COMFORT ADJUSTMENT
88
FRONT SEATS
(POWER TYPE)
Front seat precautions
CAUTION
The side airbags are installed in the driver and front
passenger seats. Observe the following precautions.
Do not lean over the front door when the vehicle is in
use. When the side airbag inflates with considerable
speed and force; Otherwise, you may be killed or
severely injured.
Do not modify or replace the seats or the upholstery
of the seats with side airbags. Such changes may
disable the system, or cause the side airbags to
inflate accidentally, resulting in death or serious
injury. Consult your Lexus dealer if you insist on
modifications of this kind.
Do not use accessories for the seats which cover the
parts where the side airbags inflate. Such
accessories may prevent the side airbags from
activating correctly, causing death or serious injury.
Seat adjustment precautions
Adjust the driver's seat so that the foot pedals, steering wheel
and instrument panel controls are within easy reach of the
driver.
CAUTION
Do not adjust the seat while the vehicle is moving as
the seat may unexpectedly move and cause the
driver to lose control of the vehicle.
Be careful that the seat does not hit a passenger,
luggage or the rear seat.
NOTICE
Do not operate the control switch in more than one
dimension at a time. It may cause electrical overload.
COMFORT ADJUSTMENT
92
FRONT SEATS
(MANUAL TYPE)
Front seat precautions
CAUTION
The side airbags are installed in the driver and front
passenger seats. Observe the following precautions.
Do not lean over the front door when the vehicle is in
use. When the side airbag inflates with considerable
speed and force; Otherwise, you may be killed or
severely injured.
Do not modify or replace the seats or the upholstery
of the seats with side airbags. Such changes may
disable the system, or cause the side airbags to
inflate accidentally, resulting in death or serious
injury. Consult your Lexus dealer if you insist on
modifications of this kind.
Do not use accessories for the seats which cover the
parts where the side airbags inflate. Such
accessories may prevent the side airbags from
activating correctly, causing death or serious injury.
Seat adjustment precautions
Adjust the driver's seat so that the foot pedals, steering wheel
and instrument panel controls are within easy reach of the
driver.
CAUTION
Do not adjust the seat while the vehicle is moving as
the seat may unexpectedly move and cause the
driver to lose control of the vehicle.
Be careful that the seat does not hit a passenger,
luggage or the rear seat.
After adjusting the seat position, try sliding it forward
and backward to make sure it is locked in position.
After adjusting the seatback, exert body pressure to
make sure it is locked in position.
Do not put objects under the seats. The objects may
interfere with the seat±lock mechanism or
unexpectedly push up the seat position adjusting
lever; the seat may suddenly move, causing the
driver to lose control of the vehicle.
While adjusting the seat, do not put your hands under
the seat or near the moving parts. You may catch and
injure your hands of fingers.
COMFORT ADJUSTMENT
102
TILT STEERING WHEEL
SV16064
To change the steering wheel angle, hold the steering
wheel, pull the lock release lever toward you, tilt the
steering wheel to the desired angle and release the lever.
When the steering wheel is in a low position, it will spring up as
you release the lock release lever.
CAUTION
Do not adjust the steering wheel while the vehicle is
moving. It may cause the driver to mishandle the
vehicle and an accident may occur resulting in death
or injuries.
After adjusting the steering wheel, try moving it up
and down to make sure it is locked in position.
OUTSIDE REAR VIEW MIRRORS
SV16010
Adjust the mirror so that you can just see the side of your
vehicle in the mirror.
Be careful when judging the size or distance of any object seen
in the outside rear view mirror on the passenger's side. It is a
convex mirror with a curved surface. Any object seen in a
convex mirror will look smaller and farther away than if seen in
a normal flat mirror.
When you push the rear window and outside rear view mirror
defogger switch or operate the wipers, the heater panels in the
outside rear view mirrors will quickly clear the mirror surface.
(See º Rear window and outside rear view mirror defogger, and
windshield wiper deicer switchº on page 32.)
Some models: When the inside rear view mirror darkens in
ºAUTOº mode, the outside rear view mirrors also darken to
reduce the reflection of the headlights of the following vehicle.
For details, see ºInside rear view mirrorº on page 104.
COMFORT ADJUSTMENT
133
Do not use seat accessories which cover the parts
where the side airbags inflate. Such accessories may
prevent the side airbags from activating correctly,
causing death or serious injury.
Do not modify or remove any wiring. Do not modify,
remove, strike or open any components, such as the
steering wheel pad, steering wheel, column cover,
front passenger airbag cover, front seats or airbag
sensor assembly. Doing so may cause sudden SRS
front airbags inflation or disable the system, which
could result in death or serious injury.
Do not modify or replace the seats or upholstery of
front seats with side airbags. Such changes may
disable the system or cause the side airbags to inflate
accidentally, resulting in death or serious injury.
Do not disassemble or repair the front pillar and roof
side containing the curtain shield airbags. Such
changes may disable the system or cause the curtain
shield airbags to inflate accidentally, resulting in
death or serious injury.
Failure to follow these instructions can result in death
or serious injury. Consult your Lexus dealer about any
repairs and modifications.NOTICE
Do not perform any of the following changes without consulting your Lexus dealer. Such changes caninterfere with proper operation of the SRS airbagsystem in some cases.
Installation of electronic devices such as a mobiletwo±way radio, cassette tape player or compact disc
player.
Modification of the suspension system.
Modification of the front end structure and side structure of the passenger compartment.
Attachment of a grille guard (bull bar, kangaroo bar,etc.), snowplow, winches or any other equipment tothe front end.
Repairs made on or near the front fenders, front endstructure, console, steering column, steering wheel,dashboard near the front passenger airbag or frontseats.
STARTING AND DRIVING
223
IGNITION SWITCH WITH STEERINGLOCK
SS31002
ºSTARTº ± Starter motor on. The key will return to the
ºONº position when released.
For starting tips, see page 225.
ºONº ± Engine on and all accessories on.
This is the normal driving position.
NOTICE
Do not leave the key in the ºONº position if the engine
is not running. The battery will discharge and theelectronic ignition system could be damaged.
ºACCº ± Accessories such as the radio operate, but the
engine is off. If you leave the key in the ºACCº or ºLOCKº position and open
the driver's door, a buzzer will remind you to remove the key.*
NOTE: *The volume or interval of beep sound can be
changed. Ask your Lexus dealer for details.
SS31003
ºLOCKº ± Engine is off and the steering wheel is locked.
The ignition key can be removed only at this position.
Manual transmission: To turn the key from ºACCº to the
ºLOCKº position, you must push in the key.
Automatic transmission: To turn the key from ºACCº to the
ºLOCKº position you must put the transmission selector lever
in the ºPº position and you must push in the key.
Once you remove the key, the engine immobiliser system is
automatically set. See ºEngine immobiliser systemº on page
11 .
STARTING AND DRIVING
229
5. Release the parking brake and brake pedal. Depress
the accelerator pedal slowly for smooth starting.
In normal cruising, the vehicle will start in the first gear and
automatically shift up to the most suitable gear. On inclines,
declines or winding roads, etc., the vehicle shifts up and down
automatically
according to the running conditions to obtain the
suitable driving power and engine braking.
When the lever is in º3º 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, depress the
accelerator pedal to the full throttle position. This provides
more acceleration by automatically downshifting the
transmission to the next lower gear or beyond, depending on
the vehicle speed.
If engine braking is needed, such as in descending a long hill,
see º(b) Using engine brakingº.
(b) Driving in M mode
If the change lever is shifted to M position, the shift range
position can be switched over between 5 and 2 using the
shift switch on the steering wheel instead of operating the
change lever. The first shift range position is on 5 when
the change lever is shifted to M position.
SV31024
1ºMº position
When the selector lever is put in the ºMº position, the M MODE
indicator is shown on the instrument cluster.
STARTING AND DRIVING
231
Warning tone sounds twice in any of the following cases:
You attempt to downshift the transmission when it is not
possible to downshift due to the high vehicle speed.
You attempt to downshift from º2º position.
You attempt to upshift from º5º position.
If the ºMº indicator flashes, there is a problem somewhere
in the system. In this case, it should be noted that you
cannot downshift or upshift the transmission using the
switches on the steering wheel. Consult with your Lexus
dealer as soon as possible. The transmission works
exactly in the same way as when you put the selector lever
in the ºDº position.
CAUTION
Be careful when downshifting on a slippery surface.
The abrupt change in engine speed could cause the
vehicle to spin or skid.
(c) Using engine braking
SV31023
To use the braking power of the engine, downshift the
transmission in the way described below:
1Shift into the ºMº position, and you push the transmission
down shift switch. The transmission will downshift to
fourth gear and engine braking will be obtained. This is
effective only when you are driving in the ºDº position or
in fifth gear (ºMº position).
When the cruise control is being used, even if you
downshift from º5º to º4º, engine braking will not be
enabled because the cruise control is not cancelled. If
you need to decrease the vehicle speed, see page 239.
2Shift into the º3º position. The transmission will downshift
to third gear when the vehicle speed is or becomes lower
than the speed listed below and stronger engine braking
will be obtained.
STARTING AND DRIVING
246
ELECTRONIC THROTTLECONTROL SYSTEM
The electronic throttle control system always maintains
appropriate engine output in relation to the accelerator
opening in all driving conditions.
SV31038
You can select the snow mode by pushing the ºSNOWº
switch. The ºSNOWº indicator light will come on.
Snow mode: Decreases the engine output to minimize rear
wheel spinning on snowcovered or slippery roads.
To return to the normal mode, push the ºSNOWº switch again.
The ºSNOWº indicator light will go off.
When you turn the ignition switch off in the snow mode, the
mode automatically changes to the normal mode.
BRAKE SYSTEM
The tandem master cylinder brake system is a hydraulic
system with two separate sub±systems. If either sub±system
should fail, the other will still work. However, the pedal will be
harder to press, and your stopping distance will be longer.
Also, the brake system warning light may come on.
CAUTION
Do not drive your vehicle with only a single brake
system. Have your brakes fixed immediately.
Brake booster
The brake booster uses engine vacuum to power±assist the
brakes. If the engine should quit while you are driving, you can
bring the vehicle to a stop with normal pedal pressure. There
is enough reserved vacuum for one or two stops but no more!
CAUTION
Do not pump the brake pedal if the engine stalls.
Each push on the pedal uses up your reserved
vacuum.
Even if the power assist is completely lost, the brakes
will still work. But you will have to push the pedal
hard, much harder than normal. And your braking
distance will be longer.