2008 TOYOTA SOLARA Owners Manual (in English)

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1. Power steering fluid reservoir
2. Engine oil level dipstick
3. Engine oil filler cap
4. Brake fluid reservoir
5. Fuse block
6. Battery
7. Radiator
8. Electric cooling fans
9. Condenser
10. Windshield washer fluid tank
11. Engine coolant reservoir

3.3 L V6 (3MZFE) engine

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Spare fuses
If you perform maintenance by yourself,
be sure to follow the correct procedure
given in this Section.
You should be aware that improper or in-
complete servicing may result in operating
problems.
Performing do−it−yourself maintenance
during the warranty period may affect your
warranty coverage. Read the separate
Toyota Warranty statement for details and
suggestions.
This Section gives instructions only for
those items that are relatively easy for an
owner to perform. As explained in Section
6, there are still a number of items that
must be done by a qualified technician
with special tools.
For information on tools and parts for do −
it −yourself maintenance, see “Parts and
tools” on page 341 in this Section.
Utmost care should be taken when work-
ing on your vehicle to prevent accidental
injury. Here are a few precautions that
you should be especially careful to ob-
serve:
Fuse locations Doityourself service
precautions

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CAUTION
When the engine is running, keep
hands, clothing, and tools away
from the moving fan and engine
drive belts. (Removing rings,
watches, and ties is advisable.)
Right after driving, the engine
compartment—the engine, radiator,
exhaust manifold and spark plug
boots, etc.—will be hot. So be care-
ful not to touch them. Oil, fluids
and spark plugs may also be hot.
If the engine is hot, do not remove
the radiator cap or loosen the drain
plugs to prevent burning yourself.
Do not leave anything that may
burn easily, such as paper or rags,
in the engine compartment.
Do not smoke, cause sparks or al-
low open flames around fuel or the
battery. Their fumes are flammable.
Do not get under your vehicle with
just the body jack supporting it. Al-
ways use automotive jack stands or
other solid supports.
Be sure that the ignition is off if
you work near the electric cooling
fans or radiator grille. With the
ignition on, the electric cooling fans
will automatically start to run if the
engine coolant temperature is high
and/or the air conditioning is on.
Use eye protection whenever you
work on or under your vehicle
where you may be exposed to flying
or falling material, fluid spray, etc.
Used engine oil contains potentially
harmful contaminants which may
cause skin disorders such as in-
flammation or skin cancer, so care
should be taken to avoid prolonged
and repeated contact with it. To re-
move used engine oil from your
skin, wash thoroughly with soap
and water.
Do not leave used oil within the
reach of children.
Be extremely cautious when work-
ing on the battery. It contains poi-
sonous and corrosive sulfuric acid.
Dispose of used oil and filter only
in a safe and acceptable manner.
Do not dispose of used oil and fil-
ter in household trash, in sewers or
onto the ground. Call your dealer or
a service station for information
concerning recycling or disposal.
NOTICE
Remember that battery and ignition
cables carry high currents or volt-
ages. Be careful of accidentally
causing a short circuit.
 Add only “Toyota Super Long Life
Coolant” or similar high quality eth-
ylene glycol based nonsilicate,
nonamine, nonnitrite, and nonbo-
rate coolant with longlife hybrid
organic acid technology to fill the
radiator. “Toyota Super Long Life
Coolant” is a mixture of 50% cool-
ant and 50% deionized water (for
the U.S.A.) or 55% coolant and 45%
deionized water (for Canada).
 If you spill some of the coolant, be
sure to wash it off with water to
prevent it from damaging the parts
or paint.

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Do not allow dirt or anything else
to fall through the spark plugholes.
 Use only spark plugs of the speci-
fied type. Using other types will
cause engine damage, loss of per-
formance or radio noise.
 Do not reuse iridiumtipped spark
plugs by cleaning or regapping.
 Do not overfill automatic transmis-
sion fluid, or the transmission
could be damaged.
 Do not drive with the air cleaner
filter removed, or excessive engine
wear could result. Also backfiring
could cause a fire in the engine
compartment.
 Be careful not to scratch the glass
surface with the wiper frame.
 When closing the engine hood,
check to see that you have not for-
gotten any tools, rags, etc.
Front
Rear
When jacking up your vehicle with the
floor jack, position the jack correctly as
shown in the illustrations.
CAUTION
When jacking, be sure to observe the
following to reduce the possibility of
death or serious injury:
Follow jacking instructions.
Do not put any part of your body
under the vehicle supported by the
floor jack. Personal injury may oc-
cur.
Do not start or run the engine while
your vehicle is supported by the
floor jack.
Stop the vehicle on a level firm
ground, firmly set the parking brake
and put the transmission in “P”
(automatic) or reverse (manual).
Block the wheels on the opposite
side of the floor jack up point if
necessary.
Positioning a floor jack

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Make sure to set the floor jack
properly in the jack point. Raising
the vehicle with floor jack improper-
ly positioned will damage the ve-
hicle or may allow the vehicle to
fall off the floor jack and cause
personal injury.
Never get under the vehicle when
the vehicle is supported by the
floor jack alone; use vehicle sup-
port stands.
Do not raise the vehicle with some-
one in the vehicle.
When raising the vehicle, do not
place any objects on top of or un-
derneath the floor jack.
NOTICE
Make sure to place the floor jack cor-
rectly, or your vehicle may be dam-
aged.
Here is a list of parts and tools you will
need to perform do−it−yourself mainte-
nance. Remember all Toyota parts are de-
signed in metric sizes, so your tools must
be metric.
CHECKING THE ENGINE OIL LEVEL
Parts (if level is low):
“Toyota Genuine Motor Oil” or equiva-
lent
See page 344 in Section 7 −2 for de-
tails about engine oil selection.
Tools:
Rag or paper towel
Funnel (only for adding oil)
CHECKING THE ENGINE COOLANT
LEVEL
Parts (if level is low):
“Toyota Super Long Life Coolant” or
similar high quality ethylene glycol
based non −silicate, non −amine, non− ni-
trite, and non −borate coolant with long −
life hybrid organic acid technology.
“Toyota Super Long Life Coolant” is a
mixture of 50% coolant and 50% deion-
ized water (for the U.S.A.) or 55%
coolant and 45% deionized water (for
Canada). Tools:
Funnel (only for adding coolant)
CHECKING BRAKE FLUID
Parts (if level is low):
SAE J1703 or FMVSS No.116 DOT 3
brake fluid
Tools:
Rag or paper towel
Funnel (only for adding fluid)
CHECKING POWER STEERING FLUID
Parts (if level is low):
Automatic transmission fluid
DEXRON II or III
Tools:
Rag or paper towel
Funnel (only for adding fluid)
CHECKING BATTERY CONDITION
Tools:
Warm water
Baking soda
Grease
Conventional wrench (for terminal
clamp bolts)
Parts and tools

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CHECKING AND REPLACING FUSES
Parts (if replacement is necessary):
Genuine Toyota fuse or equivalent with
same amperage rating as original
ADDING WASHER FLUID
Parts:
Water
Washer fluid containing antifreeze (for
winter use)
Tools:
Funnel
REPLACING LIGHT BULBS
Parts:
Bulb with same number and wattage
rating as original (See charts in “Re-
placing light bulbs” on page 364 in
Section 7 −3.)

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DOITYOURSELF MAINTENANCE
Engine and Chassis
Checking the engine oil level344
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Checking the engine coolant level 346
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Checking the radiator and condenser 347
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Checking brake fluid 348
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. . . .
Checking power steering fluid 348
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Checking tire inflation pressure 349
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Checking and replacing tires 352
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Rotating tires 354
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. . . . . . . . . . .
Installing snow tires and chains 355
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Replacing wheels 357
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Aluminum wheel precautions 358
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SECTION 7 2

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Low level Full level
Add oil O.K. Too full
2.4 L 4cylinder (2AZFE) engine
Low level Full level
Add oil O.K. Too full
3.3 L V6 (3MZFE) engine
With the engine at operating tempera-
ture and turned off, check the oil level
on the dipstick. 1. To get a correct reading, the vehicle should be on level ground. After turning
off the engine, wait a few minutes for
the oil to drain back into the bottom of
the engine.
2. Pull the dipstick out, hold a rag under the end and wipe it clean.
3. Reinsert the dipstick—push it in as far as it will go, or the reading will not be
correct.
4. Pull the dipstick out and look at the oil level while holding a rag under the
end.
CAUTION
Be careful not to touch the hot ex-
haust manifold.
NOTICE
Be careful not to drop engine oil on
the vehicle components.
If the oil level is below or only slightly
above the low level line, add engine oil
of the same type as already in the en-
gine.
Remove the oil filler cap and add engine
oil in small quantities at a time, checking
the dipstick. We recommend that you use
a funnel when adding oil.
The approximate quantity of oil needed to
raise the level between low and full on the
dipstick is indicated as follows:
2.4 L 4 −cylinder (2AZ −FE) engine
1.1 L (1.1 qt., 1.0 Imp. qt.)
3.3 L V6 (3MZ −FE) engine
1.5 L (1.6 qt., 1.3 Imp. qt.)
For the engine oil capacity, see “Service
specifications” on page 373 in Section 8.
When the level reaches within the correct
range, install the filler cap hand− tight.
Checking the engine oil level