2000 TOYOTA SOLARA tow

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For front passenger’s use
For driver ’s use
CAUTION
To avoid serious personal injury, you
must do the following.
Always make sure the head, hands
and other parts of the body of all
occupants are kept completely in-
side the vehicle before you close
the power windows. If someone’s
neck, head or hands gets caught in
a closing window, it could result in
a serious injury. When anyone
closes the power windows, be sure
that they operate the windows safe-
ly.
When small children are in the ve-
hicle, never let them use the power
window switches without supervi-
sion. Use the window lock switch to
prevent them from making unex-
pected use of the switches.
Never leave small children alone in
the vehicle, especially with the igni-
tion key still inserted. They could
use the power window switches and
get trapped in a window. Unat-
tended children can become in-
volved in serious accidents.
Trunk lid
To open the trunk lid from the outside,
insert the master key and turn it clock-
wise.
See "Luggage stowage precautions" in
Section 2 for precautions to observe for
loading luggage.
To close the trunk lid, lower it and press
down on it. After closing the trunk lid, try
pulling it up to make sure it is securely
closed.

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CAUTION
After putting back the seat, try
pushing the seat forward and rear-
ward to make sure it is secured in
place.
Never allow anyone to rest their
foot on the release pedal while the
vehicle is moving.
Fold−down rear seat
(A) FOLDING REAR SEAT1. Pull up the seatback security lock lever 1 to the unlock position.
2. Pull up the lock release button 2.
3. Fold down the seatback.
Each seatback may be folded separately.
This will enlarge the trunk as far as the
front seatbacks. See " Luggage stowage
precautions" in Section 2 for precautions
in loading luggage.
CAUTION
When returning the seatback to the
upright position:
Make sure the seat belts are not
twisted or caught in the seatback
and are arranged in their proper
position and are ready to use.
Make sure the seatback is securely
locked by pushing forward and rear-
ward on the top of the seatback.
Failure to do so will prevent seat
belt from operating properly.

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Personal light
To turn on the personal light, push the
switch. To turn it off, push the switch
once again.To turn on the windshield wipers, move
the lever to the desired setting.
The key must be in the "ON" position.Lever position
Speed setting
Position 1Intermittent
Position 2Slow
Position 3Fast
With interval adjuster: The "INT TIME"
band lets you adjust the wiping time inter-
val when the wiper lever is in the intermit-
tent position (position 1). Twist the band
upward to increase the time between
sweeps, and downward to decrease it. To squirt washer fluid, pull the lever
toward you.
If the windshield wipers are off, they will
operate a couple of times after the washer
squirts.
For instructions on adding washer fluid,
see "Adding washer fluid" in Section 7−3.
In freezing weather, warm the windshield
with the defroster before using the washer.
This will help prevent the washer fluid
from freezing on your windshield, which
can block your vision.
NOTICE
Do not operate the wipers if the wind-
shield is dry. It may scratch the
glass.
Windshield wipers and
washer

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Idling for a long period with the air
conditioning on in stop−and−go traffic.
Towing a trailer.
NOTICE

Do not remove the thermostat in
the engine cooling system as this
may cause the engine to overheat.
The thermostat is designed to con-
trol the flow of coolant to keep the
temperature of the engine within
the specified operating range.
 Do not continue driving with an
overheated engine. See "If your ve-
hicle overheats" in Section 4.
Tachometer
The tachometer indicates engine speed
in thousands of rpm
( revolutions per
minute). Use it while driving to select
correct shift points and to prevent en-
gine lugging and overrevving.
Driving with the engine running too fast
causes excessive engine wear and poor
fuel economy. Remember, in most cases
the slower the engine speed, the greater
the fuel economy.
NOTICE
Do not let the indicator needle get
into the red zone. This may cause
severe engine damage.
Odometer and two trip meters
This meter displays the odometer and
two trip meters.
1. OdometerShows the total distance the vehicle has been driven.
2. Two trip metersShow two different distances independently driven since
the last time each trip meter was set
to zero.
You can use one trip meter to calculate
the fuel economy and the other to
measure the distance on each trip. All
trip meter data is cancelled if the elec-
trical power source is disconnected.

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(l)Add washer fluid.
(m) Take vehicle to
Toyota dealer.
(n) Remove key.Key reminder
buzzer
(k)Take vehicle to
Toyota dealer
immediately.
If the indicator or Do this.
buzzer comes on... (a) Brake System Warning Light
This light has the following functions:
Parking brake reminder
If this light is on, make sure the parking
brake is fully released. The light should
go off.
Low brake fluid level warning
If this light comes on and stays on while
you are driving, slow down and pull off
the road. Then stop the vehicle carefully.
Remember that stopping distance and ped-
al effort may be increased. There may be
a problem somewhere in the brake sys-
tem. Check the fluid level of the see−
through reservoir.
To make sure the parking brake has not
caused the warning light to come on,
check to see that the parking brake is
fully released.
If the brake fluid level is low...
At a safe place, test your brakes by start-
ing and stopping.
If you judge that the brakes still work
adequately, drive cautiously to your
nearest dealer or shop for repairs.
If the brakes are not working, have the
vehicle towed in for repairs. (For tow-
ing information, see Section 4.)
CAUTION
It is dangerous to continue driving
normally when the brake fluid level is
low.
If the brake fluid level is correct...
Have the warning system checked by your
Toyota dealer.
(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 "ON" or
"START", the reminder light and buzzer
come on if the driver’s seat belt is not
fastened. Unless the driver fastens the
belt, the light stays on and the buzzer
stops after about 4 to 8 seconds.

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(b) Overdrive switch
You can select either a third gear (with
overdrive off) or fourth gear (with over-
drive on) by pushing this switch.
To turn the overdrive off, push the switch.
The O/D OFF" indicator light should come
on. To turn the overdrive on again, push
the switch again. The O/D OFF" indicator
light should go off.
Always drive your vehicle with the over-
drive on for better fuel economy and
quieter driving.
If the engine is turned off when the over-
drive is off and restarted, the overdrive
will be on automatically.Vehicles with cruise controlWhen the
cruise control is being used, even if you
downshift the transmission by pushing and
releasing 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 control" in this section.
(c) Normal driving
1. Start the engine as instructed in "How to start the engine" in Section 3. The
transmission must be in "P" or "N".
2. With your foot holding down the brake pedal, shift the selector lever to "D".
When the lever is in the D" position, the
automatic transmission system will select
the most suitable gear for running condi-
tions such as normal cruising, hill climb-
ing, hard towing, etc.
Always turn the overdrive on for better
fuel economy and quieter driving. If the
engine coolant temperature is low, the
transmission will not shift into overdrive
gear even with the overdrive on.
CAUTION
Never put your foot on the accelera-
tor pedal while shifting.
3. Release the parking brake and brake pedal. Depress the accelerator pedal
slowly for smooth starting.
(d) Using engine braking
To use engine braking, you can downshift
the transmission as follows:
Push the overdrive switch. The "O/D
OFF" indicator light will come on and
the transmission will downshift to the
third gear.
Shift into the "2" position. The trans-
mission will downshift to the second
gear when the vehicle speed drops
down to or lower than the following
speed, and stronger engine braking will
be enabled. 5S−FE engine...... 106 km/h (65 mph)
1MZ−FE engine.... 122 km/h (75 mph)
Shift into the "L" position. The trans-
mission will downshift to the first gear
when the vehicle speed drops down to
or lower than the following speed, and
maximum engine braking will be en-
abled.5S−FE engine........ 46 km/h (28 mph)
1MZ−FE engine..... 54 km/h (33 mph)

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Vehicles with cruise controlWhen the
cruise control is being used, even if you
downshift the transmission by pushing and
releasing off the overdrive switch, engine
braking is not applied because the cruise
control is not cancelled.
For ways to decrease the vehicle speed,
see "Cruise control" in this section.
CAUTION
Be careful when downshifting on a
slippery surface. Abrupt shifting
could cause the vehicle to spin or
skid.
(e) Using "2" and "L" positions
The "2" and "L" positions are used for
strong engine braking as described pre-
viously.
With the selector lever in "2" or "L", you
can start the vehicle in motion as with the
lever in "D".
With the selector lever in "2", the vehicle
will start in the first gear and automatical-
ly shift to second gear.
With the selector lever in "L", the trans-
mission is engaged in first gear.
NOTICE
Be careful not to overrev the en-
gine. Watch the tachometer to keep
engine rpm from going into the red
zone. The approximate maximum al-
lowable speed for each position is
given below for your reference:
"2"................. 125 km/h (77 mph)
"L".................. 69 km/h (42 mph)
 Do not continue hill climbing or
hard towing for a long time in the
"2" or "L" position. This may cause
severe automatic transmission dam-
age from overheating. To prevent
such damage, "D" position should
be used in hill climbing or hard
towing.
(f) 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
"R" position.
NOTICE
Never shift into reverse while the ve-
hicle is moving.
(g) 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 "P" posi-
tion.
CAUTION
Never attempt to move the selector
lever into "P" position under any cir-
cumstances while the vehicle is mov-
ing. Serious mechanical damage and
loss of vehicle control may result.
(h) Good driving practice
If the transmission repeatedly shifts up
and down between third gear and over-
drive when climbing a gentle slope, the
overdrive should be turned off. Be sure
to turn the switch on immediately after-
ward.
When towing a trailer, in order to main-
tain engine braking efficiency, do not
use overdrive.

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CAUTION
Always keep your foot on the brake
pedal while stopped with the engine
running. This prevents the vehicle
from creeping.
NOTICE
Do not hold the vehicle on an up-
grade with the accelerator pedal. It
can cause the transmission to over-
heat. Always use the brake pedal or
parking brake.
(i) Rocking your vehicle if stuck
CAUTION
If your vehicle becomes stuck in
snow, mud, sand, etc., then you may
attempt to rock your vehicle free by
moving it forward and backward. Do
not attempt this procedure if people
or objects are anywhere near the ve-
hicle. During the rocking operation
the vehicle may suddenly move for-
ward or backward as it becomes un-
stuck, causing injury or damage to
nearby people or objects.
NOTICE
If you rock your vehicle, observe the
following precautions to prevent dam-
age to the transmission and other
parts.
Do not depress the accelerator ped-
al while shifting the selector lever
or before the transmission is com-
pletely shifted to forward or reverse
gear.
 Do not race the engine and avoid
spinning the wheels.
If your vehicle remains stuck after
rocking the vehicle several times,
consider other ways such as tow-
ing.
(j) If you cannot shift the selector le-
ver out of "P" position
If you cannot shift the selector lever from
"P" position even though the brake pedal
is depressed, use the shift lock override
button. For instructions, see "If you cannot
shift automatic transmission selector lever"
in Section 4.