1999 Lexus ES300 engine

STARTING AND DRIVING
260
HOW TO START THE ENGINE
Before cranking
1. Apply the parking brake firmly.
2. Turn off unnecessary lights and accessories.
3. Put the selector lever in ºPº. If you need to restart the
engine while the vehicle is moving, put the selector lever
in ºNº. A starter safety device will prevent the starter
from operating if the selector lever is in any drive
position.
4. Depress the brake pedal and hold it to the floor until
you are ready to drive off.
Starting the engine
Before starting the engine, be sure to follow the
instructions in ºBefore crankingº.
Normal starting procedure
The multiport fuel injection system/sequential multiport
fuel injection system in your engine automatically
controls the proper air±fuel mixture for starting. You can
start a cold or hot engine as follows:
1. With your foot off the accelerator pedal, crank the
engine by turning the key to ºSTARTº. Release it when
the engine starts.
2. After the engine runs for about 10 seconds, you are
ready to drive. If the weather is below freezing, let the engine warm up
for a few minutes before driving. Do not leave the vehicle
while the engine is warming up.
If the engine stalls ...
Simply restart it , using the correct procedure given in
normal starting.
If the engine will not start
See ºIf your vehicle will not startº on page 314.
NOTICE
Do not crank for more than 30 seconds at a
time. This may overheat the starter and wiringsystems.
Do not race a cold engine.
If the engine becomes difficult to start or stallsfrequently, have the engine checkedimmediately.

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262
2Overdrive switch
For selecting either a three±speed or four±speed
transmission.
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 the
operation to decrease the vehicle speed, see page
277.
3 Shift position indicator
The shift position is also displayed on the
instrument cluster.
P:Parking, engine starting and key removal
position
R: Reverse position
N: Neutral position
D: Normal driving position (Shifting into overdrive
possible)
2: Position for engine braking
L: Position for stronger engine braking than that in
º2º position Correct use of the automatic transmission is
explained in the following parts.
(a) Normal driving
(b) Using engine braking
(c) Using the º2º and ºLº positions
(d) Backing up
(e) Parking
(f) Good driving practice
(g) Rocking your vehicle if stuck
(h) If you cannot shift the selector lever out of ºPº
position

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263
(a) Normal driving
31E006

1ºPº (Park) position 2ºNº (Neutral) position
1. Start the engine as instructed in ºHow to start the
engineº on page 260.
The transmission must be in ºPº or ºNº. The engine will
not start in ºRº, º2º, ºLº or ºDº position even if \
the ignition
key is turned to ºSTARTº.

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264
31E007±1

1On 2Off
2. Set the overdrive switch to the ON position.
Always set the overdrive switch to the ON position to
improve fuel economy and quiet driving. (See º(b) Using
engine brakingº and º(f) Good driving practiceº for
exceptions.)

STARTING AND DRIVING
2664. Release the parking brake and brake pedal.
Depress the accelerator pedal slowly for smooth
starting.
The vehicle will start in the first gear and automatically
shift to the most suitable gear for the running conditions,
such as the vehicle speed, hill climbing, hard towing, etc.
However, while the engine coolant temperature is low
and the vehicle is traveling at low speed, the
transmission will not shift into the overdrive gear even
with the overdrive switch on.
In ºDº position, the automatic transmission system will
select the most suitable gear for the running conditions
such as hill climbing, hard towing, etc.
If you need to accelerate rapidly while driving, push the
accelerator pedal all the way to the floor. The
transmission will automatically downshift to the third,
second or first gear, according to the vehicle speed.
If engine braking is needed, such as in descending a
long hill, see º(b) Using engine brakingº.

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267
(b) Using engine braking
31E009±2
To use the braking power of the engine, downshift the
transmission in the way described below:
1Turn off the overdrive switch. (This is effective only
when you are driving in the ºDº position.) The ºO/D
OFFº indicator light in the instrument cluster will
come on and the transmission will downshift to the
third gear and engine braking will be obtained.
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. If you
need to decrease the vehicle speed, see page 277.
2 Shift into the º2º position. The transmission will
downshift to the second gear when the vehicle
speed is lower than 122 km/h (76 mph) and more
powerful engine braking will be obtained.
3Shift into the ºLº position. The transmission will
downshift to the first gear when the vehicle speed
is lower than 55 km/h (34 mph) and maximum
engine braking will be applied.

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268
CAUTION
Be careful when downshifting on a slippery surface.
The abrupt change in engine speed could cause the
vehicle to spin or skid.

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269
(c) Using the º2º and ºLº positions
The º2º and ºLº positions are used for strong engine
braking as described previously.
With the selector lever in º2º or ºLº, you can start the
vehicle in motion as with the lever in ºDº.
With the selector lever in º2º, the vehicle will start in the
first gear and automatically shift to the second gear.
With the selector lever in ºLº, the transmission is
engaged in the first gear.
NOTICE
Be careful not to overrev the engine. Watch thetachometer to keep engine rpm from going intothe red zone. The approximate maximumallowable speed for each position is givenabove for your reference.
º2º 128 km/h (80 mph) . . .
ºLº 70 km/h (43 mph) . . .
Do not continue hill climbing or hard towing for
a long time in the º2º or ºLº position. This maycause severe automatic transmission damagefrom overheating. To prevent such damage,
ºDº position should be used in hill climbing orhard towing.