2022 TOYOTA RAV4 HYBRID steering

1884-1. Before driving
WARNING
■When braking
●When the brakes are wet, drive
more cautiously.
Braking distance increases
when the brakes are wet, and
this may cause one side of the
vehicle to brake differently than
the other side. Also, the parking
brake may not securely hold the
vehicle.
●If the electroni cally controlled
brake system does not operate,
do not follow other vehicles
closely and avoid hills or sharp
turns that require braking.
In this case, braking is still pos-
sible, but the brake pedal
should be depressed more
firmly than usual. Also, the brak-
ing distance will increase. Have
your brakes fixed immediately.
●The brake system consists of 2
or more individual hydraulic sys-
tems; if one of the systems fails,
the other will still operate. In this
case, the brake pedal should be
depressed more firmly than
usual and the braking distance
will increase. Have your brakes
fixed immediately.
■If the vehicle becomes stuck
Do not spin the wheels exces-
sively when any of the tires is up
in the air, or the vehicle is stuck in
sand, mud, etc. This may damage
the driveline components or pro-
pel the vehicle forward or back-
ward, causing an accident.
NOTICE
■When driving the vehicle
●Do not depress t he accelerator
and brake pedals at the same
time during drivin g, as this may
restrain the hybrid system out-
put.
●Do not use the accelerator
pedal or depress the accelera-
tor and brake pedals at the
same time to hold the vehicle on
a hill.
■Avoiding damage to vehicle
parts
●Do not turn the steering wheel
fully in either direction and hold
it there for an extended period
of time.
Doing so may damage the
power steering motor.
●When driving over bumps in the
road, drive as slowly as possible
to avoid damaging the wheels,
underside of the vehicle, etc.
■If you get a flat tire while driv-
ing
A flat or damaged tire may cause
the following situations.
●It may be difficult to control your
vehicle.
●The vehicle will make abnormal
sounds or vibrations.
●The vehicle will lean abnor-
mally.
Hold the steering wheel firmly and
gradually depress the brake pedal
to slow down the vehicle.
Information on what to do in case
of a flat tire ( P.640)
■When encountering flooded
roads
Do not drive on a road that has
flooded after heavy rain, etc.
Doing so may cause the following
serious damage to the vehicle:
●Engine stalling
●Short in electrical components
●Engine damage caused by
water immersion

1914-1. Before driving
4
Driving
For example, if the “XXX”
amount equals 1400 lbs. and
there will be five 150 lb passen-
gers in your vehicle, the amount
of available cargo and luggage
load capacity is 650 lbs. (1400 -
750 (5  150) = 650 lbs.)
(5) Determine the combined
weight of luggage and cargo
being loaded on the vehicle.
That weight may not safely
exceed the available cargo and
luggage load capacity calcu-
lated in Step 4.
(6) If your vehicle will be towing
a trailer, load from your trailer
will be transferred to your vehi-
cle. Consult this manual to
determine how this reduces the
available cargo and luggage
load capacity of your vehicle.
( P.193) Cargo capacity
Total load capacity (vehicle
capacity weight) (
P.666)
When 2 people with the com-
bined weight of A lb. (kg) are rid-
ing in your vehicle, which has a
total load capacity (vehicle
capacity weight) of B lb. (kg),
the available amount of cargo
and luggage load capacity will
be C lb. (kg) as follows:
B
*2 lb. (kg) - A*1 lb. (kg) = C*3 lb.
(kg)
*1: A = Weight of people
*2: B = Total load capacity
*3: C = Available cargo and luggage load
In this condition, if 3 more passen-
gers with the combined weight of D
lb. (kg) get on, the available cargo
and luggage load will be reduced E
lb. (kg) as follows:
C lb. (kg) - D*4 lb. (kg) = E*5 lb.
(kg)
*4: D = Additional weight of people
*5: E = Available cargo and luggage
WARNING
■Capacity and distribution
●Do not exceed the maximum
axle weight rating or the total
vehicle weight rating.
●Even if the tota l load of occu-
pant’ weight and the cargo load
is less than the total load capac-
ity, do not ap ply the load
unevenly. Improper loading may
cause deteriorat ion of steering
or braking control which may
cause death or serious injury.
Calculation formula for
your vehicle
A
B

2004-1. Before driving
Please consult your dealer
when installing trailer lights, as
incorrect installation may cause
damage to the vehicle’s lights.
Please take care to comply with
your state’s laws when installing
trailer lights.
Your vehicle will handle differ-
ently when towing a trailer. Help
to avoid an accident, death or
serious injury, keep the follow-
ing in mind when towing:
Speed limits for towing a
trailer vary by state or prov-
ince. Do not exceed the
posted towing speed limit.
 Toyota recommends that the
vehicle-trailer speed limit is 65
mph (104 km/h) on a flat,
straight, dry road. Do not
exceed this limit, the posted
towing speed limit or the
speed limit for your trailer as
set forth in your trailer owner’s
manual, whichever is lowest.
Instability of the towing vehi-
cle-trailer combination (trailer
sway) increases as speed increases. Exceeding speed
limits may cause loss of con-
trol.
 Before starting out, check the
trailer lights, tires and the
vehicle-trailer connections.
Recheck after driving a short
distance.
 Practice turning, stopping and
reversing with the trailer
attached in an area away
from traffic until you become
accustomed to the feel of the
vehicle-trailer combination.
 Reversing with a trailer
attached is difficult and
requires practice. Grip the
bottom of the steering wheel
and move your hand to the
left to move the trailer to the
left. Move your hand to the
right to move the trailer to
right. (This is generally oppo-
site to reversing without a
trailer attached.) Avoid sharp
or prolonged turning. Have
someone guide you when
reversing to reduce the risk of
an accident.
 As stopping distance is
increased when towing a
trailer, vehicle-to vehicle dis-
tance should be increased.
For each 10 mph (16 km/h) of
speed, allow at least one
vehicle and trailer length.
 Avoid sudden braking as you
may skid, resulting in the
trailer jackknifing and a loss of
Connecting trailer lights
NOTICE
■Do not directly splice trailer
lights
Do not directly splice trailer lights.
Directly splicing trailer lights may
damage your vehicle’s electrical
system and cause a malfunction.
Trailer towing tips

2014-1. Before driving
4
Driving
vehicle control. This is espe-
cially true on wet or slippery
surfaces.
 Avoid jerky starts or sudden
acceleration.
 Avoid jerky steering and
sharp turns, and slow down
before making turn.
 Note that when making a turn,
the trailer wheels will be
closer than the vehicle wheels
to the inside of the turn. Com-
pensate by making a wider
than normal turning radius.
 Slow down before making a
turn, in cross winds, on wet or
slippery surfaces, etc.
Increasing vehicle speed can
destabilize the trailer.
Take care when passing other
vehicles. Passing requires
considerable distance. After
passing a vehicle, do not for-
get the length of your trailer,
and be sure you have plenty
of room before changing
lanes.
 To maintain engine braking
efficiency, when using engine
braking, do not use the trans-
mission in D.
 Instability happens more fre-
quently when descending
steep or long downhill grades.
Before descending, slow
down and downshift. Do not
make sudden downshifts
while descending steep or long downhill grades.
 Avoid holding the brake pedal
down too long or applying the
brakes too frequently. This
could cause the brakes to
overheat and result in
reduced braking efficiency.
 Due to the added load of the
trailer, your vehicle’s hybrid
system may overheat on hot
days (at temperatures over
85°F [30°C]) when driving up
a long or steep grade. If the
engine coolant temperature
gauge indicates overheating,
immediately turn off the air
conditioning (if in use), pull
your vehicle off the road and
stop in a safe spot. ( P.659)
 Always place wheel blocks
under both the vehicle’s and
the trailer’s wheels when
parking. Apply the parking
brake firmly, and put the
transmission in P. Avoid park-
ing on a slope, but if unavoid-
able, do so only after
performing the following:
1 Apply the brakes and keep
them applied.
2 Have someone place wheel
blocks under both the vehi-
cle’s and trailer’s wheels.
3 When the wheel blocks are in
place, release the brakes
slowly until the blocks absorb
the load.

2024-1. Before driving
4Apply the parking brake
firmly.
5 Shift into P and turn off the
hybrid system.
 When restarting after parking
on a slope:
1 With the transmission in P,
start the hybrid system. 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.218)
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 f requent 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
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

2044-2. Driving procedures
4-2.Driving procedures
1Pull the parking brake switch
to check that the parking
brake is set. ( P.218)
The parking brake indicator will
come on.
2Check that the shift lever is in
P.
3 Firmly depress the brake
pedal.
4 Turn the power switch to
START to start the hybrid
system.
If the “READY” indicator turns on,
the hybrid system will operate nor-
mally.
Continue depressing the brake
pedal until the “READY” indicator is
illuminated.
5Check that the “READY” indi-
cator is illuminated.
The vehicle will not move when the
“READY” indicator is off.
■If the hybrid system does not
start
The immobilizer system may not
have been deactivated. ( P.81)
Contact your Toyota dealer.
■When the steering lock cannot
be released
When starting the hybrid system,
the power switch may seem stuck in
OFF. To free it, turn the key while
turning the steering wheel slightly
left and right.
■When the ambient temperature
is low, such as during winter
driving conditions
●When starting th e hybrid system,
the flashing time of the “READY”
indicator may be long. Leave the
vehicle as it is until the “READY”
indicator is steady on, as steady
means the vehicle is able to move.
●When the hybrid battery (traction
battery) is extremely cold (below
approximately -22°F [-30°C])
under the influenc e of the outside
temperature, it ma y not be possi-
ble to start the hybrid system. In
this case, try to start the hybrid
system again after the tempera-
ture of the hybrid battery
increases due to the outside tem-
perature increase etc.
■Sounds and vibrations specific
to a Hybrid El ectric Vehicle
 P.74
■If the “READY” indicator does
not come on
In the event that the “READY” indi-
cator does not come on even after
performing the proper procedures
Power (ignition)
switch (vehicles with-
out smart key system)
Starting the hybrid sys-
tem

2054-2. Driving procedures
4
Driving
for starting the vehicle, contact your
Toyota dealer immediately.
■When “Check Fuel Cap” is dis-
played on the multi-information
display
 P.238
■If the hybrid system is malfunc-
tioning
 P.80
OFF (“LOCK” position)
The steering wheel is locked and
the key can be re moved. (The key
can be removed only when the shift
lever is in P.)
ACC (“ACC” position)
Some electrical components such
as the audio sys tem can be used.
ON (“ON” position)
All electrical components can be
used.
START (“START” position)
For starting the hybrid system.
■Turning the key from ACC to
OFF
1 Shift the shift lever to P.
2 Push in the key and turn it to
OFF.
■Key reminder function
A buzzer sounds if the driver’s door
is opened while the power switch is
in OFF or ACC to remind you to
remove the key.
WARNING
■When starting the hybrid sys-
tem
Always start the hybrid system
while sitting in the driver’s seat.
Do not depress the accelerator
pedal while starting the hybrid
system under any circumstances.
Doing so may cause an accident
resulting in dea th or serious
injury.
NOTICE
■When starting the hybrid sys-
tem
If the hybrid system becomes diffi-
cult to start, have your vehicle
checked by your Toyota dealer
immediately.
Changing power switch
modes
A
:$51,1*
■Caution when driving
Do not turn the power switch to
OFF while driving. If, in an emer-
gency and you must turn the
hybrid system off while the vehicle
is moving, turn the power switch
only to ACC to stop the hybrid
system. An accident may result if
the hybrid system is stopped
while driving. ( P.617)
B
C
D

2094-2. Driving procedures
4
Driving
feature will be re-enabled if the
driver’s door is opened.
Modes can be changed by
pressing the power switch with
the brake pedal released. (The
mode changes each time the
switch is pressed.)
WARNING
■Stopping the hybrid system
in an emergency
●If you want to stop the hybrid
system in an emergency while
driving the vehicle, press and
hold the power switch for more
than 2 seconds, or press it
briefly 3 times or more in suc-
cession. (P.617)
However, do not touch the
power switch while driving
except in an emergency. Turn-
ing the hybrid system off while
driving will not cause loss of
steering or braking control, how-
ever, power assist to the steer-
ing will be lost. This will make it
more difficult to steer smoothly,
so you should pull over and stop
the vehicle as soon as it is safe
to do so.
●If the power switch is operated
while the vehicle is running, a
warning message will be shown
on the multi-info rmation display
and a buzzer sounds.
●When restarting the hybrid sys-
tem after an emergency shut-
down, shift the shift lever to N
and press the power switch
shortly and firmly.
■When parking
Exhaust gases include harmful
carbon monoxide (CO), which is
colorless and odorless. Observe
the following precautions.
Failure to do so may cause
exhaust gases to enter the vehicle
and may lead to an accident
caused by light-headedness, or
may lead to death or a serious
health hazard.
●If the vehicle is in a poorly venti-
lated area or a closed area,
such as a garage, stop the
hybrid system.
●Do not leave the vehicle with
the hybrid system operating for
a long time. If such a situation
cannot be avoided, park the
vehicle in an open space and
ensure that exhaust fumes do
not enter the ve hicle interior.
●Do not leave the hybrid system
operating in an area with snow
build-up, or where it is snowing.
If snowbanks build up around
the vehicle while the hybrid sys-
tem is operating, exhaust gases
may collect and enter the vehi-
cle.
Changing power switch
modes