2004 TOYOTA 4RUNNER tow

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Fourwheel drive models
Fourwheel drive control switch
knob at “H4”“3” 136 km/h (84 mph) . . . . . . .
“2” 93 km/h (57 mph) . . . . . . . .
“L” 54 km/h (33 mph) . . . . . . . .
Fourwheel drive control switch
knob at “L4” “3” 53 km/h (32 mph) . . . . . . . .
“2” 36 km/h (22 mph) . . . . . . . .
“L” 21 km/h (13 mph) . . . . . . . .
 Do not continue hill climbing or
hard towing for a long time in the
“3”, “2” or “L” position. This may
cause severe automatic transmis-
sion damage from overheating. To
prevent such damage, “4” position
should be used in hill climbing or
hard towing.(e) 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.
Vehicles with rear view monitor system—
When the selector lever is shifted into “R”
position with the ignition switch in the
“ON” position, rear view monitor system
will activate. For instructions, see “Rear
view monitor system” on page 244 in Sec-
tion 1 −10.
(f) Parking 1. Bring the vehicle to a complete stop.
2. With the brake pedal pressed down, fully depress the parking brake pedal
to apply the parking brake securely.
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.
If the automatic unlocking operation linked
with the shift position is set, all the side
doors and back door are automatically un-
locked when the selector lever is moved
to the “P” position with the ignition switch
is in the “ON” position. For details, see
“—Automatic door locking and unlocking
functions” on page 18 in Section 1 −2.
(g) Good driving practice
If the transmission repeatedly shifts up
and down between fourth gear and
overdrive when climbing a gentle slope,
shift the selector lever to the “4” posi-
tion. Be sure to shift the selector lever
to the “D” position immediately after-
ward.
When towing a trailer, in order to main-
tain engine braking efficiency, do not
use “D” position.

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(b) Normal driving
1. Start the engine as instructed in “How to start the engine” on page 298 in
Section 3. The transmission must be in
“P” or “N”.
When the multi −mode control switch knob
is in “L4” (low −speed position, four −wheel
drive, center differential locked), the driv-
ing pattern selector setting has no effect
on gear shift timing. (See “Four −wheel
drive system (multi −mode four −wheel drive
models)” on page 161 in this Section for
information of the multi −mode control.)
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 use the “D” position for better fuel
economy and quieter driving. If the engine
coolant temperature is low or when the
multi
−mode control switch knob is in “L4”
(low −speed position, four −wheel drive,
center differential locked), the transmission
will not shift into the overdrive gear even
in the “D” position. (See “Four −wheel drive
system (multi −mode four −wheel drive mod-
els)” on page 161 in this Section for in-
formation of the multi −mode control.)
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.
If the automatic locking operation linked
with the shift position is set, all the side
doors and back door are automatically
locked when the shift lever is moved out
of the “P” position with the engine running
(including ignition switch in the “ON” posi-
tion) and all the side doors and back door
are closed. For details, see “—Automatic
door locking and unlocking functions” on
page 18 in Section 1 −2. (c) Using engine braking
To use engine braking, you can downshift
the transmission as follows:
Shift into the “3” position. The trans-
mission will downshift to third gear.
Shift into the “2” position. The trans-
mission will downshift to second gear
when the vehicle speed drops down to
or lower than the following speed, and
stronger engine braking will be en-
abled.
Tw o −wheel drive models
123 km/h (76 mph)
Four −wheel drive models
Multi −mode control switch knob at
“H4” 123 km/h (76 mph)
Multi −mode control switch knob at
“L4” 41 km/h (25 mph)

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Shift into the “L” position. The trans-
mission will downshift to first gear
when the vehicle speed drops down to
or lower than the following speed, and
maximum engine braking will be en-
abled.
Tw o −wheel drive models
59 km/h (36 mph)
Four −wheel drive models
Multi −mode control switch knob at
“H4”
59 km/h (36 mph)
Multi −mode control switch knob at
“L4” 11 km/h (6 mph)
When the cruise control is being used,
even if you downshift from “D” to “3”,
engine braking will not be enabled be-
cause the cruise control is not cancelled.
For ways to decrease the vehicle speed,
see “Cruise control” on page 188 in this
Section.
CAUTION
Be careful when downshifting on a
slippery surface. Abrupt shifting
could cause the vehicle to spin or
skid.
(d) Using “2” and “L” positions
The “2” and “L” positions are used for
strong engine braking as described pre-
viously.
With the selector lever in “2” or “L”, you
can start the vehicle in motion as with the
lever in “D”.
With the selector lever in “2”, the vehicle
will start in first gear and automatically
shift to second gear.
With the selector lever in “L”, the trans-
mission is engaged in first gear.
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 “2” 123 km/h (76 mph) . . . . . . .
“L” 67 km/h (41 mph) . . . . . . . .
Fourwheel drive models
Multimode control switch knob
at “H2” or “H4”“2” 123 km/h (76 mph) . . . . . . .
“L” 67 km/h (41 mph) . . . . . . . .
Multimode control switch knob
at “L4” “2” 48 km/h (29 mph) . . . . . . . .
“L” 26 km/h (16 mph) . . . . . . . .
 Do not continue hill climbing or
hard towing for a long time in the
“2” or “L” position. This may cause
severe automatic transmission dam-
age from overheating. To prevent
such damage, “D” or “3” position
should be used in hill climbing or
hard towing.

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(e) 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.
Vehicles with rear view monitor system—
When the selector lever is shifted into “R”
position with the ignition switch in the
“ON” position, rear view monitor system
will activate. For instructions, see “Rear
view monitor system” on page 244 in Sec-
tion 1 −10.
(f) Parking 1. Bring the vehicle to a complete stop.
2. With the brake pedal pressed down, fully depress the parking brake pedal
to apply the parking brake securely.
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.
If the automatic unlocking operation linked
with the shift position is set, all the side
doors and back door are automatically un-
locked when the selector lever is moved
to the “P” position with the ignition switch
is in the “ON” position. For details, see
“—Automatic door locking and unlocking
functions” on page 18 in Section 1 −2.
(g) Good driving practice
If the transmission repeatedly shifts up
and down between third gear and over-
drive when climbing a gentle slope,
shift the selector lever to the “3” posi-
tion. Be sure to shift the selector lever
to the “D” position immediately after-
ward.
When towing a trailer, in order to main-
tain engine braking efficiency, do not
use “D” position. The selector lever
must be in the “3” position.
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.
(h) 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 button. For instructions, see “If
you cannot shift automatic transmission
selector lever” on page 335 in Section 4.

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(d) Turning off the rear height control
air suspension
To turn off the rear height control air
suspension with the vehicle stopped,
push the “HEIGHT CONTROL OFF”
switch. The height control “OFF” indi-
cator light comes on and the vehicle
height is fixed in the same mode as the
height control switch is pushed.
This status is memorized in the system
even after the engine is stopped.
If you push the switch again, the height
control “OFF” indicator light goes out and
the rear height control air suspension is
turned on.
Even after the rear height control air sus-
pension is turned off with the “HEIGHT
CONTROL OFF” switch, if the vehicle
speed exceeds 30 km/h (19 mph), the
rear height control air suspension automat-
ically selects the “N” mode.CAUTION
If you drive through deep water over
about 700 mm (28 in.) in depth, put
the vehicle height in the “HI” mode
with the height select switch and then
turn off the rear height control air
suspension by pushing the “HEIGHT
CONTROL OFF” switch.
NOTICE
 When jacking up or insta lling tire
chains, be sure to turn off the rear
height control air suspension by
pushing the “HEIGHT CONTROL
OFF” switch and stop the engine.
Otherwise, the vehicle height may
change because of the automatic
leveling function, resulting in an un-
expected accident.
 If your vehicle must be towed, put
the vehicle height in the “N” mode
and turn off the rear height control
air suspension. Otherwise, the ve-
hicle height may change because of
the automatic leveling function, re-
sulting in an unexpected accident.
If your vehicle gets ditched, turn off
the rear height control air suspen-
sion with the “HEIGHT CONTROL
OFF” switch. Otherwise, the vehicle
height may change because of the
automatic leveling function resulting
in an unexpected accident.

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USING THE CONTROLLER
To use the rear seat audio system con-
troller, direct the signal output portion
of the controller to the signal reception
portion of the rear seat audio system
display.
The rear seat audio system controller can
be operated when the ignition switch is in
the “ACC” or “ON” position.
The controller does not operate properly
when the signal reception portion of the
display is exposed to direct sunlight.
Block the display from direct sunlight.
Details of specific buttons, controls, and
features of the controller, see
“CONTROLLER FEATURES” on page 215
in this Section.
NOTICE
Observe the followings, otherwise the
controller may be damaged.
Do not drop or strongly knock the
controller against hard objects.
 Do not sit on or place heavy ob-
jects on the controller.
CONTROLLER HOLDER
The controller can be stowed in the
holder when it is not in use. The holder
can be hooked on the back of the driv-
er ’s or front passenger ’s seatback.
CAUTION
To reduce the chance of injury in
case of an accident or a sudden stop
while driving, stow the controller in
the holder when it is not in use.
NOTICE
Do not leave the controller exposed
to high temperatures (such as on the
instrument panel) for a long time,
otherwise the controller may be dam-
aged.

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Ventilation
For best results, set controls as follows:
For automatic operation—
Press in the “AUTO” button.
Temperature— Towards low temperature
Air intake—FRESH (outside air)
Air conditioning—OFF
For manual operation—
Fan speed— To the desired fan speed
Temperature— To w a r d s COLD
Air intake—FRESH (outside air)
Air flow—PANEL
Air conditioning—OFF
Defogging and defrosting
—The inside of the windshield
For best results, set controls as follows:
—For automatic operation
Temperature— To w a r d s high temperature
to heat; low temperature
to cool
Air intake—FRESH (outside air)
Air flow—WINDSHIELD
—For manual operation
Fan speed— To the desired fan speed
Temperature— To w a r d s high temperature
to heat; low temperature
to cool
Air intake—FRESH (outside air)
Air flow—WINDSHIELD
Pressing the windshield air flow button
turns on the defogging function with the
purpose of clearing the front view.
When pressing the windshield air flow but-
ton, the air intake selects FRESH auto-
matically. 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. 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.
—The outside of the windshield
For best results, set controls as follows:
—For automatic operation
Temperature— Towards high temperature
Air intake—FRESH (outside air)
Air flow—WINDSHIELD
—For manual operation
Fan speed— To the desired fan speed
Temperature— Towards high temperature
Air intake—FRESH (outside air)
Air flow—WINDSHIELD

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The compass indicates the direction
that the vehicle is heading. In the
above case, it shows that the vehicle is
heading north.
Displays
Directions
N
NE E
SE
S
SW W
NWNorth
Northeast East
Southeast
South
Southwest West
Northwest
The compass may not show the correct
direction in the following conditions:
The vehicle is stopped immediately af-
ter turning.
The compass does not adjust while the
vehicle is stopped.
The ignition switch is turned off imme-
diately after turning.
The vehicle is on an inclined surface.
The vehicle is in a place where the
earth’s magnetic field is subject to in-
terference by artificial magnetic fields
(underground parking, under a steel
tower, between buildings, roof parking,
near a crossing, near a large vehicle,
etc.).
The vehicle is magnetized. (There is a
magnet or a metal object on or near
the inside rear view mirror.)
The battery has been disconnected.
Your vehicle is out of the set zone. Refer
to the “CALIBRATING THE COMPASS” be-
low to set the zone number.
The compass works to calibrate the direc-
tion automatically while the vehicle is in
motion, if deviation is small.
For additional precision or for complete
calibrating, see “CALIBRATING THE
COMPASS” below.
Compass sensor
The compass sensor is on the wind-
shield.
NOTICE
Do not put magnets or a metal object
on or near the inside rear view mirror
of the vehicle. Doing this may cause
malfunction of the compass sensor.