2008 TOYOTA 4RUNNER oil

376
Check the condition of the battery and
cables.
Cold temperatures reduce the capacity of
any battery, so it must be in top shape to
provide enough power for winter starting.
Section 7−3 tells you how to visually in-
spect the battery. Your Toyota dealer and
most service stations will be pleased to
check the level of charge.
Make sure the engine oil viscosity is
suitable for the cold weather.
See page 437 in Section 7−2 for recom-
mended viscosity. Leaving a heavy sum-
mer oil in your vehicle during winter
months may cause harder starting. If you
are not sure about which oil to use, call
your Toyota dealerthey will be pleased
to help.
Keep the door locks from freezing.
Squirt lock de−icer or glycerine into the
locks to keep them from freezing.
Use a washer fluid containing an anti-
freeze solution.
This product is available at your Toyota
dealer and most auto parts stores. Follow
the manufacturer ’s directions for how
much to mix with water.NOTICE
Do not use engine antifreeze or any
other substitute because it may dam-
age your vehicle’s paint.
Do not use your parking brake when
there is a possibility it could freeze.
When parking, put the transmission into
P" and block the front wheels. Do not
use the parking brake, or snow or water
accumulated in and around the parking
brake mechanism may freeze, making it
hard to release.
Keep ice and snow from accumulating
under the fenders.
Ice and snow built up under your fenders
can make steering difficult. During bad
winter driving, stop and check under the
fenders occasionally.
Depending on where you are driving,
we recommend you carry some emer-
gency equipment.
Some of the things you might put in the
vehicle are tire chains, window scraper,
bag of sand or salt, flares, small shovel,
jumper cables, etc.CY30020
Your vehicle is not designed to be
dinghy towed (with four wheels on the
ground) behind a motorhome.
NOTICE
Do not tow your vehicle with four
wheels on the ground. This may
cause serious damage to your vehicle.
Dinghy towing

387

Avoid long engine idling.
If you have
a long wait and you are not in traffic,
it is better to turn off the engine and
start again later.
Avoid engine lugging or over−rev-
ving. Use a gear position suitable for
the road on which you are travelling.
Avoid continuous speeding up and
slowing down. Stop−and−go driving
wastes fuel.
Avoid unnecessary stopping and
braking. Maintain a steady pace. Try
to time the traffic signals so you only
need to stop as little as possible or
take advantage of through streets to
avoid traffic lights. Keep a proper dis-
tance from other vehicles to avoid sud-
den braking. This will also reduce wear
on your brakes.
Avoid heavy traffic or traffic jams
whenever possible.
Do not rest your foot on the brake
pedal. This causes premature wear,
overheating and poor fuel economy.
Maintain a moderate speed on high-
ways. The faster you drive, the greater
the fuel consumption. By reducing your
speed, you will cut down on fuel con-
sumption.
Keep the front wheels in proper
alignment. Avoid hitting the curb and
slow down on rough roads. Improper
alignment not only causes faster tire
wear but also puts an extra load on
the engine, which, in turn, wastes fuel.
Keep the bottom of your vehicle free
from mud, etc. This not only lessens
weight but also helps prevent corro-
sion.
Keep your vehicle tuned−up and in
top shape. A dirty air cleaner,
improper valve clearance, dirty plugs,
dirty oil and grease, brakes not
adjusted, etc. all lower engine
performance and contribute to poor fuel
economy. For longer life of all parts
and lower operating costs, keep all
maintenance work on schedule, and if
you often drive under severe
conditions, see that your vehicle
receives more frequent maintenance.
(For scheduled maintenance
information, please refer to the
Scheduled Maintenance Guide" or
Owner ’s Manual Supplement".)
CAUTION
Never turn off the engine to coast
down hills. Your power steering and
brake booster will not function with-
out the engine running. Also, the
emission control system operates
properly only when the engine is run-
ning.

394
If engine speed does not increase when
the accelerator pedal is depressed, there
may be a problem somewhere in the elec-
tronic throttle control system.
At this time, vibration may occur. Howev-
er, if you depress the accelerator pedal
more firmly and slowly, you can drive your
vehicle at low speeds. Have your vehicle
checked by your Toyota dealer as soon as
possible.
Even if the abnormality of the electronic
throttle control system is corrected during
low speed driving, the system may not be
recovered until the engine is stopped and
the engine switch is turned to the ACC"
or LOCK" position.
CAUTION
Be especially careful to prevent erro-
neous pedal operation.
If your engine coolant temperature
gauge indicates overheating, if you ex-
perience a loss of power, or if you hear
a loud knocking or pinging noise, the
engine has probably overheated. You
should follow this procedure...1. Pull safely off the road, stop the ve- hicle and turn on your emergency
flashers. Put the transmission in P"
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 engine.
Wait until the steam subsides before
opening the hood. If there is no coolant
boiling over or steam, leave the engine
running.
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 engine is running, keep
hands and clothing away from the
moving fan and engine drive belts.
4. If the engine drive belt is broken or thecoolant is leaking, stop the engine im-
mediately. Call a Toyota dealer for as-
sistance.
5. If the engine drive belt is O.K. and there are no obvious leaks, you may
help the engine cool down more quickly
by running it at about 1500 rpm for a
few minutes with the accelerator pedal
lightly depressed.
6. Check the coolant reservoir. If it is dry, add coolant to the reservoir while the
engine is running. Fill it about half full.
For the coolant type, see Coolant type
selection" on page 438 in Section 7−2.
If you cannot increase engine
speed If your vehicle overheats

399
CY40021
4. Loosen all the wheel nuts.
Always loosen the wheel nuts before
raising the vehicle.
Turn the wheel nuts counterclockwise
to loosen. To get maximum leverage,
fit the wrench to the nut so that the
handle is on the right side, as shown
above. Grab the wrench near the end
of the handle and pull up on the han-
dle. Be careful that the wrench does
not slip off the nut.
Do not remove the nuts yetjust un-
screw them about one−half turn.
CAUTION
Never use oil or grease on the
bolts or nuts. The nuts may loose
and the wheels may fall off,
which could cause a serious ac-
cident.
CY40059

 

5. Position the jack at the correct
jack point as shown.
Make sure the jack is positioned on
a level and solid place.
JACK POINTS: FrontUnder the frame side rail
RearUnder the rear axle housing
Loosening wheel nuts Positioning the jack

402
CY40023
Before putting on wheels, remove any
corrosion on the mounting surfaces
with a wire brush or such. Installation
of wheels without good metal−to−met-
al contact at the mounting surface can
cause wheel nuts to loosen and
eventually cause a wheel to come off
while driving.
CY40024
9. Reinstall all the wheel nuts fin-ger tight.
Reinstall the wheel nuts (tapered end
inward) and tighten them as much as
you can by hand. Press back on the
tire back and see if you can tighten
them more.
CAUTION
Never use oil or grease on the
bolts or nuts. Doing so may lead
to overtightening the nuts and
damaging the bolts. The nuts
may loose and the wheels may
fall off, which could cause a seri-
ous accident. If there is oil or
grease on any bolt or nut, clean
it.
Reinstalling wheel nuts

410
The following methods are effective to
get out when your vehicle is struck in
mud, sand or other condition from
which the vehicle cannot be driven out
under its own power. Use extreme cau-
tion when towing vehicles. In addition,
keep away from the vehicles and towing
cable or chain when towing.
Remove the soil and sand in the front
and the back of the tires.
Place a stone or wood under the tires.
CY40015
If you cannot shift the selector lever
out of the P" position to other posi-
tions even though the brake pedal is
depressed, use the shift lock override
button as follows:1. Turn the engine switch to the LOCK" position. Make sure the
parking brake is set.
2. Pry up the cover with a flathead screwdriver or equivalent.
CY40016
3. Insert the screwdriver or equivalentinto the hole to push down the shift
lock override button. You can shift
out of the P" position only while
pushing the button.
4. Shift into the N" position.
5. Insert the cover.
6. Start the engine. For your safety, keep the brake pedal depressed.
Be sure to have the system checked by
your Toyota dealer as soon as possible.
Tips for towing a stuck
vehicle If you cannot shift automatic
transmission selector lever

419
After cleaning or whenever any part of the
leather gets wet, dry with a soft clean
cloth. Allow the leather to dry in a venti-
lated shaded area.
Synthetic leather
Remove loose dirt using a vacuum
cleaner.
Apply a mild soap solution to the syn-
thetic leather using a sponge or soft
cloth.
Allow the solution to soak in for a few
minutes. Remove the dirt and wipe off
the solution with a clean, damp cloth.
NOTICE
If a stain should fail to come out
with a neutral detergent, apply a
cleaner that does not contain an
organic solvent.
 Never use organic substances such
as benzine, alcohol or gasoline, or
alkaline or acid solutions for clean-
ing the leather as these could
cause discoloring.
 Use of a nylon brush or synthetic
fiber cloth, etc. may scratch the
fine grained surface of the leather.
Mildew may develop on soiled leath-
er upholstery. Be especially careful
to avoid oil spots. Try to keep your
upholstery always clean.
 Long exposure to direct sunlight
may cause the leather surface to
harden and shrink. Keep your ve-
hicle in a shaded area, especially in
the summer.
 The interior of your vehicle is apt
to heat up on hot summer days, so
avoid placing on the upholstery
items made of vinyl or plastic or
containing wax as these tend to
stick to leather when warm .
 Improper cleaning of the leather up-
holstery could result in discolor-
ation or staining.
If you have any questions about the
cleaning of your Toyota, your local
Toyota dealer will be pleased to answer
them. On some models, the outside rear view
mirrors have been coated to produce a
rain clearing" effect. This coating
causes the raindrops to spread, clear-
ing the driver’s rear view when it rains.
It is sufficient to wash the mirrors with
water for day to day care.
The rain clearing effect is reduced in
drizzle and light rain.
In the following cases, the rain clearing
effect will be reduced temporarily, but will
gradually recover.
After wiping dirt off the mirrors
When the mirrors fog up
After waxing your vehicle in an auto-
matic car wash
After your vehicle has been parked for
a long period in underground parking
lots, etc. where there is no direct sun-
light.
Rain clearing mirrors

423
If you are a skilled do−it−yourself
mechanic, the Toyota service manuals are
recommended. Please be aware that
do−it−yourself maintenance can affect your
warranty coverage. See Owner ’s Warranty
Information Booklet" or Owner ’s Manual
Supplement" for the details.Listed below are the general maintenance
items that should be performed as fre-
quently as specified. In addition to check-
ing the items listed, if you notice any
unusual noise, smell or vibration, you
should investigate the cause or take your
vehicle to your Toyota dealer or a quali-
fied service shop immediately. It is recom-
mended that any problem you notice be
brought to the attention of your dealer or
the qualified service shop for their advice.
CAUTION
Make these checks only with ade-
quate ventilation if you run the en-
gine.
IN THE ENGINE COMPARTMENT
Items listed below should be checked
from time to time, e.g. each time when
refueling.
Washer fluid
Make sure there is sufficient fluid in the
tank. See page 453 in Section 7−3 for
additional information.Engine coolant level
Make sure the coolant level is between
the F" and L" lines on the see−through
reservoir when the engine is cold. See
page 438 in Section 7−2 for additional
information.
Radiator, condenser and hoses
Check that the front of the radiator and
condenser are clean and not blocked with
leaves, dirt, or insects. See page 439 in
Section 7−2 for additional information.
Battery condition
Check the battery condition by the indica-
tor color. See page 450 in Section 7−3 for
additional information.
Brake fluid level
Make sure the brake fluid level is correct.
See page 439 in Section 7−2 for addition-
al information.
Engine oil level
Check the level on the dipstick with the
engine turned off and the vehicle parked
on a level spot. See page 436 in Section
7−2 for additional information.
General maintenance