842004 MR2 from Feb. ’04 Prod. (OM17518U)
SB16007
“START”—Starter motor on. The key
will return to the “ON” position when
released.
For starting tips, see page 153 in Section
3.
“ON”—Engine on and all accessories
on.
This is the normal driving position.
“ACC”—Accessories such as the radio
operate, but the engine is off.
If you leave the key in the “ACC” or
“LOCK” position and open the driver’s
door, a buzzer will remind you to remove
the key.“LOCK”—Engine is off and the steering
wheel is locked. The key can be re-
moved only at this position.
You must push in the key to turn it from
“ACC” to the “LOCK” position.
Once you remove the key, the engine im-
mobilizer system is automatically set. (See
“Engine immobilizer system” on page 10
in Section 1−
2.)
When starting the engine, the key may
seem stuck at the “LOCK” position. To
free it, first be sure the key is pushed all
the way in, and then rock the steering
wheel slightly while turning the key gently.
CAUTION
Never remove the key when the ve-
hicle is moving, as this will lock the
steering wheel and result in loss of
steering control.
NOTICE
Do not leave the key in the “ON”
position if the engine is not running.
The battery will discharge and the
ignition could be damaged.
Ignition switch with steering
lock
862004 MR2 from Feb. ’04 Prod. (OM17518U)
SB16018
(b) Transmission shift switchesUP:
Upshift switches (Back of the steering
wheel)
Push the upshift switch on the back of the
steering wheel. Every time the switch is
operated, the transmission is shifted up 1
step in the order of 1st 2nd 3rd
4th 5th 6th gear.
DOWN: Downshift switches (Face of the
steering wheel)
Push the downshift switch on the face of
the steering wheel. Every time the switch
is operated, the transmission is down-
shifted 1 step in the order of 6th 5th
4th 3rd 2nd 1st gear.
Gear shift from “1st” to “6th” by the steer-
ing switch is possible when the selector
lever is in the “S” position. The gear posi-
tion is displayed on the gear position indi-
cator. The gear position indicator shows
the transmission gear position.
(c) System Operation
When the driver ’s door is opened, the
system is activated, and the motor pump
operates to accumulate pressure. The sys-
tem enters stand −by mode when the accu-
mulated pressure reaches the specified
level. A motor sound may be heard from
the engine compartment at this time, but
it does not indicate malfunction. The motor
will stop after a certain period of time.
SD16018a
Selector lever
872004 MR2 from Feb. ’04 Prod. (OM17518U)
SB16019a
Transmission shift switches
(d) Upshift and downshift
The sequential manual transmission is not
an automatic transmission (A/T), therefore,
the gears are not shifted automatically. To
shift the transmission, the driver must op-
erate the selector lever to the “+” or “−”
direction, or the steering switch with the
selector lever in the “S” position. When
driving, the driver should shift the gear at
the most appropriate timing. As on the
traditional manual transmission vehicles,
releasing the accelerator pedal a little will
help the transmission to upshift smoothly.
Upshift: Pull the selector lever to the “+”
direction and release it (or push the up-
shift switch on the back of the steering
wheel.) Every time the switch or the lever
is operated, the transmission is upshifted
1 step in the order of 1st 2nd 3rd
4th 5th 6th gear.
Downshift: Push the selector lever to the
“ − ” direction and release it (or push the
downshift switch on the face of the steer-
ing wheel.) Every time the switch or the
lever is operated, the transmission is
downshifted 1 step in the order of 6th
5th 4th 3rd 2nd 1st gear. In case of operating the selector lever and
switch operation on the steering wheel at
the same time, the selector lever opera-
tion has priority. In case of operating the
two switches of upshifting or downshifting
on the steering wheel at the same time,
it is regarded to operate the switch once.
Also, in case of operating the upshift and
downshift switches on the steering wheel
at the same time, demand is canceled and
no shifting is performed.
To shift down smoothly, the engine
runs fast in some cases. This is done
intentionally by the system and is not
a malfunction.
When the accumulated pressure of the
actuator is consumed due to shifting
operation, and the pressure decreases
to a specified level, the pump motor
starts running again. A motor sound
may be heard from the engine compart-
ment at this time, but it does not indi-
cate malfunction.
When driving down a hill, downshift
and use the engine brakes appropriate-
ly. If necessary, continuous shifting-
down is possible. However, if down-
shifting more than 3 steps continuously,
the gear shifting will take more time.
922004 MR2 from Feb. ’04 Prod. (OM17518U)
If you stop for more than 90 seconds with
the selector lever in the “S” position with-
out holding down the brake pedal while
the engine is running, a warning buzzer
(long pulse sound) will sound, and the “N”
indicator in the instrument cluster will
flash, and the system will automatically
shift the transmission gear to the neutral
gear position.
If the driver ’s door is opened with the
selector lever in the “S” position without
depressing the brake pedal, warning buzz-
er (long pulse sound) will also sound. 10
seconds later, the “N” indicator in the in-
strument cluster will also flash, and the
system will automatically shift the trans-
mission gear to the neutral gear position.
The gear will resume to 1st or 2nd when
the system is operated as follows:
Brake pedal “ON”: The gear position
before the system selected the “N”
position is resumed.
Operate the selector lever to the “+”
direction: Resume to 2nd gear.
Operate the selector lever to the “−”
direction: Resume to 1st gear.
Push upshift switch on the steering
wheel: Resume to 2nd gear.
Push downshift switch on the steering
wheel.: Resume to 1st gear.
“S” “N” “S”: Resume to 1st gear.
When starting off again, always confirm
the gear position by the gear position indi-
cator.
CAUTION
Unlike automatic transmission mod-
els, the sequential manual transmis-
sion models do not creep.
When racing the engine, make sure
that the gear position is in the “N”
position by the gear position indica-
tor. In case the accelerator is oper-
ated with the gear in any other
position, the vehicle may move re-
sulting in an unexpected accident.
When you stop the vehicle, hold the
brake pedal down or shift the selec-
tor lever to the “N” position. If the
selector lever is left in the “S”
position without depressing the
brake pedal for more than 90 sec-
onds while stopping, a warning
buzzer (long pulse sound) will
sound, and the “N” position indica-
tor in the instrument cluster will
flash, and the system will automati-
cally shift the transmission gear to
the neutral gear position. If this
happens on a hill, when starting off
the vehicle, the vehicle may move
unexpectedly and cause an acci-
dent.
Do not leave your vehicle unat-
tended while the engine is running.
1362004 MR2 from Feb. ’04 Prod. (OM17518U)
CAUTION
Do not pump the brake pedal if the
engine stalls. Each push on the
pedal uses up your reserved vacu-
um.
Even if the power assist is com-
pletely lost, the brakes will still
work. But you will have to push the
pedal hard, much harder than nor-
mal. And your braking distance will
increase.
ANTI LOCK BRAKE SYSTEM
The anti lock brake system is designed
to automatically help prevent lock up of
the wheels during a sudden braking or
braking on slippery road surfaces. This
assists in providing directional stability
and steering performance of the vehicle
under these circumstances.
Effective way to press the ABS brake
pedal:
When the anti −lock brake system
function is in action, you may feel the
brake pedal pulsating and hear a noise.
In this situation, to let the anti −lock
brake system work for you, just hold the
brake pedal down more firmly. Do not
pump the brake in a panic stop. This
will result in reduced braking
performance.
The anti −lock brake system becomes op-
erative after the vehicle has accelerated
to a speed in excess of approximately 10
km/h (6 mph). It stops operating when the
vehicle decelerates to a speed below
approximately 5 km/h (3 mph).
Depressing the brake pedal on slippery
road surfaces such as on a manhole cov-
er, a steel plate at a construction site,
joints in a bridge, etc. on a rainy day
tends to activate the anti −lock brake sys-
tem.
You may hear a click or motor sound in
the front trunk room for a few seconds
when the engine is started or just after
the vehicle begins to move. This means
that the anti −lock brake system is in the
self check mode, and does not indicate a
malfunction. When the anti lock brake system is ac-
tivated, the following conditions may
occur. They do not indicate a malfunc-
tion of the system:
You may hear the anti
−lock brake sys-
tem operating and feel the brake pedal
pulsating and the vibrations of the ve-
hicle body and steering wheel. You
may also hear the motor sound in the
front trunk room even after the vehicle
is stopped.
At the end of the anti −lock brake sys-
tem activation, the brake pedal may
move a little forward.
CAUTION
Do not overestimate the anti lock
brake system: Although the anti lock
brake system assists in providing ve-
hicle control, it is still important to
drive with all due care and maintain
a moderate speed and safe distance
from the vehicle in front of you, be-
cause there are limits to the vehicle
stability and effectiveness of steering
wheel operation even with the anti
lock brake system on.