2006 TOYOTA HIGHLANDER Owners Manual

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Fan speed selector
Turn the knob to adjust the fan speed—to
the right to increase, to the left to de-
crease.
Temperature selector
Turn the knob to adjust the temperature—
to the right to warm, to the left to cool.
Air flow selector
Turn the knob to select the vents used for
air flow.
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.
Turning the air flow selector to the
floor/windshield position turns on the
defogging function with the purpose of
clearing the front view. This position allows the air intake to
select FRESH automatically. This is to
clean up the front view more quickly.
If you want to return the setting to
RECIRCULATE mode, press the air in-
take selector button once again.
5. Windshield— Air flows mainly from the
windshield vents.
Turning the air flow selector to the
windshield position turns on the defog-
ging function with the purpose of clear-
ing the front view.
This position allows the air intake to
select FRESH automatically. This is to
clean up the front view more quickly.
It is not possible to return to RECIR-
CULATE in this position.
For details about air flow selector settings,
see “—Air flow selector settings” de-
scribed blow.

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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.
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.

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249

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

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250
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, turning the tempera-
ture selector knob fully towards COLD
changes the air intake selector mode
to RECIRCULATE.

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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—OFFDefogging
The inside of the windshield
For best results, set controls to:
Fan speed— Any setting except “OFF”
Temperature— To w a r d s WARM
(red zone) to heat;
COLD (blue zone) to
cool
Air intake—FRESH (outside air)
Air flow—WINDSHIELD
Turning the air flow selector to the wind-
shield position turns on the defogging
function with the purpose of clearing the
front view.
When turning the air flow selector to the
windshield position, the air intake selector
mode changes to FRESH automatically to
clean up the front view quickly. It is not
possible to return to RECIRCULATE in
this position.
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. Defrosting
The outside of the windshield
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—WINDSHIELD
Turning the air flow selector to the wind-
shield position turns on the defrosting
function with the purpose of clearing the
front view.
When turning the air flow selector to the
windshield position, the air intake selector
mode changes to FRESH automatically to
clean up the front view quickly. It is not
possible to return to RECIRCULATE in
this position.
To heat the vehicle interior while de-
frosting the windshield, choose
floor/windshield air flow.

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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

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“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. Selecting the floor/windshield position
turns on the defogging function with the
purpose of clearing the front view.
This position allows the air intake to
select FRESH automatically. This is to
clean up the front view more quickly.
If you want to return the setting to
RECIRCULATE mode, press the air in-
take selector button once again.
Windshield air flow button
When this button is pressed, air flows
mainly from the windshield vents and
turns on the defogging function with the
purpose of clearing the front view.
Pressing this button once again returns
the air flow mode to the last one used.
This button allows the air intake to select
FRESH automatically. This is to clean up
the front view more quickly. It is not pos-
sible to return to RECIRCULATE in this
mode.
Pressing the windshield air flow button
turns on the defroster −linked air condition-
ing. 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.

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254
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.