2005 TOYOTA RAV4 maintenance

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Foreword
Welcome to the growing group of value- conscious people who drive Toyotas. We are proud of the advanced engineering and
quality construction of each vehicle we build.
This Owner 's Manual explains the operation of your new Toyota. Please read it thoroughly and have all the occupants
follow the instructions carefully. Doing so will help you enjoy many years of safe and trouble- free motoring. For
important information about this manual and your Toyota, read the following pages carefully.
When it comes to service, remember that your Toyota dealer knows your vehicle very well and is interested in your complete
satisfaction. Your Toyota dealer will provide quality maintenance and any other assistance you may require.
If there is not a Toyota dealer near you, or you need emergency assistance for any reason, please call the following number:

U.S. OWNERS:Toyota Customer Assistance Center Toll- free: 1- 800- 331- 4331

CANADIAN OWNERS:Toyota Canada Customer Interaction Centre Toll- free: 1- 888- TOYOTA- 8 (1- 888- 869- 6828)
Please leave this Owner 's Manual in this vehicle at the time of resale. The next owner will need this information also.
All information and specifications in this manual are current at the time of printing. However, because of Toyota's policy of
continual product improvement, we reserve the right to make changes at any time without notice.
Please note that this manual applies to all models and explains all equipment, including options. Therefore, you may
find some explanations for equipment not installed on your vehicle.
W2004 TOYOTA MOTOR CORPORATION
All rights reserved. This material may not be reproduced or copied, in whole or in part, without the written permission of Toyo ta
Motor Corporation.

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SRS airbag system diagnostic data
The information above is intended to be used for the
purpose of improving vehicle safety performance. Unlike
general data recorders, the EDR does not record sound
data such as conversation between passengers.
Toyota will not disclose the data recorded in an EDR to a
third party except when:

An agreement from the vehicle's owner (or the leas-
ing company for a leased vehicle) is obtained

Officially requested by the police or other authorities

Used as a defense for Toyota in a law suit

Ordered by the court
However, if necessary Toyota will:

Use the data for research on Toyota vehicle safety
performance

Disclose the data to a third party for research pur-
poses without disclosing details of the vehicle owner,
and only when it is deemed necessary

Disclose summarized data cleared of vehicle identifi-
cation information to a non- Toyota organization for
research purposesNew vehicle warranty
Your new vehicle is covered by the following Toyota limited
warranties:

New vehicle warranty

Emission control systems warranty

Others
For further information, please refer to the Owner's
Warranty Information Bookletº or Owner 's Manual
Supplementº.
Your responsibility for maintenance
It is the owner 's responsibility to make sure that the speci-
fied maintenance is performed. Section 6 gives details of
these maintenance requirements. Also included in Section
6 is general maintenance. For scheduled maintenance in-
formation, please refer to the Scheduled Maintenance
Guideº or Owner 's Manual Supplementº.

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Even if the abnormality of the electronic
throttle control system is corrected during
low speed driving, the system may not be
recovered until the engine is stopped and
the ignition key is turned to the ACCº or
LOCKº position.
CAUTION
Be especially careful to prevent erro-
neous pedal operation.
Emissions Inspection and Maintenance
(I/M) programs
Your vehicle may not pass a state
emission inspection if the malfunction
indicator lamp remains on. Contact your
Toyota dealer to check your vehicle's
emission control system and OBD
(On- Board Diagnostics) system before
taking your vehicle for the inspection.
For details, see Emissions Inspection and
Maintenance (I/M) programsº on page 276
in Section 6.(g) Low Fuel Level Warning Light
This light comes on when the fuel level
in the tank becomes nearly empty. Fill up
the tank as soon as possible.
On inclines or curves, due to the move-
ment of fuel in the tank, the low fuel level
warning light may come on earlier than
usual.
(h) ABSº Warning Light
Vehicles without vehicle stability control
systemÐ
The light comes on when the ignition key
is turned to the ONº position. If the anti-
lock brake system works properly, the
light turns off after a few seconds. There-
after, if the system malfunctions, the light
comes on again.
When the ABSº warning light is on (and
the brake system warning light is off), the
anti- lock brake system does not operate,
but the brake system still operates con-
ventionally.
When the ABSº 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 system. Con-
tact 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 ONº 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 ABSº 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 anti- lock
brake system will fail but also the
vehicle will become extremely unsta-
ble during braking.

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The air conditioning filter is behind the
glove box.The air conditioning filter may clog af-
ter long use. The filter may need to be
replaced if the air flow of the air condi-
tioning and heater experiences extreme
reductions in operating efficiency, or if
the windows begin to fog up easily.
To maintain the air conditioning efficiency,
inspect and replace the air conditioning
filter according to the maintenance sched-
ule. In dusty areas or areas with heavy
traffic flow, such as inner city or desert
areas, early replacement may be required.
(For scheduled maintenance information,
please refer to the Scheduled Mainte-
nance Guideº or Owner 's Manual Supple-
mentº.)1. Push in each side of the glove box
to disconnect the claws.
ÐChecking and replacing the
air conditioning filter

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Always slow down in gusty cross-
winds. Because of its profile and
higher center of gravity, your ve-
hicle is more sensitive to side
winds than an ordinary passenger
car. Slowing down will allow you to
have better control.

When driving off- road or in rugged
terrain, do not drive at excessive
speeds, jump, make sharp turns,
strike objects, etc. This may cause
loss of control or vehicle rollover
causing death or serious injury. You
are also risking expensive damage
to your vehicle's suspension and
chassis.

Do not drive horizontally across
steep slopes. Driving straight up or
straight down is preferred. Your ve-
hicle (or any similar off- road ve-
hicle) can tip over sideways much
more easily than forward or back-
ward.
Drive gently and avoid high speeds.
Your vehicle does not need an elaborate
break- in. But following a few simple tips
for the first 1600 km (1000 miles) can add
to the future economy and long life of
your vehicle:

Avoid full throttle acceleration when
starting and driving.

Avoid racing the engine.

Try to avoid hard stops during the first
300 km (200 miles).

Do not drive slowly with the manual
transmission in a high gear.

Do not drive for a long time at any
single speed, either fast or slow.

Do not tow a trailer during the first 800
km (500 miles).FUEL TYPE
Your new vehicle must use only un-
leaded gasoline.
To help prevent gas station mix- ups, your
Toyota has a smaller fuel tank opening.
The special nozzle on pumps with un-
leaded fuel will fit it, but the larger stan-
dard nozzle on pumps with leaded gas will
not.
At a minimum, the gasoline you use
should meet the specifications of ASTM
D4814 in the U.S.A. and CGSB 3.5- M93
in Canada.
NOTICE
Do not use leaded gasoline. Use of
leaded gasoline will cause the three-way catalytic converter to lose its ef-fectiveness and the emission control
system to function improperly. Also,this can increase maintenance costs.
Break- in period Fuel

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The three- way catalytic converter is an
emission control device installed in the
exhaust system.
The purpose is to reduce pollutants in the
exhaust gas.
CAUTION

Keep people and combustible mate-
rials away from the exhaust pipe
while the engine is running. The
exhaust gas is very hot.

Do not idle or park your vehicle
over anything that might burn easi-
ly such as grass, leaves, paper or
rags.
NOTICE
A large amount of unburned gasesflowing into the three- way catalyticconverter may cause it to overheatand create a fire hazard. To prevent
this and other damage, observe thefollowing precautions:

Use only unleaded gasoline.

Do not drive with an extremely lowfuel level; running out of fuel could
cause the engine to misfire, creat-ing an excessive load on the three-way catalytic converter.

Do not allow the engine to run atidle speed for more than 20 min-
utes.

Avoid racing the engine.

Do not push- start or pull- start yourvehicle.

Do not turn off the ignition while
the vehicle is moving.

Keep your engine in good runningorder. Malfunctions in the engineelectrical system, electronic ignitionsystem/distributor ignition system
or fuel systems could cause an ex-tremely high three- way catalyticconverter temperature.

If the engine becomes difficult tostart or stalls frequently, take yourvehicle in for a check- up as soon
as possible. Remember, your Toyotadealer knows your vehicle and itsthree- way catalytic converter sys-
tem best.

To ensure that the three- way cata-lytic converter and the entire emis-sion control system operate proper-ly, your vehicle must receive the
periodic inspections required by theToyota Maintenance Schedule. Forscheduled maintenance information,
refer to the Scheduled MaintenanceGuideº or Owner 's Manual Supple-mentº.
Three- way catalytic converters

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The amount of engine oil consumed de-
pends on the viscosity of the oil, the
quality of the oil and the conditions the
vehicle is driven under.
More oil is consumed by high- speed driv-
ing and frequent acceleration and decel-
eration.
A new engine consumes more oil, since
its pistons, piston rings and cylinder walls
have not become conditioned.
Oil consumption: Max. 1.0 L per 1000
km (1.1 qt./600 miles, 0.9 Imp. qt./600
miles)
When judging the amount of oil con-
sumption, note that the oil may become
diluted and make it difficult to judge
the true level accurately.
As an example, if a vehicle is used for
repeated short trips, and consumes a nor-
mal amount of oil, the dipstick may not
show any drop in the oil level at all, even
after 1000 km (600 miles) or more. This
is because the oil is gradually becoming
diluted with fuel or moisture, making it
appear that the oil level has not changed.
The diluting ingredients evaporate out
when the vehicle is then driven at high
speeds, as on an expressway, making it
appear that oil is excessively consumed
after driving at high speeds. IMPORTANCE OF ENGINE OIL LEVEL
CHECK
One of the most important points in prop-
er vehicle maintenance is to keep the en-
gine oil at the optimum level so that oil
function will not be impaired. Therefore, it
is essential that the oil level be checked
regularly. Toyota recommends that the oil
level be checked every time you refuel
the vehicle.
NOTICE
Failure to check the oil level regularly
could lead to serious engine troubledue to insufficient oil.
For detailed information on oil level check,
see Checking the engine oil levelº on
page 286 in Section 7- 2.
Your engine is fitted with iridium- tipped
spark plugs.
NOTICE
Use only iridium- tipped spark plugs
and do not adjust gaps for your en-gine performance and smooth drive-ability.
Iridium- tipped spark plugs

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In a rollover crash, an unbelted per-
son is significantly more likely to
die than a person wearing a seat
belt. Therefore, the driver and all
passengers should fasten their seat
belts whenever the vehicle is mo-
ving.

When driving off- road or in rugged
terrain, do not drive at excessive
speeds, jump, make sharp turns,
strike objects, etc. This may cause
loss of control or vehicle rollover
causing death or serious injury. You
are also risking expensive damage
to your vehicle's suspension and
chassis.
NOTICE

If driving through water, such aswhen crossing shallow streams,first check the depth of the waterand the bottom of the river bed for
firmness. Drive slowly and avoiddeep water.

Take all necessary safety measures
to ensure that water damage to theengine or other components doesnot occur.
Water entering the engine air intakewill cause severe engine damage.
Water can wash the grease fromwheel bearings, causing rusting andpremature failure, and may also en-
ter the differentials, transmissionand transfer case, reducing the gearoil's lubricating qualities.

Sand and mud that has accumulatedin brake drums and around brake
discs may affect braking efficiencyand may damage brake system com-ponents.

Always perform a maintenance in-spection after each day of off- roaddriving that has taken you through
rough terrain, sand, mud, or water.For scheduled maintenance informa-tion, refer to the Scheduled Main-
tenance Guideº or Owner's ManualSupplementº.
Make sure your coolant is properly pro-
tected against freezing.
Only use Toyota Super Long Life Coolantº
or similar high quality ethylene glycol
based non- silicate, non- amine, non- nitrite,
and non- borate coolant with long- life
hybrid organic acid technology. (Coolant
with long- life hybrid organic acid
technology is a combination of low
phosphates and organic acids.)
See Checking the engine coolant levelº
on page 288 in Section 7- 2 for details of
coolant type selection.
For the U.S.A.ÐToyota Super Long Life
Coolantº is a mixture of 50% coolant and
50% deionized water. This coolant pro-
vides protection down to about -35 C
(- 31 F).
For CanadaÐToyota Super Long Life
Coolantº is a mixture of 55% coolant and
45% deionized water. This coolant pro-
vides protection down to about -42 C
(- 44 F).
NOTICE
Do not use plain water alone.
Winter driving tips