2021 TOYOTA RAV4 trailer

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.

2164-3. Operating the lights and wipers
• The windshield is obscured by fog, mist, ice, dirt, etc.
• The windshield is cracked or dam- aged
• The front camera is deformed or
dirty
• When the temperature of the front
camera is extremely high
• Surrounding brightness levels are equal to those of h eadlights, tail
lights or fog lights
• When headlights or tail lights of vehicles ahead are turned off,
dirty, changing color, or not aimed
properly
• When the vehicle is hit by water,
snow, dust, etc. fr om a preceding
vehicle
• When driving thr ough an area of
intermittently changing brightness
and darkness
• When frequently and repeatedly driving ascending/descending
roads, or roads with rough, bumpy
or uneven surfaces (such as
stone-paved roads, gravel roads,
etc.)
• When frequently and repeatedly taking curves or driving on a wind-
ing road
• There is a highly reflective object
ahead of the vehicle, such as a
sign or mirror
• The back of a vehicle ahead is highly reflective, such as a con-
tainer on a truck
• The vehicle’s headlights are dam- aged or dirty, or are not aimed
properly
• The vehicle is listing or titling due to a flat tire, a trailer being towed,
etc.
• The high beam and low beam are repeatedly being switched
between in an abnormal manner
• The driver believes that the high beam may be causing problems
or distress to other drivers or
pedestrians nearby■If “Headlight System Malfunc-
tion Visit Your Dealer” is dis-
played on the multi-information
display
The system may be malfunctioning.
Have the vehicle inspected by your
Toyota dealer.
■Temporarily lowering sensor
sensitivity
The sensitivity of the sensor can be
temporarily lowered.
1 Turn the engine switch to OFF
while the following conditions are
met.
●The headlight switch is in or
position.
●The headlight switch lever is in
high beam position.
●Automatic High Beam switch is
on.
2 Turn the engine switch to ON.
3 Within 60 second s after step 2,
repeat pulling the headlight
switch lever to the original posi-
tion then pushing it to the high
beam position qui ckly 10 times,
then leave the lever in high beam
position.
4 If the sensitivity is changed, the
Automatic High Beam indicator
is turn on and off 3 times.
Automatic High Beam (headlights)
may turn on even when the vehicle
is stopped.
■Switching to the low beam
Pull the lever to original position.
The Automatic High Beam indicator
will turn off.
Push the lever away from you to
activate the Automatic High Beam
system again.
Turning the high beam
on/off manually

2384-5. Using the driving support systems
• If a detectable object makes an abrupt maneuver (such as sudden
swerving, accelera tion or deceler-
ation)
• When your vehicle approaches a detectable object rapidly
• When a detectable object is not
directly in front of your vehicle
• When a detectable object is near a wall, fence, guardrail, manhole
cover, vehicle, steel plate on the
road, etc.
• When a detectable object is under a structure
• When part of a detectable object is hidden by an object, such as
large baggage, an umbrella, or
guardrail
• When multiple detectable objects
are close together
• If the sun or other light is shining directly on a detectable object
• When a detectable object is a shade of white and looks
extremely bright
• When a detectable object appears to be nearly the same color or
brightness as its surroundings
• If a detectable object cuts or sud- denly emerges in front of your
vehicle
• When the front of your vehicle is hit by water, snow, dust, etc.
• When a very bright light ahead,
such as the sun or the headlights
of oncoming traffic, shines directly
into the front camera
• When approaching the side or front of a vehicle ahead
• If a vehicle ahead is a motorcycle
• If a vehicle ahead is narrow, such
as a personal mobility vehicle
• If a preceding vehicle has a small
rear end, such as an unloaded truck
• If a preceding vehicle has a low rear end, such as a low bed trailer
• If a vehicle ahead has extremely high ground clearance
• If a vehicle ahead is carrying a load which protrudes past its rear
bumper
• If a vehicle ahead is irregularly
shaped, such as a tractor or side
car
• If a vehicle ahead is a child sized
bicycle, a bicycle that is carrying a
large load, a bicycle ridden by
more than one person, or a
uniquely shaped bicycle (bicycle
with a child seat, tandem bicycle,
etc.)
• If a pedestrian/or the riding height of a bicyclist ahead is shorter than
approximately 3.2 ft. (1 m) or taller
than approximate ly 6.5 ft. (2 m)
• If a pedestrian/bic yclist is wearing
oversized clothing (a rain coat,
long skirt, etc.), making their sil-
houette obscure
• If a pedestrian is bending forward
or squatting or bicyclist is bending
forward
• If a pedestrian/bicyclist is moving
fast
• If a pedestrian is pushing a stroller, wheelchair, bicycle or
other vehicle
• When driving in inclement weather

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

2634-5. Using the driving support systems
4
Driving
message and follow the instructions.
(  P.230, 649)
■When the sensor may not be
correctly detecting the vehicle
ahead
In the case of the following and
depending on the conditions, oper-
ate the brake pedal when decelera-
tion of the system is insufficient or
operate the accelerator pedal when
acceleration is required.
As the sensor may not be able to
correctly detect these types of vehi-
cles, the approach warning
(  P.260) may not be activated.
●Vehicles that cut in suddenly
●Vehicles traveling at low speeds
●Vehicles that are not moving in
the same lane
●Vehicles with small rear ends
(trailers with no load on board,
etc.)
●Motorcycles traveling in the same
lane
●When water or snow thrown up by
the surrounding vehicles hinders
the detecting of the sensor
●When your vehicle is pointing
upwards (caused by a heavy load
in the luggage compartment, etc.)
●Preceding vehicle has an extremely high ground clearance
■Conditions under which the
vehicle-to-vehic
le distance con-
trol mode may not function cor-
rectly
In the case of the following condi-
tions, operate the brake pedal (or
accelerator pedal, depending on the
situation) as necessary.
As the sensor may not be able to
correctly detect vehicles ahead, the
system may not operate properly.
●When the road curves or when the
lanes are narrow
●When steering wheel operation or
your position in the lane is unsta-
ble
●When the vehicle ahead of you
decelerates suddenly
●When driving on a road sur-
rounded by a structure, such as in
a tunnel or on a bridge
●While the vehicle speed is

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)