2003 TOYOTA 4RUNNER ECU

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The cup holders are designed for hold-
ing cups or drinkcans securely.
2. To use the rear cup holder, push and pull it out.3. To use the tray, pull it out.
CAUTION
Do not place anything else other
than cups or drinkcans in the cup
holder, as such items may be
thrown about in the compartment
and possibly injure people in the
vehicle during sudden braking or in
an accident.
To reduce the chance of injury in
case of an accident or sudden stop
while driving, keep the cup holder
closed when it is not in use.
To reduce the chance of injury in
case of an accident or a sudden
stop, always keep the tray closed
while driving.
NOTICE
To prevent damage to the tray, do not
place any object heavier than 2 kg
(4.40 lb.) on it, and do not leave any
object on the tray for a long time.

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Front doors
Rear doors
The bottle holders are designed to hold
bottles securely.
CAUTION
Do not attempt to use the holder for
any other purpose for which it was
intended. Inappropriately sized or
shaped objects may be thrown about
in the compartment and possibly in-
jure people in the vehicle during a
sudden braking or an accident.
NOTICE
Do not put a cup or open bottle in
the bottle holder because the con-
tents may spill when the door opens
or closes.
To secure your luggage, use the tie
down hooks as shown above.
See “Luggage stowage precautions” on
page 253 in Section 2 for precautions
when loading luggage.
CAUTION
To avoid personal injury, keep the tie
down hooks folded in place on the
floor when not in use.
NOTICE
Do not use the seat anchors instead
of the tiedown hooks.
Bottle holders Tiedown hooks

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2. Hold the handle and raise the double
deck on the rear tire houses.3. Turn the left and right knobs fromthe “UNLOCK” position to the
“LOCK” position.
Make sure the double deck is securely
locked.
CAUTION
To reduce the chance of injury in
case of an accident or sudden stop,
make sure that the double deck
knobs are always in the “LOCK” posi-
tion when the double deck is in the
raised or lowered position.
NOTICE
When using the double deck at the
raised position, do not place any ob-
ject heavier than 30 kg (66 lb.).

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The roof luggage carrier consists of
roof rails (1) attached to the roof and
sliding cross rails (2).
To adjust the positions of cross rails, do
this.
1. Turn the knobs counterclockwise to loosen the cross rails.
2. Slide the cross rails to the desired position for loading the luggages of
various sizes.
3. After adjusting, be sure to tighten the cross rails by turning knobs clockwise.
Follow the manufacturer ’s instructions and
precautions when installing the attach-
ments or their equivalent.
Paint mark
When there is no luggage on the roof
luggage carrier, Toyota recommends that
the front and rear cross rails be secured
in the positions indicated in the illustra-
tion, according to the following procedure.
This may diminish wind noise during driv-
ing. 1. Turn the knobs counterclockwise to loosen the cross rails.
2. Slide the ends of the cross rails to the paint mark.
3. Be sure to tighten the cross rails by turning knobs clockwise.
CAUTION
When you load cargo on the roof lug-
gage carrier, observe the following:
Place the cargo so that its weight
is distributed evenly between the
front and rear axles.
If loading long or wide cargo, never
exceed the vehicle overall length or
width. (See “Dimensions and cargo
load” on page 352 in Section 8 for
information on your vehicle overall
length and width.)
Before driving, make sure the cargo
is securely fastened on the roof
luggage carrier.
Loading cargo on the roof luggage
carrier will make the center of the
vehicle gravity higher. Avoid high
speeds, sudden starts, sharp turns,
sudden braking or abrupt maneu-
vers, otherwise it may result in loss
of control or vehicle rollover due to
failure to operate this vehicle cor-
rectly.
Roof luggage carrier

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Have your Toyota dealer perform the bed-
dingdown.
BRAKE ASSIST SYSTEM
When you slam the brakes on, the
brake assist system judges as an emer-
gency stop and provides more powerful
braking for a driver who cannot hold
down the brake pedal firmly.
When you slam the brakes on, more pow-
erful braking will be applied. At this time,
you may hear a sound in the engine
compartment and feel the vibrations of the
brake pedal. This does not indicate a mal-
function.
The brake assist system becomes opera-
tive after the vehicle has accelerated to
a speed in excess of approximately 10
km/h (6 mph). It stops operating when the
vehicle decelerates to a speed below
approximately 5 km/h (3 mph).
For an explanation of this system’s warn-
ing light, see “Service reminder indicators
and warning buzzers” on page 117 in Sec-
tion 15.
The brake pad wear limit indicators on
your disc brakes give a warning noise
when the brake pads are worn to where
replacement is required.
If you hear a squealing or scraping noise
while driving, have the brake pads
checked and replaced by your Toyota
dealer as soon as possible. Expensive ro-
tor damage can result if the pads are not
replaced when necessary. When stowing luggage or cargo in the
vehicle, observe the following:
Put luggage or cargo in the luggage
compartment when at all possible. Be
sure all items are secured in place.
Be careful to keep the vehicle bal-
anced. Locating the weight as far for-
ward as possible helps maintain bal-
ance.
For better fuel economy, do not carry
unneeded weight.
CAUTION
To prevent luggage or packages
from sliding forward during braking,
do not stack anything in the lug-
gage compartment higher than the
seatbacks. Keep luggage or pack-
ages low, as close to the floor as
possible.
Do not exceed 66 kg (145 lb.) of
cargo load in the luggage compart-
ment.
Do not place anything on the flat-
tened seat or it may slide forward
during braking.
Brake pad wear limit
indicators
Luggage stowage pr
ecautions

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Never allow anyone to ride in the
luggage compartment. It is not de-
signed for passengers. They should
ride in their seats with their seat
belts properly fastened. Otherwise,
they are much more likely to suffer
serious bodily injury, in the event
of sudden braking or a collision.
Do not place anything on the lug-
gage cover. Such items may be
thrown about and possibly injure
people in the vehicle during sudden
braking or an accident. Secure all
items in a safe place.
Do not drive with objects left on
top of the instrument panel. They
may interfere with the driver’s field
of view. Or they may move during
sharp vehicle acceleration or turn-
ing, and impair the driver’s control
of the vehicle. In an accident they
may injure the vehicle occupants.
NOTICE
Do not load the vehicle beyond the
cargo load specified on page 352 in
Section 8.
Your Toyota is equipped with a limitedslip
center differential (transfer). If one wheel
begins to spin, the limitedslip center dif-
ferential (transfer) is designed to aid trac-
tion by automatically transmitting driving
force to the wheels on the other drive
axle. It transmits driving force to the front
wheels if a rear wheel spins, and to the
rear wheels if a front wheel spins.
CAUTION
Do not start or run the engine while
your vehicle is supported by a jack.
The vehicle could be driven off the
jack and could pose a danger or re-
sult in serious injury.
NOTICE
Use only a spare tire of the same
brand, size, construction and load ca-
pacity as the original tires on your
Toyota because damage to the limit-
edslip differential could possibly oc-
cur with another tire type.
The vehicle identification number (VIN)
is the legal identifier for your vehicle.
This number is on the left top of the
instrument panel, and can be seen
through the windshield from outside.
This is the primary identification number
for your Toyota. It is used in registering
the ownership of your vehicle.
Limitedslip differential
(fourwheel drive models) Your Toyota’s identification—
—Vehicle identification number

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Vehicles with rear height control air
suspension: When you drive on a
bumpy road, it is recommended that
the vehicle height should be set in the
“N” (normal) or “H” (high) mode.
CAUTION
Before driving off, make sure that
the parking brake is fully released
and the parking brake reminder
light is off.
Do not leave your vehicle unat-
tended while the engine is running.
Do not rest your foot on the brake
pedal while driving. It can cause
dangerous overheating, needless
wear, and poor fuel economy.
To drive down a long or steep hill,
reduce your speed and downshift.
Remember, if you ride the brakes
excessively, they may overheat and
not work properly.
Be careful when accelerating, up-
shifting, downshifting or braking on
a slippery surface. Sudden accelera-
tion or engine braking, could cause
the vehicle to spin or skid.
Do not drive in excess of the speed
limit. Even if the legal speed limit
permits it, do not drive over 140
km/h (85 mph) unless your vehicle
has highspeed capability tires.
Driving over 140 km/h (85 mph) may
result in tire failure, loss of control
and possible injury. Be sure to con-
sult a tire dealer to determine
whether the tires on your vehicle
are highspeed capability tires or
not before driving at such speeds.
Do not continue normal driving
when the brakes are wet. If they are
wet, your vehicle will require a
longer stopping distance, and it
may pull to one side when the
brakes are applied. Also, the park-
ing brake will not hold the vehicle
securely.
Vehicles with rear height control air
suspension: If you drive through
deep water over about 500 mm (20
in.) in depth, put the vehicle height
in the “H” (high) mode with the
height select switch and then turn
off the rear height control air sus-
pension by pushing the “HEIGHT
CONTROL OFF” switch. Drive your
vehicle at 30 km/h (19 mph) or low-
er speed.

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HITCHES
If you wish to install a trailer hitch, you
should consult with your Toyota dealer.
Use only a hitch recommended by the
hitch manufacturer and the one which
conforms to the total trailer weight re-
quirement.
According to the hitch receiver type,
the maximum gross trailer weight and
hitch that can be used differs. Refer to
the above illustrations to confirm the
hitch receiver type for your vehicle.
If you wish to install an aftermarket
hitch, the hitch must be bolted securely
to the vehicle frame and installed ac-
cording to the hitch manufactures’ in-
structions.
The hitch ball and king pin should have
a light coat of grease.
Toyota recommends the ball mount as-
sembly be removed when not towing to
prevent injury and to prevent damage
in the event of a rear end collision.
After removing the ball mount assem-
bly, install the grommet to the hitch to
prevent entry of dirt and mud.
NOTICE
Do not install weight distributing
hitch to weight carrying hitch re-
ceiver because it will be damaged
your vehicle.
 Do not use axlemounted hitches as
they can cause damage to the axle
housing, wheel bearings, wheels or
tires. Also, never install a hitch
which may interfere with the normal
function of an Energy Absorbing
Bumper, if so equipped.
1 Trailer ball load rating
2 Ball diameter
3 Shank length
4 Shank diameter