
1483-3. Adjusting the seats
4RUNNER (U)
WARNING
■When folding the rear seatbacks down
Observe the following precautions. Failure to do so may result in death or
serious injury.
● Do not fold the seatbacks down while driving.
● Stop the vehicle on level ground, set the parking brake and shi ft the shift
lever to P.
● Do not allow anyone to sit on a folded seatback or in the lugga ge compart-
ment while driving.
● Do not allow children to enter the luggage compartment.
■ Seat adjustment
● To reduce the risk of sliding under the lap belt during a colli sion, do not
recline the seat more than necessary.
If the seat is too reclined, the lap belt may slide past the hi ps and apply
restraint forces directly to the abdomen, or your neck may cont act the
shoulder belt, increasing the risk of death or serious injury i n the event of
an accident.
Adjustments should not be made while driving as the seat may un expect-
edly move and cause the driver to lose control of the vehicle.
● Take care when adjusting the seat position to ensure that other passen-
gers are not injured by the moving seat.
● Do not put your hands under the seat or near the moving parts t o avoid
injury.
Fingers or hands may become jammed in the seat mechanism.
■ After returning the rear seat back to the upright position
Observe the following precautions. Failure to do so may result in death or
serious injury.
● Make sure the seatback is securely locked by pushing it forward and rear-
ward on the top.
● Check that the seat belts are not twisted or caught in the seat back.
NOTICE
■Stowing the seat belts
The seat belts and the buckles must be stowed before you fold d own the
rear seatbacks.

1493-3. Adjusting the seats
3
Operation of each component
4RUNNER (U)
Your preferred driving position (the position of the driver’s seat) can
be recorded and recalled by pressing a button.
Two different driving positions can be recorded into memory.
■Recording procedure
Check that the shift lever is in P.
Turn the engine switch to IGNITION ON mode.
Adjust the driver’s seat t o the desired positions.
While pressing the “SET”
button, or within 3 seconds
after the “SET” button is
pressed, press button “1” or
“2” until the buzzer sounds.
If the selected button has
already been preset, the previ-
ously recorded position will be
overwritten.
Check that the shift lever is in P.
Turn the engine switch to IGNITION ON mode.
Press one of the buttons for the
driving position you want to
recall until the buzzer sounds.
Driving position memor y
: If equipped
This feature automatically adjusts the driver’s seat to suit yo ur
preferences.
Driving position memory
1
2
3
4
Recall procedure
1
2
3

1503-3. Adjusting the seats
4RUNNER (U)
■To stop the position recall operation part-way through
Perform any of the following:
●Press the “SET” button.
● Press button “1” or “2”.
● Operate any of the seat adjustment switches (only cancels seat position
recall).
■ Seat positions that can be memorized ( P. 136)
All adjusted positions can be recorded.
■ Operating the driving position m emory after turning the engine switch
off
Recorded seat positions can be activated up to 180 seconds after the driver’s
door is opened and another 60 seconds after it is closed again.
■ In order to correctly use the dr iving position memory function
If a seat position is already in the furthest possible position and the seat is
operated in the same direction, the recorded position may be sl ightly different
when it is recalled.
Each electronic key can be registered to recall your preferred driving
position.
■Registering procedure
Record your driving position to button “1” or “2” before perfor ming
the following:
Carry only the key you want to register, and then close the dri ver’s
door.
If 2 or more keys are in the vehicle, the driving position cann ot be
recorded properly.
Check that the shift lever is in P.
Turn the engine switch to IGNITION ON mode.
Recall the driving position that you want to record.
Memory recall function
1
2
3

176
4RUNNER (U)
4-1. Before driving
P. 2 1 2
With the brake pedal depressed, shift the shift lever to D. ( P. 2 1 8 )
Release the parking brake. ( P. 2 2 4 )
Gradually release the brake pedal and gently depress the accele ra-
tor pedal to accelerate the vehicle.
With the shift lever in D, depress the brake pedal until the ve hicle
comes to a stop.
If necessary, set the parking brake.
If the vehicle is to be stopped for an extended period of time, shift the shift
lever to P or N. ( P. 218)
With the shift lever in D , depress the brake pedal.
Set the parking brake ( P. 224), and shift the shift lever to P ( P.
218).
Vehicles without a smart key system:
Turn the engine switch to the “LOC K” position to stop the engine.
Vehicles with a smart key system:
Press the engine switch to stop the engine.
Lock the door, making sure that you have the key on your person.
If parking on a hill, block the wheels as needed.
Driving the vehicle
The following procedures should be observed to ensure safe
driving:
Starting the engine
Driving
Stopping
Parking the vehicle
1
2
3
1
2
1
2
3
4

1774-1. Before driving
4
Driving
4RUNNER (U)
Make sure that the parking brake is set and shift the shift lever to D.
Gently depress the accelerator pedal.
Release the parking brake.
■ Driving in the rain
●Drive carefully when it is raining, because visibility will be reduced, the win-
dows may become fogged-up, and the road will be slippery.
● Drive carefully when it starts to rain, because the road surface will be espe-
cially slippery.
● Refrain from driving at high speeds in the rain, as there may b e a layer of
water between the tires and the road surface, preventing the st eering 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-shifting implementation to
meet driving conditions. It does not indicate sudden acceleration.
●The vehicle is judged to be driving uphill or downhill
● When the accelerator pedal is released
■ Restraining the engine out put (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 multi-information display while the
system is operating.
■ Restraining sudden start (Drive-Start Control)
● When the following unusual operation is performed, the engine o utput 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 S) with the accelerator pedal depressed, a warnin g mes-
sage appears on the multi-information display.
• When the accelerator pedal is depressed too much while the veh icle is in
reverse.
● While Drive-Start Control is being activated, your vehicle may have trouble
escaping from the mud or fresh snow. In such case, perform the following
actions to cancel Drive-Start Control so that the vehicle may b ecome able to
escape from the mud or fresh snow.
• Deactivate TRAC ( P. 323, 324)
• 2WD models: When the AUTO LSD system is turned on. ( P. 303)
• Part-time 4WD models: The four-wheel drive control switch is in “L4” position. ( P. 293)
• Full-time 4WD models: The four-wheel drive control switch is i n “L4L”
position. ( P. 297)
Starting off on a steep uphill
1
2
3

1804-1. Before driving
4RUNNER (U)
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 slippa ge and
reduce your ability to control the vehicle, resulting in an accident.
● Sudden acceleration, engine braking due to shifting, or changes in engine
speed could cause the vehicle to skid, resulting in an accident .
● After driving through a puddle, lightly depress the brake pedal to make
sure that the brakes are functioning properly. Wet brake pads m ay prevent
the brakes from functioning properly. If the brakes on only one side are wet
and not functioning properly, steering control may be affected, resulting in
an accident.
■ When shifting the shift lever
● Do not let the vehicle roll backward while the shift lever is i n a driving posi-
tion, or roll forward while the shift lever is in R.
Doing so may cause the engine to stall or lead to poor brake an d steering
performance, 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 o f vehicle
control.
● Do not shift the shift lever to R while the vehicle is moving f orward.
Doing so can damage the transmission and may result in a loss o f vehicle
control.
● Do not shift the shift lever to a driving position while the ve hicle is moving
backward.
Doing so can damage the transmission and may result in a loss o f vehicle
control.
● Moving the shift lever to N while the vehicle is moving will disengage the
engine from the transmission. Engine braking is not available w hen N is
selected.
● Be careful not to shift the shift lever with the accelerator pe dal depressed.
Shifting the shift lever to a gear other than P or N may lead to unexpected
rapid acceleration of the vehicle that may cause an accident an d result in
death or serious injury.

1824-1. Before driving
4RUNNER (U)
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 d rink 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 le ad to a
fire.
• The temperature inside the vehicle may cause the plastic lenses and plastic material of glasses to deform or crack.
• Soft drink cans may fracture, causing the contents to spray ov er the
interior of the vehicle, and may also cause a short circuit 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 acci dentally when
luggage is loaded or the seat is adjusted, causing a fire.
● Do not attach adhesive discs to the windshield or windows. Do n ot place
containers such as air fresheners on the instrument panel or da shboard.
Adhesive discs or containers may act as lenses, causing a fire in the vehi-
cle.
● Do not leave a door or window open if the curved glass is coate d with a
metallized film such as a silver-colored one. Reflected sunligh t may cause
the glass to act as a lens, causing a fire.
● Always apply the parking brake, shift the shift lever to P, stop the engine
and lock the vehicle.
Do not leave the vehicle unattended while the engine is running .
If the vehicle is parked with the shift lever in P but the park ing brake is not
set, the vehicle may start to move, possibly leading to an acci dent.
● Do not touch the exhaust pipes while the engine is running or i mmediately
after turning the engine off.
Doing so may cause burns.

1834-1. Before driving
4
Driving
4RUNNER (U)
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 acc ident or fire
due to engine overheating. Additionally, if the vehicle is park ed in a poorly
ventilated area, exhaust gases may collect and enter the vehicl e, 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 ma y cause
one side of the vehicle to brake differently than the other sid e. Also, the
parking brake may not securely hold the vehicle.
● If the brake booster device does not operate, do not follow oth er vehicles
closely and avoid hills or shar p turns that require braking.
In this case, braking is still possible, but the brake pedal sh ould be
depressed more firmly than usual. Also, the braking distance wi ll increase.
● 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 hydraulic 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 dist ance will
increase.
If this happens, do not continue to drive the vehicle. Have you r brakes
fixed immediately.