2021 TOYOTA RAV4 PLUG-IN HYBRID engine

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.

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.

4546-1. Using the air conditioning system and defogger
switch to outside air mode if the recircu -
lated air mode is us ed. (It may switch
automatically.)
To defog the winds hield and the side
windows quickly, turn the air flow and
temperature up.
To return to the p revious mode, press
the windshield defogger switch again
when the windshi eld is defogged.
When the windshield defogger switch is
on, the indicator illuminates on the
windshield defogger switch.
■Defogging the rear window
and outside rear view mirrors
Defoggers are us ed to defog the
rear window, and to remove rain -
drops, dew and frost from the out -
side rear view mirrors.
Press the rear window defogger
and outside rear view mirror defog -
gers switch.
The defoggers will automatically turn off
after 15 minutes.
When the rear window defogger and
outside rear view mirror defoggers
switch is on, the indicator illuminates on
the rear window defogger and outside
rear view mirror defoggers switch.
■Blower customization
The fan speed can be adjusted
according to your preference.
1 Press the automatic mode or
airflow mode control switch.
2 Press the blower customization
switch.
3 Each time the blower customi-
zation switch is pressed, the fan
speed changes as follows.
Normal → “ECO” → “FAST”
■Heating
●In HV mode, the gasoline engine may
operate in order to extract heat from the engine coolant via the heater.
●In EV mode, heating is done by a heat pump system.
• When the outside t emperature is low
or it is snowing, compared to conven - tional vehicles, heating may be less
effective and warm air may not come
out. • When the outside heat exchanger is
frosted over, fan speed declines and it
may become harder to heat the inte- rior. However, it is not a malfunction.
In this situat ion, the air temperature
from the outlets may not change even though the set tem perature is raised.
• If frost has formed of the outside heat
exchanger, the heating performance will decline. The frost can be removed
from the outside heat exchanger by
operating the Remote Air Conditioning System before driving ( →P.460).
When frosted over, the heating opera -
tion of the Remote Air Conditioning System starts after defrosting.
• When “AUTO” switch is turned on, the
heating is controlle d optimally. There- fore, the set heating performance may
not be achieved even if the fan speed
setting is increased.
Outside heat exchanger
●In the following situations the gasoline
engine may operate in order to extract heat from the engine coolant via the
heater even in EV mode.
• The outside temperature is approxi -
mately -10°C (14°F) or low
A

455
6
6-1. Using the air conditi oning system and defogger
Interior features
• is operating
■Water droplets during air condi-
tioning operation
The outside heat exchanger, accumula -
tor and air conditioning piping may incur
condensation or frost may form. During or after the air conditioning operation,
water droplets may fall from the vehicle.
However, it is not a malfunction.
Accumulator
Outside heat exchanger
■Fogging up of the windows
●The windows will ea sily fog up when
the humidity in the vehicle is high.
Turning “A/C” s witch on will dehumid- ify the air from the outlets and defog
the windshield effectively.
●If you turn “A/C” switch off, the win -
dows may fog up more easily.
●The windows may fog up if the recir -
culated air mode is used.
■While using “My Room Mode”
●It may not be possible to obtain the
intended defogging performance even
if is pressed. If the windows
need to be defogged before driving,
stop charging powe r and then press
.
●When the outside te mperature is low,
heating may feel insufficient due to
restricted operation of the air condi -
tioning. Heating cannot be performed when it is -10°C (14° F) or less as the
gasoline engine cannot be started
during “My Room Mode”. If heating is desired, stop charging and remove
the AC charging cable from the vehi -
cle.
■When driving o n dusty roads
Close all windows. If dust thrown up by
the vehicle is still d rawn into the vehicle
after closing the windows, it is recom - mended that the air intake mode be set
to outside air mode and the fan speed to
any setting except off.
■Outside/recirculated air mode
●Setting to the recir culated air mode
temporarily is recommended in pre - venting dirty air from entering the
vehicle interior and helping to cool the
vehicle when the ou tside air tempera- ture is high.
●Outside/recirculated air mode may automatically switch depending on the
temperature setting or the inside tem-
perature.
■Operation of the air conditioning system in Eco drive mode
●In Eco drive mode, the air conditioning system is controlled as follows to pri -
oritize fuel efficiency:
• Engine speed and compressor opera - tion controlled to res trict heating/cool-
ing capacity
• Fan speed restrict ed when automatic mode is selected
●To improve air conditioning perfor - mance, perform the following opera -
tions:
• Turn off Eco drive mode ( →P.434) • Turn off blower customization
( →P.454)
■When the outside temperature falls
to nearly 0°C (32°F)
The dehumidification function may not operate even when “A/C” switch is
pressed.
■Ventilation and air conditioning
odors
●To let fresh air in, set the air condition -
ing system to the outside air mode.
A
B

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

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

495
7
7-2. Maintenance
Maintenance and care
request that a record of maintenance
be kept.
■Does your vehicle need repairs?
Be on the alert for changes in perfor - mance and sounds, a nd visual tip-offs
that indicate service is needed. Some
important clues are:
●Engine missing, stumbling or pinging
●Appreciable loss of power
●Strange engine noises
●A fluid leak under the vehicle (How-
ever, water dripping from the air con - ditioning system after use is normal.)
●Change in exhaust sound (This may indicate a dangerous carbon monox -
ide leak. Drive with the windows open
and have the exhau st system checked immediately.)
●Flat-looking tires, excessive tire squeal when cornering, uneven tire
wear
●Vehicle pulls to one side when driven
straight on a level road
●Strange noises related to suspension
movement
●Loss of brake effectiveness, spongy
feeling brake pedal, pedal almost
touches the floor, vehicle pulls to one
side when braking
●Engine coolant temperature continu -
ally higher than normal ( →P.174)
If you notice any of these clues, take
your vehicle to any authorized Toyota
retailer or Toyota authorized repairer, or any reliable repair er as soon as possi-
ble.
Your vehicle may need adjustment or repair.

4967-3. Do-it-yourself maintenance
7-3.Do-it-yourself maintenance
Do-it-yourself service
precautions
If you perform maintenance by
yourself, be sure to follow the
correct procedure as given in
these sections.
Maintenance
ItemsParts and tools
12-volt battery
condition
( →P.506)
•Grease
• Conventional
wrench (for terminal
clamp bolts)
Engine/power
control unit
coolant level
( →P.503)
• “Toyota Super Long
Life Coolant” or a
similar high quality
ethylene glycol-
based non-silicate,
non-amine, non-
nitrite and non-
borate coolant with
long-life hybrid
organic acid technol -
ogy
“Toyota Super Long
Life Coolant” is pre -
mixed with 50%
coolant and 50%
deionized water.
• Funnel (used only
for adding coolant)
Engine oil level
( →P.501)
• “Toyota Genuine
Motor Oil” or equiva -
lent
• Rag or paper towel
• Funnel (used only
for adding engine
oil)
Fuses
( →P.545)
• Fuse with same
amperage rating as
original
DC/DC Con -
verter air
intake vent
( →P.536)
• Vacuum cleaner,
etc,
• Phillips screwdriver
Light bulbs
( →P.548)
• Bulb with same
number and watt -
age rating as origi -
nal
• Phillips-head screw -
driver
• Flathead screw -
driver
• Wrench
Radiator and
condenser
( →P.504)
⎯
Tire inflation
pressure
( →P.529)
• Tire pressure gauge
• Compressed air
source
Washer fluid
( →P.505)
• Water or washer
fluid containing anti -
freeze (for winter
use)
• Funnel (used only
for adding water or
washer fluid)
WARNING
The engine compartment contains
many mechanisms and fluids that may move suddenly, become hot, or
become electrically energized. To
avoid death or serious injury, observe the following precautions.
ItemsParts and tools