2006 TOYOTA MATRIX brake

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11 9

Shift into the “L” position. The trans-
mission will downshift to first gear
when the vehicle speed drops down to
or lower than the following speed, and
maximum engine braking will be en-
abled.
Tw o −wheel drive models
46 km/h (28 mph)
Four −wheel drive models
48 km/h (29 mph)
Vehicles with cruise control—When the
cruise control is being used, even if you
downshift the transmission by pushing and
releasing the overdrive switch, engine
braking will not be enabled because the
cruise control is not cancelled.
For ways to decrease the vehicle speed,
see “Cruise control” on page 130 in this
Section.
CAUTION
Be careful when downshifting on a
slippery surface. Abrupt shifting
could cause the vehicle to skid or
spin.
(e) Using “2” and “L” positions
The “2” and “L” positions are used for
strong engine braking as described pre-
viously.
With the selector lever in “2” or “L”, you
can start the vehicle in motion as with the
lever in “D”.
With the selector lever in “2”, the vehicle
will start in first gear and automatically
shift to second gear.
With the selector lever in “L”, the trans-
mission is engaged in first gear.
NOTICE
 Be careful not to overrev the en-
gine. Watch the tachometer to keep
engine rpm from going into the red
zone. The approximate maximum al-
lowable speed for each position is
given below for your reference:
“2” 110 km/h (68 mph) . . . . . . . . . . .
“L” 60 km/h (37 mph)
. . . . . . . . . . . .
 Do not continue hill climbing or
hard towing for a long time in the
“2” or “L” position. This may cause
severe automatic transmission dam-
age from overheating. To prevent
such damage, “D” position should
be used in hill climbing or hard
towing.
(f) Backing up
1. Bring the vehicle to a complete stop.
2. With the brake pedal held down with your foot, shift the selector lever to the
“R” position.
NOTICE
Never shift into reverse while the ve-
hicle is moving.

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120
(g) Parking1. Bring the vehicle to a complete stop.
2. With the brake pedal pressed down, fully depress the parking brake pedal
to apply the parking brake securely.
3. With the brake pedal pressed down, shift the selector lever to the “P” posi-
tion.
CAUTION
Never attempt to move the selector
lever into “P” position under any cir-
cumstances while the vehicle is mov-
ing. Serious mechanical damage and
loss of vehicle control may result.
(h) Good driving practice
If the transmission repeatedly shifts up
and down between third gear and over-
drive when climbing a gentle slope, the
overdrive should be turned off. Be sure
to turn the switch on immediately after-
ward.
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.
(i) 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 247 in Section 4.
5speed
6speed
Manual transmission

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121
The shift pattern is as shown above.
CAUTION
The shift lever knob can become ex-
tremely hot after parking under the
sun.
In case of driving your vehicle with
6−speed manual transmission, the buzzer
will sound when you shift the gear into
“R” (reverse).
Press the clutch pedal down fully while
shifting, and then release it slowly. Do not
rest your foot on the pedal while driving,
because it will cause clutch trouble. Do
not use the clutch to hold the vehicle
when stopped on an uphill grade—use the
parking brake. Recommended shifting speeds
The transmission is fully synchronized and
upshifting or downshifting is easy.
For the best compromise between fuel
economy and vehicle performance, you
should upshift or downshift at the following
speeds:
5
−speed
Gear km/h (mph)
1 to 2 or 2 to 1 24 (15)
2 to 3 or 3 to 2 40 (25)
3 to 4 or 4 to 3 64 (40)
4 to 5 or 5 to 4 72 (45)
6 −speed
Gear km/h (mph)
1 to 2 or 2 to 1 24 (15)
2 to 3 or 3 to 2 40 (25)
3 to 4 or 4 to 3 64 (40)
4 to 5 or 5 to 4 72 (45)
5 to 6 or 6 to 5 80 (50)
Downshift to the appropriate gear if accel-
eration is needed when you are cruising
below the above downshifting speeds.
Upshifting too soon or downshifting too
late will cause lugging and, possibly, ping-
ing. Regularly revving the engine to maxi-
mum speed in each gear will cause ex-
cessive engine wear and high fuel
consumption. Maximum allowable speeds
To get on a highway or to pass slower
traffic, maximum acceleration may be nec-
essary. Make sure you observe the follow-
ing maximum allowable speeds in each
gear:
5
−speed
Gear km/h (mph)
1 58 (36)
2 98 (61)
3 142 (88)
4 180 (112)
6 −speed
Gear km/h (mph)
1 62 (38)
2 96 (60)
3 133 (83)
4 169 (105)
5 210 (130)
NOTICE
Do not downshift if you are going
faster than the maximum allowable
speed for the next lower gear.

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123
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/traction control system off
indicator 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 indicator light comes on for a few
seconds when the ignition key is turned
to “ON”.
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.
TRACTION CONTROL OFF MODE
When getting the vehicle out of mud or
newly fallen snow, etc., turn off the
traction control system. This system
that controls engine performance inter-
feres with the process of freeing front
wheels.
To turn off: Push “TRAC OFF” switch.
The slip indicator light/traction control sys-
tem 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 slip indicator light/traction control sys-
tem off indicator light will go off.
The 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 traction control 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.

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124
“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
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.
The slip indicator light/traction control sys-
tem off indicator light will come on when
the “VSC” warning light comes on even if
the “TRAC OFF” 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 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.
Vehicle stability control
system

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128
The loading is over the limit or imbal-
anced.
Initialization was not performed correct-
ly after replacing or rotating tires or
wheels.
The outside temperature is below 0
C
(32 F) or above 40 C (104 F).
CAUTION
When the tire pressure warning light
comes on, observe the following in-
structions:
Adjust the tire inflation pressure to
the specified level as soon as pos-
sible.
Avoid abrupt steering wheel maneu-
vering and braking. If the vehicle
tires deteriorate, you could lose
control of the steering wheel or the
brakes, causing death or serious in-
jury.
Note: The tire pressure monitoring
system on your vehicle will warn you
when one of your tires is significantly
underinflated and when some com-
binations of your tires are significant-
ly underinflated. However, there are
other combinations of significantly
underinflated tires for which your
tire pressure monitoring system may
not warn you. These other combina-
tions are relatively common, account-
ing for approximately half the
instances in which vehicles have sig-
nificantly underinflated tires. For ex-
ample, your system may not warn you
when both tires on the same side or
on the same axle of your vehicle are
significantly underinflated. It is par-
ticularly important, therefore, for you
to check the tire pressure in all of
your tires regularly and maintain
proper pressure.
TIRE PRESSURE WARNING SYSTEM
RESET SWITCH
The tire pressure warning system need
to be initialized in the following condi-
tions:
When the low tire pressure warning
light blinks once every three sec-
onds
After replacing or rotating tires or
wheels
When initializing the system, the pres-
ent tire condition is stored as a stan-
dard.

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129
To initialize the system, perform the fol-
lowing:1. Park the vehicle at a safe place and apply the parking brake. Stop the en-
gine.
2. Adjust the pressure of all the installed tires to the specified level. (See “Tires”
on page 306 in Section 8.)
3. Turn the ignition key to “ON”. If the low tire pressure warning light
comes on, push the reset switch for a
few seconds and make sure the warn-
ing light goes off.
4. Push and hold the reset switch until the low tire pressure warning light
blinks three times.
Initialization is completed after driving at
the speeds of 30 km/h (19 mph) or over
for more than one hour. If the following
driving conditions are satisfied, initializa-
tion will be completed in about one hour.
The vehicle speed is between 50 km/h
(31 mph) and 100 km/h (62 mph).
The roads are dry, smooth and straight.
The number of passengers is 1 or 2
(including driver).
When initializing the system, make sure
the low tire pressure warning light blinks
three times. If the warning light does not
blink three times, initializing will be failed
and the tire pressure warning system will
not function properly.
Do not push the reset switch without ad-
justing the tire inflation pressure to the
specified level. Otherwise, the low tire
pressure warning light may not come on
even if the tire pressure is low, or it may
come on when the tire inflation pressure
is actually normal.
If you push the reset switch while the
vehicle is moving, initialization is not per-
formed. If the low tire pressure warning light does
not blink when you push and hold the
reset switch, have the low pressure warn-
ing system checked at your Toyota dealer.
When the warning light blinks once every
three seconds while driving, you may be
unable to reset the system. In this case,
set the system again according to the
above procedure.

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130
Ty p e A
Ty p e B
When parking, firmly apply the parking
brake to avoid inadvertent creeping.
To set: Pull up the lever. For better hold-
ing power, first depress the brake pedal
and hold it while setting the parking
brake.
To release: Pull up the lever slightly (1),
press the lock release button (2), and low-
er (3).
To remind you that the parking brake is
set, the parking brake reminder light in
the instrument panel remains on until you
release the parking brake.
CAUTION
Before driving, be sure the parking
brake is fully released and the park-
ing brake reminder light is off.
The cruise control is designed to main-
tain a set cruising speed without requir-
ing the driver to operate the accelera-
tor. Cruising speed can be set to any
speed above 40 km/h (25 mph).
Within the limits of the engine’s capabili-
ties, cruising speed can be maintained up
or down grades. However, changes in ve-
hicle speed may occur on steeper grades.
CAUTION
To help maintain maximum control
of your vehicle, do not use the
cruise control when driving in
heavy or varying traffic, or on slip-
pery (rainy, icy or snowcovered) or
winding roads.
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.
Parking brakeCruise control