2006 TOYOTA RAV4 car battery

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Check the condition of the battery and
cables.
Cold temperatures reduce the capacity of
any battery, so it must be in top shape to
provide enough power for winter starting.
Section 7−3 tells you how to visually in-
spect the battery. Your Toyota dealer and
most service stations will be pleased to
check the level of charge.
Make sure the engine oil viscosity is
suitable for the cold weather.
See page 368 in Section 7 −2 for recom-
mended viscosity. Leaving a heavy sum-
mer oil in your vehicle during winter
months may cause harder starting. If you
are not sure about which oil to use, call
your Toyota dealer–they will be pleased to
help.
Keep the door locks from freezing.
Squirt lock de −icer or glycerine into the
locks to keep them from freezing. Use a washer fluid containing an anti-
freeze solution.
This product is available at your Toyota
dealer and most auto parts stores. Follow
the manufacturer ’s directions for how
much to mix with water.
NOTICE
Do not use engine antifreeze or any
other substitute because it may dam-
age your vehicle’s paint.
Do not use your parking brake when
there is a possibility it could freeze.
When parking, put the transmission into
“P” and block the rear wheels. Do not use
the parking brake, or snow or water accu-
mulated in and around the parking brake
mechanism may freeze, making it hard to
release.
Keep ice and snow from accumulating
under the fenders.
Ice and snow built up under your fenders
can make steering difficult. During bad
winter driving, stop and check under the
fenders occasionally.Depending on where you are driving,
we recommend you carry some emer-
gency equipment.
Some of the things you might put in the
vehicle are tire chains, window scraper,
bag of sand or salt, flares, small shovel,
jumper cables, etc.

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5. Start your engine in the normal way.After starting, run it at about 2000 rpm
for several minutes with the accelerator
pedal lightly depressed.
6. Carefully disconnect the cables in the exact reverse order: the negative cable
and then the positive cable.
7. Carefully dispose of the battery cover cloths—they may now contain sulfuric
acid.
8. If removed, replace all the battery vent plugs.
If the cause of your battery discharging is
not apparent (for example, lights left on),
you should have it checked at your Toyota
dealer.
If the first start attempt is not success-
ful...
Check that the clamp on the jumper
cables are tight. Recharge the discharged
battery with the jumper cables connected
for several minutes and restart your en-
gine in the normal way.
If the another attempt is not successful,
the battery may be depleted. Have it ch-
ecked at your Toyota dealer. If your engine stalls while driving...
1. Reduce your speed gradually, keeping a straight line. Move cautiously off the
road to a safe place.
2. Turn on your emergency flashers.
3. Turn the ignition key to “ACC” or “LOCK”, and try starting the engine
again.
If the engine will not start, see “If your
vehicle will not start” on page 320 in this
Section.
CAUTION
If the engine is not running, the pow-
er assist for the brakes and steering
will not work so steering and braking
will be much harder than usual.
If engine speed does not increase when
the accelerator pedal is depressed, there
may be a problem somewhere in the elec-
tronic 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.
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 “ACC” or
“LOCK” position.
CAUTION
Be especially careful to prevent erro-
neous pedal operation.
If your engine stalls while
driving If you cannot incr
ease engine
speed

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If you perform maintenance by yourself,
be sure to follow the correct procedure
given in this Section.
You should be aware that improper or in-
complete servicing may result in operating
problems.
Performing do−it−yourself maintenance
during the warranty period may affect your
warranty coverage. Read the separate
Toyota Warranty statement for details and
suggestions.
This Section gives instructions only for
those items that are relatively easy for an
owner to perform. As explained in Section
6, there are still a number of items that
must be done by a qualified technician
with special tools.
For information on tools and parts for do −
it −yourself maintenance, see “Parts and
tools” on page 364 in this Section.
Utmost care should be taken when work-
ing on your vehicle to prevent accidental
injury. Here are a few precautions that
you should be especially careful to ob-
serve:CAUTION
When the engine is running, keep
hands, clothing, and tools away
from the moving fan and engine
drive belts. (Removing rings,
watches, and ties is advisable.)
Right after driving, the engine
compartment—the engine, radiator,
exhaust manifold and spark plug
boots, etc.—will be hot. So be care-
ful not to touch them. Oil, fluids
and spark plugs may also be hot.
If the engine is hot, do not remove
the coolant reservoir cap or loosen
the drain plugs to prevent burning
yourself.
Do not leave anything that may
burn easily, such as paper or rags,
in the engine compartment.
Do not smoke, cause sparks or al-
low open flames around fuel or the
battery. Their fumes are flammable.
Do not get under your vehicle with
just the body jack supporting it. Al-
ways use automotive jack stands or
other solid supports.
Be sure that the ignition is off if
you work near the electric cooling
fans or radiator grille. With the
ignition on, the electric cooling fans
will automatically start to run if the
engine coolant temperature is high
and/or the air conditioning is on.
Use eye protection whenever you
work on or under your vehicle
where you may be exposed to flying
or falling material, fluid spray, etc.
Used engine oil contains potentially
harmful contaminants which may
cause skin disorders such as in-
flammation or skin cancer, so care
should be taken to avoid prolonged
and repeated contact with it. To re-
move used engine oil from your
skin, wash thoroughly with soap
and water.
Do not leave used oil within the
reach of children.
Dispose of used oil and filter only
in a safe and acceptable manner.
Do not dispose of used oil and fil-
ter in household trash, in sewers or
onto the ground. Call your dealer or
a service station for information
concerning recycling or disposal.
Doityourself service
precautions

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Be extremely cautious when work-
ing on the battery. It contains poi-
sonous and corrosive sulfuric acid.
NOTICE
Remember that battery and ignition
cable carry high currents or volt-
ages. Be careful of accidentally
causing a short circuit.
 Add only “Toyota Super Long Life
Coolant” or similar high quality eth-
ylene glycol based nonsilicate,
nonamine, nonnitrite, and nonbo-
rate coolant with longlife hybrid
organic acid technology to fill the
radiator. “Toyota Super Long Life
Coolant” is a mixture of 50% cool-
ant and 50% deionized water (for
the U.S.A.) or 55% coolant and 45%
deionized water (for Canada).
 If you spill some of the coolant, be
sure to wash it off with water to
prevent it from damaging the parts
or paint.
Do not allow dirt or anything else
to fall through the spark plug holes.
 Use only spark plugs of the speci-
fied type. Using other types will
cause engine damage, loss of per-
formance or radio noise.
 Do not reuse iridiumtipped spark
plugs by cleaning or regapping.
 Do not overfill automatic transmis-
sion fluid, or the transmission
could be damaged.
 Do not drive with the air cleaner
filter removed, or excessive engine
wear could result. Also backfiring
could cause a fire in the engine
compartment.
 Be careful not to scratch the glass
surface with the wiper frame.
 When closing the engine hood,
check to see that you have not for-
gotten any tools, rags, etc.Here is a list of parts and tools you will
need to perform do −it−yourself mainte-
nance. Remember all Toyota parts are de-
signed in metric sizes, so your tools must
be metric.
CHECKING THE ENGINE OIL LEVEL
Parts (if level is low):
“Toyota Genuine Motor Oil” or equiva-
lent
See page 368 in Section 7− 2 for de-
tails about engine oil selection.
Tools:
Rag or paper towel
Funnel (only for adding oil)
CHECKING THE ENGINE COOLANT
LEVEL
Parts (if level is low):
“Toyota Super Long Life Coolant” or
similar high quality ethylene glycol
based non −silicate, non −amine, non− ni-
trite, and non −borate coolant with long −
life hybrid organic acid technology.
“Toyota Super Long Life Coolant” is a
mixture of 50% coolant and 50% deion-
ized water (for the U.S.A.) or 55%
coolant and 45% deionized water (for
Canada).
Parts and tools

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Before replacing the battery, remove the
cover as shown.Removing clip
Installing clip
NOTICE
Be sure the engine and all accesso-
ries are off before performing main-
tenance.
 When checking the battery, remove
the ground cable from the negative
terminal (“” mark) first and rein-
stall it last.
 Be careful not to cause a short cir-
cuit with tools.
 Take care no solution gets into the
battery when washing it.
If the battery is disconnected or run
down, You should normalize the power
window and moon roof may not operate
correctly after you reconnect, replace or
recharge the battery. In any of these
cases, you should normalize each system.
To normalize them, see “Power windows”
on page 24 and “Electric moon roof” on
page 30 in Section 1 −2.

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A
“ABS” warning light127
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
“AUTO LSD” system 151
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Active torque control 4WD system 148 . . . . .
Adding washer fluid 386
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Adjustment
Front seats 36,37
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Rear/second seat 39
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Seat belt 53
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Air conditioning filter 252
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Air conditioning system
Automatic air conditioning system 244 . . . .
Manual air conditioning system 238 . . . . . .
Airbags 64,71,81
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Aluminum wheel precautions 380
. . . . . . . . . .
Anti −glare inside rear view mirror 110 . . . . . .
Anti −theft steering column lock 140 . . . . . . . .
Appearance care
Cleaning the interior 349
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Protecting your Toyota from corrosion 346
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Washing and waxing 347
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Armrest 51
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Audio system 170
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Audio system
AUX 188
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Audio/video system 191
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Audio/video system operating tips 229 . . . . . .
Automatic air conditioning system 244 . . . . . . Automatic transmission
Driving with an automatic transmission 141,145
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Shift lock override button 342
. . . . . . . . . . . .
Shift pattern 141,145
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Shifting speed 141,145
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Automatic transmission fluid temperature warning light 127 . . . . . . .
AUX 188
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Auxiliary box 259,260
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Auxiliary catch, Engine hood 27
. . . . . . . . . . .
B
Back door 26
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Battery
Checking battery condition 382
. . . . . . . . . .
Gas caution 382
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Handling safety 382
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Recharging precautions 384
. . . . . . . . . . . . .
Winter driving tips 309
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Before starting the engine 306
. . . . . . . . . . . . .
Bottle holders 263
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Brake pad wear limit indicators 287 . . . . . . . .
Brake system 283
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Brake system warning light 127
. . . . . . . . . . . .
Brakes
Fluid level 371
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Pad wear limit indicators 287
. . . . . . . . . . . .
Parking 165
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Break −in tips 277
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Brightness control 116
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
C
Carbon monoxide caution 281
. . . . . . . . . . . . .
Cargo and luggage
Capacity 300
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Capacity and distribution 302
. . . . . . . . . . . .
Stowage precautions 301
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Cargo net 269
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Certification label 289
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Charging system warning light 127
. . . . . . . . .
Checking and replacing fuses 384
. . . . . . . . .
Checking and replacing the air conditioning filter 252
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Checking brake fluid 371
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Checking the engine oil level 368
. . . . . . . . . .
Checking the radiator and
condenser 371
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Child restraint
Child restraint system 86
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Installation 88
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Installation with child restraint lower anchorages 104
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Precautions 85
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Types of child restraint system 87 . . . . . . . .
Using a top strap 100
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Cleaning the interior 349
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Clock 256
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Cold weather
Operation 309
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Compact disc changer 170
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Compact disc changer controller 170 . . . . . . .
Compact disc player 170
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Condenser
Checking the condenser 371
. . . . . . . . . . . .
Console box
Rear 261
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .