2021 TOYOTA RAV4 PHEV maintenance

315
5
5-1. Before driving
Driving
■Sudden acceleration/steering
input/cornering
Executing sharp turns when towing
may result in the trailer colliding
with your vehicle. D ecelerate well in
advance when approaching turns
and take them slowly and carefully
to avoid sudden braking.
■Important points regarding
turning
The wheels of the tr ailer will travel
closer to the inside of the curve
than the wheels of the vehicle. To
make allowance for this, take the
turns wider than you would nor -
mally do.
■Important points regarding
stability
Vehicle movement resulting from
uneven road surfaces and strong
crosswinds will affect handling. The
vehicle may also be rocked by
passing buses or large trucks. Fre -
quently check behind when moving
alongside such vehicles. As soon
as such vehicle movement occurs,
immediately start to decelerate
smoothly by slowly applying the
brakes. Always steer the vehicle
straight ahead while braking.
■Passing other vehicles
Consider the total combined length
of your vehicle and trailer and
ensure that the vehicle-to-vehicle
distance is sufficient before execut -
ing lane changes.
■Transmission information
To maintain engine braking effi -
ciency, when using engine braking,
do not use the transmission in D.
( →P.321)
■If the hybrid system overheats
Towing a loaded trailer up a long,
steep incline in temperatures
exceeding 30°C (85°F) may result
in the hybrid system overheating. If
the high coolant temperature warn -
ing light indicates that the hybrid
system is overheating, turn the air
conditioning off immediately, leave
the road and stop the vehicle in a
safe place. ( →P.611)
■When parking the vehicle
Always place wheel chocks under
the wheels of both the vehicle and
trailer. Firmly set the parking brake
and shift the shift lever to P.
■Break-in schedule
Toyota recommends that vehicles fitted
with new power train components
should not be used for towing trailers for the first 800 km (500 miles).
■Maintenance
●Maintenance must be performed more frequently when using the vehicle for
towing due to the greater weight bur -
den placed on the vehicle compared to normal driving.
●Retighten all bolts securing the hitch - ing ball and bracket after towing for
approximately 1000 km (600 miles).
■If trailer sway occurs
One or more factor s (crosswinds, pass- ing vehicles, rough roads, etc.) can
adversely affect handling of your vehicle
and trailer, causing instability.

4505-6. Driving tips
NOTICE
■When you drive through water
If driving through water, such as when
crossing shallow st reams, first check the depth of the water and the bottom
of the riverbed for firmness. Drive
slowly and avoid deep water.
■Inspection after off-road driving
●Sand and mud that has accumu-
lated around brake discs may affect braking efficiency and may damage
brake system components.
●Always perform a maintenance
inspection after each day of off-
road driving that has taken you through rough terrain, sand, mud,
or water.

7
487
7
Maintenance and care
Maintenance and care
7-1. Maintenance and care
Cleaning and protecting the
vehicle exterior ............... 488
Cleaning and protecting the
vehicle interior ................ 491
7-2. Maintenance
Maintenance requirements 494
7-3. Do-it-yourself maintenance
Do-it-yourself service precau -
tions ................................ 496
Hood ................................. 498
Positioning a floor jack ...... 499
Engine compartment ........ 501
12-volt battery ................... 506
Tires.................................. 509
Tire inflation pressure ....... 529
Wheels.............................. 530
Air conditioning filter ......... 532
Cleaning the DC/DC Con -
verter air intake vent and filter
....................................... 536
Wiper insert replacement .. 539
Electronic key battery ....... 543
Checking and replacing fuses
....................................... 545
Light bulbs ........................ 548

4887-1. Maintenance and care
7-1.Maintenance and care
Working from top to bottom, lib-
erally apply water to the vehicle
body, wheel wells and underside
of the vehicle to remove any dirt
and dust.
 Wash the vehicle body using a
sponge or soft cloth, such as a
chamois.
 For hard-to-remove marks, use
car wash soap and rinse thor -
oughly with water.
 Wipe away any water.
 Wax the vehicle when the water-
proof coating deteriorates.
If water does not bead on a clean sur -
face, apply wax when the vehicle body
is cool.
■Before car washes
Check that the fuel filler door and charging port lid on your vehicle are
closed properly.
■Automatic car washes
●Before washing the vehicle:
• Fold the mirrors
• Turn off the power back door (if equipped)
Start washing from t he front of the vehi-
cle. Make sure to extend the mirrors
before driving.
●Brushes used in automatic car
washes may scratch the vehicle sur - face, parts (wheel, etc.) and harm
your vehicle’s paint.
●Rear spoiler may not be washable in
some automatic c ar washes. There
may also be an increased risk of dam - age to vehicle.
■High pressure car washes
As water may enter the cabin, do not
bring the nozzle tip near the gaps around the doors or perimeter of the
windows, or spray th ese areas continu-
ously.
■Note for a smart e ntry & start sys- tem
If the door handle becomes wet while
the electronic key is within the effective range, the door may lock and unlock
repeatedly. In that c ase, follow the fol-
lowing correction procedures to wash the vehicle:
●Place the key in a position 2 m (6 ft.) or more separate from the vehicle
while the vehicle is being washed.
(Take care to ensur e that the key is not stolen.)
●Set the electronic key to battery-sav - ing mode to disable the smart entry &
start system. ( →P.224)
■Wheels and wheel ornaments
●Remove any dirt immediately by using
a neutral detergent.
●Wash detergent of f with water imme-
diately after use.
●To protect the paint from damage,
make sure to observe the following
precautions. • Do not use acidic, alkaline or abrasive
detergent.
• Do not use hard brushes.
• Do not use deterg ent on the wheels when they are hot, such as after driv -
ing or parking in hot weather.
Cleaning and protecting
the vehicle exterior
Perform the following to pro -
tect the vehicle and maintain it
in prime condition:
Cleaning instructions

489
7
7-1. Maintenance and care
Maintenance and care
■Front side windows water-repel -
lent coating (except quarter win - dow)
●The following precautions can extend the effectiveness of the water-repel -
lent coating.
• Remove any dirt, etc., from the front side windows regularly.
• Do not allow dirt and dust to accumu -
late on the windows for a long period. Clean the windows wit h a soft, damp
cloth as soon as possible.
• Do not use wax or glass cleaners that contain abrasives when cleaning the
windows.
• Do not use any metallic objects to remove condensation build up.
■Bumpers
Do not scrub with abrasive cleaners.
■Plated portions
If dirt cannot be removed, clean the parts as follows:
●Use a soft cloth dampened with an approximately 5% sol ution of neutral
detergent and water to clean the dirt
off.
●Wipe the surface with a dry, soft cloth
to remove any remaining moisture.
●To remove oily deposits, use alcohol
wet wipes or a similar product.
WARNING
■When washing the vehicle
Do not apply water to the inside of the
engine compartment. Doing so may
cause the electrical components, etc. to catch fire.
■When cleaning the windshield
Set the wiper switch to off.
If the wiper switch is in “AUTO”, the
wipers may operate unexpectedly in the following situations, and may
result in hands being caught or other
serious injuries and cause damage to the wiper blades.
Off
“AUTO”
●When the upper part of the wind -
shield where the raindrop sensor is
located is tou ched by hand
●When a wet rag or similar is held
close to the raindrop sensor
●If something bum ps against the
windshield
●If you directly touch the raindrop
sensor body or if something bumps
into the raindrop sensor
■Precautions regarding the
exhaust pipes
Exhaust gasses cause the exhaust
pipes to become quite hot.
When washing the vehicle, be careful not to touch the pipes until they have
cooled sufficiently, as touching hot
exhaust pipes can cause burns.
A
B

4907-1. Maintenance and care
WARNING
■Precaution regarding the rear
bumper with Blind Spot Monitor
(if equipped)
If the paint of the rear bumper is
chipped or scratched, the system may
malfunction. If this occurs, consult any authorized Toyo ta retailer or
Toyota authorized repairer, or any
reliable repairer.
NOTICE
■To prevent paint deterioration and corrosion on the body and
components (aluminum wheels,
etc.)
●Wash the vehicle immediately in
the following cases:
• After driving near the sea coast
• After driving on salted roads
• If coal tar or tree sap is present on
the paint surface
• If dead insects, insect droppings or
bird droppings are present on the
paint surface
• After driving in an area contami - nated with soot, o ily smoke, mine
dust, iron powder or chemical sub -
stances
• If the vehicle becomes heavily
soiled with dust or mud
• If liquids such as benzene and gas - oline are spilled on the paint sur-
face
●If the paint is chipped or scratched,
have it repaired immediately.
●To prevent the wh eels from corrod-
ing, remove any dirt and store in a
place with low humidity when stor - ing the wheels.
■Cleaning the exterior lights
●Wash carefully. Do not use organic
substances or scrub with a hard
brush. This may damage the surfaces of
the lights.
●Do not apply wax to the surfaces of
the lights.
Wax may cause damage to the lenses.
■When using an automatic car wash
Set the wiper switch to off position.
If the wiper switch is in “AUTO”, the wipers may operate and the wiper
blades may be damaged.
■When using a high pressure car
wash
●When washing the vehicle, do not let water from the high-pressure
washer directly hit the camera (if
equipped) or the area around the camera. Due to the shock from the
high pressure water, it is possible
that the device may not operate normally.
●Do not bring the no zzle tip close to boots (rubber o r resin manufac-
tured cover), or co nnectors or the
following parts. The parts may be damaged if they
come into contact with high-pres -
sure water.
• Traction battery
• Traction related parts
• Steering parts
• Suspension parts
• Brake parts
●Keep the cleaning nozzle at least 30 cm (11.9 in.) away from the vehi -
cle body. Otherwis e resin section,
such as moldings and bumpers, may be deformed and damaged.
Also, do not continuously hold the
nozzle in the same place.

491
7
7-1. Maintenance and care
Maintenance and care
 Remove dirt and dust using a
vacuum cleaner. Wipe dirty sur -
faces with a cloth dampened with
lukewarm water.
 If dirt cannot be removed, wipe it
off with a soft cloth dampened
with neutral detergent diluted to
approximately 1%.
Wring out any excess water from
the cloth and thoroughly wipe off
remaining traces of detergent
and water.
■Shampooing the carpets
There are several commercial foaming-
type cleaners available. Use a sponge
or brush to apply the foam. Rub in over - lapping circles. Do not use water. Wipe
dirty surfaces and let them dry. Excel -
lent results are obtained by keeping the carpet as dry as possible.
■Handling the seat belts
Clean with mild s oap and lukewarm
water using a clot h or sponge. Also check the belts periodically for exces -
sive wear, fraying or cuts.
NOTICE
●Do not spray the lower part of the
windshield continuously. If water
enters the air con ditioning system intake located near the lower part of
the windshield, the air conditioning
system may not ope rate correctly.
●Do not wash the underside of the
vehicle using a high pressure car
washer.
●Do not use the was her on the area
around the charging port lid. Water could get into the AC charging inlet
and could damage the vehicle.
Cleaning and protecting
the vehicle interior
Perform cleaning in a manner
appropriate to each compo -
nent and its material.
Protecting the vehicle inte -
rior

4927-1. Maintenance and care
WARNING
■Water in the vehicle
●Do not splash or spill liquid in the
vehicle, such as on the floor, on the rear seats, in the DC/DC Converter
air intake vent, junction box or in
the luggage compartment. ( →P.98) Doing so may cause the DC/DC
Converter, electrical components,
etc. to malfunction or catch fire.
●Do not get any o f the SRS compo-
nents or wiring in the vehicle interior
wet. ( →P.40) An electrical malfunction may
cause the airbags to deploy or not
function properly, resulting in death or serious injury.
●Vehicles with wireless charger:Do not let the wir eless charger
( →P.479) get wet. Failure to do so
may cause the charger to become hot and cause burns or could cause
electric shock resu lting in death or
serious injury.
■Cleaning the interior (especially
instrument panel)
Do not use a polish wax or polish
cleaner. The instrument panel may
reflect off the windshield, obstructing the driver’s view and leading to an
accident, resulting in death or serious
injury.
NOTICE
■Cleaning detergents
●Do not use the fol lowing types of
detergent, as they may discolor the vehicle interior or cause streaks or
damage to paint ed surfaces:
• Non-seat portions: Organic sub - stances such as benzene or gaso -
line, alkaline or a cidic solutions,
dye, and bleach
• Seats: Alkaline or acidic solutions,
such as thinner, benzene, and alco -
hol
●Do not use a polish wax or polish cleaner. The instrument panel’s or
other interior part’ s painted surface
may be damaged.
■Preventing damage to leather
surfaces
Observe the following precautions to
avoid damage to and deterioration of
leather surfaces:
●Remove any dust or dirt from
leather surfaces immediately.
●Do not expose the vehicle to direct
sunlight for extended periods of
time. Park the vehicle in the shade, especially during summer.
●Do not place items made of vinyl, plastic, or containing wax on the
upholstery, as they may stick to the
leather surface if the vehicle interior heats up significantly.
■Water on the floor
Do not wash the vehicle floor with
water.
Vehicle systems such as the audio system may be damaged if water
comes into contact with electrical
components such as the audio sys - tem above or under the floor of the
vehicle. Water may also cause the
body to rust.
■When cleaning the inside of the
windshield (vehicles with Toyota Safety Sense)
Do not allow glass cleaner to contact
the lens. Also, do not touch the lens. ( →P.344)
■Cleaning the inside of the rear
window
●Do not use a glass cleaner to clean
the rear window, as this may cause
damage to the rear window defog - ger heater wires. Use a cloth damp -
ened with lukewarm water to gently
wipe the window clean. Wipe the window in strokes running parallel
to the heater wires.