Toyota 2006 Tacoma Service Manual page 197

06 04.25
(b) Normal driving
1. Start the engine as instructed in "How
to start the engine" on page 298 in
Section 3. The transmission must be in
"P" or "N".
2. With your foot holding down the brake
pedal, shift the selector lever to "D".
When the lever is in the "D" position, the
automatic transmission system will select
the most suitable gear for running condi-
tions such as normal cruising, hill climb-
ing, hard towing, etc.
Always use the "D" position for better fuel
economy and quieter driving. If the engine
coolant temperature is low, the transmis-
sion will not shift into the overdrive gear
even in the "D" position.
CAUTION
Never put your foot on the accelera-
tor pedal while shifting.
3. Release the parking brake and brake
pedal. Depress the accelerator pedal
slowly for smooth starting.
(c) Using engine braking
To use engine braking, you can downshift
the transmission as follows:
D
Shift into the "3" position. The trans-
mission will downshift to third gear.
D
Shift into the "2" position. The trans-
mission will downshift to second gear
when the vehicle speed drops down to
or lower than 119 km/h (74 mph), and
stronger engine braking will be en-
abled.
D
Shift into the "L" position. The trans-
mission will downshift to first gear
when the vehicle speed drops down to
or lower than 57 km/h (35 mph), and
maximum engine braking will be en-
abled.
When the cruise control is being used,
even if you downshift from "D" to "3",
engine braking will not be enabled be-
cause the cruise control is not cancelled.
For ways to decrease the vehicle speed,
see "Cruise control" on page 199 in this
Section.
CAUTION
Be careful when downshifting on a
slippery surface. Abrupt shifting
could cause the vehicle to skid or
spin.
2006 TACOMA from Jan.'06 Prod. (OM35871U)
I n f o r ma t i o n P r o v i d e d b y :
(d) Using "2" and "L" positions
The "2" and "L" positions are used for
strong engine braking as described pre-
viously.
With the selector lever in "2" or "L", you
can start the vehicle in motion as with the
lever in "D".
With the selector lever in "2", the vehicle
will start in first gear and automatically
shift to second gear.
With the selector lever in "L", the trans-
mission is engaged in first gear.
NOTICE
z Be careful not to over- rev the en-
gine. Watch the tachometer to keep
engine rpm from going into the red
zone. The approximate maximum al-
lowable speed for each position is
given below for your reference:
"2" . . . . . . . . . . . 120 km/h (74 mph)
"L" . . . . . . . . . . . . 65 km/h (40 mph)
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