2021 TOYOTA RAV4 towing

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

1934-1. Before driving
4
Driving
speed at which trailer swaying
occurred is beyond the limit of your
particular vehicle-trailer combina-
tion. Drive at a lower speed to pre-
vent instability . Remember that
swaying of the towing vehicle-trailer
increases as speed increases.Dinghy towing
Your vehicle is not designed
to be dinghy towed (with 4
wheels on the ground)
behind a motor home.
NOTICE
■To avoid serious damage to
your vehicle
Do not tow your vehicle with 4
wheels on the ground.
■To prevent causing serious
damage to the transmission
and AWD system (AWD mod-
els)
2WD models: Never tow this vehi-
cle from the rear with the front
wheels on the ground. This may
cause serious damage to the
transmission.

2344-5. Using the driving support systems
■Enabling/disabling the pre-
collision system
The pre-collision system can be
enabled/disabled on the
screen ( P.94) of the multi-
information display.
The system is automatically
enabled each time the engine
switch is turned to ON.
If the system is disabled, the
PCS warning light will turn on
and a message will be displayed
on the multi-information display.
■Changing the pre-collision
warning timing
The pre-collision warning timing
can be changed on the
screen ( P.94) of the multi-
information display.
The warning timing setting is
retained when the engine switch is
turned to OFF. However, if the pre-
collision system is disabled and re-
enabled, the operation timing will
return to the default setting (mid-
dle).
WARNING
●When your vehicle is towing
another vehicle
●When transporting the vehicle
via truck, boat, train or similar
means of transportation
●When the vehicle is raised on a
lift with the engine running and
the tires are allowed to rotate
freely
●When inspecting the vehicle
using a drum tester such as a
chassis dynamometer or speed-
ometer tester, or when using an
on vehicle wheel balancer
●When a strong impact is applied
to the front bumper or front
grille, due to a n accident or
other reasons
●If the vehicle cannot be driven in
a stable manner, such as when
the vehicle has been in an acci-
dent or is malfunctioning
●When the vehicle is driven in a
sporty manner or off-road
●When the tires are not properly
inflated
●When the tires are very worn
●When tires of a size other than
specified are installed
●When tire chains are installed
●When a compact spare tire or
an emergency tire puncture
repair kit is used
●If equipment (snow plow, etc.)
that may obstruct the radar sen-
sor or front camera is temporar-
ily installed to the vehicle
Changing settings of the
pre-collision system

2414-5. Using the driving support systems
4
Driving
WARNING
●Vehicle is driven in a construc-
tion zone.
●A spare tire, tire chains, etc. are
equipped.
●When the tires have been
excessively worn, or when the
tire inflation pressure is low.
●When your vehicle is towing a
trailer or during emergency tow-
ing
■Preventing LTA system mal-
functions and operations per-
formed by mistake
●Do not modify the headlights or
place stickers, etc. on the sur-
face of the lights.
●Do not modify the suspension
etc. If the suspension etc. needs
to be replaced, contact your
Toyota dealer.
●Do not install or place anything
on the hood or grille. Also, do
not install a gr ille guard (bull
bars, kangaroo bar, etc.).
●If your windshield needs
repairs, contact your Toyota
dealer.
■Conditions in which functions
may not operate properly
In the following s ituations, the
functions may not operate prop-
erly and the vehicle may depart
from its lane. Drive safely by
always paying careful attention to
your surroundings and operate
the steering wheel to correct the
path of the vehicle without relying
solely on the functions.
●When the follow- up cruising dis-
play is displayed ( P.246) and
the preceding vehicle changes
lanes. (Your veh icle may follow
the preceding vehicle and also
change lanes.)
●When the follow- up cruising dis-
play is displayed ( P.246) and
the preceding vehicle is sway-
ing. (Your vehicle may sway
accordingly and depart from the
lane.)
●When the follow- up cruising dis-
play is displayed ( P.246) and
the preceding vehicle departs
from its lane. (Your vehicle may
follow the preceding vehicle and
depart from the lane.)
●When the follow- up cruising dis-
play is displayed ( P.246) and
the preceding vehicle is being
driven extremely close to the
left/right lane line. (Your vehicle
may follow the preceding vehi-
cle and depart from the lane.)
●Vehicle is being driven around a
sharp curve.

2564-5. Using the driving support systems
This mode employs a radar to detect the presence of vehicles up to
approximately 328 ft. (100 m) ahead, determines the current vehicle-
to-vehicle following distance, and operates to maintain a suitable fol-
lowing distance from the vehicle ahead. The desired vehicle-to- vehi-
cle distance can also be set by operating the vehicle-to-vehicl e
distance switch.
When driving on downhill slopes, t he vehicle-to-vehicle distance may
become shorter.
WARNING
●When weather conditions are
bad enough that they may pre-
vent the sensors from detecting
correctly (fog, snow, sandstorm,
heavy rain, etc.)
●When there is rain, snow, etc.
on the front surface of the radar
or front camera
●In traffic conditions that require
frequent repeated acceleration
and deceleration
●When your vehicle is towing a
trailer or during emergency tow-
ing
●When an approach warning
buzzer is heard often
Driving in vehicle-to-vehicle distance control mode

2704-5. Using the driving support systems
■Conditions under which the
BSM function may not function
correctly
●The BSM function may not detect
vehicles correctly in the following
situations:
• When the sensor is misaligned
due to a strong impact to the sen-
sor or its surrounding area
• When mud, snow, ice, a sticker, etc. is covering the sensor or sur-
rounding area on the rear bumper
• When driving on a road surface that is wet with standing water
during bad weather, such as
heavy rain, snow, or fog
• When multiple vehicles are approaching with only a small gap
between each vehicle
• When the distanc e between your
vehicle and a following vehicle is
short
• When there is a significant differ- ence in speed between your vehi-
cle and the vehicle that enters the
detection area
• When the difference in speed between your vehicle and another
vehicle is changing
• When a vehicle enters a detection area traveling at about the same
speed as your vehicle
• As your vehicle starts from a stop, a vehicle remains in the detection
area
• When driving up and down con- secutive steep inclines, such as
hills, dips in the road, etc.
• When driving on roads with sharp bends, consecutive curves, or
uneven surfaces
• When vehicle lanes are wide, or when driving on the edge of a
lane, and the vehicle in an adja-
cent lane is far away from your
vehicle
• When an accessory (such as a bicycle carrier) is installed to the
rear of the vehicle
• When there is a significant differ- ence in height between your vehi-
cle and the vehicle that enters the
detection area
• Immediately after the BSM func- tion/RCTA function are turned on
• When towing a trailer
●Instances of the BSM function
unnecessarily detecting a vehicle
and/or object may increase in the
following situations:
• When the sensor is misaligned due to a strong impact to the sen-
sor or its surrounding area
• When the distance between your vehicle and a guardrail, wall, etc.
that enters the detection area is
short
• When driving up and down con- secutive steep inclines, such as
hills, dips in the road, etc.
• When vehicle lanes are narrow, or when driving on the edge of a
lane, and a vehicle traveling in a
lane other than the adjacent lanes
enters the detection area
• When driving on r oads with sharp
bends, consecutive curves, or
uneven surfaces
• When the tires are slipping or
spinning
• When the distance between your vehicle and a following vehicle is
short
• When an accessory (such as a bicycle carrier) is installed to the
rear of the vehicle
• When the vehicle throws up water or snow behind.
■Operation of the RCTA
function
The RCTA function uses radar
sensors to detect vehicles
approaching from the right or left
at the rear of the vehicle and
alerts the driver of the presence
of such vehicles by flashing the
outside rear view mirror indica-
The Rear Cross Traffic
Alert function (if
equipped)

2734-5. Using the driving support systems
4
Driving
• Immediately after the RCTA func-
tion is turned on
• Immediately after the engine is started with the RCTA function on
• When towing a trailer
• When the sensors cannot detect a vehicle due to obstructions
●Instances of the RCTA function
unnecessary detecting a vehicle
and/or object may increase in the
following situations:
• When a vehicle passes by the side of your vehicle
• When the parking space faces a street and vehicles are being
driven on the street
• When the distanc e between your
vehicle and metal objects, such as
a guardrail, wall, sign, or parked
vehicle, which may reflect electri-
cal waves toward the rear of the
vehicle, is short
• When an accessory (such as a bicycle carrier) is installed to the
rear of the vehicle
*: If equipped
■Location and types of sen-
sors
Front corner sensors
Front center sensors
Rear corner sensors
Rear center sensors
■Display (Multi-information
display)
When the sensors detect an
object, such as a wall, a graphic
Intuitive parking
assist*
The distance from your
vehicle to objects, such as a
wall, when parallel parking
or maneuvering into a
garage is measured by the
sensors and communicated
via the multi-information
display, navigation system
or multimedia system
screen and a buzzer. Always
check the surrounding area
when using this system.
System components
A
B
C
D

2764-5. Using the driving support systems
■The system can be operated
when
●The engine switch is in ON.
●Intuitive parking assist function is
on.
●The vehicle speed is less than
about 6 mph (10 km/h).
●The shift lever is in a position
other than P.
■If “Parking Assist Unavailable
Clean Parking Assist Sensor” is
displayed on the multi-informa-
tion display
A sensor may be co vered with ice,
snow, dirt, etc. Remove the ice,
snow, dirt, etc., from the sensor to
return the system to normal.
Also, due to ice forming on a sensor
at low temperatures, a warning
message may be displayed or the
sensor may not be able to detect an
object. Once the ice melts, the sys-
tem will return to normal.
If a warning message is displayed
even if the sensor is clean, there
may be a sensor malfunction. Have
the vehicle inspected by your
Toyota dealer.
WARNING
■When to disable the function
In the following situations, disable
the function as it may operate
even though there is no possibility
of a collision.
●The vehicle is equipped with a
commercial fender pole, wire-
less antenna or fog lights.
●The front or rear bumper or a
sensor receives a strong
impact.
●A non-genuine Toyota suspen-
sion (lowered suspension, etc.)
is installed.
●Towing eyelets (if equipped) are
installed.
●A backlit license plate is
installed.
■When using the intuitive park-
ing assist
In the following s ituations, the
system may not function correctly
due to a sensor mal function, etc.
Have the vehicle checked by your
Toyota dealer.
●The intuitive parking assist
operation display flashes or
shows continuously, and a
buzzer sounds when no objects
are detected.
●If the area around a sensor col-
lides with something, or is sub-
jected to strong impact.
●If the bumper or grille collides
with something.
●If the display flashes or is dis-
played continuously and a
buzzer does not sound, except
when the mute function has
been turned on.
■Notes when washing the vehi-
cle
Do not apply intensive bursts of
water or steam to the sensor
area.
Doing so may result in the sensor
malfunctioning.
●When using a high pressure
washer to wash the vehicle, do
not spray the sensors directly,
as doing so may cause a sensor
to malfunction.
●When using steam to clean the
vehicle, do not direct steam too
close to the sensors as doing so
may cause a sensor to malfunc-
tion.