1997 TOYOTA TACOMA length

25
Keep the belts clean and dry. If they
need cleaning, use a mild soap
solution or lukewarm water. Never
use bleach, dye, or abrasive clean-
ersÐthey may severely weaken the
belts.
Replace the belt assembly (includ-
ing bolts) If it has been used in a se-
vere impact. The entire assembly
should be replaced even if damage
is not obvious.
Right passenger's seat (normal
cab models) or right-front passen-
ger 's seat (Xtra-cab models) only-
Replace the belt if the warning la-
bel under the sleeve can be seen.
The warning label, REPLACE
BELTº, will appear if the belt re-
ceives a severe impact or other force.Adjust the seat as needed (front seats only) and sit up straight and well back
in the seat. To fasten your belt, pull it
out of the retractor and insert the tab
into the buckle.
You will hear a click when the tab locks into the buckle.
The seat belt length automatically adjusts
to your size and the seat position.
The retractor will lock the belt during a
sudden stop or on impact. It also may lock
if you lean forward too quickly. A slow, easy motion will allow the belt to extend,
and you can move around freely. ÐFront outside seat belts
and rear seat belts

28
Sit up strainght and well back in the
seat. To fasten your belt, insert the tab
into the buckle.
You will hear a click when the tab locks into the buckle.
If the belt is not long enough for you, hold the tab at a right angle to the belt and pull
on the tab.
CAUTION!
After inserting the tab, make sure
the tab and buckle are locked and that the belt is not twisted.
Do not insert coins, clips, etc. in
the buckle as this may prevent you
from properly latching the tab and buckle.
If the seat belt does not function
normally, immediately contact
your Toyota dealer. Do not use the
seat until the seat belt is fixed. It cannot protect an adult occupant
or your child from injury.
Remove excess length of the belt and adjust the belt position.
To shorten the belt, pull the free end of the belt. Position the lamp belt as low as possible
on your hipsÐnot on your waist. then ad- just it to a snug fit.
CAUTION!
High-positioned and loose-fitting
lap belts could cause severe injuries due to sliding under the lap belt dur-
ing a collision. Keep the lap belt
positioned as low on hips as pos-sible.
ÐFront center seat belt

29
To release the belt, press the buckle-
release button.The buckles can be fixed when not in use.
When taking out the buckle from the hold-
er, pull on the belt webbing to remove the
buckle from the lower portion.If your seat belt cannot be fastened se- curely because it is not long enough, a
personalized seat belt extender is avail-
able from your Toyota dealer free of charge.
Please contact your local Toyota dealer
so that the dealer can order the proper re-
quired length for the extender. Bring the heaviest
coat you expect to wear for prop-
er measurement and selection of length.
Additional ordering information is avail-
able at yout Toyota dealer.
CAUTION!
When using the seat belt extender,
observe the following. Failure to fol-
low these instructions could result
in less effectiveness of the seat belt
restraint system in case of vehicle accident, increasing the chance of
personal injury. Never use the seat belt extender if
you can fasten the seat belt with-
out it.
Remember that the extender pro-
vided for you may not be safe when
used on a different vehicle, or for
another person or at a different
seating position than the one origi-
nally intended for.
ÐStowing the rear seat buckles ÐSeat belt extender

135

Backing w ith a trailer is difficult and re-
quires practice. Grip the bottom of the steering wheel and move your hand to
the left to move the trailer to the left. Move your hand to the right to move
the trailer to the right. (This procedureis generally opposite to that when
backing without a trailer). Also, just
turn the steering wheel a little at a time,
avoiding sharp or prolonged turning. Have someone guide you when back-
ing to reduce the risk of an accident.
Because stopping distance may be in-
creased, vehicle-to-vehicle distance
should be increased when towing a
trailer. For each 16 km/h (10 mph) of speed, allow at least one vehicle and
trailer length between you and the ve-
hicle ahead. Avoid sudden braking as you may skid, resulting in jackknifing and loss of control This is especially
true on wet or slippery surfaces.
Avoid jerky starts or sudden accelera-tion. If your vehicle has manual trans-
mission, prevent excessive clutch slip-
page by keeping engine rpm low and
not racing the engine. Always start out
in first gear.
Avoid jerky steering and sharp turns.
The trailer could hit your vehicle in a
tight turn. Slow down before making a
turn to avoid the necessity of sudden braking.
Remember that when making a turn,the trailer wheels will be closer than the vehicle wheels to the inside of the
turn. Therefore, compensate for this
by making a larger than normal turning
radius with your vehicle.
Crosswinds and rough roads will ad-
versely affect handling of your vehicle
and trailer, causing sway. Pay atten-
tion to the rear from time to time to pre-
pare yourself for being passed by largetrucks or buses, which may cause your
vehicle and trailer to sway. If swaying
happens, firmly grip the steering wheel
and reduce speed immediately but
gradually. Never increase speed.
Steer straight ahead. If you make no
extreme correction with the steering or
brakes, the vehicle and trailer will sta-bilize.
Be careful when passing other ve-hicles. Passing requires considerable
distance. After passing a vehicle, do
not forget the length of your trailer and
be sure you have plenty of room be-
fore changing lanes.
In order to maintain engine braking ef-
ficiency, do not use fifth gear (manual
transmission) or overdrive (automatic transmission).
Because of the added load of the trail-
er, your vehicle's engine may overheat
on hot days (at temperatures over 30 5C [85 5F]) when going up a long or
steep grade with a trailer. If the engine
coolant temperature gauge indicates
overheating, immediately turn off the
air conditioning (if in use), pull off the
road and stop in a safe spot. Refer to
If your vehicle overheatsº in Part 4 of this manual.
Always place wheel blocks under both
the vehicle and trailer wheels whenparking. Apply the parking brake firm-
ly. Put the transmission in Pº (auto-
matic) or in first or reverse (manual).
Avoid parking on a slope with a trailer, but if it cannot be avoided, do so onlyafter performing the following:
1. Apply the brakes and hold.
2. Have someone place wheel blocks un-
der both the vehicle and trailer wheels.
3. When the wheel blocks are in place, release your brakes slowly until the blocks absorb the load.

136
4. Apply the parking brake firmly.
5. Shift into first or reverse (manual) or
Pº (automatic) and turn off the engine.
When restarting out after parking on a slope:
1. With the transmission in Pº position (automatic) or the clutch pedal de-
pressed (manual), start the engine.
(With an automatic transmission, be
sure to keep the brake pedal de- pressed.)
2. Shift into gear.
3. Release the parking brake (also foot brake on automatic transmission ve- hicles) and slowly pull or back away
from the wheels blocks. Stop and ap- ply your brakes.
4. Have someone retrieve the blocks.
Do not exceed 72 km/h (45 mph) or
the posted towing speed limit,
whichever is lower. Because insta- bility (swaying) of a towing vehicle
trailer combination usually in-
creases as the speed increases, ex-
ceeding 72 km/h (45 mph) maycause loss of control.
Slow down and downshift before
descending steep or long downhill
grades. Do not make sudden down-
shifts
Avoid holding the pedal down too
long or too frequently. This could
cause the brakes to overheat and
result in reduced braking
efficiency.
CAUTION! Getting
more kilometers/mileage from a li-
ter/gallon of fuel is easy-just 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.
How to save fuel and make
your vehicle last longer, too

Normal cab models Xtra-cab models
Overall length mm (in.) 4440 (174.8) *1
4910 (193.3) *1
4590 (180.7) *2
5055 (199.0) *2
Overall width mm (in.) 1690 (66.5) 1690 (66.5)
Overall height mm (in.) 1570 (61.8) *3,
5
1575 (62.0) *5
1575 (62.0) *4,
5
Wheelbase mm (in.) 2625 (103.3) 3095 (121.9)
Front tread mm (in.) 1395 (54.9) *3
1425 (56.1)
1425 (56.1) *4
Rear tread mm (in.) 1415 (55.7) *3
1440 (56.7)
1440 (56.7) *4
Cargo weight rating kg (lb.) 500 (1100) *6
500 (1100)*6
430 (950) *7
430 (950)*7
295 (650) *8
*1 : Without rear step bumper
*2 : With rear step bumper
*3 : With P195/75R 14 tires
*4 : With P215/70R 14 tires
*5 : Unladen vehicle
*6 : With 1 or 2 occupants
*7 : With 3 occupants
*8 : With 5 occupants
Part 8 Dimensions and weight
205
SPECIFICATIONS
Dimensions and weight
Engine
Fuel
Service specifications
Tires
Fuses
TWO-WHEEL DRIVE MODELS

206
FOUR-WHEEL DRIVE MODELS
Model:
2RZ-FE, 3RZ-FE and 5VZ-FE
Type: 2RZ-FE and 3RZ-FE engine
4 cylinder in line, 4 cycle, gasoline
5VZ-FE engine 6 cylinder V type, 4 cycle, gasoline
Bore and stroke, mm (in.): 2RZ-FE engine
95.0 x 86.0 (3.74 x 3.39)
3RZ-FE engine
95.0 x 95.0 (3.74 x 3.74)
5VZ-FE engine 93.5 x 82.0 (3.68 x 3.23)
Displacement, cm 3
(cu. in.):
2RZ-FE engine 2438 (148.8)
3RZ-FE engine 2694 (164.3)
5VZ-FE engine
3378 (206.1)
Normal cab models Xtra-cab models
Overall length mm (in.) 4585 (180.5) 5055 (199.0)
Overall width mm (in.) 1690 (66.5) *1
1690 (66.5)
1720 (67.7) *2
1720 (67.7)*2
Overall height mm (in.) 1710 (67.3) *1,3
1700 (66.9)*1,3
1740 (68.5) *2,3
1735 (68.3)*2,3
Wheelbase mm (in.) 2625 (103.3) 3095 (121.9)
Front tread mm (in.) 1395 (54.9) *3
1460 (57.5)*4
1500 (59.1) *5
1500 (59.1)*5
Rear tread mm (in.) 1455 (57.3) *4
1455 (57.3)*4
1495 (58.9) *5
1495 (58.9)*5
Cargo weight rating kg (lb.) 500 (1100) 500 (1100) *6
317 (700) *7
*1 : With P225/75R 15 tires
*2 : With 31 x 10.5R 15 LT tires
*3 : Unladen vehicle
*4 : With steel wheels
*5 : With aluminum wheels
*6 : With 3 occupants
*7 : With 5 occupants
Engine