2005 TOYOTA SEQUOIA Owners Manual

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TRACTION CONTROL OFF MODE
If your wheels get stuck in a ditch
when you are driving on a severe off
road and sand, turn off the traction
control system. This system that con-
trols engine performance interferes with
the process of freeing your wheels.
To turn off: Push “TRAC OFF” switch.
The “TRAC OFF” indicator light will come
on.
The vehicle stability control system is al-
ways activated, even if the traction control
system is turned off.
To turn on: Push “TRAC OFF” switch
once again.
The “TRAC OFF” indicator light will go off.The traction control system will automati-
cally go on, and the “TRAC OFF” indicator
light will go off when you drive over 30
km/h (19 mph) even if the “TRAC OFF”
switch is pushed to cancel the traction
control system.
“TRAC OFF” indicator light comes on for
a few seconds when the ignition key is
turned to “ON”. It will come on again
when you push the “TRAC OFF” switch to
turn off the system.
In the following cases, contact your Toyota
dealer:The indicator light does not come on
when the ignition key is turned “ON”.
The indicator light remains on after the
ignition is turned on.
The indicator light comes on with the
normal driving mode while driving.
“VSC TRAC” warning light
This light warns that there is a problem
somewhere in the traction control system
or the vehicle stability control system.
The warning light will come on when the
ignition key is turned to “ON” and will go
off after a few seconds.

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The brake pad or actuator temperature
increases during continuous operation of
the traction control system or vehicle sta-
bility control system such as on slippery
roads. If the brake pad or actuator tem-
perature becomes too high while the trac-
tion control system or vehicle stability
control system is operating, a buzzer will
start to sound intermittently to indicate
that the traction control system can no
longer operate. In this case, stop your
vehicle 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 the time the “VSC TRAC” warning light
will come on and the traction control sys-
tem temporarily stops operating in order to
protect the brake pad. (Although the trac-
tion control system does not operate,
there is no problem to continue your driv-
ing.) The system will be automatically re-
stored after a short time and the warning
light goes out.
If the light comes on while driving, the
traction control system does not work.
However, as conventional braking operates
when applied, there is no problem to con-
tinue 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.
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 active traction control system auto-
matically helps prevent the spinning of
4 wheels (4WD mode) or rear wheels
(2WD mode) when the vehicle is started
or accelerated on slippery road sur-
faces.
When the ignition key is turned to “ON”,
the system automatically turns on.
CAUTION
Under certain slippery road condi-
tions, full traction of the vehicle and
power against 4 wheels (4WD mode)
or rear wheels (2WD mode) cannot be
maintained, even though the active
traction control system is in opera-
tion. Do not drive the vehicle under
any speed or maneuvering conditions
which may cause the vehicle to lose
traction control. In situations where
the road surface is covered with ice
or snow, your vehicle should be fitted
with snow tires or tire chains. Always
drive at an appropriate and cautious
speed for the present road condi-
tions.
Active traction control system
(fourwheel drive models)

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Leave the system on during the ordi-
nary driving so that it can operate
when needed.
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 ac-
tive traction control system is in the self−
check mode, but does not indicate a mal-
function. When the active traction control system is
operating, the following conditions occur:
The system controls the spinning of the
4 wheels (4WD mode) or rear wheels
(2WD mode). At this time, the slip indi-
cator light blinks.
You may feel vibration or noise in your
vehicle, caused by operation of the
brakes. This indicates the system is
functioning properly.
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.
“VSC TRAC” warning light
This light warns that there is a problem
somewhere in the active traction control
system or the vehicle stability control sys-
tem.
The warning light will come on when the
ignition key is turned to “ON” and will go
off after a few seconds.

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The brake pad or actuator temperature
increases during continuous operation of
the active traction control system or ve-
hicle stability control system such as on
slippery roads. If the brake pad or actua-
tor temperature becomes too high while
the active traction control system or ve-
hicle stability control system is operating,
a buzzer will start to sound intermittently
to indicate that the active traction control
system can no longer operate. In this
case, stop your vehicle 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 the time, the “VSC TRAC” warning light
will come on and the active traction con-
trol system temporarily stops operating in
order to protect the brake pad. (Although
the active traction control system does not
operate, there is no problem to continue
your driving.) The system will be automati-
cally restored after a short time and the
warning light goes out.
If the light comes on while driving, the
active traction control system does not
work. However, as conventional braking
operates when 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.
The “VSC OFF” indicator light will come
on when the “VSC TRAC” warning light
comes on even if the center differential
lock switch is not pushed. 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 vehicle stability control activates
when the vehicle speed is more than the
following speed.
Tw o
−wheel drive models:
15 km/h (9 mph)
Four −wheel drive models:
“2WD” or “4HI” mode 15 km/h (9 mph)
“4LO” mode 30 km/h (18 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 self −check mode but does
not indicate a malfunction.
Vehicle stability control system

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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
blinks, sounding an alarm sounds,
special care should be taken while
driving.
Only use tires of specified size. The
size, manufacturer, brand and tread
pattern for all 4 tires should be the
same. If you use the tires other
than specified, or 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” on
page 434 in Section 72.)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.Fourwheel drive models only—
Pushing the center differential lock
switch automatically turns the vehicle
stability control system off. At this
time, the “VSC OFF” indicator comes
on with the center differential lock indi-
cator light.
“VSC OFF” indicator light comes on for a
few seconds when the ignition key is
turned to “ON”.

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In the following cases, contact your Toyota
dealer:
The indicator light does not come on
when the ignition key is turned “ON”.
The indicator light remains on after the
ignition is turned on.
The indicator light comes on when the
system is on while driving.
NOTICE
Make sure that the center differential
lock indicator light goes off before
normal driving.
“VSC TRAC” warning light
This light warns that there is a problem
somewhere in the vehicle stability control
system, traction control system (two−wheel
drive models) or active traction control
system (four −wheel drive models).
The warning 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.
Tw o −wheel drive models—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.
Four −wheel drive models—The “VSC OFF”
indicator light will come on when the “VSC
TRAC” warning light comes on even if the
center differential lock switch is not
pushed.

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1: Height control mode select switch
2: Height control switch
This rear height control air suspension
controls the vehicle height depending
on vehicle driving conditions.
You can choose automatic control mode
or manual control mode. In automatic
control mode, you can select the ve-
hicle height between “HI” (high), “N”
(normal) and “LO” (low) modes with the
height control switch. In manual control
mode, you can adjust the vehicle height
seamlessly with the height control
switch.
To change the mode between automatic
control mode and manual control mode,
use the height control mode select switch.The vehicle height is automatically ad-
justed to a selected height mode. Howev-
er, when the front drive control is in “4LO”
mode, the vehicle height cannot be ad-
justed automatically even if the vehicle
condition changes, but height mode can
be changed manually with the height con-
trol switch.
(a) Vehicle height modes
“N” (normal) mode—
The vehicle height in this mode is stan-
dard. Regardless of the number of occu-
pants or the luggage loading condition, the
vehicle height is always automatically ad-
justed to a fixed height in this mode while
the engine is running.
This mode is suitable for ordinary driving.
“HI” (high) mode—
The vehicle height is about 40 mm (1.6
in.) higher at rear than “N” mode height.
This mode is suitable when driving on
bumpy roads and through water.
However, when the vehicle speed exceeds
30 km/h (18 mph) in “HI” mode, “N” mode
is automatically selected.
CAUTION
“HI” mode should be only used for
severe offroad driving conditions.
Because the vehicle’s center of gravi-
ty is higher in this setting, the ve-
hicle may become unstable when
turning abruptly, resulting in an acci-
dent.
Rear height control air
suspension—
—Automatic control mode

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“LO” (low) mode—
Tw o−wheel drive models—The vehicle
height is about 15 mm (0.6 in.) lower at
rear than “N” mode height.
Four −wheel drive models—The vehicle
height is about 30 mm (1.2 in.) lower at
rear than “N” mode height.
This mode allows for easy access to the
vehicle (getting in and out) and easy load-
ing and unloading.
This mode is available when the vehicle
speed is 12 km/h (7 mph) or less.
NOTICE
Use “LO” mode when the vehicle is
stopped. Otherwise, when the vehicle
speed exceeds 12 km/h (7 mph), “N”
mode is selected automatically. Prop-
er caution should be taken in places
where the overhead height is limited.
(b) Vehicle height mode changing con- dition
To change the vehicle height, it is neces-
sary to meet the following conditions.
The engine should be running.
The manual control mode indicator light
should go off.
When selecting a mode, there is a ve-
hicle speed limit. Refer to the following
table.
Yes = The mode can be selected.
No = The mode cannot be selected.
“LO”
mode“N”
mode“HI”
mode
12 km/h
(7 mph) or
less
Ye sYe sYe s
30 km/h
(18 mph) or
less
NoYe sYe s
Over
30 km/h
(18 mph)
NoYe sNo
However, when you are driving on bumpy
roads, which may cause the suspension to
fully elongate, the rear height control air
suspension may not operate.
If the vehicle height is adjusted on the
slope, or with the selector lever in a posi-
tion other than “P” or “N” while the vehicle
is stopped, you may hear a sound caused
by the expansion and contraction of the
propeller shaft. This does not indicate a
malfunction.