2015 LEXUS LX570 Owners Manual

3932-5. Driving information
2
When driving
LX570_OM_OM60L96U_(U) Trailer towing tips
Your vehicle will handle differently when towing a trailer. In order to
avoid an accident, death or seriou s injury, keep the following in mind
when towing:
● Speed limits for towing a trailer vary by state or province. Do not
exceed the posted towing speed limit.
● Lexus recommends that the vehicle- trailer speed limit is 65 mph (104
km/h) on a flat, straight, dry road. Do not exceed this limit, the posted
towing speed limit or the speed limi t for your trailer as set forth in your
trailer owner’s manual, whichever is lowest. Inst ability of the towing
vehicle-trailer combination (tra iler sway) increases as speed
increases. Exceeding speed limits may cause loss of control.
● Before starting out, check the trailer lights, tires and the vehicle-trailer
connections. Recheck after driving a short distance.
● Practice turning, stopping and rever sing with the trailer attached in an
area away from traffic until you beco me accustomed to the feel of the
vehicle-trailer combination.
● Reversing with a trailer attached is difficult and requires practice. Grip
the bottom of the steering wheel and move your hand to the left to
move the trailer to the le ft. Move your hand to the right to move the
trailer to the right. (T his is generally opposite to reversing without a
trailer attached.) Avoid sharp or prolonged turning. Have someone
guide you when reversing to reduce the risk of an accident.
● As stopping distance is increased wh en towing a trailer, vehicle-to-
vehicle distance should be increas ed. For each 10 mph (16 km/h) of
speed, allow at least one vehicle and trailer length.
● Avoid sudden braking as you may skid, resulting in the trailer jackknif-
ing and loss of vehicle control. This is especially true on wet or slippery
surfaces.

3942-5. Driving information
LX570_OM_OM60L96U_(U) ● Avoid jerky starts or sudden acceleration.
● Avoid jerky steering and sharp turn s, and slow down before making a
turn.
● Note that when making a turn, the trailer wheels will be closer than the
vehicle wheels to the inside of th e turn. Compensate by making a
wider than normal turning radius.
● Slow down before making a turn, in crosswinds, on wet or slippery sur-
faces, etc.
Increasing vehicle speed can destabilize the trailer.
● Take care when passing other vehi cles. Passing requires considerable
distance. After passing a vehicle, do not forget the length of your
trailer, and be sure you have plenty of room before changing lanes.
● To maintain engine braking efficie ncy and charging system perfor-
mance when using engine braking, do not put the transmission in “D”.
If in the S mode, the transmission shift range position must be in 5 or
lower.
● Instability happens more frequently when descending steep or long
downhill grades. Before descending , slow down and downshift. Do not
make sudden downshifts while desc ending steep or long downhill
grades.
● Avoid holding the brake pedal down too long or applying the brakes
too frequently. This could cause the brakes to overheat and result in
reduced braking efficiency.
● Due to the added load of the trail er, your vehicle’ s engine may over-
heat on hot days (at temperatures over 85°F [30°C]) when driving up
a long or steep grade. If the engine coolant temperature gauge indi-
cates overheating, immediately turn off the air conditioning (if in use),
pull your vehicle off the road and stop in a safe spot. (  P. 878)

3952-5. Driving information
2
When driving
LX570_OM_OM60L96U_(U) ● Always place wheel blocks under bo th the vehicle’s and the trailer’s
wheels when parking. Apply the pa rking brake firmly, and put the
transmission in “P”. Avoid parking on a slope, but if unavoidable, do so
only after performing the following:
Apply the brakes and keep them applied.
Have someone place wheel blocks under both the vehicle’s and
trailer’s wheels.
When the wheel blocks are in pl ace, release the brakes slowly
until the blocks absorb the load.
Apply the parking brake firmly.
Shift into “P” and turn off the engine.
● When restarting after parking on a slope:
With the transmission in “P”, start the engine. Be sure to keep the
brake pedal pressed.
Shift into “D” or “R” (if reversing).
Release the parking brake and brake pedal, and slowly pull or
back away from the wheel blocks. Stop and apply the brakes.
Have someone retrieve the blocks. STEP 1
STEP 2
STEP 3
STEP 4
STEP 5
STEP 1
STEP 2
STEP 3
STEP 4

3962-5. Driving information
LX570_OM_OM60L96U_(U) ■
Matching trailer ball height to trailer coupler height
■
Before towing
Check that the following conditions are met: ●
Ensure that your vehicle’s ti res are properly inflated. (  P. 895)●
Trailer tires are inflated according to the trailer manufacturer’s recommenda-
tion. ●
All trailer lights work as required by law. ●
All lights work each time you connect them. ●
The trailer ball is set at the proper height for the coupler on the trailer. ●
The trailer is level when it is hitched.
Do not drive if the trailer is not level, and check for improper tongue weight,
overloading, worn suspensi on, or other possible causes.●
The trailer cargo is securely loaded. ●
The rear view mirrors conform to all appl icable federal, state/provincial or local
regulations. If they do no t, install rear view mirrors appropriate for towing pur-
poses. No matter which class of tow hitch applies,
for a more safe trailer hookup, the trailer ball
setup must be the proper height for the cou-
pler on the trailer.
Trailer ball
Coupler

3972-5. Driving information
2
When driving
LX570_OM_OM60L96U_(U) ■
AVS (adaptive variable suspension system)
The suspension can be switched for improvement in driveability. (  P. 331)■
Break-in schedule
If your vehicle is new or equipped with any new power train components (such as
an engine, transmission, diff erential or wheel bearing), Lexus recommends that you
do not tow a trailer until the vehicle has been driven for over 500 miles (800 km).
After the vehicle has been driven for ov er 500 miles (800 km), you can start tow-
ing. However, for the next 500 miles (800 km), drive the vehicle at a speed of less
than 50 mph (80 km/h) when towing a trai ler, and avoid full throttle acceleration.■
Maintenance ●
If you tow a trailer, your vehicle will require more frequent maintenance due to
the additional load. (See “Owner’s Gu ide”, “Warranty and Services Guide”,
“Owner’s Manual Supplement” or “Warranty Booklet”.) ●
Retighten the fixing bolts of the towing ball and bracket after approximately
600 miles (1000 km) of trailer towing.■
If trailer sway occurs
One or more factors (crosswinds, passing vehicles, rough roads, etc.) can
adversely affect handling of your ve hicle and trailer, causing instability.●
If trailer swaying occurs:
• Firmly grip the steering wh eel. Steer straight ahead.
Do not try to control trailer swaying by turning the steering wheel.
• Begin releasing the accelerator pedal immediately but very gradually to
reduce speed.
Do not increase speed. Do not apply vehicle brakes.
If you make no extreme correction with the steering or brakes, your vehicle and
trailer should stabilize. (if enabled, Traile r Sway Control can also help to stabilize
the vehicle and trailer.)

3982-5. Driving information
LX570_OM_OM60L96U_(U) ●
After the trailer swaying has stopped:
• Stop in a safe place. Get all occupants out of the vehicle.
• Check the tires of the vehicle and the trailer.
• Check the load in the trailer.
Make sure the load has not shifted.
Make sure the tongue weight is appropriate, if possible.
• Check the load in the vehicle.
Make sure the vehicle is not overloaded after occupants get in.
If you cannot find any problems, the sp eed at which trailer swaying occurred is
beyond the limit of your partic ular vehicle-trailer combination.
Drive at a lower speed to prevent instability. Remember that swaying of the towing
vehicle-trailer increase s as speed increases.
CAUTION■
Trailer towing precautions ●
To tow a trailer safely, use extreme care and drive the vehicle in accordance with
the trailer’s characteristics and operating conditions. Failure to do so could cause
an accident resulting in death or seriou s injury. Vehicle stab ility and braking per-
formance are affected by trailer stability, brake setting and performance, and the
hitch. Your vehicle will handle d ifferently when towing a trailer.●
Set the vehicle height to the “LO” mode and turn off the 4-Wheel AHC when
you connect a trailer, otherwise the vehicle height may change due to the auto-
matic leveling function, and you may catch part of your body in the vehicle, result-
ing in an accident. (  P. 320)

3992-5. Driving information
2
When driving
LX570_OM_OM60L96U_(U) CAUTION■
To avoid accident or injury ●
Do not exceed the TWR, unbraked TWR, GCWR, GVWR or GAWR. ●
If the gross trailer weight is over 2000 lb. (907 kg), a sway control device with
sufficient capacity is required. ●
If the gross trailer weight is over 5000 lb. (2268 kg), a weight distributing hitch
with sufficient capacity is required. ●
Adjust the tongue weight within the ap propriate range. Place heavier loads as
close to the trailer axle as possible. ●
Do not exceed 65 mph (104 km/h), the posted towing speed limit or the speed
limit for your trailer as set forth in your trailer owner’s manual, whichever is low-
est. Slow down sufficiently before making a turn, in crosswinds, on wet or slippery
surface, etc. to help avoid an accident. If you experience a vehicle-trailer instabil-
ity from reducing a certain speed, slow down and make sure you keep your vehi-
cle speed under the speed of whic h you experience the instability.●
Do not make jerky, abrupt or sharp turns. ●
Do not apply the brakes suddenly as you may skid, resulting in jackknifing and
loss of vehicle control. This is especially true on wet or slippery surfaces. ●
Do not exceed the trailer hitch assembly weight, gross vehicle weight, gross axle
weight and trailer tongue weight capacities. ●
Do not use cruise co ntrol when towing.●
Slow down and downshift before descendi ng steep or long downhill grades. Do
not make sudden downshifts while descending steep or long downhill grades. ●
Vehicle-trailer instability is more likely on steep long down hills. Before descend-
ing steep or long downhill grades, slow down and downshift. Do not make sud-
den downshifts when descending steep or long downhill grades. Avoid holding
the brake pedal down too long or applying the brakes too frequently. This could
cause the brakes to overheat and re sult in reduced braking efficiency.

4002-5. Driving information
LX570_OM_OM60L96U_(U) CAUTION■
Hitch
Trailer hitch assemblies have different weight capacities established by the hitch
manufacturer. Even though the vehicle ma y be physically capable of towing a
higher weight, the operator must determine the maximum weight rating of the par-
ticular hitch assembly and never exceed the maximum weight ra ting specified for
the trailer-hitch. Exceeding the maximum we ight rating set by the trailer-hitch man-
ufacturer can cause an accident resulting in death or serious personal injuries.■
When towing a trailer
Lexus recommends trailers with brakes that conform to any applicable federal and
state/provincial regulations. ●
If the gross trailer weight exceeds unbr aked TWR, trailer brakes are required.
Lexus recommends trailers with brakes that conform to all applicable federal and
state/provincial regulations. ●
Never tap into your vehicle’s hydraulic system, as this will lower the vehicle’s
braking effectiveness. ●
Never tow a trailer without using a safety chain securely attached to both the
trailer and the vehicle. If damage occurs to the coupling unit or hitch ball, there is
danger of the trailer wandering into another lane.
NOTICE■
When installing a trailer hitch
Use only the position recommended by your Lexus dealer. Do not install the trailer
hitch on the bumper; this may cause body damage. ■
Do not directly splice trailer lights
Do not directly splice trailer lights. Directly splicing trailer lights may damage your
vehicle’s electrical system and cause a malfunction.