ES300h_OM_OM33D45U_(U)
1594-1. Before driving
4
Driving
WARNING
Observe the following precautions.
Failure to do so may result in death or serious injury.
■When the vehicle is parked
●Do not leave glasses, cigarette lighters, spray cans, or soft drink cans in the vehicle
when it is in the sun.
Doing so may result in the following:
• Gas may leak from a cigarette lighter or spray can, and may lead to a fire.
• The temperature inside the vehicle may cau se the plastic lenses and plastic mate-
rial of glasses to deform or crack.
• Soft drink cans may fracture, causing the contents to spray over the interior of the vehicle, and may also cause a short circui t in the vehicle’s electrical components.
●Do not leave cigarette lighters in the vehicle. If a cigarette lighter is in a place such as
the glove box or on the floor, it may be lit accidentally when luggage is loaded or the
seat is adjusted, causing a fire.
●Do not attach adhesive discs to the windsh ield or windows. Do not place containers
such as air fresheners on th e instrument panel or dashboard. Adhesive discs or con-
tainers may act as lenses, ca using a fire in the vehicle.
●Do not leave a door or window open if th e curved glass is coated with a metallized
film such as a silver-colored one. Reflecte d sunlight may cause the glass to act as a
lens, causing a fire.
●Always apply the parking brake, shift the shif t lever to P, stop the hybrid system and
lock the vehicle.
Do not leave the vehicle unattended whil e the “READY” indicator is illuminated.
If the vehicle is parked with the shift leve r in P but the parking brake is not set, the
vehicle may start to move, possibly leading to an accident.
●Do not touch the exhaust pipes while the “R EADY” indicator is illuminated or imme-
diately after turning the hybrid system off.
Doing so may cause burns.
■When taking a nap in the vehicle
Always turn the hybrid system off. Otherwise, if you accidentally move the shift lever or
depress the accelerator pedal, this could cause an accident or fire due to hybrid system
overheating. Additionally, if the vehicle is parked in a poorly ventilated area, exhaust
gases may collect and enter the vehicle, lead ing to death or a serious health hazard.
172
ES300h_OM_OM33D45U_(U)4-2. Driving procedures
WARNING
■When starting the hybrid system
Always start the hybrid system while sittin
g in the driver’s seat. Do not depress the
accelerator pedal while starting the hybrid system under any circumstances.
Doing so may cause an accident resu lting in death or serious injury.
■Caution while driving
If hybrid system failure occurs while the ve hicle is moving, do not lock or open the
doors until the vehicle reaches a safe and complete stop. Activation of the steering lock
in this circumstance may lead to an acci dent, resulting in death or serious injury.
■Stopping the hybrid system in an emergency
If you want to stop the hybrid system in an emergency while driving the vehicle, press
and hold the power switch for more than 2 se conds, or press it briefly 3 times or more
in succession. ( →P. 497)
However, do not touch the power switch while driving except in an emergency. Turning
the hybrid system off while driving will not cause loss of steering or braking control,
however, power assist to the steering will be lost. This will make it more difficult to steer
smoothly, so you should pull over and stop the vehicle as soon as it is safe to do so.
NOTICE
■To prevent 12-volt battery discharge
●Do not leave the power switch in ACCESSORY or ON mode for long periods of
time without the hybrid system on.
●If “POWER ON” is displayed on the multi-in formation display, the power switch is not
off. Exit the vehicle after turning the power switch off.
●Do not stop the hybrid system when the shift lever is in a position other than P. If the
hybrid system is stopped in another shift lever position , the power switch will not be
turned off but instead be turned to ACCESSORY mode. If the vehicle is left in
ACCESSORY mode, 12-volt ba ttery discharge may occur.
■When starting the hybrid system
If the hybrid system becomes difficult to star t, have your vehicle checked by your Lexus
dealer immediately.
■Symptoms indicating a malfun ction with the power switch
If the power switch seems to be operating somewhat differen tly than usual, such as the
switch sticking slightly, ther e may be a malfunction. Contact your Lexus dealer immedi-
ately.
180
ES300h_OM_OM33D45U_(U)4-2. Driving procedures
Turn signal lever
Right turn
Lane change to the right (move the
lever partway and then release it)
The right hand signals will flash 3 times.
Lane change to the left (move the
lever partway and then release it)
The left hand signals will flash 3 times.
Left turn
■Turn signals can be operated when
The power switch is in ON mode.
■If the indicator flashes faster than usual
Check that a light bulb in
the front or rear turn signal lights has not burned out.
■If the turn signals stop flashing befo re a lane change has been performed
Operate the lever again.
■To discontinue flashing of the turn signals during a lane change
Operate the lever in the opposite direction.
■Customization
The number of times the turn signals flas h during a lane change can be changed.
( → P. 560)
Operating instructions
1
2
3
4
182
ES300h_OM_OM33D45U_(U)4-3. Operating the lights and wipers
Headlight switch
Turning the end of the lever turns on the lights as follows:
The headlights can be operated
manually or automatically.
Operating instructions
U.S.A. Canada
The side marker, parking,
(→ P. 183), tail, license plate,
instrument panel lights and
daytime running lights
( → P. 183) turn on.
The headlights, parking and all
lights listed above (except
daytime running lights) turn
on.
The headlights, daytime run-
ning lights (→ P. 183) and all
the lights listed above turn on
and off automatically.
(When the power switch is in
ON mode.)
Off
The daytime running lights
turn on. ( →P. 183)1
2
3
4
(U.S.A.)
(Canada)
ES300h_OM_OM33D45U_(U)
1834-3. Operating the lights and wipers
4
Driving
With the headlights on, push the
lever away from you to turn on the
high beams.
Pull the lever toward you to the center
position to turn the high beams off.
Pull the lever toward you and release
it to flash the high beams once.
You can flash the high beams with the
headlights on or off.
AFS (Adaptive Front-lighting System) improves visibility at intersections and on
curves by automatically adjusting the lateral angle of the headlights according to
vehicle speed and the degree of the tire angle that are controlled by steering
input.
Operates at speed of 6 mph (10 km/h) or higher.
■Deactivating AFS
Select “AFS” on the (settings display) of the multi-information dis-
play. ( →P. 92)
Press the meter control switch.
■Daytime running light system
●The daytime running lights illuminate using th e same lights as the parking lights and illu-
minate brighter than the parking lights.
●To make your vehicle more visible to other drivers during daytime driving, the daytime
running lights turn on automatically when a ll of the following conditions are met. (The
daytime running lights are not designed for use at night.)
• The hybrid system operating
• The parking brake is released
• The headlight switch is in the (Canada only), or “AUTO”
* position
*: When the surroundings are bright
The daytime running lights remain on after they illuminate, even if the parking brake is set
again.
●For the U.S.A.: Daytime running lights can be turned off by operating the switch.
●Compared to turning on the headlights, the daytime running light system offers greater
durability and consumes less electricity, so it can help improve fuel economy.
Turning on the high beam headlights
1
2
AFS (Adaptive Front-lighting System) (if equipped)
1
2
184
ES300h_OM_OM33D45U_(U)4-3. Operating the lights and wipers
■Headlight control sensor
■Automatic light off system
When the light switch is in , or :
The headlights and tail lights turn off 30
seconds after the power switch is turned to ACCESSORY mode or turned off and a
door is opened and all of the doors and trun k are closed. (The lights turn off immediately
if on the key is pressed twic e after all the doors are closed.)
To turn the lights on again, turn the power switch to ON mode, or turn the light switch off
once and then back to or .
If any of the doors or trunk lid is kept open , the lights automatically turn off after 20 min-
utes.
■Light reminder buzzer
A buzzer sounds when the power switch is turned off or turned to ACCESSORY mode
and the driver’s door is opened while the lights are turned on.
■Automatic headlight leve ling system (if equipped)
The level of the headlights is automatically adjusted accordi ng to the number of passen-
gers and the loading condition of the vehicle to ensure that the headlights do not inter-
fere with other road users.
■If “Headlight System Malfunction Visit Your Dealer” is displayed on the multi-informa-
tion display
The system may be malfunctioning. Have the vehicle inspected by your Lexus dealer.
■Customization
Settings (e.g. light sensor se nsitivity) can be changed.
(Customizable features: →P. 560)
The sensor may not function properly if an
object is placed on the
sensor, or anything that
blocks the sensor is affixed to the windshield.
Doing so interferes with the sensor detecting
the level of ambient light and may cause the
automatic headlight system to malfunction.
NOTICE
■To prevent 12-volt battery discharge
Do not leave the lights on longer than necessary when the hybrid system is not operat-
ing.
185
ES300h_OM_OM33D45U_(U)4-3. Operating the lights and wipers
4
Driving
Automatic High Beam
Push the lever away from you with
the headlight switch in the or
position.
Press the Automatic High Beam
switch.
The Automatic High Beam indicator will
come on when the headlights are turned
on automatically to indicate that the sys-
tem is active.
The Automatic High Beam uses an in-vehicle camera sensor to assess the
brightness of streetlights, the lights of vehicles ahead, etc., and automatically
turns the high beam on or off as necessary.
WARNING
■Limitations of the Automatic High Beam
Do not rely on the Automatic High Beam. Al ways drive safely, taking care to observe
your surroundings and turning the high be am on or off manually if necessary.
■To prevent incorrect operation of the Automatic High Beam system
Do not overload the vehicle.
Activating the Automatic High Beam system
1
2
186
ES300h_OM_OM33D45U_(U)4-3. Operating the lights and wipers
■Switching to low beam
Pull the lever to the original position.
The Automatic High Beam indicator
will turn off.
Push the lever away from you to acti-
vate the Automatic High Beam sys-
tem again.
■Switching to high beam
Press the Automatic High Beam
switch.
The Automatic High Beam indicator
will turn off and the high beam indi-
cator will turn on.
Press the switch to activate the Auto-
matic High Beam system again.
■High beam automatic turning on or off conditions
●When all of the following conditions are fulf
illed, the high beam will be automatically
turned on:
• Vehicle speed is above appr oximately 21 mph (34 km/h).
• The area ahead of the vehicle is dark.
• There are no vehicles ahead with headlights or tail lights turned on.
• There are few streetlights on the road ahead.
●If any of the following conditions are fulfilled , the high beam will be automatically turned
off:
• Vehicle speed drops below approximately 17 mph (27 km/h).
• The area ahead of the vehicle is not dark.
• Vehicles ahead have headlights or tail lights turned on.
• There are many streetlights on the road ahead.
Turning the high beam on/off manually