2003 TOYOTA HIGHLANDER Owners Manual

’03 HIGHLANDER_U (L/O 0208)
912003 HIGHLANDER from Aug. ’02 Prod. (OM48441U)
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
with the knob turned to “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.HEADLIGHTS
To turn on the following lights: Twist
the headlight/turn signal lever knob.
Position 1—Parking, tail, license plate,
side marker and instrument panel lights
Position 2—Headlights and all of the
above
The lights automatically turn off when the
driver ’s door is opened with the ignition
turned off. To turn them on again, turn the
key to the “ON” position or actuate the
headlight switch. If you are going to park
for over one week, make sure the head-
light switch is off.
Headlights and turn signals
(without automatic light
control system)

’03 HIGHLANDER_U (L/O 0208)
922003 HIGHLANDER from Aug. ’02 Prod. (OM48441U)
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.
Daytime running light system
(on some models)
The headlights turn on at reduced intensi-
ty when the parking brake is released with
the engine started, even with the light
switch in the “OFF” position. They will not
go off until the ignition switch is turned
off.
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 driving
at night.
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
with the knob turned to “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.

’03 HIGHLANDER_U (L/O 0208)
932003 HIGHLANDER from Aug. ’02 Prod. (OM48441U)
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

’03 HIGHLANDER_U (L/O 0208)
942003 HIGHLANDER from Aug. ’02 Prod. (OM48441U)
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 side doors and back door are opened.
The light goes off when all the side doors
and back door are closed. ILLUMINATED ENTRY SYSTEM
When the switch is in “DOOR” position
and any of the side doors and back door,
the light will come on. After all the side
doors are closed, the light remains on for
about 15 seconds before fading out.
However, in the following cases, the light
fades out immediately:
All the side doors and back door are
closed when the ignition key is in
“ACC” or “ON” position.
The ignition key is turned to “ACC”,
“ON”, or “START” after all the side
doors and back door are closed.
All the side doors and back door are
locked when the light is still on.
When the driver’s door is unlocked by
turning a key in either of the front doors
or with a wireless remote control transmit-
ter, the interior light will come on and
remain on for about 15 seconds before
fading out.
Front fog lights Interior lights

’03 HIGHLANDER_U (L/O 0208)
952003 HIGHLANDER from Aug. ’02 Prod. (OM48441U)
The following adjustments can be made in
this system. For details, contact your
Toyota dealer.
Cancelling the door key or wireless re-
mote control operation
Changing the timing for the light turn-
ing off
For easy access to the ignition switch,
the ignition switch light comes on when
any of the side doors are opened.
The light remains on for some time after
all the side doors and back door are
closed.
However, in the following cases, the lights
go off immediately.
All the side doors and back door are
closed when the ignition key is in
“ACC” or “ON” position.
The ignition key is turned to “ACC”,
“ON”, or “START” after all the side
doors and back door are closed.
All the side doors and back door are
closed and locked when the light is still
on.
When the driver’s door is unlocked by
turning a key in either of the front doors
or with a wireless remote control transmit-
ter, the ignition switch light will come on
and remain on for about 15 seconds be-
fore fading out.
The following adjustments can be made in
this system. For details, contact your
Toyota dealer.
Cancelling the door key or wireless re-
mote control transmitter linked opera-
tion
Changing the timing for the light turn-
ing off
Ignition switch light

’03 HIGHLANDER_U (L/O 0208)
962003 HIGHLANDER from Aug. ’02 Prod. (OM48441U)
With moon roof
Without moon roof
To turn on the personal light, push the
switch. To turn the light 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
For a single sweep of the windshield,
push the lever up and release it.
Personal light Windshield wipers and washer

’03 HIGHLANDER_U (L/O 0208)
972003 HIGHLANDER from Aug. ’02 Prod. (OM48441U)
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” on page 279 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.
To turn on the rear window wiper, twist
the lever knob upward.
The key must be in the “ON” position.
Lever position
Speed setting
Position 1Intermittent
Position 2Normal
To squirt washer fluid on the rear window,
twist the knob upward or downward as far
as it will go (position 3 or 4). The knob
automatically returns from these positions
after you release it.
For instructions on adding washer fluid,
see “Adding washer fluid” on page 279 in
Section 73.
NOTICE
Do not operate the rear wiper if the
rear window is dry. It may scratch the
glass.
Rear window wiper and
washer

’03 HIGHLANDER_U (L/O 0208)
982003 HIGHLANDER from Aug. ’02 Prod. (OM48441U)
With manual air conditioning controls
With automatic air conditioning controls
To defog or defrost the rear window,
push the switch.
The key must be in the “ON” position.
The thin heater wires on the inside of the
rear window will quickly clear the window
surface. An indicator light will illuminate to
indicate the defogger is operating.
Push the switch once again to turn the
defoggers off.
The system will automatically shut off af-
ter the defogger has operated about 15
minutes.
Make sure you turn the defogger off when
the window is clear. Leaving the defogger
on for a long time could cause the battery
to discharge, especially during stopand
go driving. The defogger is not designed
for drying rain water or for melting snow.
NOTICE
When cleaning the inside of the rear
window, be careful not to scratch or
damage the heater wires or connec-
tors.
Ty p e A
Ty p e B
Rear window defogger Outside rear view mirror
defogger and windshield wiper
deicer