Page 338 of 608
3384-6. Driving tips
4RUNNER (U)
WARNING
■Off-road driving precautions
Always observe the following precautions to minimize the risk of death, seri-
ous injury or damage to your vehicle:
● Drive carefully when off the road. Do not take unnecessary risks by driving
in dangerous places.
● Do not grip the steering wheel spokes when driving off-road. A bad bump
could jerk the wheel and injure your hands. Keep both hands and espe-
cially your thumbs on the outside of the rim.
● Always check your brakes for effectiveness immediately after dr iving in
sand, mud, water or snow.
● After driving through tall grass, mud, rock, sand, rivers, etc. , check that
there is no grass, bush, paper, rags, stone, sand, etc. adhering or trapped
on the underbody. Clear off any such matter from the underbody. If the
vehicle is used with these materials trapped or adhering to the underbody,
a breakdown or fire could occur.
● In a rollover crash, an unbelted person is significantly more likely to die
than a person wearing a seat belt. Therefore, the driver and al l passengers
should fasten their seat belts whenever the vehicle is moving.
● When driving off-road or in rugged terrain, do not drive at excessive
speeds, jump, make sharp turns, strike objects, etc. This may cause loss
of control or vehicle rollover causing death or serious injury. You are also
risking expensive damage to your vehicle’s suspension and chass is.
Page 401 of 608
4016-1. Maintenance and care
6
Maintenance and care
4RUNNER (U)
■Caring for leather areas
Toyota recommends cleaning the interior of the vehicle at least twice a year to
maintain the quality of the vehicle’s interior.
■ Shampooing the carpets
There are several commercial foaming-type cleaners available. U se a sponge
or brush to apply the foam. Rub in overlapping circles. Do not use water.
Wipe dirty surfaces and let them dry. Excellent results are obt ained by keep-
ing the carpet as dry as possible.
■ Seat belts
Clean with mild soap and lukewarm water using a cloth or sponge . Also
check the belts periodically for excessive wear, fraying or cut s.
WARNING
■ Water in the vehicle
● Do not splash or spill liquid in the vehicle.
Doing so may cause electrical components etc. to malfunction or catch
fire.
● Do not get any of the SRS components or wiring in the vehicle interior wet.
(P. 38)
An electrical malfunction may cause the airbags to deploy or not function
properly, resulting in death or serious injury.
■ Cleaning the interior (especially instrument panel)
Do not use polish wax or polish cleaner. The instrument panel m ay reflect
off the windshield, obstructing the driver’s view and leading to an accident,
resulting in death or serious injury.
Page 406 of 608
4066-2. Maintenance
4RUNNER (U)
Vehicle interior
ItemsCheck points
Accelerator pedal• The accelerator pedal should move smoothly(without uneven pedal effort or catching).
Automatic transmis-
sion “Park” mecha-
nism• When parked on a slope and the shift lever is in P,is the vehicle securely stopped?
Brake pedal
• Does the brake pedal move smoothly?
• Does the brake pedal have appropriate clearancefrom the floor? ( P. 531)
• Does the brake pedal have the correct amount of
free play? ( P. 531)
Brakes
• The vehicle should not pull to one side when the
brakes are applied.
• The brakes should work effectively.
• The brake pedal should not feel spongy.
• The brake pedal should not get too close to the floor when the brakes are applied.
Head restraints• Do the head restraints move smoothly and locksecurely?
Indicators/buzzers• Do the indicators and buzzers function properly?
Lights • Do all the lights come on?
Parking brake
• Does the parking brake pedal move smoothly?
• When parked on a slope and the parking brake is
on, is the vehicle securely stopped?
Seat belts• Do the seat belts operate smoothly?
• The seat belts should not be damaged.
Seats• Do the seat controls operate properly?
Steering wheel
• Does the steering wheel rotate smoothly?
• Does the steering wheel have the correct amountof free play?
• There should not be any strange sounds coming
from the steering wheel.
Page 411 of 608
4116-3. Do-it-yourself maintenance
6
Maintenance and care
4RUNNER (U)
WARNING
The engine compartment contains many mechanisms and fluids that may
move suddenly, become hot, or become electrically energized. To avoid death
or serious injury, observe the following precautions.
■ When working on the engine compartment
● Keep hands, clothing and tools away from the moving fan and engine
drive belt.
● Be careful not to touch the engine, radiator, exhaust manifold, etc. right
after driving as they may be hot. Oil and other fluids may also be hot.
● Do not leave anything that may burn easily, such as paper and r ags, in the
engine compartment.
● Do not smoke, cause sparks or expose an open flame to fuel or t he bat-
tery. Fuel and battery fumes are flammable.
● Be extremely cautious when working on the battery. It contains poisonous
and corrosive sulfuric acid.
■ Safety glasses
Wear safety glasses to prevent flying or falling material, fluid spray, etc.
from getting in your eyes.
NOTICE
■If you remove the air cleaner filter
Driving with the air cleaner filter removed may cause excessive engine wear
due to dirt in the air.
Page 438 of 608
4386-3. Do-it-yourself maintenance
4RUNNER (U)
WARNING
■When inspecting or replacing tires
Observe the following precautions to prevent accidents.
Failure to do so may cause damage to parts of the drive train as well as
dangerous handling characteristics, which may lead to an accide nt
resulting in death o r serious injury.
●Do not mix tires of different ma kes, models or tread patterns.
Also, do not mix tires of remarkably different treadwear.
●Do not use tire sizes other th an those recommended by Toyota.
●Do not mix differently constructed tires (radial, bias-belted o r bias-ply
tires).
●Do not mix summer, all season and snow tires.
●Do not use tires that have been used on another vehicle.
Do not use tires if you do not kn ow how they were used previous l y.
■When initializing the tire pressure warning system
Do not operate the tire pressure warning reset switch without first
adjusting the tire inflation pressure to the specified level. O therwise, the
tire pressure warning light may not come on even if the tire in flation
pressure is low, or it may come on when the tire inflation pres sure is
actually normal.
Page 472 of 608
4727-2. Steps to take in an emergency
4RUNNER (U)
When using a flat-bed truck to transport the vehicle, use tire strapping
belts. Refer to the owner's manual of the flat-bed truck for th e tire
strapping method.
In order to suppress vehicle movement during transportation, se t the
parking brake and turn the engine switch off.
If a tow truck is not available in an emergency, your vehicle m ay be
temporarily towed using cables or chains secured to the emergen cy
towing hooks. This should only be attempted on hard surfaced roads
for at most 50 miles (80 km) at under 18 mph (30 km/h).
A driver must be in the vehicle to steer and operate the brakes . The
vehicle’s wheels, drive train, a xles, steering and brakes must be in
good condition.
Using a flatbed truck
Emergency towing
Page 478 of 608
4787-2. Steps to take in an emergency
4RUNNER (U)(U.S.A.)
(Canada)
Malfunction indicator lamp Indicates a malfunction in:
• The emission control system;
• The electronic engine control system;
• The electronic throttle control system; or
• The electronic automatic transmission control sys-
tem
Have the vehicle inspected by your Toyota dealer
immediately.
SRS warning light
Indicates a malfunction in:
• The SRS airbag system;
• The front passenger occupant classification system;or
• The seat belt pretensioner system
Have the vehicle inspected by your Toyota dealer
immediately.
(U.S.A.)
(Canada) ABS warning light
Indicates a malfunction in:
• The ABS; or
• The brake assist system
Have the vehicle inspected by your Toyota dealer
immediately.
Slip indicator
Indicates a malfunction in:
• The VSC system;
• Trailer Sway Control system;
• The TRAC system;
• The active traction control system;
• The AUTO LSD system;
• The downhill assist control system;
• The hill-start assist control system; or
• The Crawl Control system
Have the vehicle inspected by your Toyota dealer
immediately.
(Flashes rapidly)
Rear differential lock indi cator light (if equipped)
Indicates a malfunction in the rear differential lock sys-
tem
Have the vehicle inspected by your Toyota dealer
immediately.
Warning lightWarning light/Details/Actions
Page 480 of 608
4807-2. Steps to take in an emergency
4RUNNER (U)
Low fuel level warning lightIndicates remaining fuel is approximately 3.5 gal. (13.1
L, 2.9 Imp. gal.) or less
Refuel the vehicle.
Seat belt reminder light (warning buzzer)*3
Warns the driver and/or front passenger to fasten their
seat belts
Fasten the seat belt.
If the front passenger’s s eat is occupied, the front
passenger’s seat belt also needs to be fastened to
make the warning light (wa rning buzzer) turn off.
Brake Override System/Drive- Start Control warning
light (warning buzzer)
*4
When a buzzer sounds:
• Brake Override System is malfunctioning;
• Drive-Start Control is operating;
• Drive-Start Control is malfunctioning; or
Follow the instructions displayed on the multi-
information display.
When a buzzer does not sound:
Brake Override System is operating
Release the accelerator pedal and depress the
brake pedal.
(Flashes)
(U.S.A.)
(Flashes)
(Canada)Parking brake indicator (warning buzzer)*1
Indicates that the parking brake is engaged
Release the parking brake.
Warning lightWarning light/Details/Actions
