1998 TOYOTA RAV4 parking brake

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Instrument panel overview
1. Side vents
2. Instrument cluster
3. Center vents
4. Electric moon roof switch and personallights
5. Glovebox
6. Power door lock switches
7. Power window switches
8. Parking brake lever
9. Automatic transmission selector lever or manual transmission gear shift lever
10. Ashtray 11. Hood lock release lever

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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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Odometer and two trip meters
This meter displays the odometer and
two trip meters.
1. OdometerÐIt shows the total distance the vehicle has been driven.
2. Two trip metersÐThey show two differ- ent distances independently driven
since the last time each trip meter was
set to zero.
You can use one trip meter to calculate
the fuel economy and the other to
measure the distance on each trip. All
trip meter data is cancelled if the elec-
trical power source is disconnected. 3. Trip meter reset knobÐIt can reset the
two trip meters to zero, and also
change the meter display.
To change the meter display, quickly
push and release the knob. The meter
display changes in the order from the
odometer to trip meter A to trip meter
B, then back to the odometer each
time you push.
To reset the trip meter A to zero, dis-
play the meter A reading, then push
and hold the knob until the meter is
set to zero. The same process can be
applied for resetting the trip meter B. (a) If parking brake
is off, stop and
check.
(b) Fasten seat belts.
If the indicator or Do this.
buzzer comes on...
(c) Stop and check. (Indicator and buzzer)
(d) Stop and check. (type A)
(type B)
Service reminder indicators
and warning buzzers

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(g) Take vehicle to
Toyota dealer.
If the indicator or Do this.
buzzer comes on...
(type A)
(type B)
(f) Fill up tank.
(e) Take vehicle to
Toyota dealer.
(type A)
(type B)
(m) Remove key. (i) Stop and check.
(j) Take vehicle to
Toyota dealer
immediately.
(l) Turn off light. Light reminder
buzzer
Key reminder
buzzer
If the indicator or Do this.
buzzer comes on...
(h) Close all side doors, back door
(hardtop) and
tail gate (soft- top).
(k) Add washer fluid. (a) Brake System Warning Light
This light has the following functions:
Parking brake reminder
If this light is on, make sure the parking
brake is fully released. The light should
go off.
Low brake fluid level warning
If this light comes on and stays on while
you are driving, slowdown and pull off the
road. Then stop the vehicle carefully. Re-
member that stopping distance and pedal
effort may be increased. There maybe a
problem somewhere in the brake system.
Check the fluid level of the see- through
reservoir.
To make sure the parking brake has not
caused the warning light to come on,
check to see that the parking brake is
fully released.
If the brake fluid level is low...
At a safe place, test your brakes by start-
ing and stopping.
If you judge that the brakes still work
adequately, drive cautiously to your
nearest dealer or shop for repairs.
If the brakes are not working, have the
vehicle towed in for repairs. (For tow-
ing information, see Part 4.)

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(l) Light Reminder Buzzer
This buzzer will sound if the head light
switch is left on and the driver's door is
opened with the key removed from the
ignition switch.
(m) Key Reminder Buzzer
This buzzer reminds you to remove the
key when you open the driver 's door with
the ignition key in the ºACCº or ºLOCKº
position.
CHECKING SERVICE REMINDER INDICA-
TORS (except the low fuel level warning
light and low windshield washer fluid
level warning light)
1. Apply the parking brake.
2. Open one of the doors or tail gate (soft- top).
The open door warning light should
come on.
3. Close the door or tail gate (soft- top). The open door warning light should go
off.
4. Turn the ignition key to ºACCº. The SRS airbag warning light should
come on. It goes off after about 6 se-
conds. 5. Turn the ignition key to ºONº, but do
not start the engine.
All the service reminder indicators ex-
cept the open door warning light, SRS
airbag warning light and automatic
transmission fluid temperature warning
light should come on. The ºABSº warn-
ing light goes off after a few seconds.
6. Turn the ignition key to ºSTARTº. The automatic transmission fluid tempera-
ture warning light should come on.
If any service reminder indicator or warn-
ing buzzer does not function as described
above, either the bulb is burned out or the
circuit is in need of repair. Have it
checked by your Toyota dealer as soon as
possible.

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Part 1
OPERATION OF
INSTRUMENTS AND
CONTROLS±
Chapter 1- 6
Ignition switch,
Transmission
and Parking brake
Ignition switch with steering lock
Automatic transmission
Manual transmission
Center differential lock system
P ar k ing br ak e
Cruise control
ºSTARTºÐStarter motor on. The key
will return to the ºONº position when
released.
For starting tips, see Part 3.
ºONºÐEngine on and all accessories on.
This is the normal driving position.
ºACCºÐAccessories such as the radio
operate, but the engine is off.
If you leave the key in the ºACCº or
ºLOCKº position and open the driver's
door, a buzzer will remind you to remove
the key.
ºLOCKºÐEngine is off and the steering
wheel is locked. The key can be re-
moved only at this position.
You must push in the key to turn the key
from ºACCº to the ºLOCKº position. On
vehicles with an automatic transmission,
the selector lever must be in the ºPº posi-
tion before pushing the key.
When starting the engine, the key may
seem stuck at the ºLOCKº position. To
free it, first be sure the key is pushed all
the way in, and then rock the steering
wheel slightly while turning the key gently.
CAUTIONFor manual transmission:
Never remove the key when the ve-
hicle is moving, as this will lock the
steering wheel and result in loss of
steering control.
NOTICE
Do not leave the key in the ºONºposition if the engine is not running.The battery will discharge and the ignition could be damaged.
Ignition switch with steering
lock

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Automatic transmission
Lock
release button
To prevent misshifting
Parking, engine starting and key removal position Reverse position Neutral position Normal driving position Position for engine braking Position for stronger engine braking than that in º2º position
With the brake pedal depressed, shift while holding the lock release button in.(The ignition switch must be in ºONºposition.)
Shift while holding the lockrelease button in Shift normally Driving pattern selector button For selecting a driving patternsuited to existing driving conditions
ºNORMALº (Normal)mode for generaldriving conditions ºPOWERº (Power)mode for powerful acceleration ºPOWERº mode indicatorlight on the instrument panelshows the driving pattern selector button is in theºPOWERº mode
Overdrive switch
ON position(Shifting into overdrive possible) OFF position(Shifting intooverdrive notpossible)ºO/D OFFº indicator light(Shows the overdriveswitch is in OFF position)
For selecting either a three-speed or Four-speed transmission
Vehicles with cruise control 'When the cruise control is being used, even if you downshift the transmis sion by turning off the overdrive
switch, engine braking will not be applied because the cruise cont rol is not cancelled. For ways to decrease the vehicle speed, see
ºCruise controlº in this chapter.

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Your automatic transmission has a shift
lock system to minimize the possibility of
incorrect operation. This means you can
only shift out of ºPº position when the
brake pedal is depressed (with the ignition
switch in ºONº position and the lock re-
lease button depressed).
(a) Normal driving
1. Start the engine as instructed in ºHow to start the engineº in Part 3. The
transmission must be in ºPº or ºNº.
2. With your foot holding down the brake pedal, shift the selector lever to ºDº.
In ºDº position, the automatic transmission
system will select the most suitable gear
for running conditions such as normal
cruising, hill climbing, hard towing, etc.
Always turn the overdrive switch on for
better fuel economy and quieter driving. If
the engine coolant temperature is low, the
transmission will not shift into the over-
drive gear even with the overdrive switch on.
CAUTION
Never put your foot on the accelera-
tor pedal while shifting.
3. Release the parking brake and brake pedal. Depress the accelerator pedal
slowly for smooth starting.
(b) Using engine braking
To use engine braking, you can downshift
the transmission as follows: Turn off the overdrive switch. The ºO/D
OFFº indicator light will come on and
the transmission will downshift to the
third gear.
Shift into the º2º position. The trans-
mission will downshift to the second
gear when the vehicle speed drops
down to or lower than the following
speed, and more powerful engine brak-
ing will be obtained.
Two- wheel drive models 110 km/h (68 mph)
Four- wheel drive models 215/70R16 tires 100 km/h (62 mph)
235/60R16 tires 97 km/h (60 mph)
Shift into the ºLº position. The trans-
mission will downshift to the first gear
when the vehicle speed drops down to
or lower than the following speed, and
maximum engine braking will be ap-
plied.
Two- wheel drive models 50 km/h (31 mph)
Four- wheel drive models 215/70R16 tires 44 km/h (27 mph)
235/60R16 tires 42 km/h (26 mph)
CAUTION
Be careful when downshifting on a
slippery surface. Abrupt shifting
could cause the vehicle to spin or
skid.
(c) Using the º2º and ºLº positions
The º2º and ºLº positions are used for
strong engine braking as described pre-
viously.
With the selector lever in º2º or ºLº, you
can start the vehicle in motion as with the
lever in ºDº.