1998 TOYOTA TACOMA Owners Manual

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186
Part 5
CORROSION
PREVENTION AND
APPEARANCE CARE
Protecting your Toyota from
corrosion
Washing and waxing your Toyota
Cleaning the interior
Toyota, through its d
iligent research, de-
sign and use of the most advanced
technology available, has done its part to
help prevent corrosion and has provided
you with the finest quality vehicle
construction. Now, it is up to you. Proper
care of your Toyota can help ensure long-
term corrosion prevention.
The most common causes of corrosion
to your vehicle are:
The accumulation of road salt, dirt and
moisture in hard-to-reach areas under
the vehicle.
Chipping of paint, or undercoating
caused by minor accidents or by
stones and gravel.
Care is especially important if you live
in particular areas or operate your ve-
hicle under certain environmental condi-
tions: Road salt or dust control chemicals will
accelerate corrosion, as will the pres-
ence of salt in the air near the sea-
coast or in areas of industrial pollution.
High humidity accelerates corrosion es-
pecially when temperatures range just
above the freezing point.
Wetness or dampness to certain parts
of your vehicle for an extended period
of time, may cause corrosion even
though other parts of the vehicle may
be dry.
High temperatures will cause corrosion
to those components of the vehicle
which are prevented from quick-drying
due to lack of proper ventilation.
The above signifies the necessity to keep
your vehicle, particularly the underside, as
clean as possible and to repair any dam-
age to paint or protective coatings as
soon as possible.
To help prevent corrosion on your
Toyota, follow these guidelines:
Wash your vehicle frequently. It is, of
course, necessary to keep your vehicle
clean by regular washing, but to prevent
corrosion, the following points should be
observed:
If you drive on salted roads in the
winter or if you live near the ocean,
you should hose off the undercarriage
at least once a month to minimize cor-
rosion.
Protecting your Toyota from
corrosion

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High pressure water or steam is effec-
tive for cleaning the vehicle's underside
and wheel housings. Pay particular
attention to these areas as it is difficult
to see all the mud and dirt. It will do
more harm than good to simply wet the
mud and debris without removing them.
The lower edge of doors, rocker panels
and frame members have drain holes
which should not be allowed to clog
with dirt as trapped water in these
areas can cause corrosion.
Wash the underside of the vehicle thor-
oughly when winter is over.
See ºWashing and waxing your Toyotaº for
more tips.
Check the condition of your vehicle's
paint and trim. If you find any chips or
scratches in the paint, touch them up im-
mediately to prevent corrosion from start-
ing. If the chips or scratches have gone
through the bare metal, have a qualified
body shop make the repair. Check the interior of your vehicle.
Wa-
ter and dirt can accumulate under the
floor mats and could cause corrosion. Oc-
casionally check under the mats to make
sure the area is dry. Be particularly care-
ful when transporting chemicals, cleans-
ers, fertilizers, salt, etc.; these s hould be
transported in proper containers. If a spill
or leak should occur, immediately clean
and dry the area.
Use mud shields on your wheels. If you
drive on salted or gravel roads, mud
shields help protect your vehicle. Full-size
shields, which come as near to the ground
as possible, are the best. We recommend
that the fittings and the area where the
shields are installed be treated to resist
corrosion. Your Toyota dealer will be
happy to assist in supplying and insta lling
the shields if they are recommended for
your area.
Keep your vehicle in a well ventilated
garage or a roofed place. Do not park
your vehicle in a damp, poorly venti-
lated garage. If you wash your vehicle in
the garage, or if you drive it in covered
with water or snow, your garage may be
so damp it will cause corrosion. Even if
your garage is heated, a wet vehicle can
corrode if the ventilation is poor. Washing and waxing your Toyota
Washing your Toyota
Keep your vehicle clean by regular
washing.
The following cases may cause weakness
to the paint or corrosion to the body and
parts. Wash your vehicle as soon as pos-
sible.
When driving in a coastal area
When driving on a road sprinkled with
antifreeze
When having stuck of coal tar, tree
sap, bird droppings and carcass of an
insect
When driving in the areas where there
are a lot of smoke, soot, dust, iron
dust and chemical substance
When the vehicle becomes remarkably
dirty with dust and mud
Hand- washing your Toyota
Work in the shade and wait until the
vehicle body is not hot to the touch.
CAUTION
When cleaning under floor or chassis,
be careful not to injure your hands.

'98 Tacoma (U)
188 1. Rinse off loose dirt with a hose. Re-
move any mud or road salt from the
underside of the vehicle or in the
wheel wells.
2. Wash with a mild car-wash soap, mixed according to the manufacturer 's
instructions. Use a soft cotton mitt and
keep it wet by dipping it frequently into
the wash water. Do not rub hard±let
the soap and water remove the dirt.
Aluminum wheels: Use only a mild soap
or neutral detergent.
Road tar: Remove with turpentine or
cleaners that are marked safe for painted
surfaces.
NOTICE
Do not use gasoline or strong sol- vents, which may be toxic or causedamage.
3. Rinse thoroughly±dried soap can cause streaking. In hot weather you may
need to rinse each section right after
you wash it.
4. To prevent water spots, dry the vehicle using a clean soft cotton towel. Do not
rub or press hard±you might scratch
the paint. Waxing your Toyota
Polishing and waxing is recommended
to maintain the original beauty of your
Toyota's finish.
Once a month or if the vehicle does not
repel water well, apply wax.
1. Always wash and dry the vehicle be- fore you begin waxing, even if you are
using a combined cleaner and wax.
2. Use a good quality polish and wax. If the finish has become extremely weath-
ered, use a car-cleaning polish, fol-
lowed by a separate wax. Carefully fol-
low the manufacturer 's instructions and
precautions. Be sure to polish and wax
the chrome trim as well as the paint.
3. Wax the vehicle again when water does not bead but remains on the sur-
face in large patches. Cleaning the interior
CAUTION
Do not wash the vehicle floor with
water, or allow water to get onto the
floor when cleaning the vehicle interi-
or or exterior. Water may get into
audio components or other electrical
components above or under the floor
carpet (or mat) and cause a malfunc-
tion; and it may cause body corro-
sion.
Vinyl interior
The vinyl upholstery may be easily
cleaned with a mild soap or detergent
and water.
First vacuum over the upholstery to re-
move loose dirt. Then, using a sponge or
soft cloth, apply the soap solution to the
vinyl. After allowing it to soak in for a few
minutes to loosen the dirt, remove the dirt
and wipe off the soap with a clean damp
cloth. If all the dirt do not come off, re-
peat the procedure. Commercial foaming-
type vinyl cleaners are also available
which work well. Follow the manufacturer 's
instructions.

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NOTICE
Do not use solvent, thinner, gasolineor window cleaner on the interior.
Carpets
Use a good foam-type shampoo to
clean the carpets.
Begin by vacuuming thoroughly to remove
as much dirt as possible. Several types of
foam cleaners are available; some are in
aerosol cans and others are powders or
liquids which you mix with water to pro-
duce a foam. To shampoo the carpets,
use a sponge or brush to apply the foam.
Rub in overlapping circles.
Do not apply water±the best results are
obtained by keeping the carpet as dry as
possible. Read the shampoo instructions
and follow them closely.
Seat belts
The seat belts may be cleaned with
mild soap and water or with lukewarm
water.
Use a cloth or sponge. As you are clean-
ing, check the belts for excessive wear,
fraying, or cuts.
NOTICE
Do not use dye or bleach on thebeltsÐit may weaken them.
Do not use the belts until they be-come dry.
Windows
The windows may be cleaned with any
household window cleaner.
NOTICE
When cleaning the inside of the win-
dows, be careful not to scratch ordamage the heater wires on the rear window.
Air conditioning control panel, car au-
dio, instrument panel, console panel,
and switches
Use a soft damp cloth for cleaning.
Soak a clean soft cloth in water or luke-
warm water then lightly wipe off dirt.
NOTICE
Do not use organic substances (sol-
vents, kerosene, alcohol, gasoline,etc.) or alkaline or acidic solutions.These chemicals can cause discol-
oring, staining or peeling of thesurface.
If you use cleaners or polishing
agents, make sure their ingredientsdo not include the substances men-tioned above.
If you use a liquid car freshener, do
not spill the liquid onto the ve-
hicle's interior surfaces. It may con-tain the ingredients mentioned above. Immediately clean any spill
using the method mentioned above.
Leather Interior
The leather upholstery may be cleaned
with neutral detergent for wool.
Remove dirt using a soft cloth dampened
with 5% solution of neutral detergent for
wool. Then thoroughly wipe off all traces
of detergent with a clean damp cloth.

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190
After cleaning or whenever any part of the
leather gets wet, dry with a soft clean
cloth. Allow the leather to dry in a venti-
lated shaded area.
NOTICE
If a stain should fail to come out
with a neutral detergent, apply acleaner that does not contain an organic solvent.
Never use organic substances suchas benzine, alcohol or gasoline or
alkaline or acid solutions for clean-
ing the leather as these couldcause discoloring.
Use of a nylon brush or syntheticfiber cloth, etc. may scratch the fine grained surface of the leather.
Mildew may develop on soiled leath-er upholstery. Be especially careful
to avoid oil spots. Try to keep yourupholstery always clean.
Long exposure to direct sunlight
may cause the leather surface toharden and shrink. Keep your ve-
hicle in a shaded area, especially in
the summer.
The interior of your vehicle is apt
to heat up on hot summer days, soavoid placing on the upholsteryitems made of vinyl or plastic or
containing wax as these tend tostick to leather when warm.
Improper cleaning of the leather up-
holstery could result in discolor-ation or staining.
If you have any questions about the
cleaning of your Toyota, your local
Toyota dealer will be pleased to answer
them.

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Part 6
VEHICLE
MAINTENANCE AND CARE
Maintenance requirements
General maintenance
Does your vehicle need
repairing?
For scheduled maintenance
information, please refer to the
separate ºOwner 's Manual
Supplement/ Maintenance
Schedule''.
Maintenance requirements
Your Toyota vehicle has been designed to
for fewer maintenance requirements with
longer service intervals to save both your
time and money. However, each regular
maintenance, as well as day-to-day care,
is more important than ever before to en-
sure smooth, and trouble-free, safe, and
economical drivings.
It is the owner 's responsib
ility to make
sure the specified maintenance, including
general maintenance service, is performed.
Note that both the new vehicle and emis-
sion control system warranties specify that
proper maintenance and care must be per-
formed. See Owner 's Guide, Owner 's
Manual Supplement or Warranty Booklet
for complete warranty information.
General maintenance
General maintenance items are those day-
to-day care practices that are important to
your vehicle for proper operation. It is the
owner 's responsib ility to ensure that the
general maintenance items are performed
regularly.
These checks or inspections can be done
either by yourself or a qualified technician,
or if you prefer, your Toyota dealer will be
pleased to do them at a nominal cost. Scheduled maintenance
The scheduled maintenance items listed in
the ºOwner 's Manual Supplement/Mainte-
nance Schedule'' are those required to be
serviced at regular intervals.
For details of your maintenance schedule,
read the separate ºOwner 's Manual
Supplement/Maintenance Schedule''.
It is recommended that any replacement
parts used for maintenance or for the
repair of the emission control system
be Toyota supplied.
The owner may elect to use non-Toyota
supplied parts for replacement pur-
poses without invalidating the emission
control system warranty. However, use
of replacement parts which are not of
equivalent quality may impair the effec-
tiveness of the emission control sys-
tems.
You may also elect to have mainte-
nance, replacement, or repair of the
emission control devices and system
performed by any automotive repair es-
tablishment or individual without invali-
dating this warranty. See Owner's
Guide, Owner 's manual Supplement or
Warranty Booklet for complete warranty
information.