
TABLE OF CONTENTS6
HIGHLANDER_U (OM48F09U)7-1. Maintenance and care
Cleaning and protecting the vehicle exterior .......... 488
Cleaning and protecting the vehicle interior ........... 492
7-2. Maintenance Maintenance requirements ................... 495
General maintenance ........ 498
Emission inspection and maintenance (I/M)
programs ......................... 502
7-3. Do-it-yourself maintenance
Do-it-yourself service precautions ..................... 503
Hood.................................. 505
Positioning a floor jack ...... 507
Engine compartment ......... 508
Tires .................................. 520
Tire inflation pressure........ 531
Wheels .............................. 534
Air conditioning filter .......... 536
Wireless remote control/ electronic key battery ...... 538
Checking and replacing fuses ............................... 541
Light bulbs ......................... 545 8-1. Essential information
Emergency flashers ........... 560
If your vehicle has to be stopped
in an emergency .............. 561
8-2. Steps to take in an emergency
If your vehicle needs to be towed ...................... 563
If you think something is wrong ........................... 567
Fuel pump shut off system ............................. 568
If a warning light turns on or a warning buzzer
sounds ............................. 569
If a warning message is displayed...................... 578
If you have a flat tire .......... 596
If the engine will not start ........................... 621
If the shift lever cannot be shifted from P ............. 623
If the electronic key does not operate properly ....... 624
If the vehicle battery is discharged ................... 627
If your vehicle overheats.... 632
If the vehicle becomes stuck ................................ 635
7Maintenance and care8When trouble arises

15Pictorial index
HIGHLANDER_U (OM48F09U)Fuel filler door . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P. 259
Refueling method. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P. 259
Fuel type/fuel tank capacity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P. 641
Tires . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P. 520
Tire size/inflation pressure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P. 648
Winter tires/tire chain . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P. 326
Checking/rotation/tire pressure warning system . . . . . . . . . . . P. 520
Coping with flat tires . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P. 596
Hood . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P. 505
Opening . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P. 505
Engine oil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P. 642
Coping with overheat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P. 632
Warning messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P. 581
Headlights/daytime running lights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P. 241
Front fog lights
*. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P. 252
Turn signal lights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P. 239
Stop/tail lights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P. 241
Hill-start assist control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P. 301
Downhill assist control system
*. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P. 307
License plate lights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P. 241
Back-up lights
Shifting the shift lever to R . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P. 234
Side marker lights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P. 241
6
7
8
Light bulbs of the exterior lights for driving
(Replacing method: P. 545, Watts: P. 651)
*: If equipped
9
10
11
12
13
14
15

2004-1. Before driving
HIGHLANDER_U (OM48F09U)
NOTICE
■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
accidentally 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 following situations. Hold the steering
wheel firmly and gradually depress the brake pedal to slow down the vehi-
cle.
●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. 596)
■ When encounterin g 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 Toyota dealer check the following:
● Brake function
● Changes in quantity and quality of oil and fluid used for the engine, tran-
saxle, transfer (AWD models), differential (AWD models), etc.
● Lubricant condition for the propeller shaft (AWD models), bearings and
suspension joints (where possible), and the function of all joints, bearings,
etc.

2174-1. Before driving
4
Driving
HIGHLANDER_U (OM48F09U)
Use the wire harness stored in the
rear end under body.
Your vehicle will handle differently when towing a trailer. Help to avoid
an accident, death or serious injury, keep the following in mind when
towing:
● Speed limits for towing a trailer vary by state or province. Do not
exceed the posted to wing speed limit.
● Toyota 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 spe ed limit for your trailer as set
forth in your trailer owner’s manual, whichever is lowest. Instability
of the towing vehicle-trailer combination (trailer 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 reve rsing with the trailer attached in
an area away from traffic until you become 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 traile r to the left. Move your hand to the right to
move the trailer to right. (This 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 acci-
dent.
Connecting trailer lights
Trailer towing tips

2204-1. Before driving
HIGHLANDER_U (OM48F09U)
■Matching trailer ball height to trailer coupler height
■ Before towing
Check that the following conditions are met:
●Ensure that your vehicle’s tires are properly inflated. ( P. 648)
● Trailer tires are inflated according to the trailer manufacturer’s recommen-
dation.
● 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 suspension, or other possible causes.
● The trailer cargo is securely loaded.
● The rear view mirrors conform to all applicable federal, state/provincial or
local regulations. If they do not, install rear view mirrors appropriate for tow-
ing purposes.
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 coupler on the trailer.
Coupler
Trailer ball
1
2

2494-3. Operating the lights and wipers
4
Driving
HIGHLANDER_U (OM48F09U)●
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 bicycles, 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. Therefore, you should consider turning the high beams 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, changing color, or have improperly adjusted aim.
• When driving through an area of in termittently 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 repeatedly 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 dis- tress to other drivers or pedestrians nearby.

2884-5. Using the driving support systems
HIGHLANDER_U (OM48F09U)■
Conditions in which the function may not operate correctly
In the following situations, the camera sensor may be unable to recognize
lane markers causing the lane departure warning function to operate incor-
rectly. However, this does not indicate a malfunction.
●When driving through an area with no lane markers, such as a tollbooth, a
crossing or before a ticket checkpoint
● When driving on a sharp curve
● When lane markers are extremely narrow or extremely wide
● When the vehicle leans to one side an unusual amount due to a heavy load
or improper tire inflation pressure
● When the following distance between your vehicle and the vehicle ahead is
extremely short
● When the lane markers are yellow (These may be more difficult for the sys-
tem to recognize compared to white markers.)
● When the lane markers are broken, Botts’ dots (raised pavement markers)
or stones
● When the lane markers are on a curb etc.
● When lane markers are obscured or partially obscured by sand, dirt, etc.
● When there are shadows on the road running parallel with lane markers, or
if a shadow covers the lane markers
● When driving on a particularly bright road surface, such as concrete
● When driving on a road surface that is bright due to reflected light
● When driving in a location where the light level changes rapidly, such as the
entrance to or exit from a tunnel
● When sunlight or the headlights of oncoming vehicles are shining directly
into the camera lens
● When driving on roads that are branching or merging
● When driving on a road surface that is wet due 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 system malfunction or to inform t\
he
driver of the need for caution while driving. ( P. 584)

2984-5. Using the driving support systems
HIGHLANDER_U (OM48F09U)
The fixed guide lines are very far out of alignment
• The vehicle is tilted (there is a
heavy load on the vehicle, tire
pressure is low due to a tire punc-
ture, etc.)
• The vehicle is used on an incline.If this happens due to these causes,
it does not indicate a malfunction.
Back up while visually checking the
vehicle's surroundings.
The camera position is out of align-
ment.Have the vehicle inspected by your
Toyota dealer.
WARNING
■ When using the rear view monitor system
The rear view monitor system is a supplemental device intended to assist
the driver when backing up. When backing up, be sure to check visually
behind and all around the vehicle before proceeding.
Observe the following precautions to avoid an accident that could result in
death or serious injuries.
● Never depend on the rear view monitor system entirely when backing up.
The image and the position of the guide lines displayed on the screen may
differ from the actual state.
Use caution, just as you would when backing up any vehicle.
● Be sure to back up slowly, depressing the brake pedal to control vehicle
speed.
● The instructions given are only guidelines.
When and how much to turn the steering wheel will vary according to traf-
fic conditions, road surface conditions, vehicle condition, etc. when park-
ing. It is necessary to be fully aware of this before using the rear view
monitor system.
● When parking, be sure to check that the parking space will accommodate
your vehicle before maneuvering into it.
● Do not use the rear view monitor system in the following cases:
• On icy or slick road surfaces, or in snow
• When using tire chains or the compact spare tire
• When the back door is not closed completely
• On roads that are not flat or straight, such as curves or slopes.
Likely causeSolution