1997 TOYOTA TACOMA Owners Manual

64

Part 1Ignition switch with steering lock
65
OPERATION OF INSTRUMENTS ANDCONTROLSÐ
Chapter 1-6 Ignition switch,
Transmission and Parking brake
Ignition swi
tch with steering lock
Automatic transmission
Manual transmission
Four-wheel drive system
Rear differential lock system
Parking brake
Cruise control
Clutch start cancel switch
STARTº ÐStarter motor on. The key will return to the ONº position when released.
For starting tips, see Part 3.
ONº ÐEngine 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 ÐEngine 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.For manual transmission:
Never remove the key when the
vehicle is moving, as this will lock
the steering wheel and result in loss
of steering control. CAUTION
!
NOTICE
Do not leave the key in the ONº position if the engine is not running.
The battery will discharge and the ignition could be damaged.

66Automatic transmission (conventional type)
Vehicles with cruise control - When the cruise control is being used, even if you downshift the transmission by turning off the
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.

67
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 selector le-ver 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, thetransmission will not shift into overdrive
gear even with the overdrive switch on.
Never put your foot on the accelerator 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 when the ve-
hicle speed drops down to or lowerthan 106 km/h (66 mph). The trans- mission will downshift to the second
gear and more powerful engine brak-
ing will be obtained.
Shift into the Lº position when the ve-
hicle speed drops down to or lower than 61 km/h (38 mph). The transmis- sion will downshift to the first gear 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 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.

68
NOTICE
To prevent engine overrevving, donot downshift if you are going
faster than the above speed ineach position.
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: 2º 124 km/h (77 mph). . . . . .
Lº 72 km/h (45 mph) . . . . .
Do not continue hill climbing or
hard towing for a long time in the2º or Lº position. This may
cause severe automatic transmis-sion damage from overheating.
To prevent such damage, use Dºposition for hill climbing or hard
towing.
(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 up fully to securely apply the parking brake.
3. With the brake pedal pressed down, shift the selector lever to the Pº posi-tion.
While the vehicle is moving, never
attempt to move the selector lever
into Pº position under any
circumstances. Serious mechanical
damage and loss of vehicle control may result. 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 not use 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.

69
(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 are no objects or people
around the vehicle. During
operation, the vehicle may suddenly move forward or
backward as it becomes unstuck,
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 or reverse gear.
Do not race the engine and avoid
spinning 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 Pº position even though the brake pedal
is depressed, use the shift lock override
button. For instructions, see If you can- not shift automatic transmission selectorleverº in Part 4.

70Automatic transmission (electronically controlled type-two-wheel drive models)
Vehicles with cruise control - When the cruise control is being used, even if you downshift the transmission by turning off the
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.

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 selector le- ver 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 the over-
drive gear even with the overdrive switch on.
Never put your foot on the
accelerator 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 131 km/h (81
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 63 km/h (39 mph), and
maximum engine braking will be ap- plied. Vehicles with cruise control-When 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 or skid. CAUTION
!
(c) Using 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.