2004 TOYOTA HIGHLANDER air conditioning

’04 HIGHLANDER_U (L/O 0308)
243
2004 HIGHLANDER from Aug. ’03 Prod. (OM48478U)
To cool off your Toyota after it has
been parked in the hot sun, drive with
the windows open for a few minutes.
This vents the hot air, allowing the air
conditioning to cool the interior more
quickly.
Make sure the air intake grilles in front
of the windshield are not blocked (by
leaves or snow, for example).
On humid days, do not blow cold air
on the windshield. The windshield could
fog up because of the difference in air
temperature on the inside and outside
of the windshield.
Keep the area under the front seats
clear to allow air to circulate through-
out the vehicle.
On cold days, set the fan speed to
high for a minute to help clear the
intake ducts of snow or moisture. This
can reduce the amount of fogging on
the windows.
When driving on dusty roads, close all
windows. If dust thrown up by the ve-
hicle is still drawn into the vehicle after
closing the windows, it is recommended
that the air intake selector be set to
FRESH and the fan speed selector to
any setting except “OFF”.
—Air flow selector settings—Operating tips

’04 HIGHLANDER_U (L/O 0308)
244
2004 HIGHLANDER from Aug. ’03 Prod. (OM48478U)
If following another vehicle on a dusty
road, or driving in windy and dusty
conditions, it is recommended that the
air intake selector be temporarily set to
RECIRCULATE, which will close off the
outside passage and prevent outside
air and dust from entering the vehicle
interior. Heating
For best results, set controls to:
Fan speed— Any setting except “OFF”
Temperature— To w a r d s WARM
(red zone)
Air intake—FRESH (outside air)
Air flow—FLOOR
Air conditioning—OFF
For quick heating, select recirculated
air for a few minutes. To keep the
windows from fogging, select fresh af-
ter the vehicle interior has been
warmed.
Press the “A/C” button on for dehumidi-
fied heating.
Choose floor/windshield air flow to heat
the vehicle interior while defrosting or
defogging the windshield. Air conditioning
For best results, set controls to:
Fan speed— Any setting except “OFF”
Temperature— To w a r d s COLD
(blue zone)
Air intake—FRESH (outside air)
Air flow—PANEL
Air conditioning—ON
For quick cooling, select recirculated
air for a few minutes.
Ventilation
For best results, set controls to:
Fan speed— Any setting except “OFF”
Temperature— To w a r d s COLD
(blue zone)
Air intake—FRESH (outside air)
Air flow—PANEL
Air conditioning—OFF

’04 HIGHLANDER_U (L/O 0308)
246
2004 HIGHLANDER from Aug. ’03 Prod. (OM48478U)
1. Air intake selector
2. “MODE” button (air flow selector)
3. Fan speed selector
4. “A/C” button
5. “OFF” button
6. Windshield air flow button
7. “AUTO” button
8. Temperature selector
Front automatic air conditioning system—
—Controls

’04 HIGHLANDER_U (L/O 0308)
247
2004 HIGHLANDER from Aug. ’03 Prod. (OM48478U)
“AUTO” button
For automatic operation of the air condi-
tioning, press the “AUTO” button. An indi-
cator light will illuminate to show that the
automatic operation mode has been se-
lected.
In the automatic operation mode, the air
conditioning selects the most suitable fan
speed, air flow, air intake and on −off of
the air conditioning according to the tem-
perature.
You may use manual controls if you want
to select your own settings.
Fan speed selector
Turn the knob to adjust the fan speed—to
the right to increase, to the left to de-
crease.
In automatic operation, you do not have
to adjust the fan speed unless you desire
another fan speed mode.
Temperature selector
Turn the knob to adjust the temperature—
to the right to warm, to the left to cool.
“OFF” button
Push the button to turn off the air condi-
tioning system.
“MODE” button (air flow selector)
Push the “MODE” button to select the
vents used for air flow.
In automatic operation, you do not have
to select the air flow unless you desire
another air flow mode.
1. Panel— Air flows mainly from the
instrument panel vents.
2. Bilevel— Air flows from both the floor
vents and the instrument panel vents.
3. Floor— Air flows mainly from the floor
vents.
4. Floor/Windshield— Air flows mainly
from the floor vents and windshield
vents. Windshield air flow button
When this button is pressed, air flows
mainly from the windshield vents and the
FRESH mode is automatically set. This
setting clears the front view more quickly.
If you want to return the setting to
RECIRCULATE mode, press the air intake
selector button once again.
Pressing the button once again returns the
air flow mode to the last one used.
Pressing the windshield air flow button
turns on the defroster
−linked air condition-
ing. This is to clean up the front view
more quickly.

’04 HIGHLANDER_U (L/O 0308)
248
2004 HIGHLANDER from Aug. ’03 Prod. (OM48478U)
When the “A/C” button is not pressed in,
pressing another air flow button turns off
the air conditioning.
For details about air flow selector settings,
see “—Air flow selector settings” de-
scribed below.
Air intake selector
Press the button to select the air source.
1. Recirculate— Recirculates the air inside
the vehicle.
2. Fresh— Draws outside air into the sys-
tem.
If the engine coolant temperature becomes
extremely high, RECIRCULATE mode will
automatically be selected. This is not a
malfunction. When the engine coolant tem-
perature is lowered, the previous mode
will resume.
To prevent fogging up of the windshield,
the air intake mode may change automati-
cally to FRESH depending on the condi-
tion of the air conditioning system. “A/C” button
To turn on the air conditioning, press the
“A/C” button. The “A/C” button indicator
will come on. To turn the air conditioning
off, press the button again.
If the “A/C” button indicator flashes, there
is a problem in the air conditioning system
and the air conditioning automatically
shuts off. If this happens, take your ve-
hicle to a Toyota dealer for service.

’04 HIGHLANDER_U (L/O 0308)
249
2004 HIGHLANDER from Aug. ’03 Prod. (OM48478U)
To cool off your Toyota after it has
been parked in the hot sun, drive with
the windows open for a few minutes.
This vents the hot air, allowing the air
conditioning to cool the interior more
quickly.
Make sure the air intake grilles in front
of the windshield are not blocked (by
leaves or snow, for example).
On humid days, do not blow cold air
on the windshield. The windshield could
fog up because of the difference in air
temperature on the inside and outside
of the windshield.
Keep the area under the front seats
clear to allow air to circulate through-
out the vehicle.
On cold days, set the fan speed to
high for a minute to help clear the
intake ducts of snow or moisture. This
can reduce the amount of fogging on
the windows.
When driving on dusty roads, close all
windows. If dust thrown up by the ve-
hicle is still drawn into the vehicle after
closing the windows, it is recommended
that the air intake selector be set to
FRESH and the fan speed selector to
any setting except “OFF”.
—Air flow selector settings—Operating tips

’04 HIGHLANDER_U (L/O 0308)
250
2004 HIGHLANDER from Aug. ’03 Prod. (OM48478U)
If following another vehicle on a dusty
road, or driving in windy and dusty
conditions, it is recommended that the
air intake selector be temporarily set to
RECIRCULATE, which will close off the
outside passage and prevent outside
air and dust from entering the vehicle
interior. Heating
For best results, set controls to:
For automatic operation—
Press in the “AUTO” button.
Temperature— To the desired
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 WARM
(to the right)
Air intake—FRESH (outside air)
Air flow—FLOOR
Air conditioning—OFF
For quick heating, select recirculated
air for a few minutes. To keep the
windows from fogging, select fresh af-
ter the vehicle interior has been
warmed.
Press the “A/C” button on for dehumidi-
fied heating.
Choose floor/windshield air flow to heat
the vehicle interior while defrosting or
defogging the windshield. Air conditioning
For best results, set controls to:
For automatic operation—
Press in the “AUTO” button.
Temperature— To the desired
temperature
Air intake—FRESH (outside air)
Air conditioning—ON
For manual operation—
Fan speed— To the desired fan speed
Temperature— To w a r d s COLD
(to the left)
Air intake—FRESH (outside air)
Air flow—PANEL
Air conditioning—ON
For quick cooling, select recirculated
air for a few minutes.

’04 HIGHLANDER_U (L/O 0308)
251
2004 HIGHLANDER from Aug. ’03 Prod. (OM48478U)
Ventilation
For best results, set controls to:
For automatic operation—
Press in the “AUTO” button.
Temperature— To w a r d s COLD
(to the left)
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
(to the left)
Air intake—FRESH (outside air)
Air flow—PANEL
Air conditioning—OFF
Defogging and defrosting—
—The inside of the windshield
For best results, set controls to:
For automatic operation—
Temperature— To w a r d s WARM
(to the right) to heat;
COLD (to the left) 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 WARM
(to the right) to heat;
COLD (to the left) to
cool
Air intake—FRESH (outside air)
Air flow—WINDSHIELD
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
RECIRCULATE mode, press the air intake
selector button once again. Pressing the windshield button turns on
the defroster
−linked air conditioning. This
is to clean up the front view more quickly.
When the “A/C” button is not pressed in,
pressing another air flow button turns off
the air conditioning.
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 to:
For automatic operation—
Temperature— To w a r d s WARM
(to the right)
Air intake—FRESH (outside air)
Air flow—WINDSHIELD