Page 208 of 564

208 2-5. Driving information
AVALON_U (OM41428U)
■Before driving the vehicle
Perform the following according to the driving conditions.
●Do not try to forcibly open a window or move a wiper that is
frozen. Pour warm water over the frozen area to melt the ice.
Wipe away the water immediately to prevent it from freezing.
●To ensure proper operation of the climate control system fan,
remove any snow that has accumulated on the air inlet vents
in front of the windshield.
●Remove any ice that has accumulated on the vehicle chassis.
●Periodically check for and remove any excess ice or snow
that may have accumulated in the wheel well or on the
brakes.
■When driving the vehicle
Accelerate the vehicle slowly and drive at a reduced speed suit-
able to road conditions.
■When parking the vehicle
Park the vehicle and move the shift lever to “P” without setting
the parking brake. The parking brake may freeze up, preventing
it from being released. If necessary block the wheels to prevent
inadvertent sliding or creeping.
Page 214 of 564
214
AVALON_U (OM41428U)
3-1. Using the air conditioning system and defogger
Automatic air conditioning system ........................... 216
Using the steering wheel climate control
switches ......................... 224
Rear window and outside rear view mirror defoggers .... 225
3-2. Using the audio system Audio system type............ 227
Using the radio ................. 231
Using the CD player ......... 239
Playing back MP3 and WMA discs ..................... 247
Operating an iPod ............ 255
Operating a USB memory .......................... 262
Optimal use of the audio system ........................... 270
Using the AUX port .......... 273
Using the steering switches ......................... 274
Interior features3
Page 222 of 564

222 3-1. Using the air conditioning system and defogger
AVALON_U (OM41428U)
■Using the automatic mode
Fan speed is adjusted automatically in accordance with the temperature set-
ting and ambient conditions. As a result, the following may occur.
●Immediately after the switch is pressed, the fan may stop for a while until
warm or cool air is ready to flow.
●Cool air may flow to the area around the upper body when the heater is
on.
■Using the system in recirculated air mode
The windows will fog up more easily if the recirculated air mode is used for
an extended period.
■Switching between outside air and recirculated air modes
Recirculated air mode or outside air mode may be automatically switched to
in accordance with the temperature setting and the inside temperature.
■Window defogger feature
Recirculated air mode may automatically switch to outside air mode in situa-
tions where the windows need to be defogged.
■Outside temperature approaches 32 F (0 C)
The air conditioning system may not operate even when is pressed.
■When the indicator light on flashes
Press and turn off the air conditioning system before turning it on once
more. There may be a problem in the air conditioning system if the indicator
light continues to flash. Turn the air conditioning system off and have it
inspected by your Toyota dealer.
■Air conditioning odors
●During use, various odors from inside and outside the vehicle may enter
into and accumulate in the air conditioning system. This may then cause
odor to be emitted from the vents.
●To reduce potential odors from occurring:
• It is recommended that the air conditioning system be set to outside air
mode prior to turning the vehicle off.
• The start timing of the blower may be delayed for a short period of time
immediately after the air conditioning system is started in automatic
mode.
Page 225 of 564
225
3-1. Using the air conditioning system and defogger
3
Interior features
AVALON_U (OM41428U)
Rear window and outside rear view mirror defoggers
These features are used to defog the rear window, and to remove
raindrops, dew and frost from the outside rear view mirrors.
Press the button to turn on the
rear window and outside rear
view mirror defoggers. The
defoggers will automatically
turn off after approximately 15
minutes. Pressing the button
again also turns the defoggers
off.
The operation time changes
according to the ambient tem-
perature and vehicle speed.
Page 235 of 564
235 3-2. Using the audio system
3
Interior features
AVALON_U (OM41428U)■Scanning XM
® Satellite Radio channels
●Scanning channels in the current category
Press .
When the desired channel is reached, press the button
again.
●Scanning preset channels
Press and hold until you hear a beep.
When the desired channel is reached, press the button
again.
■Displaying text information
Press .
Each time is pressed, the display changes in the order of Title (song/
program title) Name (artist name/feature)/Title (song/program title).
■Radio antenna type
The radio antenna is mounted inside the rear window.
Page 236 of 564

236 3-2. Using the audio system
AVALON_U (OM41428U)
■Reception sensitivity
●Maintaining perfect radio reception at all times is difficult due to the con-
tinually changing position of the antenna, differences in signal strength
and surrounding objects, such as trains, transmitters, etc.
●The radio antenna is mounted inside the rear window. To maintain clear
radio reception, do not attach metallic window tinting or other metallic
objects to the antenna wire mounted inside the rear window.
■Receiving XM
® Satellite Radio
An XM
® Satellite Radio is a tuner designed exclusively to receive broadcasts
provided under a separate subscription. Availability is limited to the 48 con-
tiguous states and some Canadian provinces.
●XM
® subscriptions
For detailed information about XM® Satellite Radio or to subscribe:
U.S.A–
Visit on the web at www.xmradio.com
or call 1-800-967-2346.
Canada–
Visit on the web at www.xmradio.ca
or call 1-877-438-9677.
●Radio ID
You will need the radio ID when activating XM
® service or reporting a
problem. Select “CH000” using , and the receiver’s 8-character ID
number will appear.
●Satellite tuner
The tuner supports only Audio Services (Music and Talk) and the accom-
panying Text Information of XM
® Satellite Radio.
Page 251 of 564
251 3-2. Using the audio system
3
Interior features
AVALON_U (OM41428U)
■Lens cleaners
P. 244
■MP3 and WMA files
MP3 (MPEG Audio LAYER3) is a standard audio compression format.
Files can be compressed to approximately 1/10 of their original size by using
MP3 compression.
WMA (Windows Media Audio) is a Microsoft audio compression format.
This format compresses audio data to a size smaller than that of the MP3
format.
There is a limit to the MP3 and WMA file standards and to the media/formats
recorded by them that can be used.
●MP3 file compatibility
• Compatible standards
MP3 (MPEG1 LAYER3, MPEG2 LSF LAYER3)
• Compatible sampling frequencies
MPEG1 LAYER3: 32, 44.1, 48 (kHz)
MPEG2 LSF LAYER3: 16, 22.05, 24 (kHz)
• Compatible bit rates
MPEG1 LAYER3: 64, 80, 96, 112, 128, 160, 192, 224, 256, 320 (kbps)
• MPEG2 LSF LAYER3: 64, 80, 96, 112, 128, 144, 160 (kbps)
* Compatible with VBR
• Compatible channel modes: stereo, joint stereo, dual channel and
monaural
Page 254 of 564

254 3-2. Using the audio system
AVALON_U (OM41428U)
●Extensions
If the file extensions .mp3 and .wma are used for files other than MP3 and
WMA files, they will be mistakenly recognized and played as MP3 and
WMA files. This may result in large amounts of interference and damage
to the speakers.
●Playback
• To play MP3 file with steady sound quality, we recommend a fixed bit
rate of 128 kbps and a sampling frequency of 44.1 kHz.
• CD-R or CD-RW playback may not be possible in some instances,
depending on the characteristics of the disc.
• There is a wide variety of freeware and other encoding software for
MP3 and WMA files on the market, and depending on the status of the
encoding and the file format, poor sound quality or noise at the start of
playback may result. In some cases, playback may not be possible at
all.
• When files other than MP3 or WMA files are recorded on a disc, it may
take more time to recognize the disc and in some cases, playback may
not be possible at all.
• Microsoft, Windows, and Windows Media are the registered trade-
marks of Microsoft Corporation in the U.S. and other countries.
NOTICE
■CDs and adapters that cannot be used (P. 245)
■Player precautions (P. 246)