Page 78 of 227

'98 Rav4U
78
Headlights and turn signals
HEADLIGHTS 
To turn on the following lights: Twist 
the headlight/turn signal lever knob. 
Position 1ÐParking, tail, license plate, 
side marker and instrument panel lights 
Position 2ÐHeadlights and all of the 
above 
If you remove the key with the headlights 
left on, a buzzer reminds  you to turn the 
lights off when you open the driver 's door.
NOTICE
To prevent  the battery from  being dis-
charged, do not leave the lights onfor a long period when the engine is not running.
Daytime running light system (Canada 
only) 
The headlights turn on when the parking 
brake is released with the engine started, 
even with the light switch in the ºOFFº 
position. They will not go off until the
ignition switch is turned off. 
To turn on the other exterior  lights and 
instrument panel lights, twist the knob to
the position 1. 
Under the daytime running light system, 
the headlights  turn on at reduced intensity. 
Twist the knob to the position 2 to turn 
to full intensity for driving at night.
High- Low beams ÐFor high beams, turn
the headlights on and push the lever away 
from you (position 1). Pull the lever to- 
ward you (position 2) for low beams. 
The headlight high beam indicator light 
(blue light) on the instrument panel will
tell you that the high beams are on. 
Flashing the high beam headlights 
(position 3)ÐPull the lever all  the way
back. The high beam headlights  turn off 
when you release the lever. 
You can flash the high beam headlights 
with the knob turned to ºOFFº.   
     
        
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'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. 
     
        
        Page 205 of 227

 '98 Rav4.U205
ÐChecking battery exterior
Ground cable
Terminals
Hold-down clamp
Check the battery for corroded or loose 
terminal connections, cracks, or loose 
hold- down clamp. 
a. If the battery is corroded, wash it off 
with a solution of warm water and baking 
soda. Coat the outside of  the terminals
with grease to prevent further corrosion. 
b. If the terminal connections are loose, 
tighten their  clamp nutsÐbut do not over-
tighten. 
c. Tighten the hold- down clamp only 
enough to keep the battery  firmly  in place. 
Overtightening may damage the battery 
case.
NOTICE
 Be sure the engine and all accesso- ries are off before performing main-tenance.
 When checking the battery, remove
the ground cable from the negativeterminal (º- º mark) first and rein-stall it last.
 Be careful not to cause a short cir- cuit with tools.
 Take care no solution gets into thebattery when washing it.
ÐChecking battery fluid
Type A 
Type B Green Dark
Clear or  light yellow
Blue White Red
CHECKING BY THE HYDROMETER 
Check the battery condition by the 
hydrometer color. Hydrometer color
ConditionTy p e ATy p e BCondition
GREENBLUEGood
DARKWHITECharging necessary. Have 
battery checked by your 
Toyota dealer.
CLEAR or 
LIGHT 
YELLOWREDHave battery  checked by 
your Toyota dealer.