2006 TOYOTA AVALON ignition

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(g) Good driving practice
If the transmission repeatedly shifts up
and down between third gear and over-
drive when climbing a gentle slope,
shift the selector lever into sequential
position.
When towing a trailer, in order to main-
tain engine braking efficiency, do not
use overdrive.
CAUTION
Always keep your foot on the brake
pedal while stopped with the engine
running. This prevents the vehicle
from creeping.
NOTICE
Always use the brake pedal or the
parking brake to hold the vehicle on
an upgrade. Do not attempt to hold
the vehicle using the accelerator ped-
al, as this can cause the transmission
to overheat.
(h) If you cannot shift the selector le-ver out of “P” position
If you cannot shift the selector lever from
the “P” position even though the brake
pedal is depressed, use the shift lock
override button. For instructions, see “If
you cannot shift automatic transmission
selector lever” on page 325 in Section 4. The traction control system automatical-
ly helps prevent the spinning of front
wheels when the vehicle is started or
accelerated on slippery road surfaces.
When the ignition switch is set at ON, the
system automatically turns on.
CAUTION
Under certain slippery road condi-
tions, full traction of the vehicle and
power against front wheels cannot be
maintained, even though the traction
control system is in operation. 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.
Traction control system

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NORMAL DRIVING MODE
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 trac-
tion control system is in the self−check
mode, but does not indicate a malfunction. When the traction control system is oper-
ating, the following conditions occur:
The system controls the spinning of the
front wheels. 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 switch is set at
ON. If the indicator light does not come
on when the ignition is turned on, contact
your Toyota dealer.
“VSC” warning light
This light warns that there is a problem
somewhere in the traction control system
or the vehicle stability control system.
The light will come on when the ignition
switch is set at 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.

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In the following cases, contact your Toyota
dealer:
The warning light does not come on
after the ignition switch is set at ON.
The warning light remains on after the
ignition switch is set at ON.
The warning light comes on while driv-
ing.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 self
−check 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” on
page 357 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.
Vehicle stability control
system

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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 switch is set at
ON. If the indicator light does not come
on when the ignition is turned on, contact
your Toyota dealer.“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
switch is set at 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 switch is set at ON.
The warning light remains on after the
ignition switch is set at ON.
The warning light comes on while driv-
ing.

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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.
TURNING THE SYSTEM ON
To operate the cruise control, push
“ON−OFF” button. This turns the system
on. The indicator light in the instrument
cluster shows that you can now set your
desired 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.

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If other vehicles are driving outside
of the laser radar detection range,
a delay in the detection of the ve-
hicle cutting in at short range or
failure to detect a motorcycle run-
ning on the side of the same lane
will occur. In this case, the dynamic
laser cruise control system will not
function properly.
When a slower vehicle in front of
you leaves the lane, the dynamic
laser cruise control will no longer
detect a vehicle ahead and will at-
tempt to accelerate the vehicle to
the faster preset speed.
TURNING THE SYSTEM ON
To operate dynamic laser cruise control,
press the “ON−OFF” button. This turns the
system on. When the “CRUISE” and
“READY” indicator lights in the instrument
cluster come on, you can now set your
desired cruising speed and vehicle −to −ve-
hicle distance. Pressing the “ON −OFF”
button again will turn the system com-
pletely off.
When the ignition is turned off, the system
is also automatically turned off. To use
dynamic laser cruise control again, press
the “ON −OFF” button again to turn it on. When the ignition is turned off, all the
preset data is cleared. When you use the
dynamic laser cruise control again, you
need to reset the data.
CAUTION
To avoid accidentally engaging the
cruise control, keep the “ONOFF”
button off when not using the dynam-
ic laser cruise control.

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CHANGING VEHICLETOVEHICLE
DISTANCE
You can select one of the following ve-
hicle−to −vehicle distances.
1. LONG
2. MIDDLE
3. SHORT
Each time you push the distance switch
briefly, the setting changes from LONG to
MIDDLE to SHORT and then back to
LONG. You can confirm the setting on the
display.
Your vehicle speed changes in proportion
to the speed of the vehicle ahead, main-
taining the selected distance. However, if
the vehicle ahead is slower, the selected
distance will be shorter than the desig-
nated distance.
When the vehicle −to −vehicle distance con-
trol mode is activated or the “READY”
indicator comes on, the vehicle −to −vehicle
distance setting can be changed.
The vehicle −to −vehicle distance is always
set to LONG when the ignition switch is
turned on. Select the vehicle
−to −vehicle distance con-
sidering traffic conditions. The approximate
vehicle −to −vehicle distance based on time
interval when driving at 88 km/h (55 mph)
is shown below:
LONG about 75 m (245 ft.)
. . . . . . . . . . .
MIDDLE about 50 m (165 ft.)
. . . . . . . . . .
SHORT about 30 m (100 ft.)
. . . . . . . . . .
If the vehicle speed is slower than 88
km/h (55 mph), the distance will be short-
er than the above.
During long downhill driving, the vehicle −
to −vehicle distance will be shorter than
the selected distance.

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If “C1” appears on the display, the sys-
tem cannot easily measure the vehicle −to −
vehicle distance because of a dirty laser
radar sensor glass while the dynamic la-
ser cruise control is on.
If this code appears, clean the sensor
glass with a soft cloth and try setting the
preset speed again. If the dirt is removed
without cleaning, the system will automati-
cally enter the ready mode.
If the system does not enter the ready
mode even after cleaning or the code re-
mains on the display, the system might be
malfunctioning. Although there is no prob-
lem to continue driving, please contact
your Toyota dealer.
CAUTION
Always keep the sensor glass and
never allow it to be covered with
icicle or any substance, so it can de-
tect the vehicle in front.
If “C2” appears on the display, the sys-
tem cannot easily measure the vehicle −to −
vehicle distance because of the following
conditions:
The wipers are operating at high or low
speeds
Direct sunlight from the front
It is difficult to make a measurement
because of bad weather (such as rainy,
foggy, or snowy weather)
In the following cases, dynamic laser
cruise control switches to the ready mode:
The wipers are stopped or are
switched to intermittent operation.
No direct sunlight from the front
In the above conditions, push the lever up
in the “+ RES” direction and release it.
Dynamic laser cruise control will be re-
stored. If the setting operation cannot be
performed or if the warning code still ap-
pears even after the weather clears, the
system might have malfuncti oned. Al-
though there is no problem to continue
driving, please contact your Toyota dealer. If “E3” appears on the display,
a system
malfunction has been detected.
If this code appears, stop your vehicle in
a safe place, turn the ignition off, and
then restart it to reset the system. If the
setting still cannot be made or the same
code appears again, the system might
have malfunctioned. Although there is no
problem to continue driving, please con-
tact your Toyota dealer.