2021 TOYOTA RAV4 Owners Manual (in English)

6257-3. Do-it-yourself maintenance
7
Maintenance and care
again after installing the bulb base.
6Reinstall the cover.
WARNING
■Replacing light bulb
●Turn off the light. Do not attempt
to replace the bulb immediately
after turning off the light.
The bulb become very hot and
may cause burns.
●Do not touch the glass portion
of the light bulb with bare
hands. When it is unavoidable
to hold the glass portion, use
and hold with a clean dry cloth
to avoid getting moisture and
oils on the bulb.
Also, if the bulb is scratched or
dropped, it may blow out or
crack.
●Fully install light bulb and any
parts used to secure it. Failure
to do so may result in heat dam-
age, fire, or water entering the
light unit. This may damage the
light or cause condensation to
build up on the lens.
●Do not attempt to repair or dis-
assemble light bulbs, connec-
tors, electric circuits or
component parts.
Doing so may res ult in death or
serious injury due to electric
shock.
■To prevent damage or fire
●Make sure bulb is fully seated
and locked.
●Check the wattage of the bulb
before installing to prevent heat
damage.

6267-3. Do-it-yourself maintenance

627
8
8
When trouble arises
When trouble arises
8-1. Essential informationEmergency flashers .... 628
If your vehicle has to be stopped in an emergency
.................................. 628
If the vehicle is trapped in rising water ................ 629
8-2. Steps to take in an emer- gency
If your vehicle needs to be towed......................... 631
If you think something is wrong ........................ 636
Fuel pump shut off system .................................. 637
If a warning light turns on or a warning buzzer sounds.................................. 638
If a warning message is dis- played........................ 649
If you have a flat tire.... 653
If the engine will not start .................................. 662
If you lose your keys ... 664
If the electronic key does not operate properly (vehi-
cles with smart key sys-
tem) ........................... 664
If the vehicle battery is dis- charged ..................... 666
If your vehicle overheats .................................. 670If the vehicle becomes stuck
.................................. 672

6288-1. Essential information
8-1.Essential information
Press the switch.
All the turn signal lights will flash.
To turn them off, press the switch
once again.
■Emergency flashers
●If the emergency flashers are
used for a long time while the
engine is not running, the battery
may discharge.
●If any of the SRS airbags deploy
(inflate) or in the event of a strong
rear impact, the emergency flash-
ers will turn on automatically.
The emergency flashers will turn
off automatically after operating
for approximatel y 20 minutes. To
manually turn t he emergency
flashers off, press the switch
twice. (The emergency flashers
may not turn on automatically
depending on the force of the
impact and conditions of the colli-
sion.)
1 Steadily step on the brake
pedal with both feet and
firmly depress it.
Do not pump the brake pedal
repeatedly as this will increase the
effort required to slow the vehicle.
2Shift the shift lever to N.
If the shift lever is shifted to N
3 After slowing down, stop the
vehicle in a safe place by the
road.
4 Stop the engine.
If the shift lever cannot be
shifted to N
3 Keep depressing the brake
pedal with both feet to reduce
vehicle speed as much as
possible.
4 Perform the following proce-
dure to stop the engine:
Vehicles without smart key
system
Turn the engine switch to ACC.
Emergency flashers
The emergency flashers are
used to warn other drivers
when the vehicle has to be
stopped in the road due to a
breakdown, etc.
Operating instructions
If your vehicle has to
be stopped in an emer-
gency
Only in an emergency, such
as if it becomes impossible
to stop the vehicle in the
normal way, stop the vehi-
cle using the following pro-
cedure:
Stopping the vehicle

6298-1. Essential information
8
When trouble arises
Vehicles with smart key sys-
tem
Press and hold the engine switch
for 2 consecutive seconds or more,
or press it briefly 3 times or more in
succession.
5Stop the vehicle in a safe
place by the road. 
Remove the seat belt first.
 If the door can be opened,
open the door and exit the
vehicle.
 If the door can not be opened,
open the window using the
power window switch and exit
the vehicle through the win-
dow.
 If the window can not be
opened using the power win-
dow switch, remain calm, wait
until the water level inside the
vehicle rises to the point that
the water pressure inside of
the vehicle equals the water
pressure outside of the vehi-
cle, and then open the door
and exit the vehicle.
WARNING
■If the engine has to be turned
off while driving
●Power assist for the brakes and
steering wheel will be lost, mak-
ing the brake pedal harder to
depress and the steering wheel
heavier to turn. Decelerate as
much as possible before turning
off the engine.
●Vehicles without smart key sys-
tem: Never attempt to remove
the key, as doing so will lock the
steering wheel.
If the vehicle is
trapped in rising water
In the event the vehicle is
submerged in water, remain
calm and perform the fol-
lowing.

6308-1. Essential information
WARNING
■Using an emergency hammer*
for emergency escape
The front side windows and rear
side windows, as well as the rear
window can be shattered with an
emergency hammer
* used for
emergency escape. However, an
emergency hammer can not shat-
ter the windshield as it is lami-
nated glass.
*: Contact your Toyota dealer, or
aftermarket accessory manu-
facturer for further information
about an emergency hammer.
■Escaping the vehicle from the
window
There are cases where escaping
the vehicle from the window is not
possible due to seating position,
passenger body type, etc.
When using an emergency ham-
mer, consider your seat location
and the size of the window open-
ing to ensure that the opening is
accessible and large enough to
escape.

6318-2. Steps to take in an emergency
8
When trouble arises
8-2.Steps to take in an emergency
If your vehicle needs
to be towed
If towing is necessary, we
recommend having your
vehicle towed by your
Toyota dealer or commer-
cial towing service, using a
wheel-lift type truck or flat-
bed truck.
Use a safety chain system
for all towing, and abide by
all state/provincial and local
laws.
2WD models: If towing your
vehicle with a wheel-lift type
truck from the front, the
vehicle’s rear wheels and
axles must be in good con-
ditions. (P.631, 633)
If they are damaged, use a
towing dolly or flatbed
truck.
AWD models: If towing your
vehicle with a wheel-lift type
truck, use a towing dolly.
( P.631, 633)
WARNING
Observe the following precau-
tions. Failure to do so may result
in death or serious injury.
■When towing the vehicle
2WD models
Be sure to transp ort the vehicle
with the front wheels raised or
with all four wheels raised off the
ground. If the vehicle is towed
with the front wheels contacting
the ground, the drivetrain and
related parts may be damaged.
AWD models
Be sure to transp ort the vehicle
with all four wheels raised off the
ground. If the vehicle is towed
with the tires co ntacting the
ground, the drivetrain or related
parts may be damaged, the vehi-
cle may fly off the truck.

6328-2. Steps to take in an emergency
The following may indicate a
problem with your transmission.
Contact your Toyota dealer or
commercial towing service
WARNING
■While towing (vehicles with
towing eyelet)
●When towing using cables or
chains, avoid sudden starts, etc.
which place excessive stress on
the towing eyelets, cables or
chains. The towing eyelets,
cables or chains may become
damaged, broken debris may hit
people, and cause serious dam-
age.
●Do not turn the engine switch to
OFF.
There is a possibility that the
steering wheel is locked and
cannot be operated.
■Installing towing eyelets to
the vehicle (vehicles with
towing eyelets)
Make sure that towing eyelets are
installed securely. If not securely
installed, towing eyelets may
come loose during towing.
NOTICE
■To prevent damage to the
vehicle when towing using a
wheel-lift type truck
●Do not tow the vehicle from the
rear when the engine switch is
off or the key is removed (vehi-
cles without smart key system).
The steering lock mechanism is
not strong enough to hold the
front wheels straight.
●When raising the vehicle,
ensure adequate ground clear-
ance for towing at the opposite
end of the raised vehicle. With-
out adequate clearance, the
vehicle could be damaged while
being towed.
■To prevent damage to the
vehicle when towing with a
sling-type truck
Do not tow with a sling-type truck,
either from the front or rear.
■To prevent damage to the
vehicle during emergency
towing (vehicles with towing
eyelet)
Do not secure cables or chains to
the suspension components.
■When towing the vehicle
(vehicles with Stop & Start
system)
If it is necessary to tow the vehicle
with all four wheels on the ground,
perform the following procedure
before towing the vehicle, in order
to protect the system.
Turn the engine switch to OFF
and then start the engine or turn
the engine switch to ON.
■Recreational towing (behind
motor home, etc.)
Never dinghy tow your vehicle to
prevent causing serious damage
to the AWD system (AWD mod-
els) and transmission. ( P.193)
Situations when it is nec-
essary to contact dealers
before towing