.
Be careful when downshifting on a
slippery surface. Abrupt shifting
could cause the vehicle to spin or
skid. CAUTION
!
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80
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) Rocking your vehicle if stuck
If you rock your vehicle to make it
out when it becomes stuck in snow,
mud, sand, etc., first check that
there is no physical object or people
around the vehicle. During opera-
tion, the vehicle may suddenly
move forward or backward, causing
injury or damage to nearby people
or objects. CAUTION
!
NOTICE
If you rock your vehicle, observe the following precautions to prevent
damage to the transmission andother parts.
Do not depress the acceleratorpedal while shifting the selectorlever or before the transmission is
completely shifted to forward orreverse gear.
Do not race the engine and avoidspinning the wheels.
If your vehicle remains stuck afterrocking the vehicle several times,
consider other ways such as tow-ing.
(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 button. For instructions, see If
you cannot shift automatic transmission
selector leverº in Part 4. (i) 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.
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81
Type A
Type BWhen parking, firmly apply the park-
ing brake to avoid inadvertent creep-
ing.
To set: Fully depress the pedal. For better
holding power, first depress the brake
pedal and hold it while setting the brake.
To release: Pull the lever.
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 off
the 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 in 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
!
Parking brake Cruise control
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82
TURNING ON THE SYSTEM
To operate the cruise control, press the
CRUISE ON-OFFº switch. This turns the
system 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
!
SETTING AT A DESIRED SPEED
On vehicles with automatic transmission,
the transmission must be in Dº before
you 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 acceleration Ð for 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.
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.
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 preset
speed 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.
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