2004 TOYOTA RAV4 stop start

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2004 RAV4 from Mar. ’04 Prod. (OM42568U)
A transponder chip for engine immobilizer
system has been placed in the head of
the master and sub keys. These chips are
needed to enable the system to function
correctly, so be careful not to lose these
keys. If you make your own duplicate key,
you will not be able to cancel the system
or start the engine.
To protect items locked in the glove box
when using valet parking, leave the sub
key with the attendant.
Since the side doors can be locked with-
out a key, you should always carry a
spare key in case you accidentally lock
your keys inside the vehicle.
NOTICE
When using a key containing a trans-
ponder chip, observe the following
precautions:
When starting the engine, do not
use the key with a key ring resting
on the key grip and do not press
the key ring against the key grip.
Otherwise the engine may not start,
or may stop soon after it starts.
When starting the engine, do not
use the key with other transponder
keys around (including keys of oth-
er vehicles) and do not press other
key plates against the key grip.
Otherwise the engine may not start,
or may stop soon after it starts. If
this happens, remove the key once
and then insert it again after remov-
ing other transponder keys (includ-
ing keys of other vehicles) from the
ring or while gripping or covering
them with your hand to start the
engine.

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The gauge indicates the approximate
quantity of fuel remaining in the tank
when the ignition switch is on.
Nearly full—Needle at “F”
Nearly empty—Needle at “E”
It is a good idea to keep the tank over
1/4 full.
The needle moves when braking, acceler-
ating or making turns. This is caused by
the movement of the fuel in the tank.
If the fuel level approaches “E” or the low
fuel level warning light comes on, fill the
fuel tank as soon as possible.On inclines or curves, due to the move-
ment of fuel in the tank, the fuel gauge
needle may fluctuate or the low fuel level
warning light may come on earlier than
usual.
If the fuel tank is completely empty, the
malfunction indicator lamp comes on. Fill
the fuel tank immediately.
The indicator lamp goes off after driving
several times. If the indicator lamp does
not go off, contact your Toyota dealer as
soon as possible.
It is not a malfunction even if the needle
of the fuel gauge returns to “E” when the
ignition switch is turned to the “START”
position.The gauge indicates the engine coolant
temperature when the ignition switch is
on. The engine operating temperature
will vary with changes in weather and
engine load.
If the needle moves into the red zone,
your engine is too hot. If your vehicle
overheats, stop your vehicle and allow the
engine to cool.
Your vehicle may overheat during severe
operating conditions, such as:
Driving up a long hill on a hot day.
Reducing speed or stopping after high
speed driving.
Fuel gauge
Engine coolant temperature
gauge

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Idling for a long period with the air
conditioning on in stop−and− go traffic.
Towing a trailer.
It is not a malfunction even if the needle
of the engine coolant temperature gauge
returns to “C” when the ignition switch is
turned to the “START” position.
NOTICE
 Do not remove the thermostat in
the engine cooling system as this
may cause the engine to overheat.
The thermostat is designed to con-
trol the flow of coolant to keep the
temperature of the engine within
the specified operating range.
 Do not continue driving with an
overheated engine. See “If your ve-
hicle overheats” on page 244 in
Section 4.
The tachometer indicates engine speed
in thousands of rpm (revolutions per
minute). Use it while driving to select
correct shift points and to prevent en-
gine lugging and overrevving.
Driving with the engine running too fast
causes excessive engine wear and poor
fuel economy. Remember, in most cases
the slower the engine speed, the greater
the fuel economy.
It is not a malfunction even if the needle
of the tachometer returns to the bottom
position when the ignition switch is turned
to the “START” position.
NOTICE
Do not let the indicator needle get
into the red zone. This may cause
severe engine damage.
Tachometer

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(a) Brake System Warning Light
This light comes on in the following cases
when the ignition key is in the “ON” posi-
tion.
When the parking brake is applied...
Vehicles with anti −lock brake system—
This light comes on for a few seconds
when the ignition key is turned to the
“ON” position even after the parking brake
is released.
When the brake fluid level is low...
CAUTION
It is dangerous to continue driving
normally when the brake fluid level is
low.
Have your vehicle checked at your
Toyota dealer in the following cases:
The light does not come on even if the
parking brake is applied when the igni-
tion key is in the “ON” position.
Vehicles with anti −lock brake system—
The light does not come on even if the
ignition key is turned on with the park-
ing brake released. A warning light turning on briefly during
operation does not indicate a problem.
CAUTION
If either of the following conditions
occurs, immediately stop your vehicle
at a safe place and contact your
Toyota dealer.
The light does not turn off even
after the parking brake is released
while the engine is running.
In this case, the brakes may not
work properly and your stopping
distance will become longer. De-
press the brake pedal firmly and
bring the vehicle to an immediate
stop.
Vehicles with antilock brake sys-
tem—
The brake system warning light re-
mains on together with the “ABS”
warning light.
In this case, not only the antilock
brake system will fail but also the
vehicle will become extremely un-
stable during braking.
(b) Driver’s Seat Belt Reminder Light and Buzzer
This light and buzzer remind you to
buckle up the driver’s seat belt.
Once the ignition key is turned to “ON” or
“START”, the reminder light flashes and
buzzer sounds if the driver ’s seat belt is
not fastened. Unless the driver fastens the
belt, the light keeps flashing and the
buzzer stops after about 4 to 8 seconds.
(c) Front Passenger ’s Seat Belt Re- minder Light
This light reminds you to buckle up the
front passenger ’s seat belt.
Once the ignition key is turned to “ON” or
“START”, the reminder light flashes if a
passenger sits in the front passenger seat
and does not fasten the seat belt. Howev-
er, if a front passenger uses an additional
seat cushion, the light may not flash even
when the seat belt is not buckled up.
If luggage or other load is placed on the
front passenger seat, depending on its
weight and how it is placed on the seat,
built −in sensors in the seat cushion may
detect the pressure, causing the reminder
light to keep flashing.

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(d) Discharge Warning Light
This light warns that the battery is being
discharged.
If it comes on while you are driving, there
is a problem somewhere in the charging
system.
The engine ignition will continue to oper-
ate, however, until the battery is dis-
charged. Turn off the air conditioning,
blower, radio,etc., and drive directly to the
nearest Toyota dealer or repair shop.
NOTICE
Do not continue driving if the engine
drive belt is broken or loose.
(e) Low Engine Oil Pressure WarningLight
This light warns that the engine oil pres-
sure is too low.
If it flickers or stays on while you are
driving, pull off the road to a safe place
and stop the engine immediately. Call a
Toyota dealer or qualified repair shop for
assistance. The light may occasionally flicker when
the engine is idling or it may come on
briefly after a hard stop. There is no
cause for concern if it then goes out when
the engine is accelerated slightly.
The light may come on when the oil level
is extremely low. It is not designed to
indicate low oil level, and the oil level
must be checked using the level dipstick.
NOTICE
Do not drive the vehicle with the
warning light on—even for one block.
It may ruin the engine.
(f) Malfunction Indicator Lamp
This lamp comes on when the ignition
key is turned to the “ON” position and
goes off after the engine starts. This
means that the warning light system is
operating properly.
If the lamp remains on, or the lamp
comes on while driving, first check the
followings.
Empty fuel tank
If the fuel tank is empty, refuel immedi-
ately.
Loose fuel tank cap
If the fuel tank cap is loose, securely
tighten it.
These cases are temporary malfunctions.
The malfunction indicator lamp will go off
after taking several driving trips.
If the lamp does not go off even after
several trips, contact your Toyota dealer
as soon as possible.
If the fuel tank is not empty or the fuel
tank cap is not loose...
There is a problem somewhere in the
engine, emission control system, elec-
tronic throttle control system, automatic
transmission electrical system or warn-
ing light system itself.
Contact your Toyota dealer as soon as
possible to service the vehicle.
If the engine speed does not increase with
the accelerator pedal depressed down,
there may be a problem somewhere in
your electronic throttle control system.
At this time, vibration may occur. Howev-
er, if you depress the accelerator pedal
more firmly and slowly, you can drive your
vehicle at low speeds. Have your vehicle
checked by your Toyota dealer as soon as
possible.

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2004 RAV4 from Mar. ’04 Prod. (OM42568U)
(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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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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Compact disc player
There are two scan features—you can ei-
ther scan the tracks on a specific disc or
scan the first tracks of all the discs in the
magazine.
Scanning the tracks on a disc:
Quickly push and release the “SCAN” but-
ton. “SCAN” will appear on the display
and the player will scan all the tracks on
the disc you are listening to. To stop
scanning, push this button again. If the
player scanned all the tracks on the disc,
it will stop scanning.
With compact disc changer only—
Scanning the first tracks of all the discs
in the magazine:
Push the “SCAN” button until you hear a
beep. “
·SCAN” will appear on the dis-
play and the player will scan the first
track of the next disc. To stop scanning,
push this button again. If the player has
scanned all the di scs, it will stop scan-
ning. SEEK/TRACK (Seeking/Track up/down)
Radio
In the seek mode, the radio finds and
plays the next station up or down the
station band.
To seek the next station, quickly push and
release “
” or “ ” side of the “SEEK/
TRACK” button. Do this again to find the
station after that.
Cassette Player
Use this button to skip up or down to
locate a song or recording.
You can select up to nine recordings (in-
cluding current one).
A blank space of at least 3 seconds is
considered to be a start of a recording.
When the beginning of a tape is reached,
the player automatically resumes play.
When the end of the tape is reached, the
player automatically reverses sides and
resumes normal play.
In addition, the feature may not work well
with some spoken word, live, or classical
recordings. Compact disc player
Use this button to skip up or down to a
different track.
Push “
” or “ ” side of the “SEEK/
TRACK” button until the number of the
track you want to listen to appears on the
display. If you want to return to the begin-
ning of the current track, quickly push the
down side of the button one time.
ST (Stereo reception) display
Your radio automatically changes to stereo
reception when a stereo broadcast is re-
ceived. “ST” appears on the display. If the
signal becomes weak, the radio reduces
the amount of channel separation to prev-
ent the weak signal from creating noise.
If the signal becomes extremely weak, the
radio switches from stereo to mono recep-
tion.
TA P E
Push the “TAPE” button to play a cassette
tape.