1997 Lexus SC 400 Owners Manual - Page 144

STARTING AND DRIVING ! CAUTION (b) Using engine braking Never put your foot on the accelerator pedal while shifting. 6. Release the parking brake and brake pedal. Depress the accelerator pedal slowly for smooth starting. The vehicle will start in the first gear and automatically shift to the most suitable gear for the running conditions, such as the vehicle speed, hill climbing, hard towing, etc. However, while the engine coolant temperature is low and the vehicle is traveling at low speed, the transmission will not shift into the overdrive gear even with the overdrive switch on. In "D" position, the automatic transmission system will select the most suitable gear for the running conditions such as hill climbing, hard towing, etc. If you need to accelerate rapidly while driving, depress the accelerator pedal to the full throttle position. This provides more acceleration by automatically downshifting the transmission to the next lower gear or beyond, depending on the vehicle speed. If engine braking is needed, such as in descending a long hill, see "(b) Using engine braking". To use the braking power of the engine, downshift the transmission in the way described below: S Turn off the overdrive switch. (This is effective only when you are driving in the "D" position.) The "O/D OFF" indicator light in the instrument cluster will come on and the transmission will downshift to the third gear and engine braking will be obtained. When the cruise control is being used, even if you downshift the transmission by turning off the overdrive switch, engine braking will not be applied because the cruise control is not cancelled. If you need to decrease the vehicle speed, see page 143. S Shift into the "2" position. The transmission will downshift to the second gear when the vehicle speed is or becomes lower than the speed listed below and more powerful engine braking will be obtained. 135