2023 TOYOTA RAV4 Owners Manual

3294-6. Driving tips
4
Driving
road, please observe the follow-
ing precautions to ensure your
driving enjoyment and to help
prevent the closure of areas to
off-road vehicles:
Drive your vehicle only in
areas where off-road vehicles
are permitted to travel.
 Respect private property. Get
owner’s permission before
entering 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 techniques should be
changed or travel delayed to
prevent damage to roads.
■Additional information for off-
road driving
For owners in U.S. mainland,
Hawaii and Puerto Rico:
To obtain additional information per-
taining to driving your vehicle off-
road, consult the following organiza-
tions: • State and Local Parks and Recre-
ation Departments
• State Motor Vehicle Bureau
• Recreational Vehicle Clubs
• U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management
WARNING
■Off-road driving precautions
Always observe t he following pre-
cautions to minim ize the risk of
death, serious injury or damage to
your vehicle:
●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 ou tside of the
rim.
●Always check your brakes for
effectiveness immediately after
driving in sand, mud, water or
snow.
●After driving through tall grass,
mud, rock, sand, rivers, etc.,
check that there is no grass,
bush, paper, rags, stone, sand,
etc. adhering or trapped on the
underbody. Clear off any such
matter from the underbody. If
the vehicle is used with these
materials trapped or adhering to
the underbody, a breakdown or
fire could occur.

3304-6. Driving tips
WARNING
●When driving off-road or in rug-
ged 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 mea-
sures to ensure that water dam-
age to the engine or other
components does not occur.
●Water entering the engine air
intake will cause severe engine
damage.
●Water entering the automatic
transmission will cause deterio-
ration in shift quality, locking up
of your transmission accompa-
nied by vibration, and ultimately
damage.
●Water can wash the grease
from wheel bearings, causing
rusting and premature failure,
and may also enter the differen-
tials, transmission and transfer
case (AWD models), reducing
the gear oil’s lub ricating quali-
ties.
■When you drive through
water
If driving through water, such as
when crossing shallow streams,
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 driv-
ing
●Sand and mud that has accu-
mulated 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. For scheduled
maintenance information, refer
to the “Scheduled Maintenance
Guide” or “Owner’s Manual
Supplement”.

331
5
5
Interior features
Interior features
5-1. Using the air conditioning system and defogger
Manual air conditioning sys- tem ............................ 332
Automatic air conditioning system ....................... 338
Heated steering wheel/seat heaters/seat ventilators.................................. 345
5-2. Using the interior lights Interior lights list .......... 348
5-3. Using the storage features List of storage features 350
Luggage compartment fea- tures .......................... 354
5-4. Using the other interior features
Other interior features . 359
Garage door opener.... 370

3325-1. Using the air conditioning system and defogger
5-1.Using the air conditioning system and defogger
*: If equipped
Fan speed control switch
Temperature control switch
On/off switch
Windshield defogger switch
Rear window and outside rear view mirror defoggers
* switch
Airflow mode control switch
Outside/recirculated air mode switch
“A/C” switch
“MAX A/C” switch
*: If equipped
■Adjusting the temperature
setting
To adjust the temperature set-
ting, turn the temperature con-
trol switch clockwise (warm) or
counterclockwise (cool).
If “A/C” switch is not pressed, the
system will blow a mbient tempera-
ture air or heated air.
■Fan speed setting
To adjust the fan speed, turn the fan speed control switch clock-
wise (increase) or counterclock-
wise (decrease).
Pressing the on/off switch turns off
the fan.
When the fan is off, pressing the
on/off switch or turning the fan
speed control switch will turn on the
fan.
■Change the airflow mode
Press the airflow mode control
Manual air condi tioning system*
Air conditioning controls
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I

3335-1. Using the air conditioning system and defogger
5
Interior features
switch.
The airflow mode changes as fol-
lows each time the switch is
pressed.
1Upper body
2 Upper body and feet
3 Feet
4 Feet and the windshield
defogger operates
■Switching between outside
air and recirculated air
modes
Press the outside/recirculated
air mode switch.
The mode switches between
outside air mode and recircu-
lated air mode each time the
switch is operated.
When recirculated air mode is
selected, the indicator illuminates
on the outside/ recirculated air
mode switch.
■Set cooling and dehumidifi-
cation function
Press the “A/C” switch.
When the function is on, the indica-
tor illuminates on the “A/C” switch.
■Defogging the windshield
Defoggers are used to defog the
windshield and front side win-
dows.
Press the windshield defogger
switch.
Set the outside/recirculated air
mode switch to outside air mode if
the recirculated air mode is used.
To defog the windshield and the
side windows quickly, turn the air
flow and temperature up.
To return to the previous mode,
press the windshield defogger
switch again when the windshield is
defogged.
When the windshield defogger
switch is on, the indicator illumi-
nates on the windshield defogger
switch.
■Defogging the rear window
and outside rear view mir-
rors (if equipped)
Defoggers are used to defog the
rear window, and to remove
raindrops, dew and frost from
the outside rear view mirrors (if
equipped).
Press the rear window and out-
side rear view mirror defoggers
switch.
When the rear window and outside
rear view mirror defoggers switch is
on, the indicator illuminates on the
rear window and outside rear view
mirror defoggers switch.
The rear window and rear view mir-
1 1 2
23
3
4
4

3345-1. Using the air conditioning system and defogger
ror defoggers automatically turn off
after approximat ely 60 minutes.
However, the rear window and rear
view mirror defoggers might auto-
matically turn o ff after approxi-
mately 15 minutes depending on
conditions including the outside
temperature and charging system
conditions.
■For quick cooling
Press the “MAX A/C” switch.
The air conditioning will automati-
cally turn on.
At this time, the fo llowing will occur:
●The recirculated air mode will be
set
●The windshield defogger will turn
off
●The air flow mode will change to
the upper body mode
■Operation of the air condition-
ing system in Eco drive mode
In Eco drive mode, the air condition-
ing system is controlled to prioritize
fuel efficiency by regulating the
engine speed and compressor oper-
ation to restrict t he heating/cooling
capacity.
To improve air con ditioning perfor-
mance, perform t he following opera-
tions:
●Adjust the fan speed
●Adjust the temperature setting
●Turn off Eco drive mode ( P.310)
■Fogging up of the windows
●The windows will easily fog up
when the humidity in the vehicle is
high. Turning the “A/C” switch on
will dehumidify the air from the
outlets and defog the windshield
effectively.
●If you turn the “A/C” switch off, the
windows may fog up more easily.
●The windows may fog up if the
recirculated air mode is used.
■When driving on dusty roads
Close all windows. If dust thrown up
by the vehicle is still drawn into the
vehicle after closing the windows, it
is recommended 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 outside air
temperature is high.
■When the outside temperature
falls to nearly 32°F (0°C)
The dehumidification function may
not operate even when the “A/C”
switch is pressed.
■Ventilation and air conditioning
odors
●To let fresh air in, set the air condi-
tioning system to the outside air
mode.
●During use, various odors from
inside and outside the vehicle may
enter into and accumulate in the
air conditioning system. This may
then cause odor to be emitted
from the vents.
●To reduce potential odors from
occurring:
It is recommended that the air
conditioning system be set to out-
side air mode prior to turning the
vehicle off.
●When parking, the system auto-
matically switches to outside air
mode to encourage better air cir-
culation throughout the vehicle,
helping to reduce odors that occur
when starting the vehicle.
■Air conditioning system opera-
tions when the engine is
stopped due to the Stop & Start
system (vehicles with Stop &
Start system)
When the engine is stopped due to

3355-1. Using the air conditioning system and defogger
5
Interior features
the Stop & Start system operations,
the air conditioning cooling, heating
and dehumidification functions turn
off and only ambient temperature air
is blown, and there is a possibility
that the blowing of ambient tem-
perature air will stop. To prevent the
air conditioning system from turning
off, press the Stop & Start cancel
switch to deactivate the system.
■When the windshield is fogged
up and the engine is stopped
due to the Stop & Start system
(vehicles with Stop & Start sys-
tem)
Press the windshield defogger
switch to restart the engine and
defog the windshield.
If the windshield continuously fogs
up, press the Stop & Start cancel
switch and refrain from using the
Stop & Start system.
■When an odor c omes from the
air conditioning system while
the engine is stopped due to the
Stop & Start system (vehicles
with Stop & Start system)
Press the Stop & Start cancel switch
to restart the engine.
■Air conditioning filter
 P.420
■Air conditioning system refrig-
erant
●A label regarding the refrigerant of
the air conditioning system is
attached to the ho od at the loca-
tion shown in the f ollowing illustra-
tion.
●The meaning of each symbol on
the label are as follows:
Caution
Air conditioning system
Air conditioning system
lubricant type
Requires registered tech-
nician to service air con-
ditioning system
Flammable refrigerant
WARNING
■To prevent the windshield
from fogging up
Do not use the windshield defog-
ger switch during cool air opera-
tion in extremel y humid weather.
The difference between the tem-
perature of the outside air and
that of the windshield can cause
the outer surface of the wind-
shield to fog up, blocking your
vision.
■When the outside rear view
mirror defoggers are operat-
ing (if equipped)
Do not touch the rear view mirror
surfaces when the outside rear
view mirror def oggers are on.
NOTICE
■To prevent battery discharge
Do not leave the air conditioning
system on longer than necessary
when the engine is off.

3365-1. Using the air conditioning system and defogger
■Location of air outlets
The air outlets and air volume
change according to the
selected airflow mode.
■Adjusting the air flow direc-
tion 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
■When repairing/replacing
parts of the air conditioning
system
Have repair/replacement per-
formed by your Toyota dealer.
When a part of th e air condition-
ing system, such as the evapora-
tor, is to be replaced, it must be
replaced with a new one.
Air outlet layout and oper-
ations
WARNING
■To not interrupt the wind-
shield defogger from operat-
ing
Do not place anything on the
instrument panel which may cover
the air outlets. Otherwise, air flow
may be obstructed, preventing the
windshield defoggers from defog-
ging.