2023 TOYOTA RAV4 PLUG-IN HYBRID tow

3005-1. Before driving
Except for GR SPORT models
457 mm (18.0 in.)
461 mm (18.1 in.)
Installation positions for the towing hitch/bracket and hitch
ball
A
B

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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F
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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.

3185-2. Driving procedures
●When the shift lever is shifted to a
position other than D
●When the “+” paddle shift switch is
held down for a period of time
When the shift lever is in the S posi-
tion, the shift lever or paddle shift
switches (if equipped) can be oper-
ated as follows:
1 Upshifting
2 Downshifting
The selected shift range, from S1 to S6,
will be displayed on the multi-informa-
tion display.
The initial shift range in S mode is
set automatically to S4.*
*: It is set to S3 when the driving mode
is set to sport mode. ( P.411)
■S mode
●You can choose from 6 levels of accelerating force and engine braking force.
●A lower shift range will provide greater accelerating force and engine braking
force than a higher shift range, and the engine revolutions will also increase.
●To prevent the engine from over-rev-ving, upshifting may automatically
occur when the shift range is 1 or 2.
●When the shift range is 4 or lower,
holding the shift lever toward “+” sets the shift range to 6.
■Downshifting restriction warning buzzer
To help ensure safety and driving per- formance, downshifting operation may sometimes be restricted. In some cir-
cumstances, downshifting may not be possible even when the shift lever or paddle shift switches (if equipped) is
operated. (A buzzer will sound twice.)
■If the “S” indicator does not come on or the “D” indicator is displayed even after shifting the shift lever to
S
This may indicate a malfunction in the transmission system. Have the vehicle
inspected by any authorized Toyota retailer or Toyota authorized repairer, or
any reliable repairer immediately. (In this situation, the transmission will oper-ate in the same manner as when the
shift lever is in D.)
Changing shift ranges in S
mode

327
5
5-3. Operating the lights and wipers
Driving
■Automatic headlight leveling sys-
tem
The level of the headlights is automati- cally adjusted according to the number
of passengers and the loading condition of the vehicle to ensure that the head-lights do not interfere with other road
users.
■12-volt battery-saving function
In order to prevent the 12-volt battery of
the vehicle from discharging, if the light
switch is in the position when the
power switch is turned to OFF, the 12-
volt battery-saving function will operate
and automatically turn off all the lights
after approximately 20 minutes.
When any of the following are per- formed, the 12-volt battery-saving func-
tion is canceled once and then reactivated. All the lights will turn off automatically 20 minutes after the 12-
volt battery-saving function has been reactivated:
●When the headlight switch is operated
●When a door is opened or closed
■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.
■Customization
Settings (e.g. light sensor sensitivity) can be changed.
(Customizable features: P.604)
1With the headlights on, push the
lever away from you to turn on
the high beams.
Pull the lever toward you to the center
position to turn the high beams off.
2 Pull the lever toward you and
release it to flash the high
beams once.
You can flash the high beams with the
headlights on or off.
This system allows the headlights
to be turned on for 30 seconds
when the power switch is turned to
OFF.
Pull the lever toward you and
release it with the light switch is in
after turning the power switch
to OFF.
Pull the lever toward you and release it
again to turn off the lights.
NOTICE
■To prevent 12-volt battery dis- charge
Do not leave the lights on longer than necessary when the hybrid system is not operating.
Turning on the high beam
headlights
Extended Headlight Lighting
system

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

331
5
5-3. Operating the lights and wipers
Driving
■Temporarily switching to the
low beams
Pull the lever toward you and then
return it to its original position.
The high beams are on while the lever
is pulled toward you, however, after the
lever is returned to its original position,
the low beams remain on for a certain
amount of time. Afterwards, the Auto-
matic High Beam will be activated
again.
■Temporarily switching to the low beams
It is recommended to switch to the low
beams when the high beams may cause problems or distress to other drivers or pedestrians nearby.
1 Turns the front and rear
fog lights off
2 Turns the front fog lights
on
3 Turns both front and rear
fog lights on
Releasing the switch ring returns it to
.
Operating the switch ring again turns
only the rear fog light off.
■Fog lights can be used when
Front fog lights: The headlights or the
front position lights are turned on.
Rear fog light: The front fog lights are turned on.
Fog light switch
The fog lights offer improved
visibility in difficult driving
conditions, such as in rain and
fog.
Operating procedure