2004 TOYOTA RAV4 wheel

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Vehicles with vehicle stability control
system—
The light comes on when the ignition key
is turned to the “ON” position. If the anti−
lock brake system and the brake assist
system work properly, the light turns off
after a few seconds. Thereafter, if either
of the systems malfunctions, the light
comes on again.
When the “ABS” warning light is on (and
the brake system warning light is off), the
anti −lock brake system, the brake assist
system, the traction control system and
the vehicle stability control system do not
operate, but the brake system still oper-
ates conventionally.
When the “ABS” warning light is on (and
the brake system warning light is off), the
anti −lock brake system does not operate
so that the wheels could lock up during
a sudden braking or braking on slippery
road surfaces. If either of the following conditions
occurs, this indicates a malfunction
somewhere in the components moni-
tored by the warning light. Contact your
Toyota dealer as soon as possible to
service the vehicle.
The light does not come on when the
ignition key is turned to the “ON” posi-
tion, or remains on.
The light comes on while you are driv-
ing.
A warning light turning on briefly during
operation does not indicate a problem.
CAUTION
If the “ABS” warning light remains on
together with the brake system warn-
ing light, immediately stop your ve-
hicle at a safe place and contact your
Toyota dealer.
In this case, not only the antilock
brake system will fail but also the
vehicle will become extremely unsta-
ble during braking.
(i) Open Door Warning Light
This light remains on until all the side
doors and back door are completely
closed.
(j) SRS Warning Light
This light will come on when the igni-
tion key is turned to the “ON” position.
After about 6 seconds, the light will go
off. This means the systems of the air-
bag and front seat belt pretensioners
are operating properly.
The warning light system monitors the air-
bag sensor assembly, front airbag sen-
sors, side and curtain shield airbag sen-
sors, curtain shield airbag sensors,
driver ’s seat position sensor, driver ’s seat
belt buckle switch, front seat belt preten-
sioner assemblies, inflators, warning light,
interconnecting wiring and power sources.
If either of the following conditions occurs,
this indicates a malfunction somewhere in
the parts monitored by the warning light
system. Contact your Toyota dealer as
soon as possible to service the vehicle.
The light does not come on when the
ignition key is turned to the “ON” posi-
tion or remains on.
The light comes on while driving.

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(k) Automatic Transmission Fluid Tem-perature Warning Light (fourwheel
drive models)
This light warns that the automatic trans-
mission fluid temperature is too high.
If this light comes on while you are driv-
ing, slow down and pull off the road. Stop
the vehicle at a safe place and put the
selector lever in “P”. With the engine id-
ling, wait until the light goes off. If the
light goes off, you can start the vehicle
again. If the light does not go off, call a
Toyota dealer or qualified repair shop for
assistance.
NOTICE
Continued driving with the warning
light on may damage the automatic
transmission.
(l) “VSC TRAC” Warning Light
This light warns that there is a problem
somewhere in the vehicle stability control
system or traction control system.
The light will come on when the ignition
key is turned to “ON” and will go off after
a few seconds.
If the light comes on while driving, the
system does not work. However, as con-
ventional braking operates when applied,
there is no problem to continue your driv-
ing.
In the following cases, contact your Toyota
dealer:
The warning light does not come on
after the ignition key is turned to “ON”.
The warning light remains on after the
ignition key is turned to “ON”.
The warning light comes on while driv-
ing.
Tw o −wheel drive models only—The “TRAC
OFF” indicator light will come on when the
“VSC TRAC” warning light comes on even
if the “TRAC OFF” switch is not pushed. (m) Low Tire Pressure Warning Light
This light warns that the tire inflation pres-
sure is critically low. The light comes on
when the ignition key is turned to the
“ON” position. It goes off after a few sec-
onds. This indicates that the low tire pres-
sure warning system is functioning proper-
ly.
If the light comes on while driving, adjust
tire inflation pressure to the specified lev-
el. (See “Tires” on page 316 in Section 8.)
After the tire inflation pressure is adjusted,
push the tire pressure warning system re-
set switch for a few seconds and make
sure the warning light goes off. If the light
still remains or blinks slowly (every 0.5
seconds), have the low tire pressure warn-
ing system checked at your Toyota dealer.
If the light blinks rapidly (every 0.25 sec-
onds), the low tire pressure warning sys-
tem needs to be initialized.
For details, see “Tire pressure warning
system” on page 131 in Section 1
−7.

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“START”—Starter motor on. The key
will return to the “ON” position when
released.
For starting tips, see page 225 in Section
3.
It is not a malfunction even if the needle
of the tachometer, fuel gauge or engine
coolant temperature gauge returns to the
bottom position when the ignition switch is
turned to the “START” position.
“ON”—Engine on and all accessories
on.
This is the normal driving position.It is not a malfunction even if the needle
on the speedometer may move when the
ignition switch is turned to the “ON” posi-
tion.
“ACC”—Accessories such as the radio
operate, but the engine is off.
If you leave the key in the “ACC” or
“LOCK” position and open the driver’s
door, a buzzer will remind you to remove
the key.
“LOCK”—Engine 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 it from
“ACC” to the “LOCK” position. On vehicles
with an automatic transmission, the selec-
tor lever must be in the “P” position be-
fore pushing the key.
Vehicles with engine immobilizer sys-
tem—Once you remove the key, the en-
gine immobilizer system is automatically
set. (See “Engine immobilizer system” on
page 13 in Section 1
−2.)
When starting the engine, the key may
seem stuck at the “LOCK” 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.
CAUTION
For 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 “ON”
position 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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(b) Overdrive switch
You can select either third gear (with
overdrive off) or fourth gear (with over-
drive on) by pushing this switch.
To turn the overdrive off, push the switch.
The “O/D OFF” indicator light should come
on. To turn the overdrive on again, push
the switch again. The “O/D OFF” indicator
light should go off.
Always drive your vehicle with the over-
drive on for better fuel economy and
quieter driving.
If the engine is turned off when the over-
drive is off and restarted, the overdrive
will be on automatically.Vehicles with cruise control—When the
cruise control is being used, even if you
downshift the transmission by pushing and
releasing the overdrive switch, engine
braking will not be enabled because the
cruise control is not cancelled.
For ways to decrease the vehicle speed,
see “Cruise control” on page 136 in this
Section.
(c) Normal driving
1. Start the engine as instructed in “How to start the engine” on page 226 in
Section 3. The transmission must be in
“P” or “N”.
2. With your foot holding down the brake pedal, shift the selector lever to “D”.
When the lever is in the “D” position, the
automatic transmission system will select
the most suitable gear for running condi-
tions such as normal cruising, hill climb-
ing, hard towing, etc.
Always turn the overdrive 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 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.
(d) Using engine braking
To use engine braking, you can downshift
the transmission as follows:
Push the overdrive switch. The “O/D
OFF” indicator light will come on and
the transmission will downshift to third
gear.
Shift into the “2” position. The trans-
mission will downshift to second gear
when the vehicle speed drops down to
or lower than the following speed, and
stronger engine braking will be en-
abled. Tw o −wheel drive models
107 km/h (66 mph)
Four −wheel drive models
101 km/h (62 mph)

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Shift into the “L” position. The trans-
mission will downshift to first gear
when the vehicle speed drops down to
or lower than the following speed, and
maximum engine braking will be en-
abled.Tw o −wheel drive models
53 km/h (33 mph)
Four −wheel drive models
50 km/h (31 mph)
Vehicles with cruise control—When the
cruise control is being used, even if you
downshift the transmission by pushing and
releasing the overdrive switch, engine
braking will not be enabled because the
cruise control is not cancelled.
For ways to decrease the vehicle speed,
see “Cruise control” on page 136 in this
Section.
CAUTION
Be careful when downshifting on a
slippery surface. Abrupt shifting
could cause the vehicle to spin or
skid.
(e) Using “2” and “L” positions
The “2” and “L” positions are used for
strong engine braking as described pre-
viously.
With the selector lever in “2” or “L”, you
can start the vehicle in motion as with the
lever in “D”.
With the selector lever in “2”, the vehicle
will start in first gear and automatically
shift to second gear.
With the selector lever in “L”, the trans-
mission is engaged in first gear.
NOTICE
 Be careful not to overrev the en-
gine. Watch the tachometer to keep
engine rpm from going into the red
zone. The approximate maximum al-
lowable speed for each position is
given below for your reference:
Twowheel drive models“2” 119 km/h (74 mph) . . . . . . . . .
“L” 66 km/h (41 mph) . . . . . . . . . .
Fourwheel drive models “2” 110 km/h (68 mph) . . . . . . . . .
“L” 61 km/h (38 mph) . . . . . . . . . .
Do not continue hill climbing or
hard towing for a long time in the
“2” or “L” position. This may cause
severe automatic transmission dam-
age from overheating. To prevent
such damage, “D” position should
be used in hill climbing or hard
towing.
(f) Backing up
1. Bring the vehicle to a complete stop.
2. With the brake pedal held down with your foot, shift the selector lever to the
“R” position.
NOTICE
Never shift into reverse while the ve-
hicle is moving.

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Recommended shifting speeds
The transmission is fully synchronized and
upshifting or downshifting is easy.
For the best compromise between fuel
economy and vehicle performance, you
should upshift or downshift at the following
speeds:gear km/h (mph)
1 to 2 or 2 to 1 24 (15)
2 to 3 or 3 to 2 40 (25)
3 to 4 or 4 to 3 64 (40)
4 to 5 or 5 to 4 72 (45)
Downshift to the appropriate gear if accel-
eration is needed when you are cruising
below the above downshifting speeds.
Upshifting too soon or downshifting too
late will cause lugging and, possibly, ping-
ing. Regularly revving the engine to maxi-
mum speed in each gear will cause ex-
cessive engine wear and high fuel
consumption. Maximum allowable speeds
To get on a highway or to pass slower
traffic, maximum acceleration may be nec-
essary. Make sure you observe the follow-
ing maximum allowable speeds in each
gear:
Tw o −wheel drive models
gear km/h (mph)
1 50 (31)
2 94 (58)
3 144 (89)
4 186 (115)
Four −wheel drive models
gear km/h (mph)
1 43 (26)
2 85 (53)
3 131 (81)
4 170 (106)
NOTICE
Do not downshift if you are going
faster than the maximum allowable
speed for the next lower gear.
Good driving practice
If it is difficult to shift into reverse, put
the transmission in neutral, release the
clutch pedal momentarily, and then try
again.
When towing a trailer, in order to main-
tain engine braking efficiency, do not
use fifth gear.
CAUTION
Be careful when downshifting on a
slippery surface. Abrupt shifting
could cause the vehicle to spin or
skid.
NOTICE
Make sure the vehicle is completely
stopped before shifting into reverse.

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The traction control system automatical-
ly helps prevent the spinning of front
wheels when the vehicle is started or
accelerated on slippery road surfaces.
When the ignition key is turned to “ON”,
the system automatically turns on.
CAUTION
Under certain slippery road condi-
tions, full traction of the vehicle and
power against front wheels cannot be
maintained, even though the traction
control system is in operation. Do not
drive the vehicle under any speed or
maneuvering conditions which may
cause the vehicle to lose traction
control. In situations where the road
surface is covered with ice or snow,
your vehicle should be fitted with
snow tires or tire chains. Always
drive at an appropriate and cautious
speed for the present road condi-
tions.
NORMAL DRIVING MODE
Leave the system on during the ordi-
nary driving so that it can operate
when needed.
You may hear a sound in the engine
compartment for a few seconds just after
the vehicle begins to move. This means
that the traction control system is in the
self−check mode, but does not indicate a
malfunction. When the traction control system is oper-
ating, the following conditions occur:
The system controls the spinning of the
front wheels. At this time, the slip indi-
cator light blinks.
You may feel vibration or noise in your
vehicle, caused by operation of the
brakes. This indicates the system is
functioning properly.
The slip indicator light comes on for a few
seconds when the ignition key is turned
to “ON”. If the indicator light does not
come on when the ignition is turned on,
contact your Toyota dealer.
Traction control system
(twowheel drive models)

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TRACTION CONTROL OFF MODE
If your wheels get stuck in a ditch
when you are driving on a severe off
road and sand, turn off the traction
control system. This system that con-
trols engine performance interferes with
the process of freeing your wheels.
To turn off: Push “TRAC OFF” switch.
The “TRAC OFF” indicator light will come
on.
The vehicle stability control system is al-
ways activated, even if the traction control
system is turned off.
To turn on: Push “TRAC OFF” switch
once again.
The “TRAC OFF” indicator light will go off.“TRAC OFF” indicator light comes on for
a few seconds when the ignition key is
turned to “ON”. It will come on again
when you push the “TRAC OFF” switch to
turn off the system.
In the following cases, contact your Toyota
dealer:
The indicator light does not come on
when the ignition key is turned “ON”.
The indicator light remains on after the
ignition is turned on.
The indicator light comes on with the
normal driving mode while driving.
“VSC TRAC” warning light
This light warns that there is a problem
somewhere in the traction control system
or the vehicle stability control system.
The light will come on when the ignition
key is turned to “ON” and will go off after
a few seconds.
If the light comes on while driving, the
system does not work. However, as con-
ventional braking operates when applied,
there is no problem to continue your driv-
ing.