2003 TOYOTA 4RUNNER Owners Manual

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2003 4RUNNER from Apr. ’03 Prod. (OM 35820U)
1. Reduce your speed gradually, keeping
a straight line. Move cautiously off the
road to a safe place well away from
the traffic. Avoid stopping on the center
divider of a highway. Park on a level
spot with firm ground.
2. Stop the engine and turn on your emergency flashers.
3. Firmly set the parking brake and put the transmission in “P”.
4. Have everyone get out of the vehicle on the side away from traffic.
5. Read the following instructions thor- oughly.
CAUTION
When jacking, be sure to observe the
following to reduce the possibility of
personal injury:
Follow jacking instructions.
Do not put any part of your body
under the vehicle supported by the
jack. Otherwise, personal injury may
occur.
Do not start or run the engine while
your vehicle is supported by the
jack.
Stop the vehicle on a level firm
ground, firmly set the parking brake
and put the transmission in “P”.
Block the wheel diagonally opposite
to the one being changed if neces-
sary.
Make sure to set the jack properly
in the jack point. Raising the ve-
hicle with jack improperly posi-
tioned will damage the vehicle or
may allow the vehicle to fall off the
jack and cause personal injury.
Never get under the vehicle when
the vehicle is supported by the jack
alone.
Use the jack only for lifting your
vehicle during wheel changing.
Do not raise the vehicle with some-
one in the vehicle.
When raising the vehicle, do not
place any objects on top of or un-
derneath the jack.
Raise the vehicle only high enough
to remove and change the tire.
NOTICE
Do not continue driving with a de-
flated tire. Driving even a short dis-
tance can damage a tire and wheel
beyond repair.
 Vehicles with rear height control air
suspension: When jacking up or
installing the tire chains, be sure to
turn off the rear height control and
stop the engine. Otherwise, the ve-
hicle height may change in the au-
tomatic leveling function, resulting
in accident.
If you have a flat tire—

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2003 4RUNNER from Apr. ’03 Prod. (OM 35820U)
1. Get the required tools and spare
tire.
1. Tool bag
2. Jack
To prepare yourself for an emergency, you
should fam iliarize yourself with the use of
the jack, each of the tools and their stor-
age locations.
When storing the tool bag, make sure it
is securely held by the tightening strap.Turn the jack joint by hand.
To remove: Turn the joint in direction 1
until the jack is free.
To store: Turn the joint in direction 2 until
the jack is firmly secured to prevent it
flying forward during a collision or s udden
braking.To remove the spare tire under the lug-
gage compartment:
1. Put a jack handle and jack handle ex- tensions together as shown in the il-
lustration.
1. Jack handle extensions
2. Jack handle
—Required tools and spare
tire

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2003 4RUNNER from Apr. ’03 Prod. (OM 35820U)
When connecting a jack handle extension
with jack handle end, use a Ph illipshead
screwdriver or jack handle to tighten the
bolts on the joints as shown in the il-
lustration.
When connecting the jack handle with ex-
tension, tighten the bolt on the joint se-
curely.
When you tighten the bolt, make sure that
it fits into the depression on the joint.
NOTICE
Tighten all joints securely. Otherwise,
the extension may come off and it
may damage the paint or vehicle
body.
2. Insert the end of the jack handle exten- sion into the lowering screw and turn
it counterclockwise with the handle.
3. After the tire is lowered completely to the ground, remove the holding brack-
et.
When storing the spare tire, put it in place
with the outer side of the wheel facing up.
Then secure the tire, taking care that the
tire goes straight up without catching on
any other part, to prevent it from flying
forward during a collision or s udden brak-
ing.

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2003 4RUNNER from Apr. ’03 Prod. (OM 35820U)
2. Block the wheel diagonally opposite
the flat tire to keep the vehicle from
rolling when it is j acked up.
When blocking the wheel, place a wheel
block in front of one of the front wheels
or behind one of the rear wheels.3. Remove the wheel ornament.
Pry off the wheel ornament, using the
beveled end of the wheel nut wrench as
shown.
CAUTION
Do not try to pull off the ornament by
hand. Take due care in handling the
ornament to avoid unexpected person-
al injury.
4. Loosen all the wheel nuts.
Always loosen the wheel nuts before rais-
ing the vehicle.
Turn the wheel nuts counterclockwise to
loosen. To get maximum leverage, fit the
wrench to the nut so that the handle is
on the right side, as shown above. Grab
the wrench near the end of the handle
and pull up on the handle. Be careful that
the wrench does not slip off the nut.
Do not remove the nuts yet—just unscrew
them about onehalf turn.
—Blocking the wheel —Removing wheel ornament —Loosening wheel nuts

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2003 4RUNNER from Apr. ’03 Prod. (OM 35820U)
CAUTION
Never use oil or grease on the bolts
or nuts. The nuts may loose and the
wheels may fall off, which could cau-
se a serious accident.
FrontRear
5. Position the jack at the correct jack
point as shown.
Make sure the jack is positioned on a
level and solid place.
JACK POINTS: Front—Under the frame side rail
Rear—Under the rear axle housingPut a jack handle, jack handle extensions
and jack handle end together as shown in
the illustration.
1. Jack handle end
2. Jack handle extensions
3. Jack handle
—Positioning the jack

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2003 4RUNNER from Apr. ’03 Prod. (OM 35820U)
When connecting a jack handle extension
with jack handle end, use a Ph illipshead
screwdriver or jack handle to tighten the
bolts on the joints as shown in the il-
lustration.
When connecting the jack handle with ex-
tension, tighten the bolt on the joint se-
curely.
When you tighten the bolt, make sure that
it fits into the depression on the joint.
NOTICE
Tighten all joints securely. Otherwise,
the extension may come off and it
may damage the paint or vehicle
body.
Front of vehicle
6. After making sure that no one is in the vehicle, as the jack touches the
vehicle and begins to fit, double
check that it is properly positioned.
Rear side only—
When positioning the jack under the rear
axle housing, make sure the groove on
the top of the jack fits with the rear axle
housing.
—Raising your vehicle

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2003 4RUNNER from Apr. ’03 Prod. (OM 35820U)
7. Raise the vehicle high enough so
that the spare tire can be installed.
Remember you will need more ground
clearance when putting on the spare tire
than when removing the flat tire.
To raise the vehicle, insert the jack handle
end into the jack (it is a loose fit) and
turn it clockwise with the handle.
CAUTION
Never get under the vehicle when the
vehicle is supported by the jack
alone.
8. Remove the wheel nuts and change tires.
Lift the flat tire straight off and put it
aside.
Roll the spare wheel into position and
align the holes in the wheel with the bolts.
Then lift up the wheel and get at least the
top bolt started through its hole. Wiggle
the tire and press it back over the other
bolts.Before putting on wheels, remove any cor-
rosion on the mounting surfaces with a
wire brush or such. Installation of wheels
without good metaltometal contact at the
mounting surface can cause wheel nuts to
loosen and eventually cause a wheel to
come off while driving.
—Changing wheels

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9. Reinstall all the wheel nuts finger
tight.
Reinstall the wheel nuts (tapered end in-
ward) and tighten them as much as you
can by hand. Press back on the tire back
and see if you can tighten them more.
CAUTION
Never use oil or grease on the bolts
or nuts. Doing so may lead to over-
tightening the nuts and damaging the
bolts. The nuts may loose and the
wheels may fall off, which could cau-
se a serious accident. If there is oil
or grease on any bolt or nut, clean
it.
10. Lower the vehicle completely and tighten the wheel nuts.
Turn the jack handle extension counter-
clockwise with handle to lower the vehicle.
Use only the wheel nut wrench and turn
it clockwise to tighten the nuts. Do not
use other tools or any additional leverage
other than your hands, such as a hammer,
pipe or your foot. Make sure the wrench
is securely engaged over the nut.
Tighten each nut a little at a time in the
order shown. Repeat the process until all
the nuts are tight.
—Reinstalling wheel nuts —Lowering your vehicle