2023 TOYOTA RAV4 PLUG-IN HYBRID trailer

307
5
5-1. Before driving
Driving
29 mm (1.1 in.)
34 mm (1.3 in.)
412 mm (16.2 in.)
348 mm (13.7 in.)
386 mm (15.2 in.)
586 mm (23.1 in.)
617 mm (24.3 in.)
1089 mm (42.9 in.)
Your vehicle will handle differently
when towing a trailer. In order to
avoid accident, death or serious
injury, keep the following in mind
when towing:
■Checking connections
between trailer and lights
Stop the vehicle and check the
operation of the connection
between the trailer and lights after
driving for a brief period as well as
before starting off.
■Practicing driving with a cou-
pled trailer
 Get the feel for turning, stopping
and reversing with the trailer
coupled by practicing in an area
with no or light traffic.
 When reversing with a coupled
trailer, hold the section of the
steering wheel nearest to you
and rotate clockwise to turn the
trailer left or counterclockwise to
turn it right. Always rotate a little
at a time to prevent steering
error. Have someone guide you
when reversing to lessen the risk
of an accident.
■Increasing vehicle-to-vehicle
distance
At a speed of 10 km/h (6 mph), the
distance to the vehicle running
ahead of you should be equivalent
to or greater than the combined
length of your vehicle and trailer.
Avoid sudden braking that may
cause skidding. Otherwise, the
vehicle may spin out of control. This
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NOTICE
■When the rear bumper strength-
ening material is aluminum
Ensure the steel bracket part does not come directly in contact with that
area.
When steel and aluminum come into contact, there is a reaction similar to
corrosion, which will weaken the sec- tion concerned and may result in damage. Apply a rust inhibitor to parts
that will come in contact when attach- ing a steel bracket.
Guidance

3085-1. Before driving
is especially true when driving on
wet or slippery road surfaces.
■Sudden acceleration/steering
input/cornering
Executing sharp turns when towing
may result in the trailer colliding
with your vehicle. Decelerate well in
advance when approaching turns
and take them slowly and carefully
to avoid sudden braking.
■Important points regarding
turning
The wheels of the trailer 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.315)
■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.578)
■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 factors (crosswinds, pass-
ing vehicles, rough roads, etc.) can

309
5 5-1. Before driving
Driving
adversely affect handling of your vehicle
and trailer, causing instability.
●If trailer swaying occurs:
• Firmly grip the steering wheel. Steer
straight ahead.
Do not try to control trailer swaying by
turning the steering wheel.
• Begin releasing the accelerator pedal
immediately but very gradually 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 occupants
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 appro-
priate, if possible.
• Check the load in the vehicle.
Make sure the vehicle is not overloaded
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 combination. Drive at a
lower speed to prevent instability.
Remember that swaying of the towing
vehicle-trailer increases as speed
increases.

3305-3. Operating the lights and wipers
equal to those of headlights, tail lights
or fog lights
• When headlights or tail lights of vehi-
cles ahead are turned off, dirty,
changing color, or not aimed properly
• When the vehicle is hit by water,
snow, dust, etc. from a preceding
vehicle
• When driving through an area of inter-
mittently changing brightness and
darkness
• When frequently and repeatedly driv-
ing ascending/descending roads, or
roads with rough, bumpy or uneven
surfaces (such as stone-paved roads,
gravel roads, etc.)
• When frequently and repeatedly tak-
ing curves or driving on a winding
road
• There is a highly reflective object
ahead of the vehicle, such as a sign or
mirror
• The back of a vehicle ahead is highly
reflective, such as a container on a
truck
• The vehicle’s headlights are damaged
or dirty, or are not aimed properly
• The vehicle is listing or titling due to a
flat tire, a trailer being towed, etc.
• The high beams and low beams are
repeatedly being switched between in
an abnormal manner
• The driver believes that the high
beams may be causing problems or
distress to other drivers or pedestrians
nearby
• The vehicle is used in a territory in
which vehicles travel on the opposite
side of the road of the country for
which the vehicle is approved, for
example using a vehicle designed for
right-hand traffic in a left-hand traffic
territory, or vice versa
• When going through the Straits of
Dover
■If “Headlight System Malfunction
Visit Your Dealer” is displayed on
the multi-information display
The system may be malfunctioning.
Have the vehicle inspected by any
authorized Toyota retailer or Toyota
authorized repairer, or any reliable repairer.
■Switching to the high beams
Push the lever away from you.
The Automatic High Beam indicator will
turn off and the headlight high beam
indicator will turn on.
Pull the lever to its original position to
activate the Automatic High Beam sys-
tem again.
■Switching to the low beams
Press the Automatic High Beam
switch.
The Automatic High Beam indicator will
turn off.
Press the switch to activate the Auto-
matic High Beam system again.
Turning the high beams
on/off manually

351
5 5-5. Using the driving support systems
Driving
in front of an oncoming vehicle or a
crossing pedestrian.
• While making a right/left turn, when an
oncoming vehicle or a crossing
pedestrian stops before entering the
path of your vehicle
• While making a right/left turn, when an
oncoming vehicle turns right/left in
front of your vehicle
• While steering into the direction of
oncoming traffic
■Situations in which the system may
not operate properly
●In some situations such as the follow-
ing, an object may not be detected by
the radar sensor and front camera,
preventing the system from operating
properly:
• When a detectable object is
approaching your vehicle
• When your vehicle or a detectable
object is wobbling
• If a detectable object makes an abrupt
maneuver (such as sudden swerving,
acceleration or deceleration)
• When your vehicle approaches a
detectable object rapidly
• When a detectable object is not
directly in front of your vehicle
• When a detectable object is near a
wall, fence, guardrail, manhole cover,
vehicle, steel plate on the road, etc.• When a detectable object is under a
structure
• When part of a detectable object is
hidden by an object, such as large
baggage, an umbrella, or guardrail
• When there are many things which
can reflect the radio waves of the
radar in the vicinity (tunnels, truss
bridges, gravel roads, snow covered
road that have tracks, etc.)
• When there is an effect on the radio
waves to the radar that is installed on
another vehicle
• When multiple detectable objects are
close together
• If the sun or other light is shining
directly on a detectable object
• When a detectable object is a shade
of white and looks extremely bright
• When a detectable object appears to
be nearly the same color or brightness
as its surroundings
• If a detectable object cuts or suddenly
emerges in front of your vehicle
• When the front of your vehicle is hit by
water, snow, dust, etc.
• When a very bright light ahead, such
as the sun or the headlights of oncom-
ing traffic, shines directly into the front
camera
• When approaching the side or front of
a vehicle ahead
• If a vehicle ahead is a motorcycle
• If a vehicle ahead is narrow, such as a
personal mobility vehicle
• If a preceding vehicle has a small rear
end, such as an unloaded truck
• If a preceding vehicle has a low rear
end, such as a low bed trailer
• If a vehicle ahead has extremely high
ground clearance

3545-5. Using the driving support systems
WARNING
■Before using LTA system
●Do not rely solely upon the LTA
system. The LTA system does not automatically drive the vehicle or reduce the amount of attention that
must be paid to the area in front of the vehicle. The driver must always assume full responsibility for driving
safely by paying careful attention to the surrounding conditions and operating the steering wheel to cor-
rect the path of the vehicle. Also, the driver must take adequate breaks when fatigued, such as from
driving for a long period of time.
●Failure to perform appropriate driv-
ing operations and pay careful attention may lead to an accident, resulting in death or serious injury.
■Situations unsuitable for LTA system
In the following situations, use the LTA switch to turn the system off. Failure to do so may lead to an acci-
dent, resulting in death or serious injury.
●Vehicle is driven on a road surface which is slippery due to rainy weather, fallen snow, freezing, etc.
●Vehicle is driven on a snow-cov-ered road.
●White (yellow) lines are difficult to see due to rain, snow, fog, dust,
etc.
●Vehicle is driven in a temporary
lane or restricted lane due to con- struction work.
●Vehicle is driven in a construction zone.
●A spare tire, tire chains, etc. are equipped.
●When the tires have been exces-sively worn, or when the tire infla-tion pressure is low.
●When your vehicle is towing a trailer or during emergency towing
■Preventing LTA system malfunc-tions and operations performed
by mistake
●Do not modify the headlights or place stickers, etc. on the surface of
the lights.
●Do not modify the suspension etc. If
the suspension etc. needs to be replaced, contact any authorized Toyota retailer or Toyota authorized
repairer, or any reliable repairer.
●Do not install or place anything on
the hood or grille. Also, do not install a grille guard (bull bars, kan-garoo bar, etc.).
●If your windshield needs repairs, contact any authorized Toyota
retailer or Toyota authorized repairer, or any reliable repairer.
■Conditions in which functions may not operate properly
In the following situations, the func-
tions may not operate properly and the vehicle may depart from its lane. Drive safely by always paying careful
attention to your surroundings and operate the steering wheel to correct the path of the vehicle without relying
solely on the functions.

371
5
5-5. Using the driving support systems
Driving
This mode employs a radar to detect the presence of vehicles up to approx-
imately 100 m (328 ft.) ahead, determines the current vehicle-to-vehicle fol-
lowing distance, and operates to maintain a suitable following distance from
the vehicle ahead. The desired vehicle-to-vehicle distance can also be set
by operating the vehicle-to-vehicle distance switch.
When driving on downhill slopes, the vehicle-to-vehicle distance may become
shorter.
Example of constant speed cruising
When there are no vehicles ahead
The vehicle travels at the speed set by the driver.
Example of deceleration cruising and follow-up cruising
When a preceding vehicle driving slower than the set speed appears
WARNING
●When there is rain, snow, etc. on the front surface of the radar or
front camera
●In traffic conditions that require fre-
quent repeated acceleration and deceleration
●When your vehicle is towing a trailer or during emergency towing
●When an approach warning buzzer is heard often
Driving in vehicle-to-vehicle distance control mode
A
B

3805-5. Using the driving support systems
As the sensor may not be able to cor-
rectly detect these types of vehicles, the approach warning ( P.375) may not be activated.
●Vehicles that cut in suddenly
●Vehicles traveling at low speeds
●Vehicles that are not moving in the
same lane
●Vehicles with small rear ends (trailers
with no load on board, etc.)
●Motorcycles traveling in the same lane
●When water or snow thrown up by the surrounding vehicles hinders the
detecting of the sensor
●When your vehicle is pointing
upwards (caused by a heavy load in the luggage compartment, etc.)
●Preceding vehicle has an extremely high ground clearance
■Conditions under which the vehi-
cle-to-vehicle distance control mode may not function correctly
In the case of the following conditions,
operate the brake pedal (or accelerator pedal, depending on the situation) as necessary.
As the sensor may not be able to cor- rectly detect vehicles ahead, the system may not operate properly.
●When the road curves or when the lanes are narrow
●When steering wheel operation or your position in the lane is unstable
●When the vehicle ahead of you decel-erates suddenly
●When driving on a road surrounded by a structure, such as in a tunnel or on a
bridge
●While the vehicle speed is decreasing
to the set speed after the vehicle accelerates by depressing the accel-erator pedal
■Situations in which the curve speed
reduction function may not operate properly
In situations such as the following, the
curve speed reduction function may not operate properly:
●When the vehicle is being driven