2023 TOYOTA HIGHLANDER steering

1834-1. Before driving
4
Driving
WARNING
●Even if the total load of occu-
pant’s weight and the cargo
load is less than the total load
capacity, do not apply the load
unevenly. Improper loading may
cause deteriorat ion of steering
or braking control which may
cause death or serious injury.
■When using a roof luggage
carrier (vehicles with roof
rails)
Observe the following precau-
tions:
●Place the cargo so that its
weight is distributed evenly
between the front and rear
axles.
●If loading long or wide cargo,
never exceed the vehicle overall
length or width. (
P.474)
●Before driving, make sure the
cargo is securel y fastened on
the roof luggage carrier.
●Loading cargo on the roof lug-
gage carrier will make the cen-
ter of gravity of the vehicle
higher. Avoid high speeds, sud-
den starts, sharp turns, sudden
braking or abrupt maneuvers,
otherwise it may result in loss of
control or vehicle rollover due to
failure to operate this vehicle
correctly and resu lt in death or
serious injury.
●If driving for a long distance, on
rough roads, or at high speeds,
stop the vehicle now and then
during the trip to make sure the
cargo remains in its place.
●Do not exceed 165 lb. (75 kg)
cargo weight on the roof lug-
gage carrier.
NOTICE
■When loading cargo
Be careful not to scratch the sur-
face of the moon roof or pan-
oramic moon roof.

1864-1. Before driving
●All trailer lights work as required
by law.
●All lights work each time you con-
nect 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 improper
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/provin-
cial or local regu lations. If they do
not, install rear view mirrors
appropriate for towing purposes.
■Break-in schedule
If your vehicle is new or equipped
with any new power train compo-
nents (such as an engine, transaxle,
transfer [AWD models], rear differ-
ential [AWD models] or wheel bear-
ing), Toyota recommends that you
do not tow a trailer until the vehicle
has been 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 vehi-
cle at a speed of less than 50 mph
(80 km/h) when towing a trailer, and
avoid full throttle acceleration.
■Maintenance
●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 contr ol trailer sway-
ing by turning the steering wheel.
• Begin releasing the accelerator
pedal immediately but very gradu-
ally 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 occu-
pants 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 over-
loaded 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 combina-
tion. Drive at a lower speed to pre-
vent instability. Remember that
swaying of the towing vehicle-trailer
increases as speed increases.

1944-1. Before driving
requires practice. Grip the
bottom of the steering wheel
and move your hand to the
left to move the trailer to the
left. Move your hand to the
right to move the trailer to
right. (This is generally oppo-
site to reversing without a
trailer attached.) Avoid sharp
or prolonged turning. Have
someone guide you when
reversing to reduce the risk of
an accident.
 As stopping distance is
increased when towing a
trailer, vehicle-to vehicle dis-
tance should be increased.
For each 10 mph (16 km/h) of
speed, allow at least one
vehicle and trailer length.
 Avoid sudden braking as you
may skid, resulting in the
trailer jackknifing and a loss of
vehicle control. This is espe-
cially true on wet or slippery
surfaces.
 Avoid jerky starts or sudden
acceleration.
 Avoid jerky steering and
sharp turns, and slow down
before making turn.
 Note that when making a turn,
the trailer wheels will be
closer than the vehicle wheels
to the inside of the turn. Com-
pensate by making a wider
than normal turning radius.
 Slow down before making a turn, in cross winds, on wet or
slippery surfaces, etc.
Increasing vehicle speed can
destabilize the trailer.
 Take care when passing other
vehicles. Passing requires
considerable distance. After
passing a vehicle, do not for-
get the length of your trailer,
and be sure you have plenty
of room before changing
lanes.
 To maintain engine braking
efficiency and charging sys-
tem performance when using
engine braking, do not put the
transmission in D. If in the M
mode, the transmission shift
range position must be in 6 or
lower. ( P.201)
 Instability happens more fre-
quently when descending
steep or long downhill grades.
Before descending, slow
down and downshift. Do not
make sudden downshifts
while descending steep or
long downhill 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.
 Due to the added load of the
trailer, your vehicle’s engine
may overheat on hot days (at
temperatures over 85°F
[30°C]) when driving up a long

1994-2. Driving procedures
4
Driving
Modes can be changed by
pressing the engine switch with
brake pedal released. (The
mode changes each time the
switch is pressed.)
1OFF
*
The emergency flashers can be
used.
WARNING
■Stopping the engine in an
emergency
●If you want to stop the engine in
an emergency while driving the
vehicle, press and hold the
engine switch for more than 2
seconds, or press it briefly 3
times or more in succession.
( P.424)
However, do not touch the
engine switch while driving
except in an emergency. Turn-
ing 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 diffi-
cult to steer and brake, so you
should pull over and stop the
vehicle as soon as it is safe to
do so.
●If the engine switch is operated
while the vehicle is running, a
warning message will be shown
on the multi-info rmation display
and a buzzer sounds.
●To restart the engine after per-
forming an emergency shut-
down, shift the shift lever to N
and then press the engine
switch.
■When parking
Exhaust gases include harmful
carbon monoxide (CO), which is
colorless and odorless. Observe
the following precautions.
Failure to do so may cause
exhaust gases to enter the vehicle
and may lead to an accident
caused by light-headedness, or
may lead to death or a serious
health hazard.
●If the vehicle is in a poorly venti-
lated area or a closed area,
such as a garage, stop the
engine.
●Do not leave the vehicle with
the engine running for a long
time. If such a situation cannot
be avoided, park the vehicle in
an open space and ensure that
exhaust fumes do not enter the
vehicle interior.
●Do not leave the engine running
in an area with snow build-up,
or where it is snowing. If snow-
banks build up around the vehi-
cle while the engine is running,
exhaust gases may collect and
enter the vehicle.
Changing engine switch
modes

2124-3. Operating the lights and wipers
1With 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.
2Pull 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) secures excellent visi-
bility at intersections and on
curves by automatically adjust-
ing the direction of the light axis
of the headlights according to
vehicle speed and the degree of
the tire’s angle as controlled by steering input.
AFS operates at speeds of 6 mph
(10 km/h) or higher.
■Customization
Some functions can be customized.
(  P.494)
NOTICE
■To prevent battery discharge
Do not leave the lights on longer
than necessary when the engine
is off.
Turning on the high beam
headlights
AFS (Adaptive Front-light-
ing System) (if equipped)

2284-5. Using the driving support systems
The system can detect the fol-
lowing (The detectable objects
differs depending on the func-
tion.):
Vehicles
 Bicyclists 
Pedestrians
■Pre-collision warning
When the system determines
that the possibility of a frontal
collision is high, a buzzer will
sound and a warning message
will be displayed on the
multi-information display to urge
the driver to take evasive action.
■Pre-collision brake assist
When the system determines
that the possibility of a frontal
collision is high, the system
applies greater braking force in
relation to how strongly the
brake pedal is depressed.
■Pre-collision braking
If the system determines that
the possibility of a frontal colli-
sion is extremely high, the
brakes are automatically applied
to help avoid the collision or
reduce the impact of the colli-
sion.
■Emergency steering assist
If the system determines that
the possibility of a frontal colli-
PCS (Pre-Collision Sys-
tem)
The pre-collision system
uses a radar sensor and
front camera to detect
objects ( P.228) in front of
the vehicle. When the sys-
tem determines that the
possibility of a frontal colli-
sion with an object is high, a
warning operates to urge
the driver to take evasive
action and the potential
brake pressure is increased
to help the driver avoid the
collision. If the system
determines that the possi-
bility of a frontal collision
with an object is extremely
high, the brakes are auto-
matically applied to help
avoid the collision or help
reduce the impact of the col-
lision.
The pre-collision system can
be disabled/enabled and the
warning timing can be
changed. ( P.231)
Detectable objects
System functions

2294-5. Using the driving support systems
4
Driving
sion is high and that there is suf-
ficient space for the vehicle to
be steered into within its lane,
and the driver has begun eva-
sive maneuver or steering,
emergency steering assist will
assist the steering movements
to help enhance the vehicle sta-
bility and for lane departure pre-
vention. During operation, the
indicator will illuminate in green.
■Intersection right/left turn
assistance
If the system determines that
there is a high possibility of a
collision in the following situa-
tions, it will assist with Pre-colli-
sion warning and, if necessary
Pre-collision braking.
Depending on the configuration
of the intersection, it may not be
possible to support.
 When you turn right/left at an
intersection and cross the
path of an oncoming vehicle 
When you turn right/left,
pedestrian is detected in the
forward direction and esti-
mated to enter your vehicle’s
path (bicyclists are not
detected.)
WARNING
■Limitations of the pre-colli-
sion system
●The driver is solely responsible
for safe driving. Always drive
safely, taking care to observe
your surroundings.
Do not use the pre-collision sys-
tem instead of normal braking
operations under any circum-
stances. This system will not
prevent collisions or lessen col-
lision damage or injury in every
situation. Do not overly rely on
this system. Failure to do so
may lead to an accident, result-
ing in death or serious injury.

2304-5. Using the driving support systems
WARNING
●Although this system is
designed to help avoid a colli-
sion or help reduce the impact
of the collision, its effectiveness
may change according to vari-
ous conditions, therefore the
system may not always be able
to achieve the same level of
performance.
Read the following conditions
carefully. Do not overly rely on
this system and always drive
carefully.
• Conditions under which the sys- tem may operate even if there is
no possibility of a collision:
P. 2 3 5
• Conditions under which the sys- tem may not operate properly:
P. 2 3 6
●Do not attempt to test the oper-
ation of the pre-collision system
yourself.
Depending on the objects used
for testing (dummies, card-
board objects imitating detect-
able objects, etc.), the system
may not operate properly, possi-
bly leading to an accident.
■Pre-collision braking
●When the pre-collision braking
function is operating, a large
amount of braking force will be
applied.
●If the vehicle is stopped by the
operation of the pre-collision
braking function, the pre-colli-
sion braking function operation
will be canceled after approxi-
mately 2 second s. Depress the
brake pedal as necessary.
●The pre-collision braking func-
tion may not operate if certain
operations are performed by the
driver. If the accelerator pedal is
being depressed strongly or the
steering wheel is being turned,
the system may determine that
the driver is taking evasive
action and possibly prevent the
pre-collision braking function
from operating.
●In some situations, while the
pre-collision brak ing function is
operating, operation of the func-
tion may be canceled if the
accelerator pedal is depressed
strongly or the steering wheel is
turned and the system deter-
mines that the driver is taking
evasive action.
●If the brake pedal is being
depressed, the system may
determine that t he driver is tak-
ing evasive action and possibly
delay the operation timing of the
pre-collision braking function.
■Emergency steering assist
●As emergency steering assist
operation will be canceled when
the system determines that lane
departure prevention function
has been completed.
●Emergency steering assist may
not operate or may be cancel in
the following cases as the sys-
tem may determine the driver is
taking actions.
• If the accelerator pedal is being depressed strongly, the steering
wheel is being operated sharply,
the brake pedal is being
depressed or the turn signal
lever is being operated. In this
case, the syst em may deter-
mine that the driver is taking
evasive action and the emer-
gency steering assist may not
operate.