2021 TOYOTA RAV4 PHEV warning

4445-5. Using the driving support systems
WARNING
■If trailer sway occurs
Observe the following precautions.
Failing to do so may cause death or serious injury.
●Firmly grip the steering wheel.
Steer straight ahead. Do not try to control trailer sw aying 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 vehi-
cle and trailer should stabilize.
( →P.308)
■Secondary Collision Brake (if
equipped)
Do not rely solely upon the Secondary Collision Brake. This system is
designed to help re duce the possibil-
ity of further damage due to a second - ary collision, however, that effect
changes according to various condi -
tions. Overly relyi ng on the system may result in death or serious injury.

445
5
5-6. Driving tips
Driving
5-6.Driving tips
 Use fluids that are appropriate to
the prevailing outside tempera-
tures.
• Engine oil
• Engine coolant
• Power control unit coolant
• Washer fluid
 Have a service technician
inspect the condition of the 12-
volt battery.
 Have the vehicle fitted with four
snow tires or purchase a set of
tire chains for the front tires.
Ensure that all tires are the same size
and brand, and that chains match the
size of the tires.*
*: Tire chains cannot be mounted on
vehicles with 235/55R19 tires.
Winter driving tips
Carry out the necessary prepa -
rations and inspections before
driving the vehicle in winter.
Always drive the vehicle in a
manner appropriate to the pre -
vailing weather conditions.
Pre-winter preparations
WARNING
■Driving with snow tires
Observe the following precautions to reduce the risk of accidents.
Failure to do so may result in a loss of
vehicle control and cause death or serious injury.
●Use tires of the specified size.
●Maintain the recommended level of air pressure.
●Do not drive at speeds in excess of the speed limit or the speed limit
specified for the snow tires being
used.
●Use snow tires on all, not just some
wheels.
■Driving with tire chains (except
235/55R19 tires)
Observe the following precautions to
reduce the risk of accidents.
Failure to do so may result in the vehi - cle being unable to be driven safely,
and may cause death or serious
injury.
●Do not drive in excess of the speed
limit specified for the tire chains being used, or 50 km/h (30 mph),
whichever is lower.
●Avoid driving on bumpy road sur -
faces or over potholes.
●Avoid sudden acceleration, abrupt
steering, sudden br aking and shift-
ing operations that cause sudden engine braking.
●Slow down sufficiently before enter - ing a curve to ensure that vehicle
control is maintained.
●Do not use LTA (Lane Tracing
Assist) system (if equipped).
NOTICE
■Repairing or replacing snow tires
Request repairs or replacement of snow tires from any authorized
Toyota retailer or Toyota authorized
repairer, or any reliable repairer or legitimate tire retailers.
This is because the removal and
attachment of snow tires affects the operation of the tire pressure warning
valves and transmitters.

4465-6. Driving tips
Perform the following according to
the driving conditions:
 Do not try to forcibly open a win-
dow or move a wiper that is fro -
zen. Pour warm water over the
frozen area to melt the ice. Wipe
away the water immediately to
prevent it from freezing.
 To ensure proper operation of
the climate control system fan,
remove any sno w that has accu-
mulated on the air inlet vents in
front of the windshield.
 Check for and remove any
excess ice or snow that may
have accumulated on the exte -
rior lights, vehicle’s roof, chassis,
around the tires or on the brakes.
 Remove any snow or mud from
the bottom of your shoes before
getting in the vehicle.
Accelerate the veh icle slowly, keep
a safe distance between you and
the vehicle ahead, and drive at a
reduced speed suitable to road
conditions.
 Park the vehicle and move the
s hif t le ve r to P w itho u t se tt ing th e
parking brake. The parking brake
may freeze up, preventing it from
being released. If the vehicle is
parked without setting the park -
ing brake, make sure to block the
wheels.
Failure to do so may be danger -
ous because it may cause the
vehicle to move unexpectedly,
possibly leading to an accident.
When the parking brake is in automatic
mode, release the parking brake after
shifting the shift lever to P. ( →P.326)
If the vehicle is left parked with
the brakes damp in cold tem -
peratures, there is a possibility of
the brakes freezing.
 If the vehicle is parked without
setting the parking brake, con -
firm that the shift lever cannot be
moved out of P*.
*: The shift lever will be locked if it is
attempted to be shifted from P to any
other position with out depressing the
brake pedal. If the shift lever can be
shifted from P, t here may be a prob-
lem with the shift lock system. Have
the vehicle inspected by any autho -
rized Toyota retailer or Toyota autho -
rized repairer, or any reliable repairer
immediately.
Before driving the vehicle
When driving the vehicle
When parking the vehicle
WARNING
■When parking the vehicle
When parking the vehicle without
applying the parki ng brake, make
sure to chock the wheels. If you do
not chock the wheels, the vehicle may move unexpectedly, possibly result-
ing in an accident.

4485-6. Driving tips
Specific design characteristics
give it a higher center of gravity
than ordinary passenger cars.
This vehicle design feature
causes this type of vehicle to be
more likely to rollover. And, utility
vehicles have a significantly
higher rollover rate than other
types of vehicles.
 An advantage of the higher
ground clearance is a better view
of the road allowing you to antici -
pate problems.
 It is not designed for cornering at
the same speeds as ordinary
passenger cars any more than
low-slung sports cars are
designed to perform satisfactorily
under off-road conditions. There -
fore, sharp turns at excessive
speeds may cause the vehicle to
rollover.
When driving your vehicle off-road,
please observe the following pre -
Utility vehicle precau-
tions
This vehicle belongs to the
utility vehicle class, which has
higher ground clearance and
narrower tread i n relation to
the height of its center of grav -
ity to make it capable of per -
forming in a wide variety of off-
road applications.
Utility vehicle feature
WARNING
■Utility vehicle precautions
Always observe the following precau -
tions to minimize the risk of death, serious injury or damage to your vehi-
cle:
●In a rollover crash, an unbelted per - son is significantly more likely to die
than a person wearing a seat belt.
Therefore, the driver and all pas -
sengers should alwa ys fasten their seat belts.
●Avoid sharp turns or abrupt maneu - vers, if at all possible.
Failure to operate this vehicle cor-
rectly may result in loss of control or vehicle rollover causing death or
serious injury.
●Loading cargo on the roof luggage
carrier (if equipped) will make the
center of the vehicle gravity higher. Avoid high speeds, sudden starts,
sharp turns, sudden braking or
abrupt maneuvers, otherwise it may result in loss of control or vehicle
rollover due to failure to operate this
vehicle correctly.
●Always slow down in gusty cross -
winds. Because of its profile and higher center of gravity, your vehi -
cle is more sensitive to side winds
than an ordinary passenger car. Slowing down will allow you to have
better control.
●Do not drive horizontally across
steep slopes. Driving straight up or
straight down is preferred. Your vehicle (or any sim ilar off-road vehi-
cle) can tip over sideways much
more easily than forward or back- ward.
Off-road driving

449
5
5-6. Driving tips
Driving
cautions to ensure your driving
enjoyment and to help prevent the
closure of areas to off-road vehi -
cles:
 Drive your vehicle only in areas
where off-road vehicles are per -
mitted to travel.
 Respect private property. Get
owner’s permission before enter -
ing private property.
 Do not enter areas that are
closed. Honor gates, barriers
and signs that restrict travel.
 Stay on established roads. When
conditions are wet, driving tech -
niques should be changed or
travel delayed to prevent dam -
age to roads.
WARNING
■Off-road drivin g precautions
Always observe the following precau -
tions to minimize the risk of death, serious injury or damage to your vehi -
cle:
●Drive carefully when off the road. Do not take unnecessary risks by
driving in dangerous places.
●Do not grip the steering wheel
spokes when driving off-road. A
bad bump could jerk the wheel and injure your hands. Keep both hands
and especially your thumbs on the
outside of the rim.
●Always check your b rakes for effec-
tiveness immediately after driving in sand, mud, water or snow.
●After driving through tall grass, mud, rock, sand, ri vers, etc., check
that there is no g rass, bush, paper,
rags, stone, sand, etc. adhering or trapped on the underbody. Clear off
any such matter from the under -
body. If the vehi cle is used with these materials trapped or adhering
to the underbody, a breakdown or
fire could occur.
●When driving off-road or in rugged
terrain, do not drive at excessive speeds, jump, make sharp turns,
strike objects, etc. This may cause
loss of control or vehicle rollover causing death or serious injury. You
are also risking expensive damage
to your vehicle’s suspension and chassis.
NOTICE
■To prevent the water damage
Take all necessary safety measures
to ensure that wat er damage to the hybrid battery (tr action battery),
hybrid system or other components
does not occur.
●Water entering the engine compart -
ment may cause severe damage to
the hybrid system.
●Water entering the hybrid transmis -
sion will cause deterioration in transmission quality. The malfunc -
tion indicator may come on, and the
vehicle may no t be drivable.
●Water can wash the grease from
wheel bearings, causing rusting and premature fa ilure, and may
also enter the h ybrid transaxle
case, reducing the gear oil’s lubri - cating qualities.

4566-1. Using the air conditioning system and defogger
●During use, various odors from inside
and outside the vehicle may enter into and accumulate in the air conditioning
system. This may t hen cause odor to
be emitted from the vents.
●To reduce potential odors from occur -
ring: • It is recommended that the air condi-
tioning system be se t to outside air
mode prior to turning the vehicle off. • The start timing o f the blower may be
delayed for a short period of time
immediately after t he air conditioning system is started in automatic mode.
●When parking, the system automati- cally switches to outside air mode to
encourage better air circulation
throughout the vehicle, helping to reduce odors that occur when starting
the vehicle.
■Air conditioning filter
→ P.532
■Noise from air conditioning system
Approximately 90 seconds after the
power switch turned to OFF, you may
hear sound coming from air conditioning system. This is the sound of a air condi -
tioning system initial ize and, it does not
indicate a malfunction.
■Customization
Settings (e.g. A/C Auto switch opera-
tion) can be changed.
(Customizable features: →P.640)
1Press the “AUTO” switch.
The dehumidification function begins to
operate. Air outlets and fan speed are automatically adjusted according to the
temperature setting and humidity.
2 Adjust the temperature setting.
3 To stop the operation, press the
“OFF” switch.
If the fan speed se tting or air flow
modes are operated, the automatic
mode indicator goes off. However,
automatic mode for functions other
than that operated is maintained.
■Using automatic mode
Fan speed is adjusted automatically
according to the temperature setting and
the ambient conditions.
WARNING
■Cautions for using “My Room Mode”
Do not leave children, people who
need assistance, or pets inside the vehicle. The system may turn off
automatically and the interior tem-
perature may become high or low, resulting in heat stroke, dehydration
or hypothermia. Fa ilure to do so may
result in death or serious injury.
■To prevent the windshield from fogging up
Do not use the wi ndshield defogger
switch during cool air operation in extremely humid weather.
The difference bet ween the tempera-
ture of the outside air and that of the windshield can cause the outer sur -
face of the windshield to fog up,
blocking your vision.
■When the outside rear view mir -
ror defoggers are operating
Do not touch the rear view mirror sur -
faces when the out side rear view mir-
ror defoggers are on.
NOTICE
■To prevent 12-volt battery dis - charge
Do not leave the ai r conditioning sys-
tem on longer than necessary when the hybrid system is off.
Using automatic mode

457
6
6-1. Using the air conditi oning system and defogger
Interior features
Therefore, the fan may stop for a while
until warm or cool ai r is ready to flow immediately after the “AUTO” switch is
pressed.
■Windshield fog detection function
When automatic mode is set, the humid- ity sensor detects fog on the windshield
and controls the air conditioning system
to prevent fog.
This feature is used to prevent ice
from building up on the windshield
and wiper blades.
Press the switch to turn the system
on/off.
The indicator come s on when the sys-
tem is on.
Vehicles with windshield wiper de-icer:
The windshield wiper de-icer will auto-
matically turn off after a period of time.
Vehicles with Heated Windshield
Defroster:
 The Heated Windshield
Defroster will automatically turn
off in 4 minutes.
 The Heated Windshield
Defroster will not operate if the
outside temperat ure is 5°C
(41°F) or higher.
Windshield wiper de-icer switch
Heated Windshield Defroster
switch
This function automatically controls
the air conditioning airflow so that
priority is given to the front seats.
When the front passenger seat is
not occupied, airflow may switch to
only the driver’s seat. Unnecessary
air conditioning is suppressed, con -
Windshield wiper de-icer (if
equipped)/Heated Wind -
shield Defroster (if
equipped)
WARNING
■To prevent burns
●Vehicles with windshield wiper
deicer: Do not touc h the glass at lower part of the windshield or to
the side of the front pillars when the
windshield wiper de-icer is on.
●Vehicles with Heated Windshield
Defroster: Do not touch the wind - shield (especially the lower part) as
the surfaces can become very hot
when the Heated Windshield Defroster is on.
Front seat concentrated air -
flow mode (S-FLOW)
A
B

459
6
6-1. Using the air conditi oning system and defogger
Interior features
■Adjusting the air flow direction
and opening/closing the air
outlets
Front
1 Direct air flow to the left or right,
up or down
2 Open the vent
3 Close the vent
Rear
1 Direct air flow to the left or right,
up or down
2 Open the vent
3 Close the vent
WARNING
■To not interrupt the windshield
defogger from operating
Do not place anyth ing on the instru- ment panel which may cover the air
outlets. Otherwise, air flow may be
obstructed, preventing the windshield defoggers from defogging.
NOTICE
■Humidity sensor
In order to detect fog on the wind - shield, a sensor which monitors the
temperature of the windshield, the
surround humidity, etc. is installed.
Follow these points to avoid damag -
ing the sensor:
●Do not disassemble the sensor
●Do not spray the glass cleaner on
the sensor or subject it to strong
impacts
●Do not stick anything on the sensor