Page 13 of 265

'01 Rav4_U (L/O 0008)
1632001 RAV4 (OM42483U)
Do not place anything on the flat-
tened seat, or it may slide forward
during braking.
Do not place anything on the lug-
gage cover. Such items may be
thrown about and possibly injure
people in the vehicle during sudden
braking or an accident. Secure all
items in a safe place.
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 turn-
ing, and impair the driver's control
of the vehicle. In an accident they
may injure the vehicle occupants.
NOTICE
Do not load the vehicle beyond the
vehicle capacity weight specified on
page 246 in Section 8.
Limited±slip differential
Some Toyotas are equipped with a lim-
ited±slip differential. If one rear wheel be-
gins to spin, the limited±slip differential is
designed to aid traction by automatically
transmitting driving force to the other rear
wheel. If you are not sure whether your
vehicle is equipped with one, you can ask
your Toyota dealer.
CAUTION
Do not start or run the engine while
your vehicle is supported by a jack.
The vehicle could be driven off the
jack and could pose a danger or re-
sult in serious injury.
NOTICE
Use only a spare tire of the same
size, construction and load capacity
as the original tires on your Toyota
because damage to the limited±slip
differential could possibly occur with
another tire type.
Under the right front seat
Top left of the instrument panel
Your Toyota's identificationÐ
ÐVehicle identification
number
ProCarManuals.com
Page 38 of 265
'01 Rav4_U (L/O 0008)
1882001 RAV4 (OM42483U)
NOTICE
Do not continue driving with a de-
flated tire. Driving even a short dis-
tance can damage a tire and wheel
beyond repair.
ÐRequired tools and spare tire
ProCarManuals.com
Page 39 of 265
'01 Rav4_U (L/O 0008)
1892001 RAV4 (OM42483U)
1. Get the required tools and spare
tire.
Tool bag (in the right side box of lug-
gage compartment)
Jack (under the right front seat)
Spare tire (on the back door)
To prepare yourself for an emergency, you
should familiarize yourself with the use of
the jack, each of the tools and their stor-
age locations.
To remove the jack, move the seat to the
rear±most position and turn the jack joint
by hand.
To remove: Turn the joint in direction 1
until the jack is free.
To store: Turn the joint in direction 2 until
the jack is firmly secured to prevent it
flying forward during a collision or sudden
braking.Full spare tire cover
Half spare tire cover
ProCarManuals.com
Page 40 of 265
'01 Rav4_U (L/O 0008)
1902001 RAV4 (OM42483U)
To remove the spare tire on the back
door:
1. Remove the spare tire cover.
Full spare tire coverÐUnhook the latch
handle under the cover and pull up the
cover with holding the bottom of it.
Half spare tire coverÐPry off the center
cover and loose the nut with wheel nut
wrench, then remove the spare tire cover.
2. Turn the hold±down nuts counterclock-
wise with the wheel nut wrench and
remove them.
When storing the spare tire, put it in place
and secure it to prevent it from flying
forward during a collision or sudden brak-
ing.
ÐBlocking the wheel
2. Block the wheel diagonally opposite
the flat tire to keep the vehicle from
rolling when it is jacked up.
When blocking the wheel, place a wheel
block from the front for the front wheels
or from the rear for the rear wheels.
ProCarManuals.com
Page 41 of 265

'01 Rav4_U (L/O 0008)
1912001 RAV4 (OM42483U)
ÐLoosening wheel nuts
3. Loosen all the wheel nuts.
Always loosen the wheel nuts before rais-
ing the vehicle.
Turn the wheel nuts counterclockwise to
loosen. To get maximum leverage, fit the
wrench to the nut so that the handle is
on the right side, as shown above. Grab
the wrench near the end of the handle
and pull up on the handle. Be careful that
the wrench does not slip off the nut.
Do not remove the nuts yetÐjust unscrew
them about one±half turn.
ÐPositioning the jack
4. Position the jack at the following
jack points.
1 Front suspension cross member rear
mounting
2 Rear suspension arm
Make sure the jack is positioned on a
level and solid place.
ÐRaising your vehicle
5. After making sure that no one is in
the vehicle, raise it high enough so
that the spare tire can be installed.
Remember you will need more ground
clearance when putting on the spare tire
than when removing the flat tire.
To raise the vehicle, insert the jack handle
into the jack (it is a loose fit) and turn it
clockwise. As the jack touches the vehicle
and begins to lift, double±check that it is
properly positioned.
ProCarManuals.com
Page 42 of 265
'01 Rav4_U (L/O 0008)
1922001 RAV4 (OM42483U)
CAUTION
Never get under the vehicle when the
vehicle is supported by the jack
alone.
ÐChanging wheels
6. Remove the wheel nuts and change
tires.
Lift the flat tire straight off and put it
aside.
Roll the spare wheel into position and
align the holes in the wheel with the bolts.
Then lift up the wheel and get at least the
top bolt started through its hole. Wiggle
the tire and press it back over the other
bolts.Before putting on wheels, remove any cor-
rosion on the mounting surfaces with a
wire brush or such. Installation of wheels
without good metal±to±metal contact at the
mounting surface can cause wheel nuts to
loosen and eventually cause a wheel to
come off while driving. Therefore after the
first 1600 km (1000 miles), check to see
that the wheel nuts are tight.
ProCarManuals.com
Page 44 of 265
'01 Rav4_U (L/O 0008)
1942001 RAV4 (OM42483U)
ÐStowing flat tire
9. Install the flat tire and spare tire
cover on the back door.
CAUTION
Make sure flat tire and spare tire cov-
er are securely in place in their stor-
age location to reduce the possibility
of personal injury during a collision
or sudden braking.
Install the full spare tire cover by the
following procedure:
Guides
Insert the hooks under the guides to the
upper slots. Then lower the cover and
lock the latch handle. Check that the cov-
er is securely in place.
ProCarManuals.com
Page 45 of 265

'01 Rav4_U (L/O 0008)
1952001 RAV4 (OM42483U)
ÐAfter changing wheels
10. Check the air pressure of the re-
placed tire.
Adjust the air pressure to the specification
designated on page 249 in Section 8. If
the pressure is lower, drive slowly to the
nearest service station and fill to the cor-
rect pressure.
Do not forget to reinstall the tire inflation
valve cap as dirt and moisture could get
into the valve core and possibly cause air
leakage. If the cap is missing, have a new
one put on as soon as possible.
11. Restow all the tools and jack secure-
ly.
As soon after changing wheels as pos-
sible, tighten the wheel nuts to the torque
specified on page 249 in Section 8 with
a torque wrench. Have a technician repair
the flat tire and replace the spare tire with
it.
CAUTION
Before driving, make sure all the
tools and jack are securely in place
in their storage location to reduce the
possibility of personal injury during a
collision or sudden braking.
(a) Towing with wheel lift type truckÐ
ÐFrom front
ÐFrom rear
(b) Using flat bed truck
Two±wheel drive models(a) Towing with wheel lift type truckÐ
ÐFrom front
ÐFrom rear
(b) Using flat bed truck
Four±wheel drive models
If your vehicle needs to be
towedÐ
ProCarManuals.com