2008 TOYOTA RAV4 Owners Manual

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DOITYOURSELF MAINTENANCE
Electrical components
Checking battery condition418
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Battery recharging precautions 420
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Checking and replacing fuses 420
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Adding washer fluid 422
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Replacing light bulbs 422
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. . . .
SECTION 7 3

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CAUTION
BATTERY PRECAUTIONS
The battery produces flammable and
explosive hydrogen gas.
Do not cause a spark from the bat-
tery with tools.
Do not smoke or light a match near
the battery.
The electrolyte contains poisonous
and corrosive sulfuric acid.
Avoid contact with eyes, skin or
clothes.
Never ingest electrolyte.
Wear protective safety glasses when
working near the battery.
Keep children away from the bat-
tery.
EMERGENCY MEASURES
If electrolyte gets in your eyes,
flush your eyes with clean water
immediately and get immediate
medical attention. If possible, con-
tinue to apply water with a sponge
or cloth while en route to the medi-
cal office.
If electrolyte gets on your skin,
thoroughly wash the contact area. If
you feel pain or burning, get medi-
cal attention immediately.
If electrolyte gets on your clothes,
there is a possibility of its soaking
through to your skin, so immediate-
ly take off the exposed clothing and
follow the procedure above, if nec-
essary.
If you accidentally swallow electro-
lyte, drink a large quantity of water
or milk. Follow with milk of magne-
sia, beaten raw egg or vegetable
oil. Then go immediately for emer-
gency help.
Terminals Ground cable
Hold −down clamp
Check the battery for corroded or loose
terminal connections, cracks, or loose
holddown clamp.
a. If the battery is corroded, wash it off with a solution of warm water and bak-
ing soda. Coat the outside of the termi-
nals with grease to prevent further cor-
rosion.
b. If the terminal connections are loose, tighten their clamp nuts—but do not
overtighten.
c. Tighten the hold −down clamp only
enough to keep the battery firmly in
place. Overtightening may damage the
battery case.
Checking battery c ondition—
—Precautions —Checking battery exterior

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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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Ty p e AGreen Dark Clear or
light yellow
Ty p e B Blue White Red
CHECKING BY INDICATOR
Check the battery condition by the indi-
cator color.
Indicator color
ConditionTy p e ATy p e B
GreenBlueGood
DarkWhite
Charging necessary.
Have battery
checked by your
Toyota dealer.
Clear orlight
yellow
RedHave battery
checked by your
Toyota dealer.
During recharging, the battery is pro-
ducing hydrogen gas.
Therefore, before recharging:
1. If recharging with the battery installed on the vehicle, be sure to disconnect
the ground cable.
2. Be sure the power switch on the re- charger is off when connecting the
charger cables to the battery and when
disconnecting them.
CAUTION
Always charge the battery in an un-
confined area. Do not charge the
battery in a garage or closed room
where there is not sufficient ventila-
tion.
Only do a slow charge (5 A or
less). Charging at a quicker rate is
dangerous. The battery may ex-
plode, causing personal injuries.
NOTICE
Never recharge the battery while the
engine is running. Also, be sure all
accessories are turned off.
Good Blown
Ty p e A
Good Blown
Ty p e B
—Checking battery c ondition Battery recharging pr ecautions Checking and replacing fuses

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GoodBlown
Ty p e C
If the headlights or other electrical
components do not work, check the
fuses. If any of the fuses are blown,
they must be replaced.
See “Fuse locations” on page 398 in Sec-
tion 7 −1 for locations of the fuses.
Turn the engine switch and inoperative
component off. Pull the suspected fuse
straight out and check it.
Determine which fuse may be causing the
problem. The lid of the fuse box shows
the name of the circuit for each fuse. See
page 434 in Section 8 for the functions
controlled by each circuit. Type A fuses can be pulled out by using
the pull
−out tool. The location of the pull −
out tool is shown in the illustration.
If you are not sure whether the fuse has
blown, try replacing the suspected fuse
with one that you know is good.
If the fuse has blown, push a new fuse
into the clip.
Only install a fuse with the amperage rat-
ing designated on the fuse box lid.
If you do not have a spare fuse, in an
emergency you can pull out the “RAD
NO.1” or “CIG” fuse, which may be dis-
pensable for normal driving, and use it if
its amperage rating is the same.
If you cannot use one of the same amper-
age, use one that is lower, but as close
to the rating as possible. If the amperage
is lower than that specified, the fuse
might blow out again but this does not
indicate anything wrong. Be sure to get
the correct fuse as soon as possible and
return the substitute to its original clip.
It is a good idea to purchase a set of
spare fuses and keep them in your ve-
hicle for emergencies.

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If the new fuse immediately blows out,
there is a problem with the electrical sys-
tem. Have your Toyota dealer correct it as
soon as possible.
You should normalize the power window
and moon roof may not operate correctly
after replacing blown fuses. To normalize
the power window and moon roof, see
“Power windows” on page 24 and “Electric
moon roof” on page 30 in Section 1−2.
CAUTION
Never use a fuse with a higher am-
perage rating, or any other object, in
place of a fuse. This may cause ex-
tensive damage and possibly a fire.
If any washer does not work or wind-
shield washer fluid level warning light
comes on, the washer tank may be
empty. Add washer fluid.
You may use plain water as washer fluid.
However, in cold areas where tempera-
tures range below the freezing point, use
washer fluid containing antifreeze. 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.
The following illustrations show how to
gain access to the bulbs. When replacing
a bulb, make sure the engine switch and
light switch are off. Use bulbs with the
wattage ratings given in the table.
The stop/tail lights and high mounted stop-
light consist of a number of LEDs. If any
of the LEDs burn out, take your vehicle
to your Toyota dealer to have the light
replaced.
If two or more LEDs in a stop/tail light
burn out, your vehicle may not conform to
local laws (SAE).
CAUTION
To prevent burning yourself, do not
replace the light bulbs while they
are hot.
Halogen bulbs have pressurized gas
inside and require special handling.
They can burst or shatter if
scratched or dropped. Hold a bulb
only by its plastic or metal case.
Do not touch the glass part of a
bulb with bare hands.
Adding washer fluid Replacing light bulbs—

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NOTICE
Only use a bulb of the listed type.
The inside of the lens of exterior lights
such as headlights may temporarily fog up
when the lens becomes wet in the rain or
in a car wash. This is not a problem
because the fogging is caused by the
temperature difference between the outside
and inside of the lens, just like the
windshield fogs up in the rain. However, if
there is a large drop of water on the
inside of the lens, or if there is water
pooled inside the light, contact your
Toyota dealer.Light bulbs
Bulb
No.WTy p e
Headlights (high)900560A
Headlights (low)900651B
Front turn signal,
parking and front
side marker lights
744321/5C
Front fog lights—55D
Rear turn signal
lights744021E
Back −up lights92116C
Rear side marker
lights—5C
License plate light1685C
Interior light—8F
Front personal
lights—8C
Vanity lights—8C
Luggage
compartment light—5E
A: HB3 halogen bulbs
B: HB4 halogen bulbs
C: Wedge base bulbs (clear)
D: H11 halogen bulbs
E: Wedge base bulbs (amber)
F: Double end bulbs

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Low beam
(outside)High beam (inside)
1. Open the hood. Turn the bulb base
counterclockwise to the front of the
vehicle as shown.
The above illustration shows the left −hand
headlight.2. Unplug the connector while depress- ing the lock release.
If the connector is tight, wiggle it.3. Plug in a new bulb into the connec- tor and install it into the mounting
hole.
Aiming is not necessary after replacing
the bulb. When aiming adjustment is nec-
essary, contact your Toyota dealer.
—Headlights