air conditioning TOYOTA RAV4 1997 Owners Manual

3
1. Instrument panel light control knob
2. Headlight and turn signal switch
3. Wiper and washer switch
4. Clock
5. Center differential lock button or
driving pattern selector buton
6. Air conditioning controls
7. Emergency flasher switch
8. Rear window defogger switch
9. Car audio
10. Cigarette lighter 11. Ignition switch
12. Cruise control switch
13. Tilt steering lock release lever
14. Power rear view mirror control switch

72
(a) Brake System Warning Light This light has the following functions: Parking brake reminder
If this light is on, make sure the parking
brake is fully released. The light should go
off.
Low brake fluid level warning
If this light comes on and stays on while
you are driving, slowdown and pull off the
road. Then stop the vehicle carefully.There maybe a problem somewhere in
the brake system. check the fluid level of
the see-through reservoir.
To make sure the parking brake has not
caused the warning light to come on,
check to see that the parking brake is fully
released.
If the brake fluid level is low...
At a safe place, test your brakes by start-
ing and stopping. If you judge that the brakes still work
adequately, drive cautiously to yournearest dealer or shop for repairs.
If the brakes are not working, have the
vehicle towed in for repairs. (For tow-
ing information, see Part 4.)
It is dangerous to continue driving
normally when the brake fluid level
is low. CAUTION
!
If the brake fluid level is correct...
Have the warning system checked by
your Toyota dealer. (b) Seat Belt Reminder Light and Buzzer
Once the ignition key is turned to ONº or
STARTº, the reminder light and buzzer
come on if the driver's seat belt is not fas-
tened. Unless the driver fastens the belt,
the light stays on and the buzzer stops af-
ter about 4 to 8 seconds.
(c) Discharge Warning Light
This light warns that the battery is being discharged.
If it comes on while you are driving, there
is a problem somewhere in the charging system.
The engine ignition will continue to oper-
ate, however, until the battery is dis-
charged. Turn off the air conditioning,
blower, ra dio, ect., and drive directly to the
nearest Toyota dealer or repair shop.

Part 1Car audio systemÐ ÐReference
87
OPERATION OF INSTRUMENTS ANDCONTROLSÐ
Chapter 1-7 Car audio system and Air conditioning system
Car audio system
Reference
Using your audio system: some basics
Using your audio system: controls and features
Car audio system operating hints
Air conditioning system
Controls
Air flow selector settings
Operating tips
Instrument panel vents
Type 1: AM´FM ETR radio
Type 2: AM
VFM ETR radio/cassette
player

97
1. Air Intake Selector
2. Air Flow Selector
3. Temperature Selector
4. Fan Speed Selector
5. A/Cº Button (on some models)
Air conditioning systemÐ ÐControls

98Fan speed selector
Move the lever to adjust the fan speed-to the right to increase, to the left to de- crease.
Temperature selector
Move the lever to adjust the temperature-
to the right to warm, to the left to cool.
Air flow selector
Move the l
ever to select the vents used for
air flow.
1. PanelÐ Air flows mainly from the in-
strument panel vents.
2. Bi-levelÐ Air flows from both the floor
vents and the instrument panel vents.
3. FloorÐ Air flows mainly from the floor
vents.
4. Floor/WindshieldÐ Air flows mainly
from the floor vents and windshield vents.
5. WindshieldÐ Air flows mainly from
the windshield vents. For details about air flow selector settings, see the illustration after A/Cº button.
Vehicles with A/Cº buttonÐMoving the air flow control lever to wind-
shield position turns on the defroster-
linked air conditioning. At this time, the
A/Cº button indicator comes on regard- less of whether or not the A/Cº button is
pressed in. This is to clean up the front
view more quickly. When the A/Cº button is not pressed in, moving the air flow control lever to anoth-
er position turns off the air conditioning.

99
Air Intake selector Move the lever to select the air source.
1. RecirculateÐRecirculates the air in-
side the vehicle.
2. FreshÐ Draws outside air into the sys-
tem. A/Cº button
To turn on the air conditioning, press the
A/Cº button. The A/Cº button indicator
will come on. To turn the air conditioning
off, press the button again.
If the A/Cº button indicator flashes, there
is a problem in the air conditioning system
and the air conditioning automatically
shuts off. If this happens, take your ve-
hicle to a Toyota dealer for service.

1: For air conditioning
100
To cool off your Toyota after it has been
parked in the hot sun, drive with the
windows open for a few minutes. This
vents the hot air, allowing the air condi-
tioning to cool the interior more quickly.
Make sure the air intake g rilles in front
of the windshield are not blocked (by
leaves or snow, for example).
On humid days, do not blow cold air on
the windshield. The windshield could
fog up because of the difference in airtemperature on the inside and outside
of the windshield.
Keep the area under the front seats
clear to allow air to circulate through-out the vehicle.
On cold days, move the fan speed to
HIº for a minute to help clear the in-
take ducts of snow or moisture. This
can reduce the amount of fogging onthe windows.ÐOperating tips
ÐAir flow selector settings

101
Heating
For best results, set controls to:
Fan speed ÐAny setting except OFFº
Temperature ÐTowards WARM
(red zone)
Air intake ÐFRESH (outside air)
Air flow ÐFLOOR
Air Conditioning ÐOFF
For quick heating, select recirculated
air for a few minutes. To keep the win-
dows from fogging, select fresh after the vehicle interior has been warmed.
Press the A/Cº button on for dehumid-
ified heating.
Choose floor/windshield air flow to heat the vehicle interior while defrost- ing or defogging the windshield. Air conditioning For best results, set controls to:
Fan speed ÐAny setting except OFFº
Temperature ÐTowards COLD
(blue zone) Air intake ÐFRESH (outside air)
Air flow ÐPANEL
Air Conditioning ÐON For quick cooling, move the air intake
selector to recirculate for a few min-utes.
Ventilation
For best results, set controls to:
Fan speed ÐAny setting except OFFº
Temperature ÐTowards COLD
(blue zone) Air intake ÐFRESH (outside air)
Air flow ÐPANEL
Air Conditioning ÐOFF
Defogging The inside of the windshield For best results, set controls to:
Fan speed ÐAny setting except OFFº
Temperature ÐTowards WARM
(red zone) to heat;
COLD (blue zone) to
cool Air intake ÐFRESH (outside air)
Air flow ÐWINDSHIELD
Air Conditioning ÐON
Vehicles withA/Cº buttonÐ Moving the air flow control lever to wind-
shield position turns on the defroster-
linked air conditioning. At this time, the
A/Cº button indicator comes on regard- less of whether or not the A/Cº button is
pressed in. This is to clean up the front
view more quickly. When the A/Cº button is not pressed in, moving the air flow control lever to anoth-
er position turns off the air conditioning. On humid days, do not blow cold air on
the windshieldÐthe difference be-tween the outside and inside tempera-
tures could make the fogging worse.

102Defrosting The outside of the windshield For best results, set controls to:
Fan speed ÐAny setting except OFFº
Temperature ÐTowards WARM
(red zone)
Air intake ÐFRESH (outside air)
Air flow ÐWINDSHIELD
Vehicles with A/Cº buttonÐ Moving the air flow control lever to wind-
shield position turns on the defroster-
linked air conditioning. At this time, the
A/Cº button indicator comes on regard-less of whether or not the A/Cº button is
pressed in. This is to clean up the front
view more quickly. When the A/Cº button is not pressed in, moving the air flow control lever to anoth-
er position turns off the air conditioning. To heat the vehicle interior while de-
frosting the windshield, choose floor/
windshield air flow.
Side vents
Lower vent If air flow control is not satisfactory, check the instrument panel vents. The instru-
ment panel vents may be opened or
closed as shown.
ÐInstrument panel vents

127

Avoid jerky starts or sudden accelera- tion. If your vehicle has manual trans-
mission, prevent excessive clutch slip-
page by keeping engine rpm low and
not racing the engine. Always start out
in first gear.
Avoid jerky steering and sharp turns.
The trailer could hit your vehicle in a
tight turn. Slow down before making a
turn to avoid the necessity of sudden braking.
Backing w ith a trailer is difficult and re-
quires practice. Grip the bottom of thesteering 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 the right. (This procedure is generally opposite to that when
backing without a trailer). Also, just
turn the steering wheel a little at a time,
avoiding sharp or prolonged turning. Have someone guide you when back-
ing to reduce the risk of an accident.
Remember that when making a turn, the trailer wheels will be closer than the vehicle wheels to the inside of the
turn. Therefore, compensate for this
by making a larger than normal turning
radius with your vehicle.
Crosswinds and rough roads will ad-
versely affect handling of your vehicle
and trailer, causing sway. Pay atten-
tion to the rear from time to time to pre-
pare yourself for being passed by largetrucks or buses, which may cause your
vehicle and trailer to sway. If swaying
happens, firmly grip the steering wheel
and reduce speed immediately but
gradually. Never increase speed.
Steer straight ahead. If you make no
extreme correction with the steering or
brakes, the vehicle and trailer will sta- bilize.
Be careful when passing other ve- hicles. Passing requires considerable
distance. After passing a vehicle, do
not forget the length of your trailer and
be sure you have plenty of room be-
fore changing lanes.
In order to maintain engine braking ef-
ficiency, do not use fifth gear (manual
transmission or overdrive (automatic transmission).
Because of the added load of the trail-
er, your vehicle's engine may overheat
on hot days (at temperatures over30 5C [85 5F]) when going up a long or steep
grade with a trailer. If the engine
coolant termperatue gauge indicates
overheating, immediately turn off the
air conditioning (if in use), pull off the
road and stop in a safe spot. Refer to
If your vehicle overheatsº in Part 4 ofthis manual.
Always place wheel blocks under both
the vehicle and trailer wheels whenparking. Apply the parking brake firm-
ly. Put the transmission in Pº (auto-
matic) or in first or reverse (manual).
Avoid parking on a slope with a trailer, but if it cannot be avoided, do so onlyafter performing the following:
1. Apply the brakes and hold.
2. Have someone place wheel blocks un-
der both the vehicle and trailer wheels.
3. When the wheel blocks are in place, release your brakes slowly until the blocks absorb the load.
4. Apply the parking brake frimly.
5. Shift into first or reverse (manual) or Pº (automatic) and turn off the engine.