Do-It-Yourself Service Precautions - Toyota HIACE 2006 Owner's Manual

Do-it-yourself service
precautions
If you perform maintenance by yourself,
be sure to follow the correct procedure
given in this Section.
You should be aware that improper or in-
complete servicing may result in operating
problems.
This section gives instructions only for
those items that are relatively easy for an
owner to perform. As explained in Section
6 there are still a number of items that
~ust
be done by a qualified technician
with special tools.
Utmost care should be taken when work-
ing on your vehicle to prevent accidental
injury. Here are a few precautions that
you should be especially careful to ob-
serve:
192
&
CAUTION
• When the engine is running, keep
hands, clothing, and tools away
from the moving fan and engine
drive belts. (Removing rings,
watches, and ties is advisable.)
• Right after driving, the engine
compartment-the engine, radiator,
exhaust manifold, power steering
fluid reservoir and spark plug
boots, etc.-will be hot. So be care·
ful not to touch them. Oil, fluids
and spark plugs may also be hot.
• If the engine is hot, do not remove
the coolant reservoir cap or loosen
the drain plugs to prevent burning
yourself.
• Do not leave anything that may
burn easily, such as paper or rags,
in the engine compartment.
• Do not smoke, cause sparks or al-
low open flames around fuel or the
battery. Their fumes are flammable.
• Be extremely cautious when work-
ing on the battery. It contains poi-
sonous and corrosive sulfuric acid.
• Do not get under your vehicle with
just the body jack supporting it. Al-
ways use automotive jack stands or
other solid supports.
• Be sure that the ignition is off if
you work near the electric cooling
fan or radiator grille. With the igni-
tion on, the electric cooling fan will
automatically start to run if the air
conditioning is on.
• Use eye protection whenever you
work on or under your vehicle
where you may be exposed to flying
or falling material, fluid spray, etc.
• Used engine oil contains potentially
harmful contaminants which may
cause skin disorders such as in-
flammation or skin cancer, so care
should be taken to avoid prolonged
and repeated contact with it. To re-
move used engine oil from your
skin, wash thoroughly with soap
and water.
• Do not leave used oil within the
reach of children.