Page 177 of 311
’03 Tacoma U (L/O 0209)
1712003 MY TACOMA (OM35800U)
OPERATION OF INSTRUMENTS AND
CONTROLS
Air conditioning system
Controls172
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Air flow selector settings 175
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Operating tips 175
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Side vents 178
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SECTION 1 8
Page 178 of 311
’03 Tacoma U (L/O 0209)
1722003 MY TACOMA (OM35800U)
1. “A/C” button (on some models)
2. Air intake selector
3. Air flow selector
4. Temperature selector
5. Fan speed selector
Controls
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’03 Tacoma U (L/O 0209)
1732003 MY TACOMA (OM35800U)
Fan speed selector
Turn the knob to adjust the fan speed—to
the right to increase, to the left to de-
crease.
Temperature selector
Turn the knob to adjust the temperature—
to the right to warm, to the left to cool.
Air flow selector
Turn the knob to select the vents used for
air flow.1. Panel— Air flows mainly from the
instrument panel vents.
2. Bi level— Air flows from both the floor
vents and the instrument panel vents.
3. Floor— Air flows mainly from the floor
vents.
4. Floor/Windshield— Air flows mainly
from the floor vents and windshield
vents.
Turning the air flow selector to the
floor/windshield position turns on the
defogging function with the purpose of
clearing the front view. This position allows the air intake to
select FRESH automatically. This is to
clean up the front view more quickly.
If you want to return the setting to
RECIRCULATE mode, press the air in-
take selector button once again.
Vehicles with “A/C” button—
Press the “A/C” button for dehumidified
heating or cooling. This setting clears
the front view more quickly.
5. Windshield— Air flows mainly from the
windshield vents.
Turning the air flow selector to the
windshield position turns on the defog-
ging function with the purpose of clear-
ing the front view.
This position allows the air intake to
select FRESH automatically. This is to
clean up the front view more quickly.
If you want to return the setting to
RECIRCULATE mode, press the air in-
take selector button once again.
Vehicles with “A/C” button—
Press the “A/C” button for dehumidified
heating or cooling. This setting clears
the front view more quickly.
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’03 Tacoma U (L/O 0209)
1742003 MY TACOMA (OM35800U)
For details about air flow selector settings,
see “Air flow selector settings” described
below.
Air intake selector
Press the button to select the air source.1. Recirculate— Recirculates the air inside
the vehicle.
An indicator light is on when the air
intake selector is set in this mode.
2. Fresh— Draws outside air into the sys-
tem. “A/C” button (on some models)
To turn on the air conditioning, press the
“A/C” button. The “A/C” button indicator
will come on. To turn the air conditioning
off, press the button again.
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To cool off your Toyota after it has
been parked in the hot sun, drive with
the windows open for a few minutes.
This vents the hot air, allowing the air
conditioning to cool the interior more
quickly.
Make sure the air intake grilles in front
of the windshield are not blocked (by
leaves or snow, for example).
On humid days, do not blow cold air
on the windshield. The windshield could
fog up because of the difference in air
temperature on the inside and outside
of the windshield.
Keep the area under the front seats
clear to allow air to circulate through-
out the vehicle.
On cold days, set the fan speed to
high for a minute to help clear the
intake ducts of snow or moisture. This
can reduce the amount of fogging on
the windows.
When driving on dusty roads, close all
windows. If dust thrown up by the ve-
hicle is still drawn into the vehicle after
closing the windows, it is recommended
that the air intake selector be set to
FRESH and the fan speed selector to
any setting except “OFF”.
Air flow selector settings
Double cab models
Operating tips
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’03 Tacoma U (L/O 0209)
1762003 MY TACOMA (OM35800U)
If following another vehicle on a dusty
road, or driving in windy and dusty
conditions, it is recommended that the
air intake selector be temporarily set to
RECIRCULATE, which will close off the
outside passage and prevent outside
air and dust from entering the vehicle
interior.Heating
For best results, set controls to:
Fan speed— Any setting except “OFF”
Temperature— To w a r d s WARM
(red zone)
Air intake—FRESH (outside air)
Air flow—FLOOR
Air conditioning—OFF
For quick heating, select recirculated
air for a few minutes. To keep the
windows from fogging, select fresh af-
ter the vehicle interior has been
warmed.
Press the “A/C” button on for dehumidi-
fied heating.
Choose floor/windshield air flow to heat
the vehicle interior while defrosting or
defogging the windshield. Air conditioning
For best results, set controls to:
Fan speed— Any setting except “OFF”
Temperature— To w a r d s COLD
(blue zone)
Air intake—FRESH (outside air)
Air flow—PANEL
Air conditioning—ON
For quick cooling, move the air intake
selector to recirculate for a few min-
utes.
Ventilation
For best results, set controls to:
Fan speed— Any setting except “OFF”
Temperature— To w a r d s COLD
(blue zone)
Air intake—FRESH (outside air)
Air flow—PANEL
Air conditioning—OFF
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’03 Tacoma U (L/O 0209)
1772003 MY TACOMA (OM35800U)
Defogging
The inside of the windshield
For best results, set controls to:Fan speed— Any setting except “OFF”
Temperature— To w a r d s WARM
(red zone) to heat;
COLD (blue zone) to
cool
Air intake—FRESH (outside air)
Air flow—WINDSHIELD
Turning the air flow selector to the wind-
shield or floor/windshield 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
RECIRCULATE mode, press the air intake
selector button once again.
Vehicles with “A/C” button—
Press the “A/C” button for dehumidified
heating or cooling. This setting clears the
front view more quickly.
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— Any setting except “OFF”
Temperature— To w a r d s WARM
(red zone)
Air intake—FRESH (outside air)
Air flow—WINDSHIELD
Turning the air flow selector to the wind-
shield or floor/windshield 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
RECIRCULATE mode, press the air intake
selector button once again.
Vehicles with “A/C” button—
Press the “A/C” button for dehumidified
heating or cooling. This setting clears the
front view more quickly.
To heat the vehicle interior while de-
frosting the windshield, choose floor/
windshield air flow.
Page 184 of 311
’03 Tacoma U (L/O 0209)
1782003 MY TACOMA (OM35800U)
If air flow control is not satisfactory, check
the side vents. The side vents may be
opened or closed as shown.
Side vents