1998 TOYOTA RAV4 air condition

'98 Rav4U
120 1. Air Intake Selector
2. Air Flow Selector
3. Temperature Selector
4. Fan Speed Selector
5. ºA/Cº Button (on some models)
Air conditioning systemÐ
ÐControls

'98 Rav4.U121
Fan speed selector
Move the lever to adjust the fan
speedÐto the right to increase, to the left
to decrease.
Temperature selector
Move the lever to adjust the temperatu-
reÐto the right to warm, to the left to
cool.
Air flow selector
Move the lever to select the vents used
for air flow.
1. PanelÐ Air flows mainly from the
instrument panel vents.
2. Bi- levelÐ Air flows from both the floor
vents and the instrument panel vents.
3. FloorÐ Air flows mainly from the floor
vents.
4. Floor/WindshieldÐ Air flows mainly
from the floor vents and windshield
vents.
5. WindshieldÐ Air flows mainly from the
windshield vents. For details about air flow selector settings,
see the illustration after ºA/Cº button.
Vehicles with ºA/Cº buttonÐ
Moving the air flow control lever to wind-
shield position turns on the defroster-
linked air conditioning. At this time, the
ºA/Cº button indicator comes on regard-
less of whether or not the ºA/Cº button is
pressed in. This is to clean up the front
view more quickly.
When the ºA/Cº button is not pressed in,
moving the air flow control lever to anoth-
er position turns off the air conditioning.

'98 Rav4U
122
Air intake selector
Move the lever to select the air source. 1. RecirculateÐ Recirculates the air inside
the vehicle.
2. FreshÐ Draws outside air into the sys-
tem. ºA/Cº button
To turn on the air conditioning, press the
ºA/Cº button. The ºA/Cº button indicator
will come on. To turn the air conditioning
off, press the button again.
If the ºA/Cº button indicator flashes, there
is a problem in the air conditioning system
and the air conditioning automatically
shuts off. If this happens, take your ve-
hicle to a Toyota dealer for service.

'98 Rav4.U123
ÐAir flow selector settings
1: For air conditioning ÐOperating tips
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
conditioning to cool the interior more
quickly.
Make sure the air intake grilles 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 air
temperature 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
ºHIº for a minute to help clear the in-
take ducts of snow or moisture. This
can reduce the amount of fogging on
the windows.

'98 Rav4U
124
Heating
For best results, set controls to:
Fan speedÐ Any setting except ºOFFº
TemperatureÐ To w a r d s WARM
(red zone)
Air intakeÐFRESH (outside air)
Air flowÐFLOOR
Air conditioningÐOFF
For quick heating, select recirculated
air for a few minutes. To keep the
windows from fogging, select fresh af-
ter the vehicle interior has been
warmed.
Press the ºA/Cº button on for dehumidi-
fied heating.
Choose floor/windshield air flow to heat
the vehicle interior while defrosting or
defogging the windshield. Air conditioning
For best results, set controls to:
Fan speedÐ Any setting except ºOFFº
TemperatureÐ To w a r d s COLD
(blue zone)
Air intakeÐFRESH (outside air)
Air flowÐPANEL
Air conditioningÐON For quick cooling, move the air intake
selector to recirculate for a few min-
utes.
Ventilation
For best results, set controls to:
Fan speedÐ Any setting except ºOFFº
TemperatureÐ To w a r d s COLD
(blue zone)
Air intakeÐFRESH (outside air)
Air flowÐPANEL
Air conditioningÐOFF
Defogging
The inside of the windshield
For best results, set controls to:
Fan speedÐ Any setting except ºOFFº
TemperatureÐ To w a r d s WARM
(red zone) to heat; COLD (blue zone) to
cool
Air intakeÐFRESH (outside air)
Air flowÐWINDSHIELD
Air ConditioningÐON
Vehicles with ºA/Cº buttonÐ
Moving the air flow control lever to wind-
shield position turns on the defroster-
linked air conditioning. At this time, the
ºA/Cº button indicator comes on regard-
less of whether or not the ºA/Cº button is
pressed in. This is to clean up the front
view more quickly.
When the ºA/Cº button is not pressed in,
moving the air flow control lever to anoth-
er position turns off the air conditioning.
On humid days, do not blow cold air
on the windshieldÐthe difference be-
tween the outside and inside tempera-
tures could make the fogging worse.

'98 Rav4.U125
Defrosting
The outside of the windshield
For best results, set controls to:
Fan speedÐ Any setting except ºOFFº
TemperatureÐ To w a r d s WARM
(red zone)
Air intakeÐFRESH (outside air)
Air flowÐWINDSHIELD
Vehicles with ºA/Cº buttonÐ
Moving the air flow control lever to wind-
shield position turns on the defroster-
linked air conditioning. At this time, the
ºA/Cº button indicator comes on regard-
less of whether or not the ºA/Cº button is
pressed in. This is to clean up the front
view more quickly.
When the ºA/Cº button is not pressed in,
moving the air flow control lever to anoth-
er position turns off the air conditioning.
To heat the vehicle interior while de-
frosting the windshield, choose
floor/windshield air flow. ÐInstrument panel vents
Side vents
Lower vent If air flow control is not satisfactory, check
the instrument panel vents. The instrument
panel vents may be opened or closed as
shown.

'98 Rav4U
138
Oil is also used to lubricate the stems
of the intake valves. Some of this oil
is sucked into the combustion chamber
together with the intake air and is
burned along with the fuel. High tem-
perature exhaust gases also burn the
oil used to lubricate the exhaust valve
stems.
The amount of engine oil consumed de-
pends on the viscosity of the oil, the
quality of the oil and the conditions the
vehicle is driven under.
More oil is consumed by high- speed driv-
ing and frequent acceleration and decel-
eration.
A new engine consumes more oil, since
its pistons, piston rings and cylinder walls
have not become conditioned.
When judging the amount of oil con-
sumption, note that the oil may become
diluted and make it difficult to judge
the true level accurately.
As an example, if a vehicle is used for
repeated short trips, and consumes a nor-
mal amount of oil, the dipstick may not
show any drop in the oil level at all, even
after 1000 km (600 miles) or more. This
is because the oil is gradually becoming
diluted with fuel or moisture, making it
appear that the oil level has not changed. The diluting ingredients evaporate out
when the vehicle is then driven at high
speeds, as on an expressway, making it
appear that oil is excessively consumed
after driving at high speeds.
IMPORTANCE OF ENGINE OIL LEVEL CHECK
One of the most important points in prop-
er vehicle maintenance is to keep the en-
gine oil at the optimum level so that oil
function will not be impaired. Therefore, it
is essential that the oil level be checked
regularly. Toyota recommends that the oil
level be checked every time you refuel
the vehicle.
NOTICE
Failure to check the oil level regularly
could lead to serious engine troubledue to insufficient oil.
For detailed information on oil level check,
see ºChecking the engine oil levelº in
Chapter 7- 2.
Your engine is fitted with twin ground
electrode platinum- tipped spark plugs.
NOTICE
Use only twin ground electrode plati-
num- tipped spark plugs for your en-gine performance.
Twin ground electrode
platinum- tipped spark plugs

'98 Rav4.U147
(b) Starting the engine
Before starting the engine, be sure to fol-
low the instructions in º(a) Before crank-
ingº.
Normal starting procedure
The multiport fuel injection system/sequen-
tial multiport fuel injection system in your
engine automatically controls the proper
air- fuel mixture for starting. You can start
a cold or hot engine as follows:
1. With your foot off the accelerator ped- al, crank the engine by turning the key
to ºSTARTº. Release it when the en-
gine starts.
2. After the engine runs for about 10 se- conds, you are ready to drive.
If the weather is below freezing, let the
engine warm up for a few minutes before
driving.
If the engine stalls...
Simply restart it, using the correct proce-
dure given in normal starting.
If the engine will not startÐ
See ºIf your vehicle will not startº in Part 4.
NOTICE
Do not crank for more than 30 se- conds at a time. This may overheatthe starter and wiring systems.
Do not race a cold engine.
If the engine becomes difficult tostart or stalls frequently, have the
engine checked immediately.
Always slow down in gusty crosswinds.
This will allow you much better control.
Drive slowly onto curbs and, if pos-
sible, at a right angle. Avoid driving
onto high, sharp- edged objects and
other road hazards. Failure to do so
can lead to severe tire damage result-
ing in tire bursts.
When parking on a hill, turn the front
wheels until they touch the curb so
that the vehicle will not roll. Apply the
parking brake, and place the transmis-
sion in ºPº (automatic) or in first or
reverse (manual). If necessary, block
the wheels.
Washing your vehicle or driving through
deep water may get the brakes wet. To
see whether they are wet, check that
there is no traffic near you, and then
press the pedal lightly. If you do not
feel a normal braking force, the brakes
are probably wet. To dry them, drive
the vehicle cautiously while lightly
pressing the brake pedal with the park-
ing brake pulled. If they still do not
work safely, pull to the side of the road
and call a Toyota dealer for assistance.
Tips for driving in various
conditions