1514-1. Before driving
4
Driving
IS350/250_U (OM53758U)
CAUTION
Observe the following precautions.
Failure to do so may result in death or serious injury.
■When taking a nap in the vehicle
Always turn the engine off. Otherwise, if you accidentally move the shift lever or
depress the accelerator pedal, this could cause an accident or fire due to engine over-
heating. Additionally, if the vehicle is parked in a poorly ventilated area, exhaust gases
may collect and enter the vehicle, leadin g to death or a serious health hazard.
■When braking
●When the brakes are wet, drive more cautiously.
Braking distance increases when the brakes are wet, and this may cause one side of
the vehicle to brake differently than the other side. Also, the parking brake may not
securely hold the vehicle.
●If the power brake assist function does not operate, do not follow other vehicles
closely and avoid hills or sharp turns that require braking.
In this case, braking is st ill possible, but the brake pedal should be depressed more
firmly than usual. Also, the braking distan ce will increase. Have your brakes fixed
immediately.
●Do not pump the brake pedal if the engine stalls.
Each push on the brake pedal uses up the reserve for the power-assisted brakes.
●The brake system consists of 2 individual hy draulic systems; if one of the systems fails,
the other will still operate. In this case, the brake pedal should be depressed more
firmly than usual and the bra king distance will increase.
Have your brakes fixed immediately.
■If the vehicle becomes stuck
Do not spin the wheels excessively when any of the tires is up in the air, or the vehicle is
stuck in sand, mud, etc. This may damage th e driveline components or propel the vehi-
cle forward or backward, causing an accident.
1524-1. Before driving
IS350/250_U (OM53758U)
NOTICE
■When driving the vehicle
●Do not depress the accelerator and brake peda ls at the same time during driving, as
this may restrain driving torque.
●Do not use the accelerator pedal or depress the accelerator and brake pedals at the
same time to hold the vehicle on a hill.
■When parking the vehicle
Always shift the shift lever to P. Failure to do so may cause the vehicle to move or the
vehicle may accelerate suddenly if the accelerator pedal is ac cidentally depressed.
■Avoiding damage to vehicle parts
●Do not turn the steering wheel fully in either direction and hold it there for an
extended period of time.
Doing so may damage the power steering motor.
●When driving over bumps in the road, drive as slowly as possible to avoid damaging
the wheels, underside of the vehicle, etc.
■If you get a flat tire while driving
A flat or damaged tire may cause the follo wing situations. Hold the steering wheel
firmly and gradually depress the brak e pedal to slow down the vehicle.
●It may be difficult to control your vehicle.
●The vehicle will make abnormal sounds or vibrations.
●The vehicle will lean abnormally.
Information on what to do in case of a flat tire ( P. 4 7 5 )
■When encountering flooded roads
Do not drive on a road that has flooded after heavy rain etc. Doing so may cause the
following serious damage to the vehicle:
●Engine stalling
●Short in electrical components
●Engine damage caused by water immersion
In the event that you drive on a flooded road and the vehicle is flooded, be sure to have
your Lexus dealer check the following:
●Brake function
●Changes in quantity and quality of oil and fluid used for the engine, transmission,
transfer (AWD models), differential, etc.
●Lubricant condition for the propeller shaft, bearings and suspension joints (where
possible), and the function of all joints, bearings, etc.
1574-1. Before driving
4
Driving
IS350/250_U (OM53758U)
Trailer towing
Lexus does not recommend towing a trailer with your vehicle. Lexus also does
not recommend the installation of a tow hitch or the use of a tow hitch carrier
for a wheelchair, scooter, bicycle, etc. Your vehicle is not designed for trailer
towing or for the use of tow hitch mounted carriers.
1584-1. Before driving
IS350/250_U (OM53758U)
Dinghy towing
Your vehicle is not designed to be ding hy towed (with 4 wheels on the ground)
behind a motor home.
NOTICE
■To avoid serious damage to your vehicle
Do not tow your vehicle with the four wheels on the ground.
1614-2. Driving procedures
4
Driving
IS350/250_U (OM53758U)
■Auto power off function
If the vehicle is left in ACCESSORY mode for more than 20 minutes or IGNITION ON
mode (the engine is not running) for more than an hour with the shift lever in P, the engine
switch will automatically turn off. However, this function cannot entirely prevent battery
discharge. Do not leave the vehicle with the engine switch in ACCESSORY or IGNI-
TION ON mode for long periods of ti me when the engine is not running.
■Electronic key battery depletion
P. 1 0 1
■Conditions affe cting operation
P. 116
■Notes for the entry function
P. 117
■If the engine does not start
●Check that the shift lever is securely set in P. The engine may not start if the shift lever is
displaced out of P.
●The engine immobilizer system may not have been deactivated. ( P. 6 9 )
Contact your Lexus dealer.
■Steering lock
After turning the engine switch off and opening and closing the doors, the steering wheel
will be locked due to the stee ring lock function. Operating the engine switch again auto-
matically cancels the steering lock.
■When the steering lock cannot be released
■Steering lock motor overheating prevention
To prevent the steering lock motor from over heating, operation of the motor may be sus-
pended if the engine is turned on and off repeat edly in a short period of time. In this case,
refrain from operating the engine switch. After about 10 seconds, the steering lock
motor will resume functioning. “Steering Lock active” will be displayed on the
multi-information display.
Check that the shift lever is in P. Press the
engine switch while turning the steering wheel
left and right.
1784-3. Operating the lights and wipers
IS350/250_U (OM53758U)
■The Automatic High Beam can be operated when
The engine switch is in IGNITION ON mode.
■Camera sensor dete ction information
●High beam may not be automatically tu rned off in the following situations:
• When oncoming vehicles sudd enly appear from a curve
• When the vehicle is cut in front of by another vehicle
• When oncoming or preceding vehicles are hidden from sight due to repeated
curves, road dividers or roadside trees
●High beam may be turned off if an oncoming vehicle that is using fog lights without
using the headlights is detected.
●House lights, street lights, red traffic signals, and illuminated billboards or signs may
cause the high beam to turn off.
●The following factors may affect the amount of time taken to turn high beam on or off:
• The brightness of headlights, fog lights, and tail lights of oncoming and preceding
vehicles
• The movement and direction of oncoming and preceding vehicles
• When an oncoming or preceding vehicle only has operational lights on one side
• When an oncoming or preceding vehicle is a two-wheeled vehicle
• The condition of the road (gradient, curve, condition of the road surface etc.)
• The number of passengers and amount of luggage
●High beam may be turned on or off when unexpected by the driver.
●Small vehicles, such as bicy cles, may not be detected.
●In the situations below, the system may not be able to correctly detect the surrounding
brightness levels, and may flash or expose nearby pedestrians to the high beam. There-
fore, you should consider turning the high be ams on or off manually rather than relying
on the Automatic High Beam system.
• In bad weather (rain, snow, fog, sandstorms etc.)
• The windshield is obscured by fog, mist, ice, dirt etc.
• The windshield is cracked or damaged.
• The camera sensor is deformed or dirty.
• Surrounding brightness levels are equal to those of headlights, tail lights or fog lights.
• Vehicles ahead have headlights or tail lights that are either switched off, dirty, chang-
ing color, or have improperly adjusted aim.
• When driving through an area of intermit tently changing brightness and darkness.
• When frequently and repeatedly driving ascending/descending roads, or roads with
rough, bumpy or uneven surfaces (such as stone-paved roads, gravel tracks etc.).
• When frequently and repeat edly taking curves or driving on a winding road.
• There is a highly reflective object ahead of the vehicle, such as a sign or a mirror.
• The vehicle’s headlights are damaged or dirty.
• The vehicle is listing or titling, due to a flat tire, a trailer being towed etc.
• The driver believes that the high beam may be causing problems or distress to other
drivers or pedestrians nearby.
2064-5. Using the driving support systems
IS350/250_U (OM53758U)
CAUTION
■Situations unsuitable for dynamic radar cruise control
Do not use dynamic radar cruise control in any of the following situations.
Doing so may result in inappropriate speed control and could cause an accident result-
ing in death or serious injury.
●In heavy traffic
●On roads with sharp bends
●On winding roads
●On slippery roads, such as thos e covered with rain, ice or snow
●On steep downhills, or where there are sudden changes between sharp up and down
gradients
Vehicle speed may exceed the set speed when driving down a steep hill.
●At entrances to expressways
●When weather conditions are bad enough that they may prevent the sensors from
functioning correctly (fog, snow , sandstorm, heavy rain, etc.)
●When an approach warning buzzer is heard often
●During emergency towing
■When the sensor may not be correctly detecting the vehicle ahead
Apply the brakes as necessary when any of the following types of vehicles are in front of
you.
As the sensor may not be able to correctly detect these types of vehicles, the approach
warning (P. 201) will not be activated, and a fatal or serious accident may result.
●Vehicles that cut in suddenly
●Vehicles traveling at low speeds
●Vehicles that are not moving
●Vehicles with small rear ends (trailers with no load on board etc.)
●Motorcycles traveling in the same lane
■Conditions under which the vehicle-to-vehicle distance control may not function cor-
rectly
Apply the brakes as necessary in the following conditions as the radar sensor may not
be able to correctly detect vehicles ahead, and a fatal or serious accident may result:
●When water or snow thrown up by the surrounding vehicles hinders the functioning
of the sensor
●When your vehicle is pointing upwards (caused by a heavy load in the trunk etc.)
●When the road curves or when the lanes are narrow
●When steering wheel operation or your position in the lane is unstable
●When the vehicle ahead of you decelerates suddenly
2124-5. Using the driving support systems
IS350/250_U (OM53758U)
●When driving on roads that are branching or merging
●When driving on a road surface that is wet du e to rain, previous rainfall, standing water,
etc.
●When the vehicle experiences strong up-and -down motion such as when driving on an
extremely rough road or on a seam in the pavement
●When headlight brightness at nighttime is reduced due to dirt on the lenses, or when
the headlights are misaligned
●When driving on winding roads or roads that are uneven
●When driving on rough or unpaved roads
■When changing the tires
Depending on the tires used, sufficient performance may not be maintainable.
■Warning messages for the LDA system
Warning messages are used to indicate a syst em malfunction or to inform the driver of
the need for caution while driving. ( P. 4 6 5 )
CAUTION
■Before using the LDA system
Do not rely solely on the LDA system. The LDA system does not drive the vehicle auto-
matically, nor does it reduce the amount of care you need to take. As such, the driver
must always assume full responsibility for understanding his/her surroundings, for
operating the steering wheel to correct the driving line, and for driving safely.
Inappropriate or negligent drivin g could lead to an accident.
■To avoid operating the LDA by mistake
Switch the LDA system off using the LDA switch when not in use.
■Situations unsuitable for LDA system
Do not use the LDA system in any of the following situations.
Otherwise, the system may not function correctly and could result in an accident.
●When driving with tire chains, a spare tire, or similar equipment
●When there are objects or structures along the roadside that might be misinterpreted
as lane markers (such as guardrails, a curb, reflector posts, etc.)
●When driving on snowy roads
●When pavement lane markers are difficult to see due to rain, snow, fog, sand dust, etc.
●When there are visible lines on the pavement from road repairs, or if the remains of
old lane markers are still visible on the road
●When driving on a road with lane closures due to maintenance, or when driving in a
temporary lane