2003 TOYOTA AVALON Owners Manual

’03 AVALON U (L/O 0206)
1012003 AVALON (OM41401U)
Automatic operation—
To turn on or off the lights automatical-
ly, twist the headlight/turn signal lever
knob to the position 3 (“AUTO”) when
the ignition key is in the “ON” position.
The headlights and/or all of the lights in
position 1 automatically turn on or off de-
pending on the darkness of the surround-
ings.
Manually twist the knob to the position 2
to turn on the headlights if they are need-
ed immediately when entering a dark tun-
nel, parking structure, etc.
The automatic light control sensor is on
the top of the driver’s side instrument
panel.
Do not place anything on the instrument
panel, and/or do not affix anything on the
windshield to block this sensor.
Automatic light cut off system
Position 1 or position 3 with the tail
lights on—
The lights automatically turn off when the
driver ’s door is opened with the ignition
key in the “ACC” or “LOCK” position.Position 2 or position 3 with the head-
lights on—
The lights automatically turn off after 30
seconds when any of the door or trunk lid
is opened and closed with the ignition key
in the “ACC” or “LOCK” position.
Vehicles with wireless remote control sys-
tem—The lights can be turned off immedi-
ately by pushing the “LOCK” switch on the
wireless remote control transmitter with all
the doors locked and the trunk lid closed.
If any of the door or trunk lid is kept
opened, the lights automatically turn off
after 20 minutes.
To turn on the lights again, turn the igni-
tion key to the “ON” position or actuate
the headlight switch. If you are going to
park for over one week, make sure the
headlight switch is off.
NOTICE
To prevent the battery from being dis-
charged, do not leave the lights on
for a long period when the engine is
not running.

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Daytime running light (DRL) system
Daytime Running Light System (DRL) can
make it easier for others to see the front
of your vehicle during the day. The DRL
system can be helpful in many different
driving conditions, but they can be espe-
cially helpful in the short periods after
dawn and before sunset.
The DRL system will make your headlights
come on at a reduced brightness when:
The ignition is on with the engine run-
ning.
The headlight switch is off.
The parking brake is released.
To turn on the other exterior lights and
instrument panel lights, twist the knob to
the position 1.
Twist the knob to the position 2 to turn
the headlights to full intensity for night
driving.HighLow beams—For high beams, turn
the headlights on and push the lever away
from you (position 1). Pull the lever to-
ward you (position 2) for low beams.
The headlight high beam indicator light
(blue light) on the instrument panel will
tell you that the high beams are on.
Flashing the high beam headlights
(position 3)—Pull the lever all the way
back. The high beam headlights turn off
when you release the lever.
You can flash the high beam headlights
even when the headlight switch is off.TURN SIGNALS
To signal a turn, push the headlight/
turn signal lever up or down to position
1.
The key must be in the “ON” position.
The lever automatically returns after you
make a turn, but you may have to return
it by hand after you change lanes.
To signal a lane change, move the lever
up or down to the pressure point (position
2) and hold it.
If the turn signal indicator lights (green
lights) on the instrument panel flash faster
than normal, a front or rear turn signal
bulb is burned out. See “Replacing light
bulbs” in Section 73.

’03 AVALON U (L/O 0206)
1032003 AVALON (OM41401U)
To turn on the emergency flashers,
push the switch.
All the turn signal lights will flash. To turn
them off, push the switch once again.
Turn on the emergency flashers to warn
other drivers if your vehicle must be
stopped where it might be a traffic hazard.
Always pull as far off the road as pos-
sible.
The turn signal light switch will not work
when the emergency flashers are operat-
ing.
NOTICE
To prevent the battery from being dis-
charged, do not leave the switch on
longer than necessary when the en-
gine is not running.
To adjust the brightness of the instru-
ment panel lights, turn the knob.
Emergency flashers Instrument panel light control

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1042003 AVALON (OM41401U)
To turn on the front fog lights, twist
the band of the headlight and turn sig-
nal switch lever. They will come on
only when the headlights are on low
beam.To turn on the interior light, slide the
switch.
The interior light switch has the following
positions:
“ON”—Keeps the light on all the time.
“OFF”—Turns the light off.
“DOOR”—Turns the light on when any of
the doors is opened. The light goes off
when all the doors are closed.ILLUMINATED ENTRY SYSTEM
With the switch in the “DOOR” position,
the light comes on when any door is
opened. After all the doors are closed, the
light remains on for about 15 seconds and
then goes out.
However, in the following cases, the light
goes off immediately.
All the doors are closed when the igni-
tion key is in the “ACC” or “ON” posi-
tion.
The ignition key is turned to the “ACC”
or “ON” after all the doors are closed.
All the doors are closed and locked.
When all the doors are unlocked with the
key or wireless remote control transmitter
simultaneously, the light comes on for
about 15 seconds and then fades out,
even if the door is not opened.
INTERIOR LIGHT CUT OFF OPERATION
To prevent the battery from being dis-
charged, the light will automatically turn
off when the key is removed and the door
is left opened with the switch at “DOOR”
position for 20 minutes or more.
Front fog lights Interior light

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With moon roof
Without moon roof
Front personal lights—
To turn on the front personal lights,
push the switch. To turn the lights off,
push the switch once again.
Interior lights—
The interior lights turn on when any of
the door is opened. The lights go off
when all of the doors are closed.
You cannot turn off the lights when any of
the doors is opened.ILLUMINATED ENTRY SYSTEM
The lights come on when any door is
opened. After all the doors are closed, the
lights remain on for about 15 seconds and
then go out.
However, in the following cases, the lights
go off immediately.
All the doors are closed when the igni-
tion key is in the “ACC” or “ON” posi-
tion.
The ignition key is turned to the “ACC”
or “ON” after all the doors are closed.
All the doors are closed and locked.
When all the doors are unlocked with the
key or wireless remote control transmitter
simultaneously, the lights come on for
about 15 seconds and then fade out, even
if the door is not opened.
INTERIOR LIGHT CUT OFF OPERATION
To prevent the battery from being dis-
charged, the lights will automatically turn
off when the key is removed and the door
is left opened for 20 minutes or more.
Front personal and interior
lights

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1062003 AVALON (OM41401U)
To turn on the rear personal light, push
the switch. To turn the light off, push
the switch once again.For easy access to the ignition switch,
the ignition switch light comes on when
any of the doors are opened.
The light remains on for about 15 seconds
after all the doors are closed.
However, in the following cases, the light
go off immediately.
All the doors are closed when the igni-
tion key is in the “ACC” or “ON” posi-
tion.
The ignition key is turned to the “ACC”
or “ON” after all the doors are closed.
All the doors are closed and locked.When all the doors are unlocked with the
key or wireless remote control transmitter
simultaneously, the light comes on for
about 15 seconds and then fades out,
even if the door is not opened.
To prevent the battery from being dis-
charged, the light will automatically turn
off when the key is removed and the door
is left opened for 20 minutes or more.
Rear personal lights Ignition switch light

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To turn on the windshield wipers, move
the lever to the desired setting.
The key must be in the “ON” position.
Lever position
Operation
Position 1Intermittent
operation
Position 2Low speed
operation
Position 3High speed
operation
Position 4Washer on
The “INT TIME” band lets you adjust the
wiping time interval when the wiper lever
is in the intermittent 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 (position 4).
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 73.
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
or may damage wiper blades.
Automatic control adjuster
To turn on the windshield wipers, move
the lever to the desired setting.
The key must be in the “ON” position.
Lever position
Operation
Position 1Automatic
operation
Position 2Low speed
operation
Position 3High speed
operation
Position 4Washer on
Windshield wipers and washer
(intermittent operation type)Windshield wipers and washer
(raindrop detection type)

’03 AVALON U (L/O 0206)
1082003 AVALON (OM41401U)
Automatic operation (position 1)
The wiper speed is determined by the
amount of raindrops and sunlight detected
by the automatic wiper control sensor.
The automatic wiper control sensor is on
the inside of the windshield as shown
above.
If you feel that the operation of the auto-
matic wiper control is too fast or too slow,
twist the automatic control adjuster in the
“” direction to lower sensitivity, and “+”
direction to boost the sensitivity.Even if the wiper lever is in the position
1, the system will switch to intermittent
operations in the following conditions:
When the windshield gets extremely
cold (at less than 10C or 14F)
When the system malfunctions
However, when the windshield gets ex-
tremely hot (at more than 90C or 194F),
the wipers do not operate even if the
wiper lever is in the position 1.
When the ignition switch is turned off with
the wiper lever in the position 1, and then
the ignition switch is turned on again, the
automatic operation may not work even if
raindrops are on the windshield.
In this case, move the lever to another
position and return it to the position 1
again.
CAUTION
Be careful not to get your fingers
caught between the wipers and wind-
shield.
When the wiper lever is in the posi-
tion 1 with the ignition switch on, the
wipers could operate automatically in
the following cases:
If you touch the upper center of the
windshield adjacent to the sensor.
If you wipe the upper center of the
windshield (adjacent to which the
sensor is located) with a towel or
other object.
If the windshield vibrates.
If you touch the sensor.
NOTICE
Do not apply detergent to or wet the
automatic wiper control sensor when
cleaning the inside of the windshield.