Normal Driving; Using Engine Braking; Using The “2” And “L” Positions - Toyota 1997 Corolla Owner's Manual

Your automatic transmission has a shift
lock system to minimize the possibility of
incorrect operation. This means you can
only shift out of "P" position when the
brake pedal is depressed (with the ignition
switch in "ON" position and the lock re-
lease button depressed).
(a) Normal Driving
1. Start the engine as instructed in "How
to start the engine" in Part 3. The trans-
mission must be in "P" or "N".
2. With your foot holding down the brake
pedal, shift the selector lever to "D".
In "D" position, the automatic transmis-
sion system will select the most suitable
gear for running conditions such as nor-
mal cruising, hill climbing, hard towing,
etc.
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.
(b) Using engine braking
To use engine braking, you can downshift
the transmission as follows:
S Shift into the "2" position when the ve-
hicle speed is lower than the 90 km/h
(56 mph). The transmission will down-
shift to the second gear and more en-
gine braking will be obtained.
S Shift into the "L" position when the ve-
hicle speed is lower than 36 km/h (22
mph). The transmission will downshift
to the first gear and maximum engine
braking will be applied.
Vehicles with cruise control—When the
cruise control is being used, even if you
downshift the transmission, engine brak-
ing will not be applied because the cruise
control is not cancelled. For ways to de-
crease the vehicle speed, see "Cruise
control" in this chapter.
CAUTION
!
Be careful when downshifting on a
slippery surface. Abrupt shifting
could cause the vehicle to spin or
skid.
(c) Using the "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 the first gear and automatically
shift to the second gear.
With the selector lever in "L", the trans-
mission is engaged in the first gear.
NOTICE
zBe careful not to overrev the en-
gine. Watch the tachometer to
keep engine rpm from going into
the red zone. The approximate
maximum allowable speed for
each position is given below for
your reference:
"2" . . . . . . 112 km/h (70 mph)
"L" . . . . . 62 km/h (38 mph)
zDo not continue hill climbing or
hard towing for a long time in the
"2" or "L" position. This may
cause severe automatic trasmis-
sion damage from overheating. To
prevent such damage, "D" posi-
tion should be used in hill climb-
ing or hard towing.
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