2008 TOYOTA 4RUNNER ECO mode

185
To turn on: Briefly push the VSC OFF"
switch once again.
The VSC OFF" and slip indicator lights
will go off.
If the engine is turned off while the VSC
OFF" and slip indicator lights are on and
then restarted, the indicator lights will turn
off automatically.
When you briefly push the VSC OFF"
switch, turn off the vehicle stability control
system. See Traction control system" on
page 175 in this Section.
The VSC OFF" and slip indicator lights
come on for a few seconds when the
engine switch is turned to ON". If the
indicator lights do not come on when the
engine switch is turned to ON", contact
your Toyota dealer.
CAUTION
Do not drive with the vehicle stability
control system continuously turned
off.
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VSC OFF" warning light
Vehicle stability control system
Traction control system
(two−wheel drive models)
Active traction control system
(four−wheel drive models)
AUTO LSD" system
(two−wheel drive and multi−mode four−
wheel drive models)
Downhill assist control system
(four−wheel drive models)
Hill−start assist control system
This light flashing warns that there is a
problem somewhere in the following. The light will come on when the engine
switch is turned to ON", and will go off
after about a few seconds.
The light may come on for 60 seconds
after the engine switch is turned to ON".
It is normal if they go out after a while.
Depressing the brake pedal repeatedly
may turn on the light. It is normal if they
go out after a few seconds.
If the light flashes while driving, the ve-
hicle stability control system does not
work. However, as normal braking oper-
ates when being applied, there is no prob-
lem to continue your driving.
In the following cases, contact your Toyota
dealer:
The warning light does not come on
after the engine switch is turned to
ON".
The warning light remains on after the
engine switch is turned to ON".
The warning light flashes while driving.

186
The downhill assist control system is a
system that assists the deceleration of
the engine brake when you drive down
a steep hill. When you are driving down
a hill with the four−wheel drive control
switch knob (full−time four−wheel drive
models) or multi−mode control switch
knob (multi−mode four−wheel drive
models) in the L4" position, push the
DAC" switch to limit the vehicle’s ac-
celeration. If the vehicle is traveling at
a speed of 25 km/h (15 mph) or less,
you can descend at a constant speed.
CAUTION
Do not rely excessively on the down-
hill assist control system. It may not
be able to maintain a low speed over
road surfaces or off−road surfaces on
which sliding can easily occur, such
as extremely steep slopes or icy or
muddy roads.
TO ACTIVATE THE DOWNHILL ASSIST
CONTROL SYSTEM1. Full−time four−wheel drive models Turn the four−wheel drive control
switch knob to the L4" position.
The system will not operate if the four−
wheel drive control switch knob is in the
H4" position. Multi−mode four−wheel drive mod-
elsTurn the multi−mode control
switch knob to the L4" position.
The system will not operate if the multi−
mode control switch knob is in the H4"
position. 2. In order to make full use of the en- gine brake, putting the transmission
in L" or 2" is recommended.
The system will operate even if the trans-
mission selector lever is in D", 4", 3"
or N". However, when it is in L" or 2"
the engine brake can also be utilized en-
abling the system to operate more effec-
tively.
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3. Push the DAC" switch to turn the system on. The downhill assist con-
trol system indicator light on the in-
strument panel will come on.
Full−time four−wheel drive modelsIf the
downhill assist control system indicator
light flashes, the selector lever may be in
N" or the four−wheel drive control switch
knob may be in the H4" position.
If the indicator light does not come on
when the switch is pushed, contact your
Toyota dealer.
Downhill assist control system
(four−wheel drive models)

187
Multi−mode four−wheel drive modelsIf
the downhill assist control system indica-
tor light flashes, the selector lever may be
in N" or the multi−mode control switch
knob may be in the H2" or H4" position.
If the indicator light does not come on
when the switch is pushed, contact your
Toyota dealer.
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With the vehicle traveling at a speed of
25 km/h (15 mph) or less, release your
foot from the accelerator or brake pedal
to activate the system. The vehicle will
descend the hill at a low speed. While the
system is operating, the slip indicator light
on the instrument panel will flash and the
stop lights and high mounted stoplight will
be lit.
If you push the DAC" switch to turn the
system off while it is in operation, the
system will stop operating gradually. The
downhill assist control system indicator
light will flash to alert the driver. To con-
tinue driving at a low speed, push the
DAC" switch to turn the system on. The slip indicator light and downhill assist
control system indicator light come on for
a few seconds when the engine switch is
turned to ON". If any of the indicator
lights does not come on when the engine
switch is turned on, contact your Toyota
dealer.
The brake actuator temperature increases
during continuous operation of the h
ill−
start assist control system, the active
traction control system and the vehicle
stability control system. If the brake ac-
tuator temperature becomes too high while
any of the systems is operating, a buzzer
will start to sound intermittently to indicate
that the downhill assist control system can
no longer operate. In this case, stop your
vehicle immediately at a safe place.
If the system continues to operate, the
buzzer sound changes from intermittent to
continuous. (The continuous buzzer
sounds for about 3 seconds.)

190
Keep in mind the following when driv-
ing.
The hill−start assist control system op-
erates for 5 seconds maximally. If both
the brake and accelerator pedals re-
main undepressed for longer than 5
seconds, the buzzer will sound at more
frequent intervals and the system will
gradually stop operating.
The hill−start assist control system is
not designed as a function for stopping
the vehicle on a uphill slope. When
stopping the vehicle, be sure to de-
press the brake pedal.
The brake actuator temperature increases
during continuous operation of the downhill
assist control system (four−wheel drive
models), the traction control system (two−
wheel drive models), the active traction
control system (four−wheel drive models),
the vehicle stability control system and
the AUTO LSD" system (two−wheel drive
models) on such as slippery roads. If the
brake actuator temperature becomes too
high while any of the systems is operat-
ing, a buzzer will start to sound intermit-
tently to indicate that the hill−start assist
control system can no longer operate. In
this case, stop your vehicle immediately at
a safe place. If the system continues to operate, the
buzzer sound changes from intermittent to
continuous. (The continuous buzzer
sounds for about 3 seconds.)
At this time, the slip indicator light will
come on and the hill−start assist control
system stops operating temporarily in or-
der to protect the brake actuator. (Al-
though the h
ill−start assist control system
does not operate, it is no problem to con-
tinue your driving.) The system will be
automatically restored after a short time
and the slip indicator light goes out.
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If there is any abnormality in the sys-
tem, the VSC OFF" warning light will
flash.
If the system malfunctions, the VSC OFF"
warning light will flash.
If the VSC OFF" warning light flashes,
there may be an abnormality in any of the
following systems in addition to the hill−
start assist control system.
Downhill assist control system
(four−wheel drive models)
Traction control system
(two−wheel drive models)
Active traction control system
(four−wheel drive models)

191

Vehicle stability control system
AUTO LSD" system
(two−wheel drive models)
VSC OFF" warning light
When the system is normal and the en-
gine switch is turned to ON", the warning
light will come on and will go off after a
few seconds.
It is not a malfunction that the warning
light may stay on for 60 seconds after the
engine switch is turned to ON".
Depressing the brake pedal repeatedly
may turn on the light. It is normal if it
goes out after a few seconds.
If the warning light flashes while driving,
the system does not work. However, as
normal braking operates when being ap-
plied, it is no problem to continue your
driving.
In the following cases, contact your Toyota
dealer:
The warning light does not come on
after the engine switch is turned to
ON".
The warning light remains on after the
engine switch is turned to ON".
The warning light flashes while driving.
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This rear height control air suspension
controls the vehicle height depending
on the vehicle driving conditions. Select
your desired height among the HI"
(high), N" (normal) and LO" (low)
modes with the height select switch.
(a) Vehicle height modes
N" (normal) mode
The vehicle height in this mode is stan-
dard. Regardless of the number of occu-
pants or the luggage loading condition, the
vehicle height is always automatically ad-
justed to a fixed height in this mode while
the engine is running.
This mode is suitable for ordinary driving. HI" (high) mode
The vehicle height is about 40 mm (1.6
in.) higher at rear than the N" mode
height.
This mode is suitable when driving on the
bumpy roads and through water.
However, when the vehicle speed exceeds
about 30 km/h (19 mph) or over in the
HI" mode, the N" mode is automatically
selected.
CAUTION
The HI" mode should be used for
severe off−road driving condition
only. Because the vehicle’s center of
gravity is higher in this setting, the
vehicle may become unstable when
turning abruptly, resulting in accident.
Rear height control air
suspension

193
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(c) Vehicle height adjustment
To change the mode, push the height
select switch on either side of "
(higher) or  " (lower).
The height control indicator light indicates
which mode is selected. (See (e) Height
control indicator light" described below.)
Selecting the HI" mode
Push the height select switch on the  "
side when the vehicle speed is under
about 30 km/h (19 mph).
To change the N" mode to HI", push
the switch once. To change the LO" mode to HI",
push
the switch twice. It takes about 30 sec-
onds until the LO" mode changes to the
HI" mode.
Selecting the N" mode
To change the HI" mode to N", push
the height select switch on the  " side
once.
To change the LO" mode to N", push
the height select switch on the  " side
once.
Selecting the LO" mode
Push the height select switch on the  "
side while the vehicle is stopped.
To change the N" mode to LO", push
the switch once.
To change the HI" mode to LO", push
the switch twice.
Even if the engine is stopped while the
vehicle height is being lowered, the opera-
tion continues for up to 25 seconds. If,
within this 25 seconds, any of the side
doors or the back door is opened, opera-
tion will continue for a further 15 seconds.
NOTICE
 If the vehicle height is changed fre-
quently when the vehicle is heavily
loaded, the compressor may over-
heat, causing the vehicle height ad-
justment operation to stop.
 Before you lower the vehicle height
with the height select switch, check
under the vehicle to make sure
nothing to damage the vehicle or
no one to be injured is there and
that the underbody of the vehicle
does not touch the ground.
 After unloading, the height of a ve-
hicle equipped with the rear height
control air suspension becomes
slightly higher than the normal ve-
hicle height. Take sufficient care
where the overhead height is re-
stricted.
 Do not select the LO" mode in the
bumpy roads. If the underbody of
the vehicle touches the rugged road
surface, the vehicle may be dam-
aged.

195
If your vehicle gets ditched, turn off
the rear height control air suspen-
sion with the HEIGHT CONTROL
OFF" switch. Otherwise, the vehicle
height may change because of the
automatic leveling function resulting
in an unexpected accident.
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(e) Height control indicator lights
1. Height control indicator lights
2. Height control OFF" indicator light
When the engine switch is turned on, all
the indicator lights come on. The indicator
light showing the present mode only re-
mains on and all other lights go off after
a few seconds. This means the system
operates correctly.
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If you change the vehicle height mode,
the indicator lights change as follows:
When changing the vehicle height from
the N" mode to HI": 1. The N" mode indicator light goes off and the HI" mode indicator light blinks.
2. After the vehicle height control reaches the HI" mode, the HI" mode indicator
light remains on.
If the underbody of the vehicle has
touched the surface on bumpy roads or
the area around the rear suspension is
coated with ice, the vehicle height cannot
be lowered with the height select switch.
The height control indicator lights change
as follows:

196
1. The present mode indicator light goesoff and the selected mode indicator
light blinks.
2. The selected mode indicator light goes off. (The vehicle height does not
change.) The present mode indicator
light comes on again.
In this case, even if the vehicle is moved
to its usual location or the ice is removed
and the height select switch is pressed,
vehicle height control cannot be operated.
Turn off the engine once and then restart
it.
Height control OFF" indicator light:
When the engine switch is turned on, this
light comes on. If it goes out after a few
seconds, the rear height control air sus-
pension operates correctly. If you push the
HEIGHT CONTROL OFF" switch, the rear
height control air suspension is turned off.
The height control OFF" indicator light
comes on.
In the following cases, there is a problem
somewhere in the rear height control air
suspension. Although there is no problem
to continue normal driving, have the rear
height control air suspension checked by
your Toyota dealer as soon as possible.The height control OFF" indicator light
does not come on when the engine
switch is turned on.
The height control OFF" indicator light
blinks.
(f) Parking and stopping tips
If you immediately stop the engine to park
the vehicle after off−road driving, the ve-
hicle height is lowered slightly as the ve-
hicle becomes cool. When parking, make
sure there is nothing that will be in con-
tact with the underbody of the vehicle.
When you start the engine, the vehicle
returns to the previous height.
If you park the vehicle for a long time,
the vehicle height may be gradually low-
ered. When parking for a long time, make
sure there is nothing that will be in con-
tact with the underbody of the vehicle.
When you start the engine, the vehicle
returns to the previous height.
If you stop the engine, the vehicle height
may change in accordance with the
change in the temperature. When you
start the engine, the vehicle returns to the
previous height. (g) Rear height control failure warning
If there is a problem somewhere in the
rear height control air suspension, the N"
mode is automatically selected. If this oc-
curs, the height control OFF" indicator
light blinks and the vehicle height control
cannot be activated until the malfunction
is corrected. If this is the case, bring your
vehicle to your Toyota dealer as soon as
possible and have it checked.