2-6Keys and doors
&Locking and unlocking from
the inside
WARNING
Keep all doors locked when you
drive, especially when small chil-
dren are in your vehicle.
Along with the proper use of seat-
belts and child restraints, locking
the doors reduces the chance of
being thrown out of the vehicle in anaccident.
It also helps prevent passengers
from falling out if a door is acciden-
tally opened, and intruders from
unexpectedly opening doors and
entering your vehicle.
To lock the door from the inside, rotate the
lock lever rearward.
To unlock the door from the inside, rotate
the lock lever forward.
The red mark on the lock lever appears
when the door is unlocked.
Pull the inside door handle to open an
unlocked door.
Always make sure that all doors and the
rear gate (Station wagon) are closed and
locked before starting to drive. &
Battery drainage prevention function
If a door or the rear gate (Station wagon)
is not completely closed, the interior lights
will remain illuminated as a result. How-
ever, several lights are automatically
turned off by the battery drainage preven-
tion function to prevent the battery from
going dead. The following interior lights
are affected by this function.
Item Switch
position Automatically turning
off
Map lights OFF Approximately 30
seconds later
Dome lights DOOR
Approximately 10
minutes later
Ignition
switch light —
Approximately 10
minutes later
Door steplights —
None*
Cargo arealight DOOR
None*
*: Door step lights and the cargo area light are
not affected by the battery drainage prevention
function, so the lights do not turn off automa-
tically. To turn off the lights, it is necessary that
each door and the rear gate (Station wagon) are
completely closed.
The operational/non-operational setting of
Ignition switch
WARNING
. Never turn the ignition switch to
“ LOCK ”while the vehicle is
being driven or towed because
that will lock the steering wheel,
preventing steering control. And
when the engine is turned off, it
takes a much greater effort than
usual to steer.
. Before leaving the vehicle, al-
ways remove the key from the
ignition switch for safety and
never allow an unattended child
to remain in the vehicle. Failure
to follow this procedure could
result in injury to a child or
others. Children could operate
the power windows, the sunroof
or other controls or even make
the vehicle move.
CAUTION
Do not attach a large key holder or
key case to either key. If it banged
against your knees or hands while
you were driving, it could turn the
ignition switch from the “ON ”posi- tion to the
“Acc ”or “LOCK ”posi-
tion, thereby stopping the engine.
Also, if the key is attached to a
keyholder or to a large bunch of
other keys, centrifugal force may act
on it as the vehicle moves, resulting
in unwanted turning of the ignitionswitch.
The ignition switch has four positions:
LOCK, Acc, ON and START.
NOTE . Keep the ignition switch in the
“ LOCK ”position when the engine is
not running. . Using electrical accessories for a
long time with the ignition switch in the“ ON ”or “Acc ”position can cause the
battery to go dead. .
If the ignition switch will not move
from the “LOCK ”position to the “Acc ”
position, turn the steering wheel
slightly to the left and right as you turn
the ignition switch. & LOCK
The key can only be inserted or removed
in this position. The ignition switch will lock
the steering wheel when you remove the
key.
If turning the key is difficult, turn the
steering wheel slightly to the right and left
as you turn the key. ! Automatic transmission vehicles
The key can be turned from “Acc ”to
“ LOCK ”only when the selector lever is in
the “P ”position. Instruments and controls
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forward driving positions into the “R ” position or vice versa until
the vehicle has completely
stopped. Such shifting may
cause damage to the transmis-sion.
. When parking the vehicle, first
securely apply the parking brake
and then place the selector lever
in the “P ” position. Avoid parking
for a long time with the selector
lever in any other position as
doing so could result in a dead
battery.
NOTE . When the engine coolant tempera-
ture is still low, the automatic transmis-
sion will upshift to higher engine
speeds than when the coolant tempera-
ture is sufficiently high in order to
shorten the warm-up time and improve
driveability. The gearshift timing will
automatically shift to the normal timing
after the engine has warmed up.. Immediately after ATF (automatic
transmission fluid) is replaced, you
may feel that the automatic transmis-
sion operation is somewhat unusual.
This results from invalidation of data
which the on-board computer has collected and stored in memory to
allow the transmission to shift at the
most appropriate times for the current
condition of your vehicle. Optimized
shifting will be restored as the vehicle
continues to be driven for a while.
& Selector lever
: Shift possible with brake pedal de-
pressed
: Shift possible with brake pedal notdepressed
The selector lever has four positions, “P ”,
“ R ”, “N ”, “D ”and also has manual gate for
using “SPORT ”mode or manual mode.
! P (Park)
This position is for parking the vehicle and
starting the engine. In this position, the transmission is me-
chanically locked to prevent the vehicle
from rolling freely.
When you park the vehicle, first set the
parking brake fully, then shift into the
“P ”
position. Do not hold the vehicle with only
the transmission.
To shift the selector lever from the “P ” to
any other position, you should depress the
brake pedal fully then move the selector
lever. This prevents the vehicle from
lurching when it is started. ! R (Reverse)
This position is for backing the vehicle.
To shift from the “N ”to “R ”position, stop
the vehicle completely then move the
lever to the “R ”position.
! N (Neutral)
This position is for restarting a stalledengine.
In this position the wheels and transmis-
sion are not locked. In this position, the
transmission is neutral; the vehicle will roll
freely, even on the slightest incline unless
the parking brake or foot brake is on.
Avoidcoastingwiththetransmission neutral.
During coasting, there is no engine brak-
ing effect. Starting and operating
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forward driving positions into the “R ” position or vice versa until
the vehicle has completely
stopped. Such shifting may
cause damage to the transmis-sion.
. When parking the vehicle, first
securely apply the parking brake
and then place the selector lever
in the “P ” position. Avoid parking
for a long time with the selector
lever in any other position as
doing so could result in a dead
battery.
NOTE . When the engine coolant tempera-
ture is still low, the automatic transmis-
sion will upshift to higher engine
speeds than when the coolant tempera-
ture is sufficiently high in order to
shorten the warm-up time and improve
driveability. The gearshift timing will
automatically shift to the normal timing
after the engine has warmed up.. Immediately after ATF (automatic
transmission fluid) is replaced, you
may feel that the automatic transmis-
sion operation is somewhat unusual.
This results from invalidation of data
which the on-board computer has collected and stored in memory to
allow the transmission to shift at the
most appropriate times for the current
condition of your vehicle. Optimized
shifting will be restored as the vehicle
continues to be driven for a while.
& Selector lever
: Shift possible with brake pedal de-
pressed
: Shift possible with brake pedal notdepressed
The selector lever has four positions, “P ”,
“ R ”, “N, “D ”and also has a manual gate for
using the manual mode. ! P (Park)
This position is for parking the vehicle and
starting the engine. In this position, the transmission is me-
chanically locked to prevent the vehicle
from rolling freely.
When you park the vehicle, first set the
parking brake fully, then shift into the
“P ”
position. Do not hold the vehicle with only
the transmission.
To shift the selector lever from the “P ” to
any other position, you should depress the
brake pedal fully then move the selector
lever. This prevents the vehicle from
lurching when it is started.
NOTE (3.0 L models only)
To protect the engine while the “P ”
position is selected, the engine is
controlled such that the engine speed
may not become too high even if the
accelerator pedal is pressed hard. ! R (Reverse)
This position is for backing the vehicle.
To shift from the “N ”to “R ”position, stop
the vehicle completely then move the
lever to the “R ”position.
! N (Neutral)
This position is for restarting a stalledengine.
In this position the wheels and transmis-
sion are not locked. In this position, the Starting and operating
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