1997 TOYOTA RAV4 seats

54
Do not put a rear-facing child re-
straint system in the rear seat if it
interferes with the lock mecha-
nism of the front seats. This can
cause severe injury to the child
and front passenger in case of
sudden braking or a collision.1. Run the lap and shoulder belt through
or around the convertible seat follow-
ing the instructions provided by its
manufacturer and insert the tab into the buckle taking care not to twist the
belt. Keep the lap portion of the belttight.
CAUTION!
After inserting the tab, make sure
the tab and buckle are locked and that the lap belt is not twisted.
Do not insert coins, clips, etc. in
the buckle as this may prevent you
from properly latching the tab and buckle.
If the seat belt does not function
normally, it cannot protect your
child from injury. Contact your To-
yota dealer immediately. Do not
use the seat until the seat belt isfixed.

1: For air conditioning
100
To cool off your Toyota after it has been
parked in the hot sun, drive with the
windows open for a few minutes. This
vents the hot air, allowing the air condi-
tioning to cool the interior more quickly.
Make sure the air intake g rilles in front
of the windshield are not blocked (by
leaves or snow, for example).
On humid days, do not blow cold air on
the windshield. The windshield could
fog up because of the difference in airtemperature on the inside and outside
of the windshield.
Keep the area under the front seats
clear to allow air to circulate through-out the vehicle.
On cold days, move the fan speed to
HIº for a minute to help clear the in-
take ducts of snow or moisture. This
can reduce the amount of fogging onthe windows.ÐOperating tips
ÐAir flow selector settings

11 5
The brake pad wear limit indicators on your disc brakes give a warning noise
when the brake pads are worn to
where replacement is required.
If you hear a squealing or scraping noise
while driving, have the brake pads
checked and replaced by your Toyota
dealer as soon as possible. Expensive ro-
tor damage can result if the pads are not
replaced when necessary. When stowing luggage or cargo in the ve-
hicle, observe the following:
Put luggage or cargo in the trunk when
at all possible. Be sure all items are se-cured in place.
Be careful to keep the vehicle bal-
anced. Locating the weight as far for-
ward as possible helps maintain bal-ance.
For better fuel economy, do not carry unneeded weight.CAUTION!
To prevent luggage or packages
from sliding forward during brak-
ing, do not stack anything in the
luggage compartment higher
than the seatbacks. Keep luggage
or packages low, as close to the
floor as possible.
Never allow anyone to ride in the
luggage compartment. It is not
designed for passengers. They
should ride in their seats with
their seat belts properly fastened.
Otherwise, they are much more
likely suffer serious bodily injury, in the event of sudden braking or a collision.
Do not place anything on the flat-
tened seat, or it may slide forward
during braking.
Do not drive with objects left on
top of the instrument panel. They
may interfere with the driver's
field of view. Or they may move
during sharp vehicle acceleration
or turning, and impair the driver's
control of the vehicle. In an acci-
dent they may injure the vehicle occupants.
Do not load the vehicle beyond the
vehicle capacity weight specified in
Part 8.
NOTICE
Brake pad wear limit indicators Luggage stowage precautions

157
Tire surface and wheel nuts Check the tires carefully
for cuts, damage
or excessive wear. See Chapter 7-2 for
additional information. When checking the tires, make sure no nuts are missing,
and check the nuts for looseness. T ighten
them if necessary.
Tire rotation
Rotate the tires every 12000 km (7500
miles). See Chapter 7-2 for additional in-formation.
Fluid leaks Check underneath for leaking fuel, oil, wa-
ter or other fluid after the vehicle has been
parked for a while. If you smell fuel fumes
or notice any leak, have the cause found
and corrected immediately. Doors and engine hood Check that all doors and back door oper-
ate smoothly and all latches lock securely. Make sure the engine hood secondary latch secures the hood from opening
when the primary latch is released. INSIDE THE VEHICLE Items listed below should be checked
regularly, e.g. while performing peri-
odic services, cleaning the vehicle,etc. Lights Make sure the headlights, stop lights, tail lights, turn signal lights, and other lights are all working. Check headlight aim. Service reminder indicators and
warn-
ing buzzers Check that all service reminder indicators
and warning buzzers function properly. Steering wheel
Check that it has the specified freeplay.
Be alert for changes in steering condition,such as hard steering or strange noise. Seats Check that all seat controls such as seat
adjusters, seatback recliner, etc. operate
smoothly and that all latches lock securely
in any position. For folding-up rear
seat-backs, check that the latches lock
securely. Seat belts
Check that the seat belt system such as
buckles, retractors and anchors operate
properly
and smoothly. Make sure the belt
webbing is not cut, frayed, worn or dam-aged. Accelerator pedal Check the pedal for smooth operation and
uneven pedal effort or catching. Clutch pedal Check the pedal for smooth operation. Brake pedal Check the pedal for smooth operation and
that the pedal has the proper clearance. Check the brake booster function. Brakes
At a safe place, check that the brakes do not pull to one side when applied. Parking brake Check that the lever has the proper travel and that, on a safe incline, your vehicle is
held securely with only the parking brake applied.