2004 TOYOTA AVALON light

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2004 AVALON from Aug. ’04 Prod. (OM41412U)
The vehicle stability control system
helps provide integrated control of the
systems such as antilock brake sys-
tem, traction control, engine control,
etc. This system automatically controls
the brakes and engine to help prevent
the vehicle from skidding when corner-
ing on a slippery road surface or oper-
ating steering wheel abruptly.
This system will activate when your ve-
hicle speed reaches or exceeds 15 km/h
(9 mph), and will deactivate when the ve-
hicle speed reduces to below 15 km/h (9
mph).
You may hear a sound in the engine
compartment for a few seconds when the
engine is started or just after the vehicle
begins to move. This means that the sys-
tem is in the selfcheck mode but does
not indicate a malfunction.CAUTION
Do not rely excessively on the ve-
hicle stability control system. Even
if the vehicle stability control sys-
tem is operating, you must always
drive carefully and attentively to
avoid serious injury. Reckless driv-
ing will result in an unexpected ac-
cident. If the slip indicator light
flashes and an alarm sounds, spe-
cial care should be taken while
driving.
Only use tires of specified size. The
size, manufacture, brand and tread
pattern for all 4 tires should be the
same. If you use the tires other
than specified, different type or
size, the vehicle stability control
system may not function correctly.
When replacing the tires or wheels,
contact your Toyota dealer. (See
“Checking and replacing tires” in
Section 72.)
In situations where the road surface
is covered with ice or snow, your
vehicle should be fitted with snow
tires or tire chains.
If the vehicle is going to skid during driv-
ing, the slip indicator light blinks and an
alarm sounds intermittently. Special care
should be taken while driving.
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.
Vehicle stability control
system

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“VSC” warning light
This light warns that there is a problem
somewhere in the vehicle stability control
system or the traction control system.
The light will come on when the ignition
key is turned to “ON” and will go off after
a few seconds.
If the light comes on while driving, the
system does not work. However, as con-
ventional braking operates when applied,
there is no problem to continue your driv-
ing.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.
The “TRAC OFF” indicator light will come
on when the “VSC” warning light comes
on even if the “TRAC OFF” switch is not
pushed.
Ty p e A
Ty p e B
Parking brake

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When parking, firmly apply the parking
brake to avoid inadvertent creeping.
To set: Fully depress the parking brake
pedal. For better holding power, first de-
press the brake pedal and hold it while
setting the parking brake.
To release: Depress the parking brake
pedal while depressing the brake pedal.
To remind you that the parking brake is
set, the parking brake reminder light in
the instrument panel remains on until you
release the parking brake.
CAUTION
Before driving, be sure the parking
brake is fully released and the park-
ing brake reminder light is off.
The cruise control allows you to cruise
the vehicle at a desired speed over 40
km/h (25 mph) with your foot off the
accelerator pedal.
Your cruising speed can be maintained
although a slight speed change may occur
when driving up or down gradient, within
the limits of engine performance. On
steeper hills, a greater speed change will
occur so it is better to drive without the
cruise control.
When the cruise control is on, the driving
pattern of the automatic transmission is
fixed in the normal position, regardless of
the position of the selector switch.CAUTION
To help maintain maximum control
of your vehicle, do not use the
cruise control when driving in
heavy or varying traffic, or on slip-
pery (rainy, icy or snowcovered) or
winding roads.
Avoid vehicle speed increases when
driving downhill. If the vehicle
speed is too fast in relation to the
cruise control set speed, cancel the
cruise control then downshift the
transmission to use engine braking
to slow down.
Cruise control

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TURNING THE SYSTEM ON
To operate the cruise control, push “ON/
OFF” button. This turns the system on.
The indicator light in the instrument clus-
ter shows that you can now set your de-
sired cruising speed. Another push will
turn the system completely off.
When the ignition key is turned off, the
system automatically turned off. To use
the cruise control again, push “ON/OFF”
button again to turn it on.
CAUTION
To avoid accidental cruise control en-
gagement, keep the cruise control
system off when not using the cruise
control.
SETTING AT A DESIRED SPEED
The transmission must be in “D” before
you set the cruise control speed.
Bring your vehicle to the desired speed,
push “COAST SET” button and release it.
This sets the vehicle at that speed. If the
speed is not satisfactory, push “RES ACC”
button for a faster speed, or push “SET
COAST” button for a slower speed. Each
push changes the set speed by 1.6 km/h
(1.0 mph). You can now take your foot off
the accelerator pedal.

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If you need acceleration—for example,
when passing—depress the accelerator
pedal enough for the vehicle to exceed
the set speed. When you release it, the
vehicle will return to the speed set prior
to the acceleration.
CANCELLING THE PRESET SPEED
You can cancel the preset speed by:a. Depressing the brake pedal.
b. Pushing “CANCEL” button and releas- ing it.
c. Pushing “ON/OFF” button.
If the vehicle speed falls below about 40
km/h (25 mph), the preset speed will be
automatically cancelled.
If the vehicle speed drops 16 km/h (10
mph) below the preset speed, the preset
speed will be also automatically cancelled.
If the preset speed automatically cancels
out for any other reasons, have your ve-
hicle checked by your Toyota dealer at the
earliest opportunity. RESETTING TO A FASTER SPEED
Push “RES ACC” button and hold it. Re-
lease the button the desired speed is at-
tained. While the button is pushed, the
vehicle will gradually gain speed.
When the difference between the actual
vehicle speed and the set speed is less
than 5 km/h (3 mph), the set speed can
be increased 1.6 km/h (1 mph) each time
by pushing “RES ACC” button quickly
within 0.6 seconds.
However, a faster way to reset is to ac-
celerate the vehicle and then push
“COAST SET” button.
RESETTING TO A SLOWER SPEED
Push “COAST SET” button and hold it.
Release the button when the desired
speed is attained. While the button is
pushed, the vehicle speed will gradually
decrease.
When the difference is 5 km/h (3 mph) or
more, the vehicle will cruise with its actu-
al speed. When the difference between the
actual vehicle speed and the set speed is
less than 5 km/h (3 mph), the set speed
can be lowered 1.6 km/h (1 mph) each
time by pushing “COAST SET” button
quickly within 0.6 seconds.However, a faster way to reset is to de-
press the brake pedal and then push
“COAST SET” button.
Even if you turn off the overdrive switch
with the cruise control on, engine braking
will not be applied because the cruise
control is not cancelled. To decrease the
vehicle speed, reset to a slower speed
with the cruise control button or depress
the brake pedal. If you use the brake
pedal, cruise control is cancelled.
RESUMING THE PRESET SPEED
If the preset speed is cancelled by push-
ing “CANCEL” button or by depressing the
brake pedal, pushing “RES ACC” button
will restore the speed set prior to can-
cellation. However, once the vehicle speed
falls below about 40 km/h (25 mph), the
preset speed will not be resumed.
CRUISE CONTROL FAILURE WARNING
If “CRUISE” indicator light in the instru-
ment cluster flashes when using the
cruise control, push “ON/OFF” button to
turn the system off and then push it again
to turn it on.
If any of the following conditions then oc-
curs, there is some trouble in the cruise
control system.

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The indicator light does not come on.
The indicator light flashes again.
The indicator light goes out after it
comes on.
If this is the case, contact your Toyota
dealer and have your vehicle inspected.

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In addition, the feature may not work well
with some spoken word, live, or classical
recordings.
SRCH (Search)
This feature is available only in RDS
mode.
This button allows you to search all avail-
able RDS stations out of the entire FM
band and sort them by program type (see
“” for details on program
types).
By pushing this button, RDS is turned on
if it was off (“RDS” will display). The radio
is switched to FM type mode. During the
program type search, “SEARCHING....” will
show on the display. Also at this time,
“FM” and “TYPE” will appear on the dis-
play to indicate that the preset buttons are
for program type.
After searching for all available RDS sta-
tions, the radio will activate the previously
used program type. If the previously used
program type is not available, or if the
radio has not yet performed a program
type search, the radio will activate the
first available program type, in alphabeti-
cal order, that has stations in memory.
The radio will preset the stations of the
current program type into the preset but-
tons. If more than 6 stations of a program type
are found, the radio will create a second
bank of presets, such as “Rock 1” and
“Rock 2”. These are accessible through
the “” button. If more than
12 stations are found, the radio will load
the 12 strongest stations signal of the
program type into the presets.
After the search is complete, the radio will
display the number of RDS stations found
for 3 seconds: for example, “Found 19
RDS.” The radio will then display the se-
lected program type for 3 seconds: for
example, “ROCK”. After the program type
has been displayed for 3 seconds, the
radio will display the program type name
for 3 seconds. After that, the radio will
display the program service name.
Day mode (headlights off): The radio will
only display the number of presets that
have a frequency for the selected program
type. For example, if program type Rock
is selected, and there are three rock sta-
tions, only preset numbers 1, 2 and 3 will
be displayed. The remaining preset num-
bers will not be displayed and the remain-
ing preset button(s) will have no function.
Night mode (headlights on): In addition to
the display described for day mode, the
radio will illuminate the jewels of the pre-
sets that have stations available. The re-
maining preset button(s) will have no func-
tion.
A type search in progress can be can-
celed by pushing the following buttons:
“SEEK”, “TUNE”, “SCAN”, “AM”, “FM”, any
preset button, “CD” (if CD mode is avail-
able), “TAPE” (if tape mode is available),
“RDS”, “SRCH”, “”,
“TRAF” or “LOAD”. If any of these buttons
is pressed, the search will be canceled
and the appropriate function started. In-
serting a tape will also cancel the search.
If no RDS stations are found, “FOUND 0
RDS” will display and the radio will return
to the previous FM mode and frequency.
ST (Stereo reception) display
Your radio automatically changes to stereo
reception when a stereo broadcast is re-
ceived. “ST” appears on the display. If the
signal becomes weak, the radio reduces
the amount of channel separation to prev-
ent the weak signal from creating noise.
If the signal becomes extremely weak, the
radio switches from stereo to mono recep-
tion.

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NOTICE
To ensure correct audio system op-
erations:
Be careful not to spill beverages
over the audio system.
 Do not put anything other than a
cassette tape or Compact Disc into
the slot.
 The use of a cellular phone inside
or near the vehicle may cause a
noise from the speakers of the au-
dio system which you are listening
to. However, this does not indicate
a malfunction.
RADIO RECEPTION
Usually, a problem with radio reception
does not mean there is a problem with
your radio—it is just the normal result of
conditions outside the vehicle.
For example, nearby buildings and terrain
can interfere with FM reception. Power
lines or telephone wires can interfere with
AM signals. The farther you are from a
station, the weaker its signal will be. In
addition, reception conditions change
constantly as your vehicle moves. Here are some common reception prob-
lems that you may experience.
FM
Fading and drifting stations—Generally, the
effective range of FM is about 40 km (25
miles). Once outside this range, you may
notice fading and drifting, which increase
with the distance from the radio transmit-
ter. They are often accompanied by distor-
tion.
Multipath—FM signals are reflective,
making it possible for two signals to reach
your antenna at the same time. If this
happens, the signals will cancel each oth-
er out, causing a momentary flutter or
loss of reception.
Static and fluttering—These occur when
signals are blocked by buildings, trees, or
other large objects. Increasing the bass
level may reduce static and fluttering.
Station swapping—If the FM signal you
are listening to is interrupted or weak-
ened, and there is another strong station
nearby on the FM band, your radio may
tune in the second station until the origi-
nal signal can be picked up again.
AM
Fading—AM broadcasts are reflected by
the upper atmosphereespecially at night.
These reflected signals can interfere with
those received directly from the radio sta-
tion, causing the radio station to sound
alternately strong and weak.
Station interference—When a reflected sig-
nal and a signal received directly from a
radio station are very nearly the same
frequency, they can interfere with each
other, making it difficult to hear the broad-
cast.
Static—AM is easily affected by external
sources of electrical noise, such as high
tension power lines, lightening, or electri-
cal motors. This results in static.
Car audio system operating
hints