2009 TOYOTA RAV4 traction control

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CAUTION
■General precautions while driving
Driving under the influence: Never drive your vehicle when under the influ-
ence of alcohol or drugs that have impaired your ability to operate your vehi-
cle. Alcohol and certain drugs delay reaction time, impair judgment and
reduce coordination, which could lead to an accident that could result in
death or serious injury.
Defensive driving: Always drive defensively. Anticipate mistakes that other
drivers or pedestrians might make and be ready to avoid accidents.
Driver distraction: Always give your full attention to driving. Anything that dis-
tracts the driver, such as adjusting controls, talking on a cellular phone or
reading can result in a collision with resulting death or serious injury to you,
your occupants or others.
■ General precaution regarding children’s safety
Never leave children unattended in the vehicle, and never allow children to
have or use the key.
Children may be able to start the vehicle or shift the vehicle into neutral.
There is also a danger that children may injure themselves by playing with
the windows, the moon roof, or other features of the vehicle. In addition, heat
build-up or extremely cold temperatures inside the vehicle can be fatal to
children.

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2-4. Using other driving systems
Driving assist systems
To help enhance driving safety and performance, the following sys-
tems operate automatically in res ponse to various driving situations.
Be aware, however, that these systems are supplementary and
should not be relied upon too h eavily when operating the vehicle.
■ABS (Anti-lock Brake System)
Helps to prevent wheel lock when the brakes are applied suddenly, or if
the brakes are applied while driving on a slippery road surface.
■Brake assist
Generates an increased level of braking force after the brake pedal is
depressed, when the system detects a panic stop situation.
■Enhanced VSC (Enhanced Vehicle Stability Control)
Helps the driver to control skidding when swerving suddenly or turning
on slippery road surfaces.
■TRAC (Traction Control)
Maintains drive power and prevents the drive wheels from spinning
when starting the vehicle or accelerating on slippery roads.
■AUTO LSD function (2WD models)
The AUTO LSD function is activated when the system is in TRAC off
mode. It operates when one of the drive wheels is spinning, such as
when the wheel is spinning freely on ice or mud. The system applies
the brakes to the spinning wheel and transfers some of the torque to
the other wheel to secure drive power.
■Active torque control 4WD system (4WD models)
Automatically switches from front-wheel drive to four-wheel drive
(4WD) according to the driving conditions, helping to ensure reliable
handling and stability. Examples of conditions where the system will
switch to 4WD are when cornering, going uphill, starting off or acceler-
ating, and when the road surface is slippery due to snow, rain, etc.
■EPS (Electric Power Steering)
Employs an electric motor to reduce the amount of effort needed to turn
the steering wheel.

484 6-1. Specifications
■Treadwear
The treadwear grade is a comparative rating based on the wear
rate of the tire when tested under controlled conditions on a speci-
fied government test course.
For example, a tire graded 150 would wear one and a half (1 - 1/2)
times as well on the government course as a tire graded 100.
The relative performance of tires depends upon the actual conditions
of their use, however, and may depart significantly from the norm due
to variations in driving habits, service practices and differences in
road characteristics and climate.
■ Traction AA, A, B, C
The traction grades, from highest to lowest, are AA, A, B and C,
and they represen t the tire's ability to stop on wet pavement as
measured under controlled cond itions on specified government
test surfaces of asphalt and concrete.
A tire marked C may have poor traction performance.
Warning: The traction grade assigned to this tire is based on braking
(straight ahead) traction tests and does not include cornering (turn-
ing) traction.
■ Temperature A, B, C
The temperature grades are A (the highest), B, and C, represent-
ing the tire's resistance to the generation of heat and its ability to
dissipate heat when tested under controlled conditions on a speci-
fied indoor laboratory test wheel.
Sustained high temperature can cause the material of the tire to
degenerate and reduce tire life, and excessive temperature can lead
to sudden tire failure.
The grade C corresponds to a level of performance which all passen-
ger car tires must meet under the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Stan-
dard No. 109.
Grades B and A represent higher levels of performance on the labo-
ratory test wheel than the minimum required by law.

501
Abbreviation list
TRAC Traction control
VIN Vehicle Identification Number
VSC Vehicle Stability Control
ABBREVIATIONSMEANING

511
Alphabetical index
Tires
Chains .................................. 206
Checking .............................. 368
If you have a flat tire ............. 434
Inflation pressure .................. 375
Information ........................... 480
Replacing ............................. 434
Rotating tires ........................ 368
Size ...................................... 475
Snow tires............................. 206
Tire pressure warning
system........................ 368, 425
Tools......................................... 434
Total load capacity .................. 204
Towing Dinghy towing ....................... 218
Emergency towing ................ 411
Trailer towing ........................ 210
Traction control ....................... 180
TRAC ........................................ 180
Trip information....................... 162
Trip meter................................. 156
Turn signal lights Replacing light bulbs ............ 400
Switch ................................... 153
Wattage ................................ 476
Utility vehicle ........................... 193 Valet key .....................................24
Vanity lights
Vanity lights ...........................313
Wattage .................................476
Vanity mirrors...........................313
Vehicle identification
number ...................................468
Warning buzzers Brake system ........................422
Open door .............................425
Seat belt reminder .................425
Warning lights
Active torque control 4WDsystem ........................423, 425
Anti-lock brake system ..........423
Automatic transmission fluid
temperature ........................425
Brake assist system ..............423
Brake system ........................422
Charging system .... ...............423
Electric power steering
system ................................423
Engine oil pressure ...............423
Low fuel level ........................425
Low washer fluid ...................425
Malfunction indicator lamp ....423
Open door .............................425
Pretensioners ........................423
Seat belt reminder light .........425
SRS airbags ..........................423
Tire pressure warning light ....425
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