2003 TOYOTA TACOMA towing

’03 Tacoma U (L/O 0209)
352003 MY TACOMA (OM35800U)
To release the belt, press the bucklere-
lease button.The buckles can be fixed when not in
use.
When taking out the buckle from the hold-
er, pull on the belt webbing to remove the
buckle from the lower portion.If your seat belts cannot be fastened se-
curely because they are not long enough,
a personalized seat belt extender is avail-
able from your Toyota dealer free of
charge.
Please contact your local Toyota dealer so
that the dealer can order the proper re-
quired length for the extender. Bring the
heaviest coat you expect to wear for prop-
er measurement and selection of length.
Additional ordering information is available
at your Toyota dealer.CAUTION
When using the seat belt extender,
observe the following precautions.
Failure to follow these instructions
could reduce the effectiveness of the
seat belt restraint system in case of
vehicle accident, increasing the
chance of personal injury.
Never use the seat belt extender if
you can fasten the seat belt without
it.
—Stowing the rear seat
buckles (xtracab models)
—Seat belt extender

’03 Tacoma U (L/O 0209)
11 72003 MY TACOMA (OM35800U)
The gauge indicates the engine coolant
temperature when the ignition switch is
on. The engine operating temperature
will vary with changes in weather and
engine load.
If the needle moves into the red zone,
your engine is too hot. If your vehicle
overheats, stop your vehicle and allow the
engine to cool.
Your vehicle may overheat during severe
operating conditions, such as:
Driving up a long hill on a hot day.
Reducing speed or stopping after high
speed driving.
Idling for a long period with the air
conditioning on in stopandgo traffic.
Towing a trailer.
NOTICE
Do not remove the thermostat in
the engine cooling system as this
may cause the engine to overheat.
The thermostat is designed to con-
trol the flow of coolant to keep the
temperature of the engine within
the specified operating range.
 Do not continue driving with an
overheated engine. See “If your ve-
hicle overheats” in Section 4.
The tachometer indicates engine speed
in thousands of rpm (revolutions per
minute). Use it while driving to select
correct shift points and to prevent en-
gine lugging and overrevving.
Driving with the engine running too fast
causes excessive engine wear and poor
fuel economy. Remember, in most cases
the slower the engine speed, the greater
the fuel economy.
NOTICE
Do not let the indicator needle get
into the red zone. This may cause
severe engine damage.
Tachometer

’03 Tacoma U (L/O 0209)
1282003 MY TACOMA (OM35800U)
(b) Overdrive switch
You can select either third gear (with
overdrive off) or fourth gear (with over-
drive on) by pushing this switch.
To turn the overdrive off, push the switch.
The “O/D OFF” indicator light should come
on. To turn the overdrive on again, push
the switch again. The “O/D OFF” indicator
light should go off.
Always drive your vehicle with the over-
drive on for better fuel economy and
quieter driving.
If the engine is turned off when the over-
drive is off and restarted, the overdrive
will be on automatically.Vehicles with cruise control—When the
cruise control is being used, even if you
downshift the transmission by pushing and
releasing the overdrive switch, engine
braking will not be enabled because the
cruise control is not cancelled.
For ways to decrease the vehicle speed,
see “Cruise control” in this section.
(c) Normal driving
1. Start the engine as instructed in “How to start the engine” in Section 3. The
transmission must be in “P” or “N”.
When the front drive control lever is in
“L4” (lowspeed position, fourwheel
drive), the driving pattern selector setting
has no effect on gear shift timing. (See
“Fourwheel drive system” in this section
for information of the front drive control
lever.)
2. With your foot holding down the brake pedal, shift the selector lever to “D”.
When the lever is in the “D” position, the
automatic transmission system will select
the most suitable gear for running condi-
tions such as normal cruising, hill climb-
ing, hard towing, etc. Always turn the overdrive switch on for
better fuel economy and quieter driving. If
the engine coolant temperature is low or
when the front drive control lever is in
“L4” (lowspeed position, fourwheel
drive), the transmission will not shift into
the overdrive gear even with the overdrive
on. (See “Fourwheel drive system” in this
section for information of the front drive
control lever.)
CAUTION
Never put your foot on the accelera-
tor pedal while shifting.
3. Release the parking brake and brake
pedal. Depress the accelerator pedal
slowly for smooth starting.
(d) Using engine braking
To use engine braking, you can downshift
the transmission as follows:
Push the overdrive switch. The “O/D
OFF” indicator light will come on and
the transmission will downshift to third
gear.

’03 Tacoma U (L/O 0209)
1302003 MY TACOMA (OM35800U)
NOTICE
Be careful not to overrev the en-
gine. Watch the tachometer to keep
engine rpm from going into the red
zone. The approximate maximum al-
lowable speed for each position is
given below for your reference:
Twowheel drive models except Pre
Runner 2RZFE engine “2” 122 km/h (75 mph) . . . . . . .
“L” 64 km/h (39 mph) . . . . . . . .
Fourwheel drive models Front drive control lever in “H2” or
“H4”—
3RZFE engine“2” 113 km/h (70 mph) . . . . . . .
“L” 62 km/h (38 mph) . . . . . . . .
5VZFE engine “2” 119 km/h (73 mph) . . . . . . .
“L” 65 km/h (40 mph) . . . . . . . .
Front drive control lever in “L4”—
3RZFE engine“2” 44 km/h (27 mph) . . . . . . . .
“L” 24 km/h (14 mph) . . . . . . . .
5VZFE engine “2” 65 km/h (40 mph) . . . . . . . .
“L” 25 km/h (16 mph) . . . . . . . .
Pre Runner models
3RZFE engineRegular cab“2” 119 km/h (73 mph) . . . . .
“L” 65 km/h (40 mph) . . . . . .
Xtracab and double cab “2” 113 km/h (70 mph) . . . . .
“L” 62 km/h (38 mph) . . . . . .
5VZFE engine “2” 119 km/h (73 mph) . . . . . . .
“L” 65 km/h (40 mph) . . . . . . . .
 Do not continue hill climbing for a
long time in the “2” or “L” posi-
tion. This may cause severe auto-
matic transmission damage from
overheating. To prevent such dam-
age, use “D” position for hill climb-
ing or hard towing.(f) Backing up
1. Bring the vehicle to a complete stop.
2. With the brake pedal held down with your foot, shift the selector lever to the
“R” position.
NOTICE
Never shift into reverse while the ve-
hicle is moving.
(g) Parking
1. Bring the vehicle to a complete stop.
2. Pull the parking brake lever fully to securely apply the parking brake.
3. With the brake pedal pressed down, shift the selector lever to the “P” posi-
tion.
CAUTION
Never attempt to move the selector
lever into “P” position under any cir-
cumstances while the vehicle is mov-
ing. Serious mechanical damage and
loss of vehicle control may result.

’03 Tacoma U (L/O 0209)
1312003 MY TACOMA (OM35800U)
(h) Good driving practice
If the transmission repeatedly shifts up
and down between third gear and over-
drive when climbing a gentle slope, the
overdrive should be turned off. Be sure
to turn the switch on immediately after-
ward.
When towing a trailer, in order to main-
tain engine braking efficiency, do not
use overdrive.
CAUTION
Always keep your foot on the brake
pedal while stopped with the engine
running. This prevents the vehicle
from creeping.
NOTICE
Always use the brake pedal or the
parking brake to hold the vehicle on
an upgrade. Do not attempt to hold
the vehicle using the accelerator ped-
al, as this can cause the transmission
to overheat.
(i) Driving in “POWER” mode (fourwheel drive models and Pre
Runner)
In the “POWER” mode, the transmission
is shifted up and down at a higher vehicle
speed than in the “NORMAL” mode and a
more powerful acceleration is achieved. To
set the “POWER” mode, push in the driv-
ing pattern selector button. The POWER
mode indicator light comes on.
For ordinary driving, Toyota recommends
using the “NORMAL” mode to improve fuel
economy. (j) If you cannot shift the selector le-
ver out of “P” position
If you cannot shift the selector lever from
the “P” position even though the brake
pedal is depressed, use the shift lock
override lever. For instructions, see “If you
cannot shift automatic transmission selec-
tor lever” in Section 4.

’03 Tacoma U (L/O 0209)
1332003 MY TACOMA (OM35800U)
Upshifting too soon or downshifting too
late will cause lugging, and possibly ping-
ing. Regularly revving the engine to maxi-
mum speed in each gear will cause ex-
cessive engine wear and high fuel
consumption.
Maximum allowable speeds
To get on a highway or to pass slower
traffic, maximum acceleration may be nec-
essary. Make sure you observe the follow-
ing maximum allowable speeds in each
gear:
Twowheel drive models2RZFE engine gear km/h (mph)1 48 (29)
2 89 (55)
3 137 (85)
4 165 (103)
5VZFE engine gear km/h (mph)
1 54 (33)
2 101 (62)
3 146 (90)
4 180 (111) Fourwheel drive models
3RZFE engine
gear km/h (mph)
“H2” and “H4” “L4”
1 46 (28) 17 (10)
2 85 (52) 33 (20)
3 132 (81) 51 (31)
4 165 (102) 70 (43)
5VZFE engine gear km/h (mph) “H2” and “H4” “L4”
1 47 (29) 18 (11)
2 88 (54) 34 (21)
3 127 (78) 49 (30)
4 165 (102) 70 (44)
NOTICE
Do not downshift if you are going
faster than the maximum allowable
speed for the next lower gear.
Good driving practice
If it is difficult to shift into reverse, put
the transmission in neutral, release the
clutch pedal momentarily, and then try
again.
When towing a trailer, in order to main-
tain engine braking efficiency, do not
use fifth gear.
CAUTION
Be careful when downshifting on a
slippery surface. Abrupt shifting
could cause the vehicle to spin or
skid.
NOTICE
Make sure the vehicle is completely
stopped before shifting into reverse.

’03 Tacoma U (L/O 0209)
2022003 MY TACOMA (OM35800U)
When stowing luggage or cargo in the
vehicle, observe the following:
Put luggage or cargo in the rear deck
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
To prevent luggage or packages
from sliding forward during braking,
do not stack anything behind the
front seats higher than the seat-
backs (xtracab and double cab
models). Keep luggage or packages
low, as close to the floor as pos-
sible.
Never allow anyone to ride in the
rear deck. It is not designed for
passengers. They should ride in
their seats with their seat belts
properly fastened. Otherwise, they
are much more likely to suffer seri-
ous bodily injury, in the event of
sudden braking or a collision.
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
cargo weight specified in Section 8.
The rear step bumper is for rear end
protection and easier stepup loading.
CAUTION
Do not allow more than one person
to get on the rear step bumper at
a time. It is designed for only one
person.
Never drive the vehicle with anyone
on the rear step bumper.
Do not stand on the rear step
bumper while the vehicle is moving.
Luggage stowage precautions Rear step bumper

’03 Tacoma U (L/O 0209)
2072003 MY TACOMA (OM35800U)
STARTING AND DRIVING
Before starting the engine208
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
How to start the engine 208
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \
. .
Tips for driving in various conditions 209
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Offroad driving precautions 210
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Winter driving tips 212
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \
. . . . . .
Dinghy towing 213
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \
. . . . . . . . . .
Trailer towing 213
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \
. . . . . . . . . .
How to save fuel and make your vehicle last longer 219
. . . . . . . . . . . . .
SECTION 3