TOYOTA RAV4 2021 (in English) Owner's Guide
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311-1. For safe use
1
For safety and security
1To fasten the seat belt, push 
the plate into the buckle until  a click sound is heard.
2 To release the seat belt, 
press the release button  .
■Emergency locking retractor 
(ELR)
The retractor will lock the belt during 
a sudden stop or on impact. It may 
also lock if you  lean forward too 
quickly. A slow, easy motion will 
allow the belt to extend so that you 
can move around fully.
■Automatic locking retractor 
(ALR)
When a passenger’s shoulder belt is 
completely extended and then 
retracted even slightly, the belt is 
locked in that position and cannot 
be extended. This feature is used to 
hold a child restraint system (CRS) 
firmly. To free the belt again, fully 
retract the belt and then pull the belt 
out once more.
1 Push the seat belt shoulder 
anchor down while pressing 
the release button  .
2 Push the seat belt shoulder 
anchor up while pressing the 
release button  .
WARNING
●Do not wear the seat belt 
extender if you can fasten the 
seat belt without the extender.
●Do not use the seat belt 
extender when installing a child 
restraint system because the 
belt will not securely hold the 
child restraint system, increas-
ing the risk of  death or serious 
injury in the event of an acci-
dent.
●The personalized extender may 
not be safe on another vehicle, 
when used by another person, 
or at a different seating position 
other than the one originally 
intended.
NOTICE
■When using a seat belt 
extender
When releasing the seat belt, 
press on the buckle release but-
ton on the extender, not on the 
seat belt. 
This helps prevent damage to the 
vehicle interior and the extender 
itself.
Fastening and releasing 
the seat belt
Adjusting the seat belt 
shoulder anchor height 
(front seats)
A
A
A 
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321-1. For safe use
Move the height adjuster up and 
down as needed until you hear a 
click.
The pretensioners help the seat 
belts to quickly restrain the 
occupants by retracting the seat 
belts when the vehicle is sub-
jected to certain types of severe 
frontal collision or a vehicle roll-
over.
The pretensioners do not activate 
in the event of a minor frontal 
impact, a minor side impact or a 
rear impact.
■Replacing the belt after the pre-
tensioner has been activated
If the vehicle is involved in multiple 
collisions, the  pretensioner will acti-
vate for the first collision, but will not 
activate for the  second or subse-
quent collisions.
WARNING
■Adjustable shoulder anchor
Always make sure the shoulder 
belt is positioned across the cen-
ter of your shoulder. The belt 
should be kept away from your 
neck, but not fa lling off your 
shoulder. Failure to do so could 
reduce the amount of protection in 
an accident and c ause death or 
serious injuries in the event of a 
sudden stop, sudden swerve or 
accident.
Seat belt pretensioners 
(front and outboard rear 
seats)
WARNING
■Seat belt pretensioners
Observe the following precautions 
to reduce the risk of injury in the 
event of sudden braking, sudden 
swerving or an accident.
Failure to do so may cause death 
or serious injury.
●Do not place anything, such as 
a cushion, on the front passen-
ger’s seat.
Doing so will disperse the pas-
senger’s weight, which prevents 
the sensor from detecting the 
passenger’s weight properly. As 
a result, the seat belt preten-
sioner for the fr ont passenger’s 
seat may not activate in the 
event of a collision.
●If the pretensioner has acti-
vated, the SRS warning light will 
come on. In that case, the seat 
belt cannot be used again and 
must be replaced at your Toyota 
dealer. 
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331-1. For safe use
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For safety and security
■Location of the SRS airbags
SRS front airbagsSRS driver airbag/front passenger airbag
Can help protect the head and chest of the driver and front passenger from 
impact with interior components
SRS knee airbag
Can help provide dr iver protection
SRS seat cushion airbag
Can help restrain the front passenger
SRS side and curtain shield airbags
SRS side airbags
Can help protect the torso  of the front seat occupants
SRS airbags
The SRS airbags inflate when the vehicle is subjected to cer-
tain types of severe impacts that may cause significant injury 
to the occupants. They work together with the seat belts to 
help reduce the risk of death or serious injury.
SRS airbag system
A
B
C
D 
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341-1. For safe use
SRS curtain shield airbags
• Can help protect primarily the head of occupants in the outer seats
• Can help prevent the occupants from being thrown from the vehi cle in the 
event of vehicle rollover
■SRS airbag system components
Front impact sensors
“AIR BAG ON” and “AIR BAG OFF” indicator lights
Front passenger airbag
Side impact sensors (front door)
Curtain shield airbags
Seat belt pretensioners and force limiters
Side impact sensors (front)
Side airbags
Seat cushion airbag
Front passenger’s seat belt buckle switch
Driver’s seat bel t buckle switch
Driver’s seat position sensor
Driver airbag
E
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
J
K
L
M 
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351-1. For safe use
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For safety and security
Front passenger occupant classification system (ECU and sen-
sors)
Knee airbag
SRS warning light
Airbag sensor assembly
Your vehicle is equipped with ADVANCED AIRBAGS designed 
based on the US motor vehicle safety standards (FMVSS208). The 
airbag sensor assembly (ECU) cont rols airbag deployment based on 
information obtained from the sensors etc. shown in the system 
components diagram above. This in formation includes crash sever-
ity and occupant information. As  the airbags deploy, a chemical 
reaction in the inflators quickly  fills the airbags with non-toxic gas to 
help restrain the motion of the occupants.
■If the SRS airbags deploy 
(inflate)
●Slight abrasions,  burns, bruising 
etc., may be sustained from SRS 
airbags, due to the extremely high 
speed deployment (inflation) by 
hot gases.
●A loud noise and white powder will 
be emitted.
●Parts of the airbag module (steer-
ing wheel hub, airbag cover and 
inflator) as well as the front seats, 
parts of the front  and rear pillars, 
and roof side rails, may be hot for 
several minutes. T he airbag itself 
may also be hot.
●The windshield may crack.
●The brakes and st op lights will be 
controlled automatically. 
(  P.365)
●The interior lights will turn on auto-
matically. ( P.533)
●The emergency flashers will turn 
on automatically. ( P.628)
●Fuel supply to the engine will be 
stopped. ( P.637)
●For Safety Connect subscribers, if 
any of the followin g situations 
occur, the system is designed to  send an emergency call to the 
response center, notifying them of 
the vehicle’s location (without 
needing to push the “SOS” button) 
and an agent will attempt to speak 
with the occupants to ascertain 
the level of emergency and assis-
tance required. If the occupants 
are unable to communicate, the 
agent automatically treats the call 
as an emergency and helps to dis-
patch the necessary emergency 
services. (
P.65)
• An SRS airbag is deployed.
• A seat belt pretensioner is acti- vated.
• The vehicle is involved in a severe  rear-end collision.
■SRS airbag deployment condi-
tions (SRS front airbags)
●The SRS front airbags will deploy 
in the event of an impact that 
exceeds the set  threshold level 
(the level of forc e corresponding 
to an approximately 12 - 18 mph 
[20 - 30 km/h] frontal collision with 
a fixed wall that does not move or 
deform).
However, this threshold velocity will 
be considerably higher in the follow-
ing situations:
• If the vehicle strikes an object, 
N
O
P
Q 
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361-1. For safe use
such as a parked vehicle or sign 
pole, which can move or deform 
on impact
• If the vehicle is involved in an 
underride collision, such as a colli-
sion in which the front of the vehi-
cle underrides, or goes under, the 
bed of a truck
●Depending on the type of collision, 
it is possible that only the seat belt 
pretensioners  will activate.
●The SRS front airbags for the front 
passenger will not activate if there 
is no passenger sitting in the front 
passenger seat. However, the 
SRS front airbags  for the front 
passenger may de ploy if luggage 
is put in the seat, even if the seat 
is unoccupied.
●The SRS seat cushion airbag on 
the front passen ger seat will not 
operate if the occupant is not 
wearing a seat belt.
■SRS airbag deployment condi-
tions (SRS side and curtain 
shield airbags)
●The SRS side and curtain shield 
airbags will deploy i n the event of 
an impact that exceeds the set 
threshold level (the level of force 
corresponding to the impact force 
produced by an approximately 
3300 lb. [1500 kg] vehicle colliding 
with the vehicle cabin from a 
direction perpendicular to the 
vehicle orientation at an approxi-
mate speed of 12 - 18 mph [20 - 
30 km/h]).
●Both SRS curtain shield airbags 
will deploy in the  event of a side 
collision on either side.
●Both SRS curtain shield airbags 
will deploy in the  event of vehicle 
rollover.
●Both SRS curtain shield airbags 
may also deploy in the event of a 
severe frontal collision.
■Conditions under which the 
SRS airbags may deploy 
(inflate), other t han a collision
The SRS front airbags and SRS cur-
tain shield airbag s may also deploy 
if a serious impact occurs to the 
underside of your vehicle. Some 
examples are shown  in the illustra-
tion.
●Hitting a curb, edge of pavement 
or hard surface
●Falling into or jumping over a deep 
hole
●Landing hard or falling
The SRS curtain shield airbags may 
also deploy under the situations 
shown in the illustration.
●The angle of vehicle tip-up is mar-
ginal.
●The vehicle skids and hits a curb 
stone.
■Types of collisions that may not 
deploy the SRS airbags (SRS 
front airbags)
The SRS front airbags do not gener-
ally inflate if the vehicle is involved 
in a side or r ear collision,  if it rolls 
over, or if it is involved in a low-
speed frontal collision. But, when-
ever a collision o f any type causes 
sufficient forward deceleration of the 
vehicle, deploym ent of the SRS  
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371-1. For safe use
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For safety and security
front airbags may occur.
●Collision from the side
●Collision from the rear
●Vehicle rollover
■Types of collisions that may not 
deploy the SRS  airbags (SRS 
side and curtain shield airbags)
The SRS side and curtain shield air-
bags may not activate if the vehicle 
is subjected to a c ollision from the 
side at certain angl es, or a collision 
to the side of the vehicle body other 
than the passenger compartment.
●Collision from the s ide to the vehi-
cle body other than the passenger 
compartment
●Collision from the s ide at an angle
The SRS side airbags do not gener-
ally inflate if the vehicle is involved 
in a frontal or rear c ollision, if it rolls 
over, or if it is  involved in a low-
speed side collision.
●Collision from  the front
●Collision from the rear
●Vehicle rollover The SRS curtain sh
ield airbags do 
not generally inflate if the vehicle is 
involved in a rear collision, if it 
pitches end over en d, or if it is 
involved in a low- speed side or low-
speed frontal collision.
●Collision from the rear
●Pitching end over end
■When to contact your Toyota 
dealer
In the following ca ses, the vehicle 
will require inspectio n and/or repair. 
Contact your Toyota dealer as soon 
as possible.
●Any of the SRS airbags have 
been inflated.
●The front of the vehicle is dam-
aged or deformed, or was 
involved in an accident that was 
not severe enough to cause the 
SRS front airbags to inflate.
●A portion of a door or its surround-
ing area is damaged, deformed or 
has had a hole made in it, or the  
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381-1. For safe use
vehicle was involved in an acci-
dent that was not severe enough 
to cause the SRS side and curtain 
shield airbags to inflate.
●The pad section of the steering 
wheel, dashboard near the front 
passenger airbag or lower portion 
of the instrument panel is 
scratched, cracked, or otherwise 
damaged.
●The front passenger’s seat cush-
ion surface is scratched, cracked, 
or otherwise damaged.
●The surface of the seats with the 
SRS side airbag is scratched, 
cracked, or otherwise damaged.
●The portion of the front pillars, rear 
pillars or roof sid e rail garnishes 
(padding) containing the SRS cur-
tain shield airbags inside is 
scratched, cracked, or otherwise 
damaged.
WARNING
■SRS airbag precautions
Observe the following precautions 
regarding the SRS airbags.
Failure to do so may cause death 
or serious injury.
●The driver and all passengers in 
the vehicle must wear their seat 
belts properly.
The SRS airbags are supple-
mental devices to be used with 
the seat belts.
●The SRS driver airbag deploys 
with considerable force, and 
can cause death or serious 
injury especially if the driver is 
very close to the airbag. The 
National Highway Traffic Safety 
Administration (NHTSA) 
advises:
Since the risk zone for the driver’s 
airbag is the first 2 - 3 in. (50 - 75 
mm) of inflation, placing yourself 
10 in. (250 mm) from your driver 
airbag provides you with a clear 
margin of safety.  This distance is 
measured from the center of the 
steering wheel to your breast-
bone. If you sit l ess than 10 in. 
(250 mm) away  now, you can 
change your driving position in 
several ways: