2003 TOYOTA RAV4 instrument panel

’03 Rav4_U (L/O 0208)
842003 RAV4 from Aug. ’02 Prod. (OM42517U)
To adjust the brightness of the instru-
ment panel lights, turn the knob.To turn on the front fog lights, twist
the band of the headlight and turn sig-
nal switch lever. They will come on
only when the headlights are on low
beam.To turn on the interior light, slide the
switch.
The interior light switch has the following
positions:
“ON”—Keeps the light on all the time.
“OFF”—Turns the light off.
“DOOR”—Turns the light on when any of
the side doors and back door are opened.
The light goes off when all the side doors
and back door are closed.
Instrument panel light control Front fog lightsInterior lights

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Ty p e A
Ty p e B
When parking, firmly apply the parking
brake to avoid inadvertent creeping.
To set: Pull up the lever. For better hold-
ing power, first depress the brake pedal
and hold it while setting the parking
brake.
To release: Pull up the lever slightly (1),
press the lock release button (2), and low-
er (3).
To remind you that the parking brake is
set, the parking brake reminder light in
the instrument panel remains on until you
release the parking brake.
CAUTION
Before driving, be sure the parking
brake is fully released and the park-
ing brake reminder light is off.
The cruise control allows you to cruise
the vehicle at a desired speed over 40
km/h (25 mph) even with your foot off
the accelerator pedal.
Your cruising speed can be maintained up
or down grades within the limits of engine
performance, although a slight speed
change may occur when driving up or
down the grades. On steeper hills, a
greater speed change will occur so it is
better to drive without the cruise control.
CAUTION
To help maintain maximum control
of your vehicle, do not use the
cruise control when driving in
heavy or varying traffic, or on slip-
pery (rainy, icy or snowcovered) or
winding roads.
Avoid vehicle speed increases when
driving downhill. If the vehicle
speed is too fast in relation to the
cruise control set speed, cancel the
cruise control then downshift the
transmission to use engine braking
to slow down.
Parking brake Cruise control

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TURNING ON THE SYSTEM
To operate the cruise control, push the
“CRUISE ONOFF” switch. This turns the
system on. The indicator light in the
instrument panel shows that you can now
set the vehicle at a desired cruising
speed. Another push will turn the system
completely off.
CAUTION
To avoid accidental cruise control en-
gagement, keep the “CRUISE ON
OFF” switch off when not using the
cruise control.
SETTING AT A DESIRED SPEED
On vehicles with automatic transmission,
the transmission must be in “D” before
you set the cruise control speed.
Bring your vehicle to the desired speed,
push the lever down in the “SET/COAST”
direction and release it. This sets the ve-
hicle at that speed. If the speed is not
satisfactory, tap the lever up for a faster
speed, or tap it down for a slower speed.
Each tap changes the set speed by 1.6
km/h (1.0 mph). You can now take your
foot off the accelerator pedal.If you need acceleration—for example,
when passing—depress the accelerator
pedal enough for the vehicle to exceed
the set speed. When you release it, the
vehicle will return to the speed set prior
to the acceleration.
CAUTION
For manual transmission:
While driving with the cruise control
on, do not shift to neutral without
depressing the clutch pedal, as this
may cause engine racing or overrev-
ving.
CANCELLING THE PRESET SPEED
You can cancel the preset speed by:
a. Pulling the lever in the “CANCEL” direction and releasing it.
b. Depressing the brake pedal.
c. Depressing the clutch pedal (manual transmission).
d. Pushing “CRUISE ONOFF” switch.
If the vehicle speed falls below about 40
km/h (25 mph), the preset speed will auto-
matically cancel out.

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Fan speed selector
Turn the knob to adjust the fan speed—to
the right to increase, to the left to de-
crease.
Temperature selector
Turn the knob to adjust the temperatu-
re—to the right to warm, to the left to
cool.
Air flow selector
Turn the knob to select the vents used for
air flow.1. Panel— Air flows mainly from the
instrument panel vents.
2. Bilevel— Air flows from both the floor
vents and the instrument panel vents.
3. Floor— Air flows mainly from the floor
vents.
4. Floor/Windshield— Air flows mainly
from the floor vents and windshield
vents.
Turning the air flow selector to the
floor/windshield position turns on the
defogging function with the purpose of
clearing the front view. This position allows the air intake to
select FRESH automatically. This is to
clean up the front view more quickly.
If you want to return the setting to
RECIRCULATE mode, press the air in-
take selector button once again.
Vehicles with “A/C” button—
Press the “A/C” button for dehumidified
heating or cooling. This setting clears
the front view more quickly.
5. Windshield— Air flows mainly from the
windshield vents.
Turning the air flow selector to the
windshield position turns on the defog-
ging function with the purpose of clear-
ing the front view.
This position allows the air intake to
select FRESH automatically. This is to
clean up the front view more quickly.
If you want to return the setting to
RECIRCULATE mode, press the air in-
take selector button once again.
Vehicles with “A/C” button—
Press the “A/C” button for dehumidified
heating or cooling. This setting clears
the front view more quickly.

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To use the auxiliary boxes, open as
shown in the following illustrations.
Type C and D auxiliary boxes are
equipped with a belt to hold the objects
such as firstaid kit. See “—Using the
holding belts” on page 142 for detailed
information.
Type E auxiliary box is also designed
to store the warning reflector.
The firstaid kit or warning reflector itself
is not included as an original equipment.
CAUTION
To reduce the chance of injury in
case of an accident or a sudden stop,
always keep the auxiliary box closed
while driving.
NOTICE
Type A: During hot weather, the inte-
rior of the vehicle becomes very hot.
Do not leave anything flammable or
deformable such as a lighter, glasses,
etc. inside.
Type A (front ceiling)
Type B (instrument panel)
Type C (left side of luggage compartment)
Type D (right side of luggage compart-
ment)
Auxiliary boxes—

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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
vehicle, observe the following:
Put luggage or cargo in the luggage
compartment when at all possible. Be
sure all items are secured 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 braking,
do not stack anything in the lug-
gage compartment higher than the
seatbacks. Keep luggage or pack-
ages low, as close to the floor as
possible.
Never allow anyone to ride in the
luggage compartment. It is not de-
signed 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 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 254 in Section 8.
Brake pad wear limit
indicators
Luggage stowage pr
ecautions

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1652003 RAV4 from Aug. ’02 Prod. (OM42517U)
Your Toyota is equipped with a limitedslip
center differential (transfer). If one wheel
begins to spin, the limitedslip center dif-
ferential (transfer) is designed to aid trac-
tion by automatically transmitting driving
force to the wheels on the other drive
axle. It transmits driving force to the front
wheels if a rear wheel spins, and to the
rear wheels if a front wheel spins.
Some models are also equipped with a
limitedslip rear differential. If one rear
wheel begins to spin, the limitedslip rear
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
brand, size, construction and load ca-
pacity as the original tires on your
Toyota because damage to the lim-
itedslip differential could possibly
occur with another tire type.
Under the right front seat
Top left of the instrument panel
Limitedslip differential
(fourwheel drive models)Your Toyota’s identification—
—Vehicle identification
number

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1662003 RAV4 from Aug. ’02 Prod. (OM42517U)
The vehicle identification number (VIN)
is the legal identifier for your vehicle.
This number is stamped under the right
front seat and top left of the instrument
panel where it can be seen through the
windshield from the outside.
This is the primary identification number
for your Toyota. It is used in registering
the ownership of your vehicle.
The vehicle identification number (VIN) is
also on the Certification Regulation Label.The engine number is stamped on the
engine block as shown.
—Engine number