2005 TOYOTA PRIUS ESP

224 Temperature A, B, C—T he tem per a-
ture grades are A (the highest), B,
and C, representing the tire’s resis-
tance to the generation of heat and
its ability to dissipate heat when
tested under controlled conditions on
a specified indoor laboratory test
wheel. Sustained high temperature
can cause the material of the tire to
degenerate and reduce tire life, and
excessive temperature can lead to
sudden tire failure. The grade C cor-
responds to a level of performance
which all passenger car tires must
meet under the Federal Motor Vehicle
Safety Standard No. 109. Grades B
and A represent higher levels of per-
formance on the laboratory test wheel
than the minimum required by law.
Warning: The temperature grades for
this tire are established for a tire that
is properly inflated and not over-
loaded. Excessive speed, underinfla-
tion, or excessive loading, either sep-
arately or in combination, can cause
heat buildup and possible tire failure.

249
The compact spare tire can be used
many times, if necessary. It has tread
life of up to 4800 km (3000 miles) de-
pending on road conditions and your
driving habits. When tread wear indi-
cators appear on the tire, replace the
tire.
See also the tire information on page
293 for details on the tread wear indi-
cators and other service information.
CAUTION

The compact spare tire was de-
signed especially for your To-
yota. Do not use it on any other
vehicle.
 Do not use more than one com-
pact spare tire at the same
time.
 Do not exceed 80 km/h (50
mph) when driving with the
compact spare tire.
 Replace the compact spare tire
with the standard tire as soon
as possible.
 Avoid sudden a cceleration,
sudden d eceleration and sharp
turns with the compact spare
tire.
NOTICE
Your ground clearance is re-
duced when the compact spare
tire is installed so avoid driving
over obstacles and drive slowly
on rough, unpaved roads and
speed bumps. Also, do not at-
tempt to go through an auto-
matic car wash as the vehicle
may get caught, resulting in
damage.

264
Toyota, through the diligent research, de-
sign and use of the most advanced
technology available, helps prevent corro-
sion and provides you with the finest qual-
ity vehicle construction. Now, it is up to
you. Proper care of your Toyota can help
ensure long −term corrosion prevention.
The most common causes of corrosion
to your vehicle are:
The accumulation of road salt, dirt and
moisture in hard −to −reach areas under
the vehicle.
Chipping of paint, or undercoating
caused by minor accidents or by
stones and gravel.
Care is especially important if you live
in particular areas or operate your ve-
hicle under certain environmental condi-
tions:
Road salt or dust control chemicals will
accelerate corrosion, as will the pres-
ence of salt in the air near the sea −
coast or in areas of industrial pollution.
High humidity accelerates corrosion es-
pecially when temperatures range just
above the freezing point.
Wetness or dampness to certain parts
of your vehicle for an extended period
of time, may cause corrosion even
though other parts of the vehicle may
be dry.
High ambient temperatures can cause
corrosion to those components of the
vehicle which do not dry quickly due to
lack of proper ventilation.
The above signifies the necessity to keep
your vehicle, particularly the underside, as
clean as possible and to repair any dam-
age to paint or protective coatings as
soon as possible.
To help prevent corrosion on your
Toyota, follow these guidelines:
Wash your vehicle frequently. It is, of
course, necessary to keep your vehicle
clean by regular washing, but to prevent
corrosion, the following points should be
observed:
If you drive on salted roads in the
winter or if you live near the ocean,
you should hose off the undercarriage
at least once a month to minimize cor-
rosion.
Pay particular attention to the vehicle’s
underside and wheel housings as it is
difficult to see all the mud and dirt. It
will do more harm than good to simply
wet the mud and debris without remov-
ing. The lower edge of doors, rocker
panels and frame members have drain
holes which should not be allowed to
clog with dirt as trapped water in these
areas can cause corrosion.
Wash the underside of the vehicle thor-
oughly when winter is over.
See “Washing and waxing your Toyota” for
more tips.
Check the condition of your vehicle’s
paint and trim. If you find any chips or
scratches in the paint, touch them up im-
mediately to prevent corrosion from start-
ing. If the chips or scratches have gone
through the bare metal, have a qualified
body shop make the repair.
Protecting your Toyota from
corrosion

266
2. Wash with a mild car−wash soap,
mixed according to the manufacturer ’s
instructions. Use a soft cotton mitt and
keep it wet by dipping it frequently into
the wash water. Do not rub hard—let
the soap and water remove the dirt.
Plastic wheel ornaments: The plastic
wheel ornaments are damaged easily by
organic substances. If any organic sub-
stances splashes an ornament, be sure to
wash it off with water and check if the
ornament is damaged.
CAUTION
Do not attach the heavily damaged
plastic wheel ornament. It may fly off
the wheel and cause accidents while
the vehicle is moving.
Aluminum wheels: Use only a mild soap
or neutral detergent.
Plastic bumpers: Wash carefully. Do not
scrub with abrasive cleaners. The bumper
faces are soft.
Road tar: Remove with turpentine or
cleaners that are marked safe for painted
surfaces.
NOTICE
Do not use organic substances (gaso-
line kerosene, benzine or strong sol-
vents) which may be toxic or cause
damage.
3. Rinse thoroughly—dried soap can cause streaking. In hot weather you
may need to rinse each section right
after you wash it.
4. To prevent water spots, dry the vehicle using a clean soft cotton towel. Do not
rub or press hard—you might scratch
the paint. Automatic car wash
Your vehicle may be washed in an auto-
matic car wash, but remember that the
paint can be scratched by some types of
brushes, unfiltered washing water, or the
washing process itself. Scratching reduces
paint durability and gloss, especially on
darker colors. The manager of the car
wash should be able to advise you wheth-
er the process is safe for the paint on
your vehicle.
NOTICE
To prevent damage to the antenna,
make sure to remove it before driving
your Toyota through an automatic car
wash.

269
Leather interior
The leather upholstery may be cleaned
with neutral detergent for wool.
Remove dirt using a soft cloth dampened
with 5% solution of neutral detergent for
wool. Then thoroughly wipe off all traces
of detergent with a clean damp cloth.
After cleaning or whenever any part of the
leather gets wet, dry with a soft clean
cloth. Allow the leather to dry in a venti-
lated shaded area.
NOTICE
If a stain should fail to come out
with a neutral detergent, apply a
cleaner that does not contain an
organic solvent.
 Never use organic substances such
as benzine, alcohol or gasoline, or
alkaline or acid solutions for clean-
ing the leather as these could
cause discoloring.
 Use of a nylon brush or synthetic
fiber cloth, etc. may scratch the
fine grained surface of the leather.
Mildew may develop on soiled leath-
er upholstery. Be especially careful
to avoid oil spots. Try to keep your
upholstery always clean.
 Long exposure to direct sunlight
may cause the leather surface to
harden and shrink. Keep your ve-
hicle in a shaded area, especially in
the summer.
 The interior of your vehicle is apt
to heat up on hot summer days, so
avoid placing on the upholstery
items made of vinyl or plastic or
containing wax as these tend to
stick to leather when warm.
 Improper cleaning of the leather up-
holstery could result in discolor-
ation or staining.
If you have any questions about the
cleaning of your Toyota, your local
Toyota dealer will be pleased to answer
them.

272
Maintenance requirements
Your Toyota vehicle has been designed for
fewer maintenance requirements with long-
er service intervals to save both your time
and money. However, each regular mainte-
nance, as well as day−to −day care, is
more important than ever before to ensure
smooth, trouble− free, safe, and economical
driving.
It is the owner ’s responsibility to make
sure the specified maintenance, including
general maintenance service, is performed.
Note that both the new vehicle and
emission control system warranties specify
that proper maintenance and care must be
performed. See “Owner ’s Warranty
Information Booklet” or “Owner ’s Manual
Supplement” for complete warranty
information.
General maintenance
General maintenance items are those day −
to −day care practices that are important to
your vehicle for proper operation. It is the
owner ’s responsib ility to ensure that the
general maintenance items are performed
regularly.
These checks or inspections can be done
either by yourself or a qualified technician,
or if you prefer, your Toyota dealer will be
pleased to do them at a nominal cost. Scheduled maintenance
The scheduled maintenance items listed in
the “Scheduled Maintenance Guide” or
“Owner ’s Manual Supplement” are those
required to be serviced at regular inter-
vals.
For details of your maintenance schedule,
read the “Scheduled Maintenance Guide”
or “Owner ’s Manual Supplement”.
It is recommended that only genuine
Toyota parts be used for maintenance
or for the repair of the emission con-
trol system.
The owner may elect to use nonToyota
supplied parts for replacement pur-
poses without invalidating the emission
control system warranty. However, use
of replacement parts which are not of
equivalent quality may impair the effec-
tiveness of the emission control sys-
tems.
You may also elect to have mainte-
nance, replacement, or repair of the
emission control devices and system
performed by any automotive repair es-
tablishment or individual without invali-
dating this warranty. See “Owner’s War-
ranty Information Booklet” or “Owner’s
Manual Supplement” for complete war-
ranty information.Where to go for service?
Toyota technicians are well
−trained spe-
cialists and are kept up to date with the
latest service information through technical
bulletins, service tips, and in −dealership
training programs. They learn to work on
Toyotas before they work on your vehicle,
rather than while they are working on it.
You can be confident that your Toyota
dealer ’s service department performs the
best job to meet the maintenance require-
ments on your vehicle–reliably and eco-
nomically.
Your copy of the repair order is proof that
all required maintenance has been per-
formed for warranty coverage. If any prob-
lems should arise with your vehicle while
under warranty, your Toyota dealer will
promptly take care of it. Again, be sure
to keep a copy of the repair order for any
service performed on your Toyota.
What about doityourself maintenance?
Many of the maintenance items are easy
to do yourself if you have a little mechani-
cal ability and a few basic automotive
tools. Simple instructions for how to per-
form them are presented in Section 8.

280
If you perform maintenance by yourself,
be sure to follow the correct procedure
given in this Section.
You should be aware that improper or in-
complete servicing may result in operating
problems.
Performing do−it−yourself maintenance
during the warranty period may affect your
warranty coverage. Read the separate
Toyota Warranty statement for details and
suggestions.
This Section gives instructions only for
those items that are relatively easy for an
owner to perform. As explained in Section
7, there are still a number of items that
must be done by a qualified technician
with special tools.
For information on tools and parts for do −
it −yourself maintenance, see “Parts and
tools” on page 283.
Utmost care should be taken when work-
ing on your vehicle to prevent accidental
injury. Here are a few precautions that
you should be especially careful to ob-
serve:CAUTION
When the hybrid system is on, keep
hands, clothing, and tools away
from the moving fan and engine
drive belts. (Removing rings,
watches, and ties is advisable.)
Right after driving, the engine
compartment—the engine, radiator,
exhaust manifold and spark plug
boots, etc.—will be hot. So be care-
ful not to touch them. Oil, fluids
and spark plugs may also be hot.
If the hybrid system is hot, do not
remove the radiator cap or loosen
the drain plugs to prevent burning
yourself.
Do not leave anything that may
burn easily, such as paper or rags,
in the engine compartment.
Do not smoke, cause sparks or al-
low open flames around fuel or the
batteries. Their fumes are flam-
mable.
When the hybrid system is operat-
ing with the “READY” light on, the
engine is automatically started in
some case. When you inspect the
engine compartment, be sure to
press the “POWER” switch to the
“OFF” mode.
Do not get under your vehicle with
just the body jack supporting it. Al-
ways use automotive jack stands or
other solid supports.
Be sure that the hybrid system is
in the “OFF” mode if you work near
the electric cooling fans or radiator
grille. With the ignition on, the
electric cooling fans will automati-
cally start to run if the engine cool-
ant temperature is high and/or the
air conditioning is on.
Use eye protection whenever you
work on or under your vehicle
where you may be exposed to fly-
ing or falling material, fluid spray,
etc.
Be extremely cautious when work-
ing on the batteries. It contains poi-
sonous and corrosive sulfuric acid
or strong alkali.
Doityourself service
precautions

327
SRS airbag deployment data
 SRS airbag system diagnostic
data
The information above is intended
to be used for the purpose of im-
proving vehicle safety perfor-
mance. Unlike general data record-
ers, the EDR does not record
sound data such as conversation
between passengers.
Toyota will not disclose the data
recorded in an EDR to a third
party except when:
 An agreement from the ve-
hicle’s owner (or the leasing
company for a leased vehicle)
is obtained
 Officially requested by the po-
lice or other authorities
 Used as a defence for Toyota
in a law suit
 Ordered by the court
However, if necessary Toyota will:
 Use the data for research on
Toyota vehicle safety perfor-
mance
 Disclose the data to a third
party for research purposes
without disclosing details of
the vehicle owner, and only
when it is deemed necessary
 Disclose summarized data
cleared of vehicle identifica-
tion information to a non −To -
yota organization for research
purposesNew vehicle warranty
Your new vehicle is covered by
the following Toyota limited war-
ranties:
 New vehicle warranty
 Emission control systems war-
ranty
 Others
For further information, please re-
fer to the “Owner ’s Warranty Infor-
mation Booklet” or “Owner ’s Manu-
al Supplement”.
Your responsibility for maintenance
It is the owner’s responsibility to
make sure the specified mainte-
nance is performed. Section 7
gives details of these maintenance
requirements. Also included in
Section 7 is general maintenance.
For scheduled maintenance infor-
mation, please refer to the
“Scheduled Maintenance Guide” or
“Owner ’s Manual Supplement”.