
206
LC200_OM_OM60T03U_(U)
4-1. Before driving
■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. 578)
● Trailer tires are inflated according to the trailer manufacture r’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 imprope r 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 ap propriate for tow-
ing purposes.
■ Break-in schedule
If your vehicle is new or equipped with any new power train com ponents
(such as an engine, transmission, differential or wheel bearing ), Toyota rec-
ommends that you do not tow a trailer until the vehicle has bee n driven for
over 500 miles (800 km).
After the vehicle has been driven for over 500 miles (800 km), you can start
towing. However, for the next 500 miles (800 km), drive the veh icle at a speed
of less than 50 mph (80 km/h) when towing a trailer, and avoid full throttle
acceleration. 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

LC200_OM_OM60T03U_(U)
2074-1. Before driving
4
Driving
■Maintenance
●If you tow a trailer, your vehicle will require more frequent m aintenance due
to the additional load. (See “Owner’s Guide”, “Warranty and Ser vices
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 vehicle and trailer, causing instability.
● If trailer swaying occurs:
• Firmly grip the steering wheel. Steer straight ahead.
Do not try to control trailer swaying by turning the steering w heel.
• Begin releasing the accelerator pedal immediately but very gra dually 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, Trailer Sway Control can also help to
stabilize the vehicle and trailer.)
● 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 speed at which trailer swaying occurred
is beyond the limit of your particular vehicle-trailer combination.
Drive at a lower speed to prevent instability. Remember that sw aying of the
towing vehicle-trailer increases as speed increases.
WARNING
■ 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 serious injury. V ehicle stability
and braking performance are affected by trailer stability, brak e setting and
performance, and the hitch. Your vehicle will handle differently when towing
a trailer.

208
LC200_OM_OM60T03U_(U)
4-1. Before driving
WARNING
■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 weigh t distributing
hitch with sufficient capacity is required.
● Adjust the tongue weight within the appropriate range. Place he avier 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 lowest. Slow down sufficiently before making a tur n, in cross-
winds, on wet or slippery surface, etc. to help avoid an accident. If you
experience a vehicle-trailer instability from reducing a certai n speed, slow
down and make sure you keep your vehicle speed under the speed of
which 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 sur-
faces.
● Do not exceed the trailer hitch assembly weight, gross vehicle weight,
gross axle weight and trailer tongue weight capacities.
● Do not use cruise control or dynamic radar cruise control when trailer tow-
ing.
● Slow down and downshift before descending 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 h ills. Before
descending steep or long downhill grades, slow down and downshi ft. Do
not make sudden downshifts when descending steep or long downhi ll
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.

LC200_OM_OM60T03U_(U)
2094-1. Before driving
4
Driving
WARNING
■Hitch
Trailer hitch assemblies have different weight capacities estab lished by the
hitch manufacturer. Even though the vehicle may be physically capable of
towing a higher weight, the operator must determine the maximum weight
rating of the particular hitch assembly and never exceed the ma ximum
weight rating specified for the trailer-hitch. Exceeding the ma ximum weight
rating set by the trailer-hitch manufacturer can cause an accid ent resulting
in death or serious personal injuries.
■ When towing a trailer
Toyota recommends trailers with brakes that conform to any appl icable fed-
eral and state/provincial regulations.
● If the gross trailer weight exceeds unbraked TWR, trailer brake s are
required. Toyota recommends trailers with brakes that conform t o all appli-
cable federal and state/provincial regulations.
● Never tap into your vehicle’s hydraulic system, as this will lo wer the vehi-
cle’s braking effectiveness.
● Never tow a trailer without using a safety chain securely attac hed to both
the trailer and the vehicle. If damage occurs to the coupling u nit or hitch
ball, there is danger of the trailer wandering into another lan e.
NOTICE
■When installing a trailer hitch
Use only the position recommended by your Toyota 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 traile r lights may damage
your vehicle’s electrical system and cause a malfunction.

210
LC200_OM_OM60T03U_(U)
4-1. Before driving
Dinghy towing
Your vehicle is not designed to be dinghy towed (with 4 wheels
on the ground) behind a motor home.
NOTICE
■To avoid serious damage to your vehicle
Do not tow your vehicle with four wheels on the ground.

LC200_OM_OM60T03U_(U)
2214-2. Driving procedures
4
Driving
■Driving on a downhill
On declines, there may be case where the vehicle shifts down au tomatically
to obtain engine braking. As a result of the downshifting, the engine speed
may increase.
■ Second start mode automatic deactivation
Second start mode is automatically deactivated if the engine is turned off after
driving in second start mode.
■ S mode
When the shift range is 7 or lower, holding the shift lever tow ard “+” sets the
shift range to 8.
■ AI-SHIFT
AI-SHIFT automatically selects the suitable gear according to d river perfor-
mance and driving conditions.
AI-SHIFT automatically operates when the shift lever is in the D position.
(Shifting the shift lever to the S position cancels the functio n.)
■ When driving with cruise control or dynamic radar cruise control acti-
vated
Even when performing the following actions with the intent of e nabling engine
braking, engine braking will not activate because cruise contro l or radar
cruise control will not be canceled.
● While driving in S mode, downshifting to 7, 6, 5 or 4. ( P. 276, 289)
● When switching the driving mode to power mode while driving in D position.
( P. 219)
■ Shift lock system
The shift lock system is a system to prevent accidental operation of the shift
lever in starting.
The shift lever can be shifted from P only when the engine swit ch is in IGNI-
TION ON mode and the brake pedal is being depressed.

LC200_OM_OM60T03U_(U)
2274-3. Operating the lights and wipers
4
Driving
With the headlights on, push
the lever forward to turn on the
high beams.
Pull the lever back to the center
position to turn the high beams off.
Pull the lever toward you to turn
on the high beams.
Release the lever to turn them off.
You can flash the high beams with
the headlights on or off.
Turning on the high beam headlights
1
2

LC200_OM_OM60T03U_(U)
2334-3. Operating the lights and wipers
4
Driving
●In the situations shown below, the system may not be able to accurately
detect surrounding brightness levels. This may cause the low be ams to
remain on or the high beams to cause problems for pedestrians, vehicles
ahead or other parties. In these cases, manually switch between the high
and low beams.
• 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 inside rear view mirror or front camera is deformed or dir ty.
• The front camera temperature is extremely high.
• Surrounding brightness levels are equal to those of headlights , tail lights
or fog lights.
• Vehicles ahead have headlights that are either switched off, d irty, are
changing color, or are not aimed properly.
• When driving through an area of intermittently 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 w inding
road
• There is a highly reflective object ahead of the vehicle, such as a sign or
a mirror.
• The back of a vehicle ahead is highly reflective, such as a co ntainer on a
truck.
• The vehicle’s headlights are damaged or dirty, or are not aime d properly.
• The vehicle is listing or tilting, due to a flat tire, a trailer being towed etc.
• The high beam and low beam are repeatedly being switched betwe en in
an abnormal manner.
• The driver believes that the high beam may be causing problems or dis-
tress to other drivers or pedestrians nearby.
■ If a warning message of the Aut omatic High Beam is displayed...
It may indicate a malfunction in the system. Contact your Toyota dealer.