2003 TOYOTA PRIUS tow

vi
CAUTION
If an accident occurs
Pull your Toyota off the road, put the selector le-
ver in “P” and remove the ignition key.
In order to avoid personal injuries, do not touch
any high voltage wirings and their connectors, and
high voltage parts (inverter unit, hybrid vehicle
battery, etc.).
If some exposed electric wirings are protruding in-
side or outside of your Toyota, an electric shock
may occur. Never touch the electric wirings.
If fluid leaks or gets in some parts of the vehicle,
never touch it because it may be electrolyte
(strong alkali) from the hybrid vehicle battery. If it
gets into your skin or eyes, wash off immediately
with a large amount of water, if possible, boric
acid solution, and get immediate medical attention
in order to help avoid serious injury.
If a vehicle fire occurs, extinguish it using a fire
extinguisher for the exclusive use on electric fires.
Or, use a large amount of water to prevent flam-
mable gas from being generated from the batteries.
When your Toyota needs to be towed, do it with
the front wheels raised. For details on towing, see
“If your vehicle needs to be towed” on page 182 in
Section 5.

16
When your vehicle needs to be
towed, do it with the front wheels
or all four wheels raised. If the
front wheels are on the ground
when towing, the electric motor
may continue to generate electricity
which could cause leakage of elec-
tricity and a fire depending on the
degree of damage. See “If your ve-
hicle needs to be towed” on page
182 in Section 5.

31
CAUTION
To avoid serious personal injury, you
must do the following.
Before you close the power win-
dows, always make sure there is no-
body around the power windows.
You must also make sure the heads,
hands and other parts of the bodies
of all occupants are kept completely
inside the vehicle. If someone’s
neck, head or hands get caught in a
closing window, it could result in a
serious injury. When anyone closes
the power windows, make sure that
he or she operates the windows
safely.
When small children are in the ve-
hicle, never let them use the power
window switches without supervi-
sion. Use the window lock switch to
prevent them from making unex-
pected use of the switches.
Never leave small children alone in
the vehicle, especially with the igni-
tion key still inserted. They could
use the power window switches and
get trapped in a window. Unat-
tended children can become in-
volved in serious accidents.
21p024a
To open the trunk lid from the outside,
insert the master key and turn it clock-
wise.
See “Luggage stowage precautions” on
page 160 in Section 3 for precautions to
observe in loading luggage.
To close the trunk lid, lower it and press
down on it. After closing the trunk lid, try
pulling it up to make sure it is securely
closed.
CAUTION
Keep the trunk lid closed while driv-
ing. This not only keeps the luggage
from being thrown out, but also pre-
vents exhaust gases from entering
the vehicle.
Always lock the trunk lid and all
doors, and keep away the vehicle
keys out of children’s reaches.
Never leave children unattended in
the vehicle. Unsupervised children
may lock themselves in the vehicle
or trunk and suffer serious injuries
or death.
17.Trunk lid—

39
While the vehicle is being driven, all ve-
hicle occupants should have the seatback
upright, sit well back in the seat and prop-
erly wear the seat belts provided.
CAUTION
Do not drive the vehicle unless the
occupants are properly seated. Do
not allow passengers to sit on top
of a foldeddown seatback, or in
the luggage compartment or cargo
area. Persons not properly seated
and/or properly restrained by seat
belts can be severely injured in the
event of emergency braking or a
collision.
During driving, do not allow pas-
sengers to stand up or move
around between seats. Otherwise,
severe injuries can occur in the
event of emergency braking or a
collision.
Driver seat
CAUTION
The SRS driver airbag deploys with
considerable force, and can cause
death or serious injury especially if
the driver is very close to the airbag.
The National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration “NHTSA” advises:
Since the risk zone for driver airbag
is the first 5075 mm (23 in.) of
inflation, placing yourself 250 mm (10
in.) from your diver airbag provides
you with a clear margin of safety.
This distance is measured from the
center of the steering wheel to your
breastbone. If you sit less than 250
mm (10 in.) away now, you can
change your driving position in sever-
al ways:
Move your seat to the rear as far
as you can while still reaching the
pedals comfortably.
Slightly recline the back of the
seat. Although vehicle designs vary,
many drivers can achieve the 250
mm (10 in.) distance, even with the
driver seat all the way forward, sim-
ply by reclining the back of the
seat somewhat. If reclining the back
of your seat makes it hard to see
the road, raise yourself by using a
firm, nonslippery cushion, or raise
the seat if your vehicle has that
feature.
If your steering wheel is adjustable,
tilt it downward. This points the air-
bag toward your chest instead of
your head and neck.
The seat should be adjusted as rec-
ommended by NHTSA above, while
still maintaining control of the foot
pedals, steering wheel, and your view
of the instrument panel controls.
22.Seats 23.Front seats—
—Front seat precautions
(on vehicles with SRS front
airbags)

87
To squirt washer fluid, pull the lever
toward you and release it.
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 231 in
Section 83.
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.
23p009a
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 surface.
An indicator light will illuminate to indicate
the defogger is operating.
Push the switch once again to turn the
defogger 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 auxilia-
ry battery to discharge. 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.
42.Rear window defogger

142
Defogging
The inside of the windshield
For best results, set controls to:
Fan speed—“AUTO”
Temperature— Towards high temperature
to heat;
low temperature to cool
Air intake—FRESH (outside air)
Air flow—WINDSHIELD
Air conditioning—”MAX” ON
Turning the air flow selector to the wind-
shield position turns on the defogging
function with the purpose of clearing the
front view.
When turning the air flow selector to wind-
shield or floor/windshield position, the air
intake selects FRESH automatically. This
is to clean up the front view more quickly.
If you want to return the setting to RE-
CIRCULATE mode, press the air intake
selector button once again.
On humid days, do not blow cold air
on the windshield—the difference be-
tween the outside and inside tempera-
tures could make the fogging worse. Defrosting
The outside of the windshield
For best results, set controls to:
Fan speed—
“AUTO”
Temperature— Towards high temperature
Air intake—FRESH (outside air)
Air flow—WINDSHIELD
Air conditioning—OFF
Turning the air flow selector to the wind-
shield position turns on the defogging
function with the purpose of clearing the
front view.
When turning the air flow selector to wind-
shield or floor/windshield position, the air
intake selects FRESH automatically. This
is to clean up the front view more quickly.
If you want to return the setting to RE-
CIRCULATE mode, press the air intake
selector button once again.
To heat the vehicle interior while de-
frosting the windshield, choose “Floor/
Windshield” air flow.
27p006
Side vents
If air flow control is not satisfactory, check
the instrument panel vents. The instrument
panel vents may be opened or closed as
shown.
Instrument panel vents94.

149
103.INFORMATION BEFORE DRIVING
YOUR TOYOTA
Information before driving your TOYOTA
Breakin period150
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. . . . . . .
Fuel 150
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Fuel pump shutoff system m 152. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Operation in foreign countries 152
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Threeway catalytic converter Toyota HC adsorber and catalyst system 153
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Engine exhaust cautions 154
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Facts about engine oil consumption 155
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Iridiumtipped spark plugs 156
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Brake system 156
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Brake pad wear limit indicators 160
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Luggage stowage precautions 160
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Your Toyota’s identification 161
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Theft prevention labels 162
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Suspension and chassis 162
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Types of tires 162
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SECTION 3

160
30p003
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 trunk 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
Do not place anything on the pack-
age tray behind the rear seatback
or luggage cover. Such items may
be thrown about and possibly injure
people in the vehicle during sudden
braking or an accident.
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
vehicle capacity weight given in Sec-
tion 9.
114.Brake pad wear limit
indicators
115.Luggage stowage
precautions