
2274-1. Before driving
4
Driving
RX350/RX200t_EE_OM48F32E
With the brake pedal depressed, shift the shift lever to D. (P. 251)
Pull the parking brake switch and parking brake is set manually. (P. 260)
Release the brake pedal and gently depr ess the accelerator pedal to acceler-
ate the vehicle.
Press the parking brake switch and pa rking brake is released manually.
( P. 260)
■When starting off on a uphill
The hill-start assist co ntrol will activate. (P. 422)
■Driving in the rain
●Drive carefully when it is raining, because visibility will be reduced, the windows may become fogged-up, and the road will be slippery.
●Drive carefully when it starts to rain, because the road surface will be especially slip- pery.
●Refrain from high speeds when driving on an expressway in the rain, because there may
be a layer of water between the tires and the road surface, preventing the steering and brakes from operating properly.
■Engine speed while driving
In the following conditions, the engine speed may become high while driving. This is due to automatic up-shifting control or down-shi fting implementation to meet driving condi- tions. It does not indicate sudden acceleration.
●The vehicle is judged to be driving uphill or downhill
●When the accelerator pedal is released
●When the brake pedal is depressed while sport mode is selected
■Restraining the engine output (Brake Override System)
●When the accelerator and brake pedals are depressed at the same time, the engine output may be restrained.
●A warning message is displayed on the mult i-information display while the system is operating. If a warning message is shown on the multi-information display, read the message and follow the instructions.
■Restraining sudden start (Drive-Start Control)
●When the following unusual operation is performed, the engine output may be
restrained.
• When the shift lever is shifted from R to D, D to R, N to R, P to D, or P to R (D includes M) with the accelerator pedal depressed, a warning message appears on
the multi-information display. If a warnin g message is shown on the multi-informa- tion display, read the messag e and follow the instructions. • When the accelerator pedal is depressed too while the vehicle is in reverse.
●While Drive-Start Control is being activated, your vehicle may have trouble escapingfrom the mud or fresh snow. In such case, deactivate TRC (P. 424) to cancel Drive-
Start Control so that the vehicle may become able to escape from the mud or fresh snow.
Starting off on a uphill
1
2
3
4

2294-1. Before driving
4
Driving
RX350/RX200t_EE_OM48F32E
WARNING
Observe the following precautions. Failure to do so may result in death or serious injury.
■When starting the vehicle
Always keep your foot on the brake pedal while stopped with the engine running. This prevents the vehicle from creeping.
■When driving the vehicle
●Do not drive if you are unfamiliar with the location of the brake and accelerator ped-als to avoid depressing the wrong pedal.
• Accidentally depressing the accelerator pedal instead of the brake pedal will
result in sudden acceleration that may lead to an accident. • When backing up, you may twist your body around, leading to difficulty in operat- ing the pedals. Make sure to operate the pedals properly.
• Make sure to keep a correct driving posture even when moving the vehicle only slightly. This allows you to depress the brake and accelerator pedals properly.• Depress the brake pedal using your right foot. Depressing the brake pedal using
your left foot may delay response in an emergency, resulting in an accident.
●Do not drive the vehicle over or stop the vehicle near flammable materials.
The exhaust system and exhaust gases can be extremely hot. These hot parts may cause a fire if there is any flammable material nearby.
●During normal driving, do not turn off the engine. Turning the engine off while driving
will not cause loss of steering or braking control, but the power assist to these systems will be lost. This will make it more difficult to steer and brake, so you should pull over and stop the vehicle as soon as it is safe to do so.
However, in the event of an emergency, such as if it becomes impossible to stop the vehicle in the normal way: P. 657
●Use engine braking (downshift) to maintain a safe speed when driving down a steep
hill. Using the brakes continuously may caus e the brakes to overheat and lose effec- tiveness. ( P. 251)
●Do not adjust the positions of the steering wheel, the seat, or the inside or outside rear
view mirrors while driving. Doing so may result in a loss of vehicle control.
●Always check that all passengers’ arms, heads or other parts of their body are not
outside the vehicle.
●AWD models: Do not drive the vehicle off-road. This is not an AWD vehicle designed for o ff-road driving. Proceed with all due cau-
tion if it becomes unavoidable to drive off-road.
●Do not drive across a river or through other bodies of water. This may cause electric/electronic components to short circuit, damage the engine or
cause other serious damage to the vehicle.

2304-1. Before driving
RX350/RX200t_EE_OM48F32E
WARNING
Observe the following precautions. Failure to do so may result in death or serious injury.
■When driving on slippery road surfaces
●Sudden braking, acceleration and steering may cause tire slippage and reduce your ability to control the vehicle.
●Sudden acceleration, engine braking due to shifting, or changes in engine speed
could cause the vehicle to skid.
●After driving through a puddle, lightly depress the brake pedal to make sure that the brakes are functioning properly. Wet brak e pads may prevent the brakes from func-
tioning properly. If the brakes on only one side are wet and not functioning properly, steering control may be affected.
■When shifting the shift lever
●Do not let the vehicle roll backward while the shift lever is in a driving position, or roll forward while the shift lever is in R. Doing so may cause the engine to stall or lead to poor brake and steering perfor-
mance, resulting in an accident or damage to the vehicle.
●Do not shift the shift lever to P while the vehicle is moving. Doing so can damage the transmission and may result in a loss of vehicle control.
●Do not shift the shift lever to R while the vehicle is moving forward. Doing so can damage the transmission and may result in a loss of vehicle control.
●Do not shift the shift lever to a driving position while the vehicle is moving backward.
Doing so can damage the transmission and may result in a loss of vehicle control.
●Shifting the shift lever to N while the vehicle is moving will disengage the engine. Engine braking is not available when N is selected.
●Be careful not to shift the shift lever with the accelerator pedal depressed. Shifting the shift lever to any position othe r than P or N may lead to unexpected rapid acceleration of the vehicle that may cause an accident and result in death or serious
injury.

2314-1. Before driving
4
Driving
RX350/RX200t_EE_OM48F32E
WARNING
Observe the following precautions. Failure to do so may result in death or serious injury.
■If you hear a squealing or scraping noise (brake pad wear indicators)
Have the brake pads checked and replaced by any authorized Lexus dealer or repairer, or another duly qualified and equi pped professional as soon as possible. Rotor damage may result if the pads are not replaced when needed.
Front brakes only: Moderate levels of brake pad and disc wear allow enhanced front braking power. As a result, the discs may wear more quickly than conventional brakediscs. Therefore, when replacing the brake pads, Lexus recommends that you also
have the thickness of the discs measured.
It is dangerous to drive the vehicle when th e wear limits of the brake pads and/or those of the brake discs are exceeded.
■When the vehicle is stopped
●Do not race the engine.If the shift lever is in any position other than P or N, the vehicle may accelerate sud-
denly and unexpectedly, causing an accident.
●In order to prevent accidents due to the vehicle rolling away, always keep depressing the brake pedal while the engine is running, and apply the parking brake as neces-
sary.
●If the vehicle is stopped on an incline, in order to prevent accidents caused by the vehicle rolling forward or backward, alwa ys depress the brake pedal and securely
apply the parking brake as needed.
●Avoid revving or racing the engine. Running the engine at high speed while the vehicle is stopped may cause the exhaust
system to overheat, which could result in a fire if combustible material is nearby.

2334-1. Before driving
4
Driving
RX350/RX200t_EE_OM48F32E
WARNING
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 park ed in a poorly ventilated area, exhaust gases
may collect and enter the vehicle, leading 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 notsecurely hold the vehicle.
●If the power brake assist function does not operate, do not follow other vehiclesclosely and avoid hills or shar p turns that require braking. In this case, braking is still possible, bu t the brake pedal should be depressed more
firmly than usual. Also, the braking distance 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 braking distance will increase. Have your brakes fixed immediately.
■If the vehicle becomes stuck (AWD models)
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.

2444-1. Before driving
RX350/RX200t_EE_OM48F32E
■Important points regarding stability
Vehicle movement resulting from unev en road surfaces and strong cross-
winds will affect handling. The vehicle may also be rocked by passing buses or
large trucks. Frequently check behind when moving alongside such vehicles.
As soon as such vehicle movement occurs, immediately start to decelerate
smoothly by slowly applying the brakes. Always steer the vehicle straight
ahead while braking.
■Passing other vehicles
Consider the total combined length of your vehicle and trailer and ensure that
the vehicle-to-vehicle distance is sufficient before executing lane changes.
■Transmission information
To maintain engine braking efficiency and charging system performance,
when using engine braking, do not use the transmission in D. If in the M mode,
the transmission shift range position must be in 4 or lower. ( P. 251)
■If the engine overheats
Towing a loaded trailer up a long, steep incline in temperatures exceeding
30 C (85F) may result in the engine overheating. If the engine coolant tem-
perature gauge indicates that the engine is overheating, turn the air condition-
ing off immediately, leave the road and stop the vehicle in a safe place.
( P. 718)
■When parking the vehicle
Always place wheel chocks under the wheels of both the vehicle and trailer.
Set the parking brake and shift the shift lever to P.

2634-2. Driving procedures
4
Driving
RX350/RX200t_EE_OM48F32E
Turns the brake hold system on
The brake hold standby indicator
(green) comes on. While the system is holding the brake, the brake hold oper-ated indicator (yellow) comes on.
■Brake hold system operating conditions
The brake hold system cannot be turn ed on in the following conditions:
●The driver’s door is not closed.
●The driver is not wearing the seat belt.
If any of the conditions above are detected when the brake hold system is enabled, the
system will turn off and the brake hold standby indicator light will go off. In addition, if any of the conditions are detected while the sy stem is holding the brake, a warning buzzer will sound and a message will be shown on th e multi-information display. The parking
brake will then be set automatically.
■Brake hold function
●If the brake pedal is left released for a pe riod of about 3 minutes after the system has
started holding the brake, th e parking brake will be set automatically. In this case, a warning buzzer sounds and a message is shown on the multi-information display.
●To turn the system off while the system is holding the brake, firmly depress the brake
pedal and press the button again.
●The brake hold function may not hold the vehicle when the vehicle is on a steep incline. In this situation, it may be necessary for the driver to apply the brakes. A warning
buzzer will sound and the multi-information disp lay will inform the driver of this situa- tion. If a warning message is shown on the multi-information display, read the message and follow the instructions.
Brake Hold
The brake hold system keeps the brake a pplied when the shift lever is in D, M
or N with the system on and the brake pedal has been depressed to stop the
vehicle. The system releases the brake when the accelerator pedal is
depressed with the shift lever in D or M to allow smooth start off.

2644-2. Driving procedures
RX350/RX200t_EE_OM48F32E
■When the parking brake is set automatically while the system is holding the brakes
The parking brake will not be released aut omatically. With the brake pedal depressed, release the parking brake by operating the pa rking brake switch, making sure that the
parking brake indicator light goes off. ( P. 259)
■If “Brake Hold Fault Depress Brake to Deactivate Visit Your Dealer” is displayed on the multi-information display
The system may be malfunctioning. Have the vehicle inspected by any authorized Lexus dealer or repairer, or another duly qua lified and equipped professional immediately.
■Warning messages and buzzers
Warning messages and buzzers are used to indicate a system malfunction or to inform the driver of the need for caution. If a warn ing message is shown on the multi-information display, read the message and follow the instructions.
■If the brake hold operated indicator flashes
P. 666
WARNING
■When the vehicle is on a steep incline
When using the brake hold system on a steep incline exercise caution. The brake hold
function may not hold the vehicle in such a situation.
■When stopped on a slippery road
The system cannot stop the vehicle when the gripping ability of the tires has been
exceeded. Do not use the system when stopped on a slippery road.
NOTICE
■When parking the vehicle
The brake hold system is not designed fo r use when parking the vehicle for a long period of time. Turning the en gine switch off while the system is holding the brake may
release the brake, which would cause the ve hicle to move. When operating the engine switch, depress the brake peda l, shift the shift lever to P and set the parking brake.