2003 Lexus LS 430 Owners Manual - Page 253

STARTING AND DRIVING 5. Release the parking brake and brake pedal. Depress the accelerator pedal slowly for smooth starting. In normal cruising, the vehicle will start in first gear and automatically shift up to the most suitable gear. On inclines, declines or winding roads, etc., the vehicle shifts up and down automatically according to the running conditions to obtain the suitable driving power and engine braking. When the lever is in the "4" 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". (b) Using engine braking 31L132a To use the braking power of the engine, downshift the transmission in the way described below: 1 Shift into the "4" position. The transmission will downshift to fourth gear and engine braking will be enabled. When the cruise control is being used, even if you downshift from "D" to "4", engine braking will not be enabled because the cruise control is not cancelled. If you need to decrease the vehicle speed, see page 251. 2 Shift into the "3" position. The transmission will downshift to third gear when the vehicle speed is or becomes lower than 159 km/h (99 mph) and stronger engine braking will be enabled. 239