2000 TOYOTA AVALON check engine

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After one minute, the alarm will automati-
cally stop and the indicator light will start
flashing again.
Reactivating the alarm
Once set, the system automatically resets
the alarm after the alarm stops.
The alarm will activate again under the
same circumstances described in
Activating the systemº.
Stopping the alarm
The alarm will be stopped by the following
three ways:

Turn the ignition key from the LOCKº
to ONº position.

Unlock any of the doors with the key
or wireless remote control transmitter.

Open the trunk with the key or wireless
remote control transmitter.
CANCELLING THE SYSTEM
The system will be cancelled by the
above mentioned 3 ways.
If the tail lights come on for 2 seconds,
the theft deterrent system has been
alarmed. Check to see if there is any
abnormality on your vehicle. TESTING THE SYSTEM
1. Open all the windows.
2. Set the system as described above. The doors should be locked with the
key or wireless remote control transmit-
ter. Be sure to wait until the indicator
light starts flashing.
3. Unlock any door from the inside. The system s hould activate the alarm.
4. Stopping the alarm as described above.
5. Repeat this operation for the other doors, trunk and hood. When testing on
the hood, also check that the system
is activated when the battery terminal
is disconnected and then reconnected.
If the system does not work properly,
have it checked by your Toyota dealer.
Fuel tank cap
1. To open the fuel filler door, pull the lever up.
When refueling, turn off the engine.
CAUTION

Do not smoke, cause sparks or al-
low open flames when refueling.
The fumes are flammable.

When opening the cap, do not re-
move the cap quickly. In hot weath-
er, fuel under pressure could cause
injury by spraying out of the filler
neck if the cap is suddenly re-
moved.
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NOTICE

Do not put unevenly weighed ob-jects on the seat and do not sticksharp objects (needles, nails, etc.)into the seat.

When cleaning the seats, do notuse organic substances (paint thin-ner, benzine, alcohol, gasoline,
etc.). They may damage the heaterand seat surface.

To prevent the battery from beingdischarge, turn the switch on whenthe engine is running.
Toyota strongly urges that the driver and
passengers in the vehicle be properly re-
strained at all times with the seat belts
provided. Failure to do so could increase
the chance of injury and/or the severity of
injury in accidents.
Child. Use a child restraint system ap-
propriate for the child until the child be-
comes large enough to properly wear the
vehicle's seat belts. See Child restraintº
for details.
If a child is too large for a child restraint
system, the child s hould sit in the rear
seat and must be restrained using the
vehicle's seat belt. According to accident
statistics, the child is safer when properly
restrained in the rear seat than in the
front seat.
If a child must sit in the front seat, the
seat belts should be worn properly. If an
accident occurs and the seat belts are not
worn properly, the force of the rapid infla-
tion of the airbag may cause death or
serious injury to the child. Do not allow the child to stand up or
kneel on either rear or front seats. An
unrestrained child could suffer serious in-
jury or death during emergency braking or
a collision. Also, do not let the child sit
on your lap. It does not provide sufficient
restraint.
Pregnant woman.
Toyota recommends the
use of a seat belt. Ask your doctor for
specific recommendations. The lap belt
should be worn securely and as low as
possible over the hips and not on the
waist.
Injured person. Toyota recommends the
use of a seat belt. Depending on the inju-
ry, first check with your doctor for specific
recommendations.
Seat beltsÐ
ÐSeat belt precautions
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(a) Brake System Warning Light
This light comes on in the following cases
when the ignition key is turned on.

When the parking brake is applied...
This light comes on for a few seconds
with the ignition on even after the parking
brake is released.

When the brake fluid level is low...
Have your vehicle checked at your
Toyota dealer in the following cases:

The light does not come on even if the
parking brake is applied with the igni-
tion ONº.

The light does not come on even if the
ignition key is turned on with the park-
ing brake released.
If the light lit during driving goes out and
does not come again, it is a normal op-
eration.
CAUTION
If either of the following conditions
occurs, immediately stop your vehicle
at a safe place and contact your To-
yota dealer.

The light does not go out even af-
ter the parking brake is released
during the engine running.
In this case, the brakes might be
failing and your st opping distance
will be longer. Depress the brake
pedal firmly and bring the vehicle
to an immediate stop.

The brake system warning light re-
mains on together with the ABSº
warning light.
In this case, the vehicle may be-
come harder to control or skid dur-
ing hard braking or braking on slip-
pery road surfaces.
(b) Driver's Seat Belt Reminder Light
and Buzzer
This light and buzzer remind you to
buckle up the driver's seat belt.
Once the ignition key is turned to ONº or
STARTº, the reminder light flashes and
buzzer sounds if the driver 's seat belt is
not fastened. Unless the driver fastens the
belt, the light keep flashing and the buzz-
er sounds for about 4 to 8 seconds. (c) Front outside Passenger 's Seat Belt
Reminder Light
This light reminds you to buckle up the
front outside passenger 's seat belt.
Once the ignition key is turned to ºONº or
ºSTARTº, the reminder light flashes if a
passenger sits in the front outside passen-
ger seat and does not fasten the seat
belt. Unless the front passenger fastens
the belt, the light stays on. This light re-
minds you to buckle up the front passen-
ger 's seat belt.
If luggage load is placed on the front
outside passenger seat, depending on its
weight and how it is placed on the seat,
built- in sensors in the seat cushion may
detect the pressure, causing the reminder
light to come on.
(d) 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, radio, etc., and drive directly to
the nearest Toyota dealer or repair shop.
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NOTICE
Do not continue driving if the enginedrive belt is broken or loose.
(e) Low Oil Pressure Warning Light
This light warns that the engine oil pres-
sure is too low.
If it flickers or stays on while you are
driving, pull off the road to a safe place
and stop the engine immediately. Call a
Toyota dealer or qualified repair shop for
assistance.
The light may occasionally flicker when
the engine is idling or it may come on
briefly after a hard stop. There is no
cause for concern if it then goes out when
the engine is accelerated slightly.
The light may come on when the oil level
is extremely low. It is not designed to
indicate low oil level, and the oil level
must be checked using the level dipstick.
NOTICE
Do not drive the vehicle with thewarning light onÐeven for one block.It may ruin the engine.
(f) Malfunction indicator lamp
This lamp comes on in the following
cases.
a. The fuel tank is completely empty. (See
Fuel gaugeº in Section 1- 5 for instruc-
tions.)
b. The fuel tank cap is not tightened se-
curely. (See Fuel tank capº in Section
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/re-
paired by your Toyota dealer as soon as
possible.
(g) 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.
On inclines or curves, due to the move-
ment of fuel in the tank, the low fuel level
warning light may come on earlier than
usual. (h) ABSº Warning Light
The light comes on with the ignition key
turned to ONº. If the anti- lock brake sys-
tem and the brake assist system work
properly, the light goes out after a few
seconds. Thereafter, if either of the sys-
tems malfunctions, the light comes on.
When the ABSº warning light is on (and
the brake system warning light is off), the
anti- lock brake system, the brake assist
system, the traction control system and/or
the vehicle skid control system do/does
not operate, but the system still operate
conventionally.
When the ABSº warning light is on (and
the brake system warning light is off), the
anti- lock brake system does not operate
so that the wheels could lock up during
a sudden brake or braking on slippery
road surfaces.
If the following conditions occur, 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 with the
ignition key turned to ONº, or remains
on.

The light comes on while driving.
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(m) VSC OFFº Indicator Light
The light warns that when there is a prob-
lem somewhere in the vehicle skid control
system or traction control system.
The light will come on when the ignition
key is turned to ONº, and will go off after
about a few seconds.
If the VSC OFFº indicator light comes on,
the vehicle skid control system and trac-
tion control system do not work. However,
as conventional braking operates when ap-
plied, there is no problem to continue your
driving.
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 VSC OFFº indicator light does not
come on after the ignition is turned to
on.

The VSC OFFº indicator light is left on
after the ignition is turned to on.

The VSC OFFº indicator light comes
on while driving without pushing VSC
OFFº switch.(n) Low Windshield Washer Fluid Level
Warning Light
The light warns that the windshield washer
fluid level is too low. Add washer fluid at
your earliest opportunity. (For instructions,
see Adding washer fluidº in Section 7- 3.)
(o) 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
INDICATORS (except the low fuel level
warning light and low windshield
washer fluid 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 warning light should come on.
It goes off after about 6 seconds.
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 warning light should come on. The
ABSº, VSCº, VSC OFFº and slip indi-
cator lights go off after a few 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
possible.
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Traction control system
The traction control system automatical-
ly helps control the spinning of the
front wheels which may occur when ac-
celerating on slippery road surfaces,
thus assisting driver to control the driv-
ing power of the front wheels.
Leave the system on during ordinary
driving so that it can operate when
needed. When traction control is ap-
plied, the slip indicator light blinks.
While the VSCº warning light and VSC
OFFº indicator light come on, the traction
control system cannot be operated.You may hear a sound in the engine
compartment for a few seconds when the
engine is started or just after the vehicle
is started. This means that the traction
control system is in the self- check mode,
and does not indicate malfunction.
When the traction control system is oper-
ating, you may feel vibration or noise of
your vehicle, caused by operation of the
brakes. This indicates the system is func-
tioning properly.
When getting the vehicle out of mud or
new snow, etc. the traction control system
will help operate to prevent the wheels
from spinning.You can turn off the traction control
system by pushing the VSC OFFº
switch. The VSC OFFº indicator light
will come on. Pushing the VSC OFFº
switch a second time turns on the trac-
tion control system again and the VSC
OFFº indicator light will go off. At this
time, the vehicle skid control also turns
off and on simultaneously.
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Vehicle skid control system
The vehicle skid control system helps
provide comprehensive control of the
systems such as an anti- lock brake
system, brake assist system, traction
control, engine control, etc. This sys-
tem automatically controls the output of
the brakes or engine to help prevent
the vehicle from skidding when corner-
ing on a slippery road surface or
abrupt steering wheel operation occurs.If the vehicles is going to skid during
driving, the slip indicator light flashes and
an alarm sounds intermittently.
The vehicle skid control system activates
when the vehicle speed is about more
than 15 km/h (9 mph).
While the VSCº warning light and VSC
OFFº indicator light come on, the vehicle
skid control system cannot be operated.
You may hear a sound in the engine
compartment for a few seconds when the
engine is started or just after the vehicle
is started. This means that the vehicle
skid control is in the self- check mode and
does not indicate a malfunction.You can turn off the vehicle skid con-
trol system by pushing the VSC OFFº
switch. The VSC OFFº indicator light
will come on. Pushing the VSC OFFº
switch a second time turns the system
again and the VSC OFFº indicator light
will go off. At this time, the traction
control also turns off and on simulta-
neously.
When you turn the ignition switch on, this
system always turns on.
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Keep your engine in good runningorder. Malfunctions in the engineelectrical system, electronic ignitionsystem/distributor ignition system
or fuel system could cause an ex-tremely high three- way catalyticconverter temperature.

If the engine becomes difficult tostart or stalls frequently, take yourvehicle in for a check- up as soon
as possible. Remember, your Toyotadealer knows your vehicle and itsthree- way catalytic converter sys-
tem best.

To ensure that the three- way cata-lytic converter and the entire emis-sion control system operate proper-ly, your vehicle must receive the
periodic inspections required by theToyota Maintenance Schedule. Forscheduled maintenance information,
refer to the separate ScheduledMaintenance Guideº or Owner'sManual Supplementº.
Engine exhaust cautions
CAUTION

Avoid inhaling the engine exhaust.
It contains carbon monoxide, which
is a colorless and odorless gas. It
can cause unconsciousness or even
death.

Make sure the exhaust system has
no holes or loose connections. The
system should be checked from
time to time. If you hit something,
or notice a change in the sound of
the exhaust, have the system
checked immediately.

Do not run the engine in a garage
or enclosed area except for the
time needed to drive the vehicle in
or out. The exhaust gases cannot
escape, making this a particularly
dangerous situation.

Do not remain for a long time in a
parked vehicle with the engine run-
ning. If it is unavoidable, however,
do so only in an unconfined area
and adjust the heating or cooling
system to force outside air into the
vehicle.

Keep the trunk lid closed while
driving. An open or unsealed trunk
lid may cause exhaust gases to be
drawn into the vehicle.

To allow proper operation of your
vehicle's ventilation system, keep
the inlet grilles in front of the wind-
shield clear of snow, leaves, or oth-
er obstructions.

If you smell exhaust fumes in the
vehicle, drive with the windows
open and the trunk lid closed. Have
the cause immediately located and
corrected.
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