2021 TOYOTA RAV4 stop start

1323-2. Opening, closing and locking the doors
the effective range, the door may
lock and unlock repeatedly. In that
case, follow the fo llowing correc-
tion procedures to wash the vehi-
cle:
• Place the electronic key in a loca- tion 6 ft. (2 m) or more away from
the vehicle. (Take care to ensure
that the key is not stolen.)
• Set the electronic key to battery-
saving mode to disable the smart
key system. ( P.130)
●If the electronic key is inside the
vehicle and a door handle
becomes wet during a car wash, a
message may be shown on the
multi-informatio n display and a
buzzer will sound outside the vehi-
cle. To turn off the alarm, lock all
the doors.
●The lock sensor may not work
properly if it com es into contact
with ice, snow, mud, etc. Clean
the lock sensor and attempt to
operate it again, or use the lock
sensor on the lower part of the
door handle.
●A sudden approac h to the effec-
tive range or door handle may pre-
vent the doors from being
unlocked. In this case, return the
door handle to the original position
and check that the doors unlock
before pulling the door handle
again.
●If there is another electronic key in
the detection area, it may take
slightly longer to unlock the doors
after the door handle is gripped.
■When the vehicle is not driven
for extended periods
●To prevent theft of the vehicle, do
not leave the electronic key within
6 ft. (2 m) of the vehicle.
●The smart key system can be
deactivated in advance. ( P.703)
●Battery-saving mode can reduce
the power consumption of elec-
tronic keys. ( P.130)
■To operate the system properly
Make sure to carry the electronic
key when operating the system. Do
not get the electronic key too close
to the vehicle when operating the
system from the out side of the vehi-
cle.
Depending on the position and hold-
ing condition of the electronic key,
the key may not be detected cor-
rectly and the system may not oper-
ate properly. (The alarm may go off
accidentally, or the door lock pre-
vention may not operate.)
■If the smart key system does
not operate properly
●Locking and unlocking the doors:
Use the mechanical key.
(  P.664)
●Starting the engine: P.665
■Customization
Settings (e.g. smart key system)
can be changed.
(Customizable features: P.703)
If the smart key system has been
deactivated in a customized setting,
refer to the explanations for the fol-
lowing operations.
●Locking and unlocking the doors:
Use the wireless remote control or
mechanical key. ( P.109, 664)
●Starting the engi ne and changing
engine switch modes: P.665
●Stopping the engine: P.198

169
4
4
Driving
Driving
4-1. Before drivingDriving the vehicle....... 171
Cargo and luggage ..... 177
Vehicle load limits ....... 180
Trailer towing .............. 181
Dinghy towing ............. 193
4-2. Driving procedures Engine (ignition) switch (vehicles without smart key
system)...................... 195
Engine (ignition) switch (vehicles with smart key
system)...................... 196
Automatic transmission 201
Turn signal lever ......... 204
Parking brake .............. 205
Brake Hold .................. 208
4-3. Operating the lights and wipers
Headlight switch .......... 211
AHB (Automatic High Beam)........................ 214
Fog light switch ........... 217
Windshield wipers and washer....................... 218
Rear window wiper and washer....................... 221
4-4. Refueling Opening the fuel tank cap.................................. 2234-5. Using the dr
iving support
systems
Toyota Safety Sense 2.0 .................................. 226
PCS (Pre-Collision System) .................................. 232
LTA (Lane Tracing Assist) .................................. 240
RSA (Road Sign Assist) .................................. 250
Dynamic radar cruise con- trol with full-speed range.................................. 253
BSM (Blind Spot Monitor) .................................. 264
Intuitive parking assist . 273
PKSB (Parking Support Brake) ........................ 281
Parking Support Brake func- tion (static objects) .... 286
Parking Support Brake func- tion (rear-crossing vehi-
cles) ........................... 292
Rear view monitor system .................................. 296
Toyota parking assist moni- tor .............................. 304
Panoramic view monitor .................................. 317
Stop & Start system .... 349
Driving mode select switch .................................. 355

1714-1. Before driving
4
Driving
4-1.Before driving
■Starting the engine
 P.195, 196
■Driving
1 With the brake pedal
depressed, shift the shift
lever to D. ( P.201)
2 Release the parking brake.
( P.205)
If the parking brake is in automatic
mode, the parking brake is
released automatically when shift-
ing the shift lever to any position
other than P. ( P.206)
3 Gradually release the brake
pedal and gently depress the
accelerator pedal to acceler-
ate the vehicle.
■Stopping
1 With the shift lever in D,
depress the brake pedal.
2 If necessary, set the parking
brake. ( P.205)
If the vehicle is to be stopped for an
extended period of time, shift the
shift lever to P. ( P.201)
■Parking the vehicle
1 With the shift lever in D,
depress the brake pedal. 2
Set the parking brake
( P.205), and shift the shift
lever to P ( P.201).
3 Turn the engine switch to
OFF to stop the engine.
4 Lock the door, making sure
that you have the key on your
person.
If parking on a hill, block the wheels
as needed.
■Starting off on a steep
uphill
1 With the brake pedal
depressed, shift the shift
lever to D. ( P.201)
2 Pull the parking brake switch
and parking brake is set
manually. ( P.205)
3 Release the brake pedal and
gently depress the accelera-
tor pedal to accelerate the
vehicle.
Parking brake automatic release
function ( P.207)
■When starting off on a uphill
The hill-start assist control will acti-
vate. ( P.364)
■Driving in the rain
●Drive carefully whe n it is raining,
because visibility will be reduced,
the windows may become fogged-
up, and the road could be slip-
pery.
●Drive carefully whe n it starts to
rain, as the road surface could be
especially slippery.
●Refrain from hig h speeds when
driving on an expressway in the
rain, because there may be a
layer of water between the tires
Driving the vehicle
The following procedures
should be observed to
ensure safe driving:
Driving procedure

1724-1. Before driving
and the road surface, preventing
the steering and brakes from
operating properly.
■Engine speed while driving
In the following conditions, the
engine speed may become high
while driving. This is due to auto-
matic up-shifting control or down-
shifting implementation to meet driv-
ing conditions. It does not indicate
sudden acceleration.
●The vehicle is judged to be driving
uphill or downhill
●When the accelerator pedal is
released
●When the brake pedal is
depressed while sport mode is
selected
■Restraining the engine output
(Brake Override System)
●When the accelerator and brake
pedals are depressed at the same
time, the engine output may be
restrained.
●A warning message is displayed
on the multi-information display
while the system is operating.
(  P.643)
■Restraining sudden start (Drive-
Start Control)
●When the following unusual oper-
ation is performed, the engine out-
put may be restrained.
• When the shift lever is shifted from
R to D, D to R, N to R, P to D, or P
to R (D includes S) with the accel-
erator pedal depressed, a warning
message appears on the multi-
information display. If a warning
message is shown on the multi-
information display, read the mes-
sage and follow the instructions.
• When the accelerator pedal is
depressed too much while the
vehicle is in reverse.
●While Drive-Start C ontrol is being
activated, your vehicle may have
trouble escaping from the mud or
fresh snow. In such case, deacti- vate TRAC (
P.365) to cancel
Drive-Start Cont rol so that the
vehicle may be able to escape
from the mud or fresh snow (AWD
models).
●Drive-Start Contro l does not work
when Mud & Sand or Rock & Dirt
mode is selected fo r Multi-terrain
Select.
■Breaking in your new Toyota
To extend the life of the vehicle,
observing the following precautions
is recommended:
●For the first 200 miles (300 km):
Avoid sudden stops.
●For the first 500 miles (800 km):
Do not tow a trailer.
●For the first 600 miles (1000 km):
• Do not drive at extremely high
speeds.
• Avoid sudden acceleration.
• Do not drive continuously in low gears.
• Do not drive at a constant speed for extended periods.
■Operating your v ehicle in a for-
eign country
Comply with the relevant vehicle
registration laws and confirm the
availability of the correct fuel.
(  P.678)
WARNING
Observe the following precau-
tions.
Failure to do so may result in
death or serious injury.
■When starting the vehicle
Always keep your foot on the
brake pedal while stopped with
the engine running. This prevents
the vehicle from creeping.

1754-1. Before driving
4
Driving
WARNING
●If the vehicle is stopped on an
incline, in order to prevent acci-
dents caused by the vehicle roll-
ing forward or backward, always
depress the brake pedal and
securely apply the parking
brake as needed.
●Avoid revving or racing the
engine.
Running the engine at high
speed while the vehicle is
stopped may cause the exhaust
system to overheat, which could
result in a fire if combustible
material is nearby.
■When the vehicle is parked
●Do not leave glasses, cigarette
lighters, spray cans, or soft
drink cans in the vehicle when it
is in the sun.
Doing so may result in the fol-
lowing:
• Gas may leak from a cigarette lighter or spray can, and may
lead to a fire.
• The temperature inside the vehicle may cause the plastic
lenses and plastic material of
glasses to deform or crack.
• Soft drink cans may fracture, causing the contents to spray
over the interior of the vehicle,
and may also caus e a short cir-
cuit in the vehicle’s electrical
components.
●Do not leave cigarette lighters in
the vehicle. If a cigarette lighter
is in a place such as the glove
box or on the floor, it may be lit
accidentally when luggage is
loaded or the seat is adjusted,
causing a fire.
●Do not attach adhesive discs to
the windshield or windows. Do
not place containers such as air
fresheners on the instrument
panel or dashboard. Adhesive
discs or containers may act as
lenses, causing a fire in the
vehicle.
●Do not leave a door or window
open if the curved glass is
coated with a metallized film
such as a silver-colored one.
Reflected sunlight may cause
the glass to act a s a lens, caus-
ing a fire.
●Always apply the parking brake,
shift the shift lever to P, stop the
engine and loc k the vehicle.
Do not leave the vehicle unat-
tended while the engine is run-
ning.
If the vehicle is parked with the
shift lever in P but the parking
brake is not set, the vehicle may
start to move, possibly leading
to an accident.
●Do not touch the exhaust pipes
while the engine is running or
immediately after turning the
engine off.
Doing so may cause burns.
■When taking a nap in the
vehicle
Always turn the engine off. Other-
wise, if you accidentally move the
shift lever or depress the acceler-
ator pedal, this could cause an
accident or fire due to engine
overheating. Additionally, if the
vehicle is parked in a poorly venti-
lated area, exhaust gases may
collect and enter the vehicle, lead-
ing to death or a serious health
hazard.

1904-1. Before driving
Please consult your dealer
when installing trailer lights, as
incorrect installation may cause
damage to the vehicle’s lights.
Please take care to comply with
your state’s laws when installing
trailer lights.
Your vehicle will handle differ-
ently when towing a trailer. Help
to avoid an accident, death or
serious injury, keep the follow-
ing in mind when towing:
Speed limits for towing a
trailer vary by state or prov-
ince. Do not exceed the
posted towing speed limit.
 Toyota recommends that the
vehicle-trailer speed limit is 65
mph (104 km/h) on a flat,
straight, dry road. Do not
exceed this limit, the posted
towing speed limit or the
speed limit for your trailer as
set forth in your trailer owner’s
manual, whichever is lowest.
Instability of the towing vehi-
cle-trailer combination (trailer
sway) increases as speed increases. Exceeding speed
limits may cause loss of con-
trol.
 Before starting out, check the
trailer lights, tires and the
vehicle-trailer connections.
Recheck after driving a short
distance.
 Practice turning, stopping and
reversing with the trailer
attached in an area away
from traffic until you become
accustomed to the feel of the
vehicle-trailer combination.
 Reversing with a trailer
attached is difficult and
requires practice. Grip the
bottom of the steering wheel
and move your hand to the
left to move the trailer to the
left. Move your hand to the
right to move the trailer to
right. (This is generally oppo-
site to reversing without a
trailer attached.) Avoid sharp
or prolonged turning. Have
someone guide you when
reversing to reduce the risk of
an accident.
 As stopping distance is
increased when towing a
trailer, vehicle-to vehicle dis-
tance should be increased.
For each 10 mph (16 km/h) of
speed, allow at least one
vehicle and trailer length.
 Avoid sudden braking as you
may skid, resulting in the
trailer jackknifing and a loss of
Connecting trailer lights
NOTICE
■Do not directly splice trailer
lights
Do not directly splice trailer lights.
Directly splicing trailer lights may
damage your vehicle’s electrical
system and cause a malfunction.
Trailer towing tips

1914-1. Before driving
4
Driving
vehicle control. This is espe-
cially true on wet or slippery
surfaces.
 Avoid jerky starts or sudden
acceleration.
 Avoid jerky steering and
sharp turns, and slow down
before making turn.
 Note that when making a turn,
the trailer wheels will be
closer than the vehicle wheels
to the inside of the turn. Com-
pensate by making a wider
than normal turning radius.
 Slow down before making a
turn, in cross winds, on wet or
slippery surfaces, etc.
Increasing vehicle speed can
destabilize the trailer.
Take care when passing other
vehicles. Passing requires
considerable distance. After
passing a vehicle, do not for-
get the length of your trailer,
and be sure you have plenty
of room before changing
lanes.
 To maintain engine braking
efficiency and charging sys-
tem performance when using
engine braking, do not put the
transmission in D. If in the S
mode, the transmission shift
range position must be in 6 or
lower.
 Instability happens more fre-
quently when descending
steep or long downhill grades. Before descending, slow
down and downshift. Do not
make sudden downshifts
while descending steep or
long downhill grades.
 Avoid holding the brake pedal
down too long or applying the
brakes too frequently. This
could cause the brakes to
overheat and result in
reduced braking efficiency.
 Due to the added load of the
trailer, your vehicle’s engine
may overheat on hot days (at
temperatures over 85°F
[30°C]) when driving up a long
or steep grade. If the engine
coolant temperature gauge
indicates overheating, imme-
diately turn off the air condi-
tioning (if in use), pull your
vehicle off the road and stop
in a safe spot. ( P.670)
 Always place wheel blocks
under both the vehicle’s and
the trailer’s wheels when
parking. Apply the parking
brake firmly, and put the
transmission in P. Avoid park-
ing on a slope, but if unavoid-
able, do so only after
performing the following:
1 Apply the brakes and keep
them applied.
2 Have someone place wheel
blocks under both the vehi-
cle’s and trailer’s wheels.

1924-1. Before driving
3When the wheel blocks are in
place, release the brakes
slowly until the blocks absorb
the load.
4 Apply the parking brake
firmly.
5 Shift into P and turn off the
engine.
 When restarting after parking
on a slope:
1 With the transmission in P,
start the engine. Be sure to
keep the brake pedal
depressed.
2 Shift into a forward gear. If
reversing, shift into R.
3 If the parking brake is in man-
ual mode, release the park-
ing brake. ( P.205)
4 Release the brake pedal, and
slowly pull or back away from
the wheel blocks. Stop and
apply the brakes.
5 Have someone retrieve the
blocks.
■Break-in schedule
If your vehicle is new or equipped
with any new power train compo-
nents (such as an engine, transmis-
sion, differential or wheel bearing),
Toyota recommends that you do not
tow a trailer unt il the vehicle has
been driven for over 500 miles (800
km).
After the vehicle has been driven for
over 500 miles (800 km), you can
start towing. However, for the next
500 miles (800 km), drive the vehi-
cle at a speed of less than 45 mph
(72 km/h) when towing a trailer, and avoid full throttle acceleration.
■Maintenance
●If you tow a traile
r, your vehicle
will require more fr equent mainte-
nance due to the additional load.
(See “Scheduled Maintenance
Guide” or “Owner ’s Manual Sup-
plement”.)
●Retighten the fixing bolts of the
towing ball and bracket after
approximately 600 miles (1000
km) of tra iler towing.
■If trailer sway occurs
One or more factors (crosswinds,
passing vehicles, rough roads, etc.)
can adversely affect handling of
your vehicle and t railer, causing
instability.
●If trailer swaying occurs:
• Firmly grip the steering wheel. Steer straight ahead.
Do not try to contr ol trailer sway-
ing by turning the steering wheel.
• Begin releasing the accelerator
pedal immediately but very gradu-
ally to reduce speed.
Do not increase speed. Do not
apply vehicle brakes.
If you make no extreme correction
with the steering or brakes, your
vehicle and trailer should stabilize (if
enabled, Trailer Sway Control can
also help to stabilize the vehicle and
trailer.).
●After the trailer swaying has
stopped:
• Stop in a safe place. Get all occu-
pants out of the vehicle.
• Check the tires of the vehicle and the trailer.
• Check the load in the trailer. Make sure the load has not
shifted.
Make sure the tongue weight is
appropriate, if possible.
• Check the load in the vehicle.
Make sure the vehicle is not over-
loaded after occupants get in.
If you cannot find any problems, the