2003 TOYOTA TACOMA Owners Manual (in English)

’03 Tacoma U (L/O 0209)
2592003 MY TACOMA (OM35800U)
1. Engine oil filler cap
2. Brake fluid reservoir
3. Fuse block
4. Battery
5. Engine coolant reservoir
6. Engine oil level dipstick
7. Condenser
8. Radiator
9. Power steering fluid reservoir
10. Windshield washer fluid tank

5VZFE engine

’03 Tacoma U (L/O 0209)
2602003 MY TACOMA (OM35800U)
Spare
fuses
If you perform maintenance by yourself,
be sure to follow the correct procedure
given in this section.
You should be aware that improper or in-
complete servicing may result in operating
problems.
Performing doityourself maintenance
during the warranty period may affect your
warranty coverage. Read the separate
Toyota Warranty statement for details and
suggestions.
This section gives instructions only for
those items that are relatively easy for an
owner to perform. As explained in Section
6, there are still a number of items that
must be done by a qualified technician
with special tools.
For information on tools and parts for do
ityourself maintenance, see “Parts and
tools”.
Utmost care should be taken when work-
ing on your vehicle to prevent accidental
injury. Here are a few precautions that
you should be especially careful to ob-
serve:
Fuse locationsDoityourself service
precautions

’03 Tacoma U (L/O 0209)
2612003 MY TACOMA (OM35800U)
CAUTION
When the engine is running, keep
hands, clothing, and tools away
from the moving fan and engine
drive belts. (Removing rings,
watches, and ties is advisable.)
Right after driving, the engine
compartment—the engine, radiator,
exhaust manifold, power steering
fluid reservoir and spark plug
boots, etc.—will be hot. So be care-
ful not to touch them. Oil, fluids
and spark plugs may also be hot.
If the engine is hot, do not remove
the radiator cap or loosen the drain
plugs to prevent burning yourself.
Do not smoke, cause sparks or al-
low open flames around fuel or the
battery. Their fumes are flammable.
Do not get under your vehicle with
just the body jack supporting it. Al-
ways use automotive jack stands or
other solid supports.
Use eye protection whenever you
work on or under your vehicle
where you may be exposed to flying
or falling material, fluid spray, etc.
Used engine oil contains potentially
harmful contaminants which may
cause skin disorders such as in-
flammation or skin cancer, so care
should be taken to avoid prolonged
and repeated contact with it. To re-
move used engine oil from your
skin, wash thoroughly with soap
and water.
Do not leave used oil within the
reach of children.
Dispose of used oil and filter only
in a safe and acceptable manner.
Do not dispose of used oil and fil-
ter in household trash, in sewers or
onto the ground. Call your dealer or
a service station for information
concerning recycling or disposal.
Be extremely cautious when work-
ing on the battery. It contains poi-
sonous and corrosive sulfuric acid.
Warning: Battery posts, terminals
and related accessories contain lead
and lead compounds, chemicals
known to the State of California to
cause cancer and reproductive
harm. Wash hands after handling.
NOTICE
Remember that battery and ignition
cables carry high currents or volt-
ages. Be careful of accidentally
causing a short circuit.
 Add only demineralized or distilled
water to fill the radiator. And if you
spill some of the coolant, be sure
to wash it off with water to prevent
it from damaging the parts or paint.
 Do not allow dirt or anything else
to fall through the spark plug holes.
 Do not pry the outer electrode of a
spark plug against the center elec-
trode.
 Use only spark plugs of the speci-
fied type. Using other types will
cause engine damage, loss of per-
formance or radio noise.
 Do not overfill automatic transmis-
sion fluid, or the transmission
could be damaged.
 Do not drive with the air cleaner
filter removed, or excessive engine
wear could result. Also backfiring
could cause a fire in the engine
compartment.

’03 Tacoma U (L/O 0209)
2622003 MY TACOMA (OM35800U)
Be careful not to scratch the glass
surface with the wiper frame.
 When closing the engine hood,
check to see that you have not for-
gotten any tools, rags, etc.Here is a list of parts and tools you will
need on performing doityourself mainte-
nance. Remember all Toyota parts are de-
signed in metric sizes, so your tools must
be metric.
CHECKING THE ENGINE OIL LEVEL
Parts (if level is low):
“Toyota Genuine Motor Oil” or equiva-
lent
See Section 72 for details about en-
gine oil selection.
Tools:
Rag or paper towel
Funnel (only for adding oil)
CHECKING THE ENGINE COOLANT
LEVEL
Parts (if level is low):
“Toyota Genuine Long Life Coolant” or
equivalent
See Section 72 for details about cool-
ant type selection.
Demineralized or distilled water
Tools:
Funnel (only for adding coolant) CHECKING BRAKE FLUID
Parts (if level is low):
SAE J1703 or FMVSS No.116 DOT 3
brake fluid
Tools:
Rag or paper towel
Funnel (only for adding fluid)
CHECKING POWER STEERING FLUID
Parts (if level is low):
Automatic transmission fluid
DEXRON II or III
Tools:
Rag or paper towel
Funnel (only for adding fluid)
CHECKING BATTERY CONDITION
Tools:
Warm water
Baking soda
Grease
Conventional wrench (for terminal
clamp bolts)
Parts and tools

’03 Tacoma U (L/O 0209)
2632003 MY TACOMA (OM35800U)
CHECKING AND REPLACING FUSES
Parts (if replacement is necessary):
Fuse with same amperage rating as
original
ADDING WASHER FLUID
Parts:
Water
Washer fluid containing antifreeze
(for winter use)
Tools:
Funnel
REPLACING LIGHT BULBS
Parts:
Bulb with same number and wattage
rating as original (See charts in “Re-
placing light bulbs” in Section 73.)
Tools:
Screwdriver

’03 Tacoma U (L/O 0209)
2642003 MY TACOMA (OM35800U)

’03 Tacoma U (L/O 0209)
2652003 MY TACOMA (OM35800U)
DOITYOURSELF MAINTENANCE
Engine and Chassis
Checking the engine oil level266
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Checking the engine coolant level 268
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Checking the radiator and condenser 270
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Checking brake fluid 270
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \
. . . .
Checking power steering fluid 271
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Checking tire pressure 271
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \
. .
Checking and replacing tires 272
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Rotating tires 274
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \
. . . . . . . . . . .
Installing snow tires and chains 274
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Replacing wheels 276
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \
. . . . . . .
Aluminum wheel precautions 276
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
SECTION 7 2

’03 Tacoma U (L/O 0209)
2662003 MY TACOMA (OM35800U)
Low level Full level
Add oil O.K. Too full
2RZFE and 3RZFE engines
Low level Full level
Add oil O.K. Too full
5VZFE engine
With the engine at operating tempera-
ture and turned off, check the oil level
on the dipstick. 1. To get a true reading, the vehicle should be on a level spot. After turning
off the engine, wait a few minutes for
the oil to drain back into the bottom of
the engine.
2. Pull the dipstick out, hold a rag under the end and wipe it clean.
3. Reinsert the dipstick—push it in as far as it will go, or the reading will not be
correct.
4. Pull the dipstick out and look at the oil level while holding a rag under the
end.
CAUTION
Be careful not to touch the hot ex-
haust manifold.
NOTICE
Be careful not to drop the engine oil
on the vehicle components.
If the oil level is below or only slightly
above the low level, add engine oil of
the same type as already in the engine.
Remove the oil filler cap and add engine
oil in small quantities at a time, checking
the dipstick. We recommend that you use
a funnel when adding oil.
The approximate quantity of oil needed to
fill between the low level and the full level
on the dipstick is indicated below for ref-
erence.
When the level reaches within the correct
range, install the f iller cap handtight.
Oil quantity, L (qt., lmp. qt.): 2RZFE and 3RZFE engines 1.5 (1.6, 1.3)
5VZFE engine Twowheel drive models
except Pre Runner 1.5 (1.6, 1.3)
Fourwheel drive models
and Pre Runner 1.2 (1.3, 1.1)
Checking the engine oil level