2004 TOYOTA 4RUNNER traction control

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“VSC TRAC” warning light
This light warns that when there is a
problem somewhere in the following.
Vehicle stability control system
Traction control system
(two−wheel drive models)
Active traction control system
(four −wheel drive models)
Downhill assist control system
(four −wheel drive models)
Hill −start assist control system
The light will come on when the ignition
key is turned to “ON”, and will go off after
about a few seconds. The light may come on for 60 seconds
after the ignition key is turned to “ON”. It
is normal if they go out after a while.
Depressing the brake pedal repeatedly
may turn on the light. It is normal if they
go out after a few seconds.
If the light comes on while driving, the
vehicle stability control system does not
work. However, as normal braking oper-
ates when being applied, there is no prob-
lem to continue your driving.
In the following cases, contact your Toyota
dealer:
The warning light does not come on
after the ignition key is turned to “ON”.
The warning light remains on after the
ignition key is turned to “ON”.
The warning light comes on while driv-
ing.
Tw o −wheel drive models only—The “TRAC
OFF” indicator light will come on when the
“VSC TRAC” warning light comes on even
if the “TRAC OFF” switch is not pushed. The downhill assist control system is a
system that assists the deceleration of
the engine brake when you drive down
a steep hill. When you are driving down
a hill with the fourwheel drive control
switch knob (fulltime fourwheel drive
models) or multimode control switch
knob (multimode fourwheel drive
models) in the “L4” position, push the
“DAC” switch to limit the vehicle’s ac-
celeration. If the vehicle is traveling at
a speed of 25 km/h (15 mph) or less,
you can descend at a constant speed.
CAUTION
Do not rely excessively on the down-
hill assist control system. It may not
be able to maintain a low speed over
road surfaces or offroad surfaces on
which sliding can easily occur, such
as extremely steep slopes or icy or
muddy roads.
Downhill assist control system
(fourwheel drive models)

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With the vehicle traveling at a speed of
25 km/h (15 mph) or less, release your
foot from the accelerator or brake pedal
to activate the system. The vehicle will
descend the hill at a low speed. While the
system is operating, the slip indicator light
on the instrument panel will flash and the
stop lights and high mounted stoplight will
be lit.
If you push the “DAC” switch to turn the
system off while it is in operation, the
system will stop operating gr adually. The
downhill assist control system indicator
light will flash to alert the driver. To con-
tinue driving at a low speed, push the
“DAC” switch to turn the system on. The slip indicator light and downhill assist
control system indicator light come on for
a few seconds when the ignition key is
turned to “ON”. If any of the indicator
lights does not come on when the ignition
is turned on, contact your Toyota dealer.
If the system is used frequently, the
brake actuator temperature may become
too high and a buzzer will sound inter-
mittently.
If this happens, the downhill assist control
system indicator light will flash and a
buzzer will sound intermittently. When the
temperature of the brake actuator goes
down, the system will begin to operate
again. Until it restarts, the active traction
control system and hill
−start assist control
system will not operate; however, the con-
ventional brake can be operated.If there is any abnormality in the sys-
tem, the “VSC TRAC” warning light will
come on. When the “DAC” switch is
pushed, the downhill assist control sys-
tem indicator light also flash.
If the “VSC TRAC” warning light comes
on, there may be an abnormality in any
of the following systems in addition to the
downhill assist control system.
Hill −start assist control system
Active traction control system
Vehicle stability control system

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The hillstart assist control system will
operate for 5 seconds maximally when
all of the following conditions apply.
5speed automatic transmission—
When the transmission is in any of
positions “D”, “4”, “3”, “2” or “L”
4speed automatic transmission—
When the transmission is in any of
positions “D”, “3”, “2” or “L”
When the brake pedal is not de-
pressed
The system is designed to operate when
the vehicle is starting on an uphill slope;
therefore, if the transmission is in “P” or
“N” it will not operate. It will not operate
either if the vehicle starts to move in
reverse on a slope with the transmission
in the “R”.
When the hill −start assist control system
is operating, the slip indicator light flashes
and an alarm sounds intermittently. At the
same time, the stop lamps and high
mounted stoplight are lit.
The slip indicator light comes on for a few
seconds when the ignition key is turned
to “ON”. If the indicator light does not
come on when the ignition is turned on,
contact your Toyota dealer. Keep in mind the following when driv-
ing.
The hill−
start assist control system op-
erates for 5 seconds maximally. If both
the brake and accelerator pedals re-
main undepressed for longer than 5
seconds, the buzzer will sound at more
frequent intervals and the system will
gradually stop operating.
The hill −start assist control system is
not designed as a function for stopping
the vehicle on a uphill slope. When
stopping the vehicle, be sure to de-
press the brake pedal.
If the system is used frequently, the
brake actuator temperature may become
too high and a buzzer will sound inter-
mittently.
In this case, a buzzer will sound intermit-
tently. When the temperature of the brake
actuator goes down, the system will begin
to operate again. Until it restarts, the trac-
tion control system (two− wheel drive mod-
els), active traction control system (four −
wheel drive models) and downhill assist
control system will not operate; however,
the conventional brake can be operated.

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If there is any abnormality in the sys-
tem, the “VSC TRAC” warning light will
come on.
If the system malfunctions, the “VSC
TRAC” warning light will come on.
If the “VSC TRAC” warning light comes
on, there may be an abnormality in any
of the following systems in addition to the
hill−start assist control system.
Downhill assist control system
(four −wheel drive models)
Traction control system
(two −wheel drive models)
Active traction control system
(four −wheel drive models)
Vehicle stability control system “VSC TRAC” warning light
When the system is normal and the igni-
tion key is turned to “ON”, the warning
light will come on and will go off after a
few seconds.
It is not a malfunction that the warning
light may stay on for 60 seconds after the
ignition key is turned to “ON”.
Depressing the brake pedal repeatedly
may turn on the light. It is normal if it
goes out after a few seconds.
The brake actuator temperature increases
during continuous operation of the above
mentioned system on such as slippery
roads. If the brake actuator temperature
becomes too high while any of the sys-
tems is operating, a buzzer will start to
sound intermittently to indicate that the
hill
−start assist control system can no lon-
ger operate. In this case, stop your ve-
hicle immediately at a safe place.
If the system continues to operate, the
buzzer sound changes from intermittent to
continuous. (The continuous buzzer
sounds for about 3 seconds.) At this time, the “VSC TRAC” warning
light will come on and the hill
−start assist
control system stops operating temporarily
in order to protect the brake actuator. (Al-
though the hill −start assist control system
does not operate, it is no problem to con-
tinue your driving.) The system will be
automatically restored after a short time
and the “VSC TRAC” warning light goes
out.
If the warning light comes on while driv-
ing, the system does not work. However,
as normal braking operates when being
applied, it is no problem to continue your
driving.
In the following cases, contact your Toyota
dealer:
The warning light does not come on
after the ignition key is turned to “ON”.
The warning light remains on after the
ignition key is turned to “ON”.
The warning light comes on while driv-
ing.

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Driving with tire chains installed.
Driving over the steps such as the
joints on the road.
Driving on roads where the road
surface is pitted or has other differ-
ences in surface height.
Install all 4 tires of specified size at
appropriate pressure: The antilock
brake system detects vehicle speeds
using the speed sensors for respec-
tive wheels’ turning speeds. The use
of tires other than specified may fail
to detect the accurate turning speed
resulting in a longer stopping dis-
tance.
Ty p e A
Ty p e B
“ABS” warning light
The light comes on when the ignition key
is turned to the “ON” position. If the anti −
lock brake system and the brake assist
system work properly, the light turns off
after a few seconds. Thereafter, if either
of the systems malfunctions, the light
comes on again.
When the “ABS” warning light is on (and
the brake system warning light is off), the
following systems do not operate, but the
brake system still operates conventionally.
Anti −lock brake system
Brake assist system
Traction control system
(two −wheel drive models)
Active traction control system
(four −wheel drive models)
Vehicle stability control system
Downhill assist control system
(four −wheel drive models)
Hill −start assist control system
When the “ABS” warning light is on (and
the brake system warning light is off), the
anti −lock brake system does not operate
so that the wheels will lock up during a
sudden braking or braking on slippery
road surfaces.

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This information has been prepared
in accordance with regulations issued
by the National Highway Traffic Safe-
ty Administration of the U.S. Depart-
ment of Transportation. It provides
the purchasers and/or prospective
purchasers of Toyota vehicles with in-
formation on uniform tire quality grad-
ing.
Your Toyota dealer will help answer
any questions you may have as you
read this information.
DOT quality grades—All passenger
vehicle tires must conform to Fed-
eral Safety Requirements in addi-
tion to these grades. Quality
grades can be found where appli-
cable on the tire sidewall between
tread shoulder and maximum sec-
tion width. For example: Treadwear
200 Traction AA Temperature A Treadwear—
The treadwear grade is
a comparative rating based on the
wear rate of the tire when tested un-
der controlled conditions on a speci-
fied government test course. For ex-
ample, a tire graded 150 would wear
one and a half (1 −1/2) times as well
on the government course as a tire
graded 100. The relative performance
of tires depends upon the actual
conditions of their use, however, and
may depart significantly from the
norm due to variations in driving hab-
its, service practices and differences
in road characteristics and climate. Traction AA, A, B, C—
The traction
grades, from highest to lowest, are
AA, A, B, and C, and they represent
the tire’s ability to stop on wet pave-
ment as measured under controlled
conditions on specified government
test surfaces of asphalt and concrete.
A tire marked C may have poor trac-
tion performance.
Warning: The traction grade assigned
to this tire is based on braking
(straight ahead) traction tests and
does not include cornering (turning)
traction.
—Uniform tire quality grading

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Determine what kind of tires your
vehicle is originally equipped with.
1. Summer tires
Summer tires are high −speed capabil-
ity tires best suited to highway driving
under dry conditions.
Since summer tires do not have the
same traction performance as snow
tires, summer tires are inadequate for
driving on snow −covered or icy roads.
For driving on snow −covered or icy
roads, we recommend using snow
tires. If installing snow tires, be sure
to replace all four tires.
2. All season tires
All season tires are designed to pro-
vide better traction in snow and to be
adequate for driving in most winter
conditions, as well as for use all year
round. All season tires, however, do not have
adequate traction performance
compared with snow tires in heavy or
loose snow. Also, all season tires fall
short in acceleration and handling
performance compared with summer
tires in highway driving.
The details about how to distinguish
summer tires from all season tires are
described on page 284.
CAUTION

Do not mix summer and all sea-
son tires on your vehicle as
this can cause dangerous han-
dling characteristics, resulting
in loss of control.
 Do not use tire other than the
manufacturer’s designated
tires, and never mix tires or
wheels of the sizes different
from the originals.
Types of tires

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CAUTION
Before driving, make sure all the
tools, jack and flat tire are se-
curely in place in their storage
location to reduce the possibility
of personal injury during a colli-
sion or sudden braking.
If your vehicle becomes stuck in snow,
mud, sand, etc., then you may attempt
to rock the vehicle free by moving it
forward and backward.
Turn off the traction control system to
become unstuck to allow the tires to
spin enough to remove the vehicle from
the obstruction. (For details, see “Trac-
tion control system” on page 165 in
Section 17.)
CAUTION
Do not attempt to rock the vehicle
free by moving it forward and back-
ward if people or objects are any-
where near the vehicle. During the
rocking operation the vehicle may
suddenly move forward or backward
as it becomes unstuck, causing injury
or damage to nearby people or ob-
jects.
NOTICE
If you rock your vehicle, observe the
following precautions to prevent dam-
age to the transmission and other
parts.
Do not depress the accelerator ped-
al while shifting the selector lever
or before the transmission is com-
pletely shifted to forward or reverse
gear.
 Do not race the engine and avoid
spinning the wheels.
 If your vehicle remains stuck after
rocking the vehicle several times,
consider other ways such as tow-
ing.
If your vehicle becomes stuck