2006 TOYOTA PRIUS cooling

17

Do not wet or put foreign objects over
the air vent. Otherwise, the hybrid bat-
tery may be adversely affected and be
damaged.
You may hear a cooling fan noise from
the air vent.
For vehicle repairs or maintenance, be
sure to consult your Toyota dealer.
If your vehicle is beyond repair because
of accident or something, be sure to
consult your Toyota dealer.
As sealed Nickel −Metal hydride batteries
are used, be sure to consult your Toyota
dealer when disposing of your vehicle.
CAUTION
If you are involved in an accident,
follow these precautions.
Move the vehicle to a safe place
and perform the followings to re-
duce the risk of high voltage elec-
tricity leakage.
 Depress the brake pedal and apply
the parking brake.
 Press the “P” position switch and
stop the hybrid system.
 If the key is inserted into key slot,
remove it.
If your vehicle has experienced ma-
jor damage, you may get an electric
shock. To prevent this, never touch
the high voltage parts (hybrid bat-
tery assembly, etc.) or cables
(orange color) connecting these
parts. If some exposed electric
wires are protruding inside or out-
side of the vehicle, an electric
shock may also occur. Never touch
them.
If the fluid leaks or gets in some
part of the vehicle, never touch it
because it may be electrolyte
(strong alkali) from the hybrid bat-
tery. If it gets on your skin or eyes,
wash off immediately with a large
amount of water, if possible, with
boric acid solution, and get immedi-
ate medical attention in order to
help avoid serious injury.
If a vehicle fire occurs, extinguish
it using a fire extinguisher for the
exclusive use on electric fires. As
a small amount of water may be
dangerous, use a large amount of
water, for example from a fire hy-
drant, or wait for a firefighting
team arrival.
If your vehicle needs to be towed,
do it with the front wheels or all
four wheels raised. If the front
wheels are on the ground when
towing, the electric motor may con-
tinue to generate electricity which
could leak electricity. A fire could
occur depending on the degree of
damage. See “If your vehicle needs
to be towed” on page 372.

56
Lower the head restraints to the lowest
position. Push down the lock release
button and fold the seatback down.
Each seatback can be folded separately.
This will enlarge the luggage compartment
as far as the seatbacks. See “Cargo and
luggage” on page 342 for precautions
when loading luggage.
CAUTION
When only rear left seat is folded
down, rear seat alone can be used.
Never sit on the center seat because
the rear center seat belt cannot be
fastened correctly when the rear left
seat is folded down.
22p203
BEFORE RETURNING REAR SEAT
Make sure the shoulder belt pass
through the guide when returning the
seatback up.
If the shoulder belt on the rear right seat
is off the guide, the air vent for cooling
the hybrid battery may be blocked by the
belt. If the hybrid battery cannot be
cooled, the output performance is limited,
reducing the driving performance.
Folddown rear seat

134
(a) Charging System Warning Light
When there are problems in the charging
system while the hybrid system is running,
the warning light comes on.
NOTICE
When the charging system warning
light comes on while the hybrid sys-
tem is running, malfunctions may
have occurred. If the warning light
comes on, immediately stop the ve-
hicle in a safe place and contact your
Toyota dealer.
(b) Low Engine Oil Pressure Warning Light
This light warns that the engine oil pres-
sure is too low.
If it stays on while you are driving, pull
off the road to a safe place and stop the
engine immediately. Call a Toyota dealer
or qualified repair shop for assistance.
The light may come on when the oil level
is extremely low. It is not designed to
indicate low oil level, and the oil level
must be checked using the level dipstick.
NOTICE
Do not drive the vehicle with the
warning light on—even for one block.
It may ruin the engine.
(c) High Coolant Temperature Warning Light
The light operates to warn that the hybrid
system is almost over heating.
If it comes on while you are driving, stop
the vehicle and check your hybrid system.
For detailed instructions, see “If your ve-
hicle overheats” on page 360.
Your vehicle may overheat during severe
operating conditions, such as:
Driving up a long hill on a hot day.
Reducing speed or stopping after high
speed driving.
NOTICE
 Do not remove the thermostat in
the cooling system as this may
cause the hybrid system to over-
heat. The thermostat is designed to
control the flow of coolant to keep
the temperature of the hybrid sys-
tem within the specified operating
range.
 Continued driving with the light on
could result in the overheating of
hybrid system.

292
If manual air flow selection is desired—
27p158
Type 1 and Type 2
27p113a
Ty p e 3
The outlets from which air is delivered
can be selected manually by touching the
switch. The function of each mode is as
follows: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.
The selected mode is highlighted in green. If quick heating or cooling is desired—
27p157
Type 1 and Type 2
27p112a
Ty p e 3

294
If manual switching of air intake is de-
sired—
27p160a
Type 1 and Type 2
27p115a
Ty p e 3
The air intake control switch is used to
switch the air intake between the OUT-
SIDE AIR mode and RECIRCULATED AIR
mode.
With the switch in the OUTSIDE AIR
mode, the system will take fresh outside
air into the vehicle.
If quick circulation of cooled air is de-
sired, touch the air intake control switch
for RECIRCULATED AIR.
The indicator will come on in the instru-
ment cluster while the RECIRCULATED
AIR mode is selected.
If recirculated air is used during heating,
the windows will fog up more easily.
If the hybrid system is turned off in the
OUTSIDE AIR mode, the automatic control
of the air intake is activated when the
hybrid system is turned on again.2way air intake control
To improve fuel economy, OUTSIDE AIR
mode control changes when the air in-
take selector is set in OUTSIDE AIR on
the following conditions:
When the maximum heating is needed
with the air flow in “Floor” or “Floor/
Windshield”, fresh air flows in the up-
per compartment, while air is recircu-
lated in the lower compartment.
When cooling is needed, both fresh
and recirculate modes turns on.

295
If manual onoff of the air conditioning
is desired—
Touch the “A/C” switch to turn the air
conditioning on and touch it again to turn
the air conditioning off.
If the system is used for ventilation, heat-
ing in dry weather or removing frost or
exterior fog on the windshield, turn the air
conditioning off once it is no longer re-
quired. This will improve fuel economy.
The air conditioning can be used for year−
round automatic temperature control in-
cluding cooling and dehumidifying opera-
tion.
27p161
Type 1 and Type 2
27p116a
Ty p e 3
To remove interior fog on the wind-
shield—
Touch the windshield air flow switch.
To remove frost or exterior fog on the
windshield— 1. Touch the upper side of the tempera- ture control switch until maximum fig-
ure appears on the temperature dis-
play.
2. Touch the windshield air flow switch.
3. Push the “HI” of the air flow control switch to obtain a maximum air flow.
4. Leave the air conditioning on −off button
off.
When the windshield air flow switch is
touched, the air conditioning is set to op-
erate and the OUTSIDE AIR mode is set.
If you touch the windshield air flow switch
once again while in the windshield air flow
mode, the mode then returns to the last
mode used.
The indicator will come on in the instru-
ment cluster while the windshield air flow
mode is on.
(b) Windshield defogging and
defrosting

322
CAUTION
Avoid inhaling the engine exhaust.
It contains carbon monoxide, which
is a colorless and odorless gas. It
can cause unconsciousness or even
death.
Make sure the exhaust system has
no holes or loose connections. The
system should be checked from
time to time. If you hit something,
or notice a change in the sound of
the exhaust, have the system
checked immediately.
Do not run the hybrid system in a
garage or enclosed area except for
the time needed to drive the vehicle
in or out. The exhaust gases cannot
escape, making this a particularly
dangerous situation.
Do not remain for a long time in a
parked vehicle with the hybrid sys-
tem running. If it is unavoidable,
however, do so only in an uncon-
fined area and adjust the heating or
cooling system to force outside air
into the vehicle.
Keep the back door closed while
driving. An open or unsealed back
door may cause exhaust gases to
be drawn into the vehicle.
To allow proper operation of your
vehicle’s ventilation system, keep
the inlet grilles in front of the wind-
shield clear of snow, leaves, or oth-
er obstructions.
If you smell exhaust fumes in the
vehicle, open the windows and
close the back door to ensure
plenty of fresh air enters the ve-
hicle. If you can smell exhaust
fumes even though there are no
other vehicles in the surrounding
area, have your vehicle checked by
your Toyota dealer. Continued in-
halation of exhaust fumes can lead
to death by gas poisoning.
FUNCTIONS OF ENGINE OIL
Engine oil has the primary functions of
lubricating and cooling the inside of the
engine, and plays a major role in main-
taining the engine in proper working order.
ENGINE OIL CONSUMPTION
It is normal that an engine should con-
sume some engine oil during normal
engine operation. The causes of oil
consumption in a normal engine are as
follows.
Oil is used to lubricate pistons, piston
rings and cylinders. A thin film of oil
is left on the cylinder wall when a
piston moves downwards in the cylin-
der. High negative pressure generated
when the vehicle is decelerating sucks
some of this oil into the combustion
chamber. This oil as well as some part
of the oil film left on the cylinder wall
is burned by the high temperature com-
bustion gases during the combustion
process.
Engine exhaust cautionsFacts about engine oil
consumption

360
If your hybrid system stalls while driving...1. Reduce your speed gradually, keeping a straight line. Move cautiously off the
road to a safe place.
2. Turn on your emergency flashers.
3. Try starting the hybrid system again.
If the hybrid system will not start, see “If
your vehicle will not start” on page 356.
CAUTION
If the hybrid system is not operating,
the power assist for the brakes and
steering will not work so steering and
braking will be much harder than usu-
al.
If your high coolant temperature warn-
ing light comes on, if you experience a
loss of power, or if you hear a loud
knocking or pinging noise, the hybrid
system has probably overheated. You
should follow this procedure...
1. Pull safely off the road, stop the ve- hicle and turn on your emergency
flashers. Push the “P” position switch
and apply the parking brake. Turn off
the air conditioning if it is being used.
2. If coolant or steam is boiling out of the radiator or reservoir, stop the hybrid
system. Wait until the steam subsides
before opening the hood. If there is no
coolant boiling over or steam, leave the
hybrid system running and make sure
the electric cooling fan is operating. If
it is not, turn the hybrid system off.
CAUTION
To help avoid personal injury, keep
the hood closed until there is no
steam. Escaping steam or coolant is
a sign of very high pressure.
3. Look for obvious coolant leaks from theradiator, hoses, and under the vehicle.
However, note that water draining from
the air conditioning is normal if it has
been used.
CAUTION
When the hybrid system is running,
keep hands and clothing away from
the moving fan and engine drive
belts.
4. If the coolant is leaking, stop the hy-brid system immediately. Call a Toyota
dealer for assistance.
5. If there are no obvious leaks, check the coolant reservoir. If it is dry, add
coolant to the reservoir while the hy-
brid system is running. Fill it about half
full.
CAUTION
Do not attempt to remove the radiator
cap when the hybrid system and ra-
diator are hot. Serious injury could
result from scalding hot fluid and
steam blown out under pressure.
If your hybrid system stalls
while driving If your vehicle overheats