2008 TOYOTA RAV4 lights

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2008 RAV4 from Feb. ’08 Prod. (OM42726U)
Hitting a curb,
edge of pavement
or hard surfaceFalling into or
jumping over a
deep hole
Landing hard or vehicle falling
The SRS side and curtain shield airbags
may deploy if a serious impact occurs
to the underside of your vehicle. Some
examples are shown in the illustration.The SRS side airbag and curtain shield
airbag system consists mainly of the fol-
lowing components, and their locations are
shown in the illustration. 1. SRS warning light
2. “AIR BAG ON” and “AIR BAG OFF” indicator lights
3. Curtain shield airbag modules (airbag and inflator)
4. Front passenger occupant classification system (ECU and sensors)
5. Side airbag modules (airbag and inflator)
6. Curtain shield airbag sensors
7. Side and curtain shield airbag sensors 8. Airbag sensor assembly
9. Front passenger ’s seat belt buckle
switch
The SRS side airbag and curtain shield
airbag system is controlled by the airbag
sensor assembly. The airbag sensor as-
sembly consists of a safing sensor and
airbag sensor.
In a severe side impact, the side and
curtain shield airbag sensor and/or the
curtain shield airbag sensor trigger(s) the
side airbag inflators and/or the curtain
shield airbag inflators. At this time a
chemical reaction in the inflators quickly
fills the airbags with non −toxic gas to help
restrain the lateral motion of the occu-
pants.
In a vehicle rollover, the airbag sensor
assembly triggers the curtain shield airbag
inflator. At this time, a chemical reaction
in the inflators quickly fills the airbags
with non −toxic gas to help restrain the
lateral motion of the occupants.

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In the following cases, contact your Toyota
dealer as soon as possible:
Any of the SRS side airbags and cur-
tain shield airbags have been inflated.
The portion of the doors (shaded in the
illustration) was involved in an accident
that was not severe enough to cause
the SRS side airbags and curtain
shield airbags to inflate.
The surface of the seats with the side
airbag (shaded in the illustration) is
scratched, cracked, or otherwise dam-
aged.
The portion of the front, center and
roof side garnish containing the curtain
shield airbags inside (shaded in the
illustration) is scratc hed, cracked, or
otherwise damaged.
NOTICE
Do not disconnect the battery cables
before contacting your Toyota dealer.
Your vehicle is equipped with a front
passenger occupant classification sys-
tem. This system detects the conditions
1—4 in the table on page 83 and based
on these conditions activates or deacti-
vates the following systems;
Front passenger airbag
Side airbag on the front passenger
seat
Front passenger ’s seat belt pretension-
er
The system monitors the weight and
load on the front passenger seat, and
the seat belt buckle switch to determine
conditions 1—4.
In order for the system to detect the
conditions correctly, do not do any of
the following:
Apply a heavy load to the front pas-
senger seat or equipment (e.g. seat-
back pocket).
Attach a commercial seatback table,
etc. to the front passenger seatback.
Put weight on the front passenger seat
by putting your hands or feet on the
seatback from the rear passenger seat.
The “AIR BAG ON” and “AIR BAG OFF”
indicator lights indicate the actuation of
the front passenger airbag, side airbag
on the front passenger seat and front
passenger ’s seat belt pretensioner.
The “AIR BAG OFF” indicator light will be
illuminated when the engine switch is in
the “ON” position with the condition 2 in
the table shown below.
—Front passenger occupant
classification system

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If the front passenger occupant classifica-
tion system determines that a person of
adult size sits in the front passenger seat
but the “AIR BAG OFF” indicator light is
illuminated, one of the following is likely
to have occurred:
A rear passenger lifts the front passen-
ger seat cushion with their legs.
Objects are placed under the front pas-
senger seat.
The front passenger seatback is in
contact with the rear/second seat.
To ensure the system correctly detects an
adult sitting in the front passenger seat,
make sure the above do not occur.
Make sure that the “AIR BAG ON” indica-
tor light is illuminated when an adult is
seated in the front passenger seat. If the
“AIR BAG OFF” indicator light is illumina-
ted, ask the passenger to sit up straight,
well back in the seat, and with the seat
belt worn correctly. If the “AIR BAG OFF”
indicator light still remains illuminated, ei-
ther ask the passenger to move to the
rear seat, or if that is not possible, move
the front passenger seat fully rearward. The “AIR BAG ON” and “AIR BAG OFF”
indicator lights will be illuminated ini-
tially when the engine switch is turned
to the “ON” position. After about four
seconds, they will go off. After that, the
front passenger occupant classification
system operates and judges which indi-
cator light be illuminated.
The SRS warning light and “AIR BAG
OFF” indicator light will come on if
there is a malfunction in the front pas-
senger occupant classification system.

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Condition and operation in the front passenger occupant classification systemCondition detected bythe front passenger
occupant classification system
Indicator/warning lightDevices
“AIR BAG
ON” and “AIR BAG OFF”indicator lights
SRS warning light
Front
passenger ’s seat belt
reminder lightFront
passenger airbagSide airbag
on the front passenger seatCurtain shieldairbag in the front
passenger sideFront
passenger ’s seat belt
pretensioner
1. Adult∗ 1“AIR BAG
ON”OffFlashing∗4Activated
2. Child∗2 or child
restraint system∗ 3“AIR BAG
OFF”∗5OffFlashing∗4Deactivated
Activated
Activated
3. UnoccupiedNot
illuminatedOffOffDeactivatedDeactivated
4. There is a
malfunction in the
system“AIR BAGOFF”OnOffDeactivatedActivated
∗1: The system judges a person of adult size as an adult. When a smaller adult sits in the front passenger seat, the system may
recognize him/her as a child depending on his/her physique and posture.
∗2: When a larger child who has outgrown a child restraint system sits in the front passenger seat, the system may recognize him/h er
as an adult depending on his/her physique or posture.
∗ 3: Never install a rear −facing child restraint system on the front passenger seat. A forward −facing child restraint system should only be
installed on the front passenger seat when it is unavoidable. (See “Child restraint” on page 85 in this Section as for installi ng the
child restraint system.)
∗ 4: In the event the front passenger does not wear a seat belt.∗5: In case the indicator is not illuminated, see “Child restraint” on page 85 as for installing the child restraint system proper ly.

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The rear view mirrors can be folded
backward for parking in compact areas.
To fold the rear view mirror, push back-
ward.
CAUTION
Do not drive with the mirrors folded
backward. Both the driver and pas-
senger side rear view mirrors must
be extended and properly adjusted
before driving.
Adjust the mirror so that you can just
see the rear of your vehicle in the mir-
ror.
To reduce glare from the headlights of
the vehicle behind you during night
driving, operate the lever on the lower
edge of the mirror.
Daylight driving—Lever at position 1
The reflection in the mirror has greater
clarity at this position.
Night driving—Lever at position 2
Remember that by reducing glare you also
lose some rear view clarity.
CAUTION
Do not adjust the mirror while the
vehicle is moving. Doing so may
cause the driver to mishandle the ve-
hicle and an accident may occur re-
sulting in death or serious injuries.
—Folding rear view mirrorsAntiglare inside rear view
mirror

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OPERATION OF INSTRUMENTS AND
CONTROLS
Lights, Wipers and Defogger
Headlights and turn signals11 4
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Emergency flashers 11 6
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Instrument panel light control 11 6
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Front fog lights 11 7
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Interior light 11 7
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Personal lights 11 8
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Luggage compartment light 11 8
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Illuminated entry system 11 9
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Windshield wipers and washer 120
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Rear window wiper and washer 121
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Windshield wiper de −icer 122
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Rear window and outside rear view mirror defoggers 122
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SECTION 1 5

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For the U.S.A.
For Canada
HEADLIGHTS
To turn on the following lights: Twist
the headlight/turn signal lever knob.
Position 1—Parking, tail, license plate,
side marker and instrument panel lights
For Canada—The tail light indicator lights
up in the instrument cluster.
Position 2—Headlights and all of the
above
For the U.S.A.—The headlight indicator
lights up in the instrument cluster.
Automatic light cut off system
If the driver ’s door is opened and closed
with the engine turned off, the lights will
automatically turn off after 30 seconds. If
all the doors are locked with the wireless
remote control, the lights will turn off im-
mediately.
To turn on the lights again, turn the en-
gine switch to the “ON” position or turn
the headlight switch on. If you are going
to park for over one week, make sure the
headlight switch is off.NOTICE
To prevent the battery from being dis-
charged, do not leave the lights on
for a long period when the engine is
not running.
Daytime running light system
(on some models)
The headlights turn on at reduced intensi-
ty when the parking brake is released with
the engine started, even with the light
switch in the “OFF” position. They will not
go off until the engine switch is turned off.
To turn on the other exterior lights and
instrument panel lights, twist the knob to
the position 1.
Twist the knob to the position 2 to turn
the headlights to full intensity for driving
at night.
Headlights and turn signals

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HighLow beams—For high beams, turn
the headlights on and push the lever away
from you (position 1). Pull the lever to-
ward you (position 2) for low beams.
The headlight high beam indicator light
(blue light) on the instrument panel will
tell you that the high beams are on.
Flashing the high beam headlights
(position 3)—Pull the lever all the way
back. The high beam headlights turn off
when you release the lever.
You can flash the high beam headlights
with the knob turned to “OFF”.TURN SIGNALS
To signal a turn, push the headlight/
turn signal lever up or down to position
1.
The engine switch must be in the “ON”
position.
The lever automatically returns after you
make a turn, but you may have to return
it by hand after you change lanes.
To signal a lane change, move the lever
up or down to the pressure point (position
2) and hold it. If the turn signal indicator lights (green
lights) on the instrument panel flash faster
than normal, a front or rear turn signal
bulb is burned out. See “Replacing light
bulbs” on page 422 in Section 7
−3.