transmission TOYOTA RAV4 2004 XA20 / 2.G Owner's Manual

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In a rollover crash, an unbelted per-
son is significantly more likely to
die than a person wearing a seat
belt. Therefore, the driver and all
passengers should fasten their seat
belts whenever the vehicle is mo-
ving.
When driving offroad or in rugged
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
If driving through water, such as
when crossing shallow streams,
first check the depth of the water
and the bottom of the river bed for
firmness. Drive slowly and avoid
deep water.
Take all necessary safety measures
to ensure that water damage to the
engine or other components does
not occur.
Water entering the engine air intake
will cause severe engine damage.
Water can wash the grease from
wheel bearings, causing rusting and
premature failure, and may also en-
ter the differentials, transmission
and transfer case, reducing the gear
oil’s lubricating qualities.
 Sand and mud that has accumulated
in brake drums and around brake
discs may affect braking efficiency
and may damage brake system com-
ponents.
 Always perform a maintenance in-
spection after each day of offroad
driving that has taken you through
rough terrain, sand, mud, or water.
For scheduled maintenance informa-
tion, refer to the “Scheduled Main-
tenance Guide” or “Owner’s Manual
Supplement”.Make sure your coolant is properly pro-
tected against freezing.
Only use “Toyota Super Long Life Coolant”
or similar high quality ethylene glycol
based non −silicate, non −amine, non− nitrite,
and non− borate coolant with long −life
hybrid organic acid technology. (Coolant
with long −life hybrid organic acid
technology is a combination of low
phosphates and organic acids.)
See “Checking the engine coolant level”
on page 286 in Section 7 −2 for details of
coolant type selection.
“Toyota Super Long Life Coolant” is a mix-
ture of 50% coolant and 50% deionized
water. This coolant provides protection
down to about −35 C ( −31 F).
NOTICE
Do not use plain water alone.
Check the condition of the battery and
cables.
Cold temperatures reduce the capacity of
any battery, so it must be in top shape to
provide enough power for winter starting.
Section 7 −3 tells you how to visually in-
spect the battery. Your Toyota dealer and
most service stations will be pleased to
check the level of charge.
Winter driving tips

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Make sure the engine oil viscosity is
suitable for the cold weather.
See page 284 in Section 7−2 for recom-
mended viscosity. Leaving a heavy sum-
mer oil in your vehicle during winter
months may cause harder starting. If you
are not sure about which oil to use, call
your Toyota dealer–he will be pleased to
help.
Keep the door locks from freezing.
Squirt lock de −icer or glycerine into the
locks to keep them from freezing.
Use a washer fluid containing an anti-
freeze solution.
This product is available at your Toyota
dealer and most auto parts stores. Follow
the manufacturer ’s directions for how
much to mix with water.
NOTICE
Do not use engine antifreeze or any
other substitute because it may dam-
age your vehicle’s paint.
Do not use your parking brake when
there is a possibility it could freeze.
When parking, put the transmission into
“P” (automatic) or into first or reverse
(manual) and block the rear wheels. Do
not use the parking brake, or snow or
water accumulated in and around the
parking brake mechanism may freeze,
making it hard to release.
Keep ice and snow from accumulating
under the fenders.
Ice and snow built up under your fenders
can make steering difficult. During bad
winter driving, stop and check under the
fenders occasionally.
Depending on where you are driving,
we recommend you carry some emer-
gency equipment.
Some of the things you might put in the
vehicle are tire chains, window scraper,
bag of sand or salt, flares, small shovel,
jumper cables, etc.
Your vehicle is not designed to be
dinghy towed (with four wheels on the
ground) behind a motorhome.
NOTICE
Do not tow your vehicle with four
wheels on the ground. This may
cause serious damage to your vehicle.
Dinghy towing
(with automatic transmission)

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Your vehicle can be dinghy towed (with
four wheels on the ground) from the
front behind a motorhome.
CAUTION
Dinghy towing requires special equip-
ment and accessories. Please refer to
your service outlet of the motorhome
manufacture for the recommended
equipment.
NOTICE
Dinghy towing does not eliminate the
possibility of damage to your vehicle.
DINGHY TOWING TIPS
Before dinghy towing, be sure to ob-
serve the following in order to reduce
the damage to your vehicle.1. Put the shift lever in neutral.
2. Turn the ignition switch to the “ACC” position. Make sure the audio is turned
off and any item is not plugged into
the power outlet.
NOTICE
To avoid the locking of the steering
wheel, turn the ignition switch to the
“ACC” position.
3. Release the parking brake.
NOTICE
Fourwheel drive models:
To prevent the vehicle from being
damaged, observe following.
Do not tow the vehicle at a speed
higher than 88 km/h (55 mph).
 Do not tow the vehicle for more
than 320 km (200 miles).
After dinghy towing or at the recom-
mended distance limit, let the engine idle
for more than 3 minutes before driving the
vehicle or resuming towing.
Dinghy towing
(with manual transmission)

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BREAKIN SCHEDULE
Toyota recommends that you do not
tow a trailer with a new vehicle or a
vehicle with any new power train com-
ponent (engine, transmission, differen-
tial, wheel bearing, etc.) for the first
800 km (500 miles) of driving.
MAINTENANCE
If you tow a trailer, your vehicle will
require more frequent maintenance due
to the additional load. For this informa-
tion, please refer to the scheduled
maintenance information in the “Sched-
uled Maintenance Guide” or “Owner ’s
Manual Supplement”.
Retighten all fixing bolts of the towing
ball and bracket after approximately
1000 km (600 miles) of trailer driving.
PRETOWING SAFETY CHECK
Check that your vehicle remains level
when a loaded or unloaded trailer is
hitched. Do not drive if the vehicle has
an abnormal nose −up or nose −down
condition, and check for improper
tongue load, overload, worn suspension
or other possible causes.
Make sure the trailer cargo is securely
loaded so that it cannot shift.
Check that your rear view mirrors con-
form to any applicable federal, state/
provincial or local regulations. If not,
install the rear view mirrors required
for towing purpose.
TRAILER TOWING TIPS
When towing a trailer, your vehicle will
handle differently than when not tow-
ing. The three main causes of vehicle
trailer accidents are driver error, exces-
sive speed and improper trailer loading.
Keep these in mind when towing:
Before starting out, check operation of
the lights and all vehicle −trailer connec-
tions. After driving a short distance,
stop and recheck the lights and con-
nections. Before actually towing a trail-
er, practice turning, stopping and back-
ing with a trailer in an area away from
traffic until you learn the feel.
Because stopping distance may be in-
creased, vehicle −to −vehicle distance
should be increased when towing a
trailer. For each 16 km/h (10 mph) of
speed, allow at least one vehicle and
trailer length between you and the ve-
hicle ahead. Avoid sudden braking as
you may skid, resulting in jackknifing
and loss of control. This is especially
true on wet or slippery surfaces.
Avoid jerky starts or sudden accelera-
tion. If your vehicle has a manual
transmission, prevent excessive clutch
slippage 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 with a trailer is difficult and
requires practice. Grip the bottom of
the steering 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 pro-
cedure 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
backing to reduce the risk of an acci-
dent.
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.

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Crosswinds and rough roads will ad-
versely affect handling of your vehicle
and trailer, causing sway. Pay attention
to the rear from time to time to pre-
pare yourself for being passed by large
trucks 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 stabilize.
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 effi-
ciency, 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 over
30C [85 F]) when going up a long or
steep grade with a trailer. If the engine
coolant temperature 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 overheats” on page 244 in
Section 4.
Always place wheel blocks under both
the vehicle and trailer wheels when
parking. Apply the parking brake firmly.
Put the transmission in “P” (automatic)
or in first or reverse (manual). Avoid
parking on a slope with a trailer, but
if it cannot be avoided, do so only
after 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 firmly.
5. Shift into first or reverse (manual) or “P” (automatic) and turn off the engine. When restarting out after parking on a
slope:
1. With the transmission in “P” position (automatic) or the clutch pedal de-
pressed (manual), start the engine.
(With an automatic transmission, be
sure to keep the brake pedal de-
pressed.)
2. Shift into gear.
3. Release the parking brake (also foot brake on automatic transmission ve-
hicles) and slowly pull or back away
from the wheel blo cks. Stop and apply
your brakes.
4. Have someone retrieve the blo cks.
CAUTION
Do not exceed 72 km/h (45 mph) or
the posted towing speed limit,
whichever is lower. Because insta-
bility (swaying) of a towing vehicle
trailer combination usually in-
creases as the speed increases, ex-
ceeding 72 km/h (45 mph) may
cause loss of control.

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Slow down and downshift before
descending steep or long downhill
grades. Do not make sudden down-
shifts.
Avoid holding the brake pedal down
too long or too frequently. This
could cause the brakes to overheat
and result in reduced braking effi-
ciency.
Improving fuel economy is easy—just take
it easy. It will help make your vehicle last
longer, too. Here are some specific tips
on how to save money on both fuel and
repairs:
Keep your tires inflated at the cor-
rect pressure. Underinflation causes
tire wear and wastes fuel. See page
291 in Section 7 −2 for instructions.
Do not carry unneeded weight in
your vehicle. Excess weight puts a
heavier load on the engine, causing
greater fuel consumption.
Avoid lengthy warmup idling. Once
the engine is running smoothly, begin
driving—but gently. Remember, howev-
er, that on cold winter days this may
take a little longer.
Keep the automatic transmission
overdrive turned on when engine
braking is not required. Driving with
the overdrive off will reduce the fuel
economy. (For details, see “Automatic
transmission” on page 121 in Section
1 −7.)
Accelerate slowly and smoothly.
Avoid jackrabbit starts. Get into high
gear as quickly as possible.
Avoid long engine idling. If you have
a long wait and you are not in traffic,
it is better to turn off the engine and
start again later.
Avoid engine lugging or overrev-
ving. Use a gear position suitable for
the road on which you are travelling.
Avoid continuous speeding up and
slowing down. Stop−and− go driving
wastes fuel.
Avoid unnecessary stopping and
braking. Maintain a steady pace. Try
to time the traffic signals so you only
need to stop as little as possible or
take advantage of through streets to
avoid traffic lights. Keep a proper dis-
tance from other vehicles to avoid sud-
den braking. This will also reduce wear
on your brakes.
Avoid heavy traffic or traffic jams
whenever possible.
Do not rest your foot on the clutch
or brake pedal. This causes premature
wear, overheating and poor fuel econo-
my.
Maintain a moderate speed on high-
ways. The faster you drive, the greater
the fuel consumption. By reducing your
speed, you will cut down on fuel con-
sumption.
How to save fuel and make
your vehicle last longer

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IN CASE OF AN EMERGENCY
In case of an emergency
If your vehicle will not start240
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
If your engine stalls while driving 244
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
If you cannot increase engine speed 244
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
If your vehicle overheats 244
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \
If you have a flat tire 245
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \
. . . . .
If your vehicle becomes stuck 255
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
If your vehicle needs to be towed 256
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
If you cannot shift automatic transmission selector lever 260
. . . . . . . .
If you lose your keys 261
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \
. . . .
If you lose your wireless remote control transmitter 261
. . . . . . . . . . . . .
SECTION 4

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If your engine stalls while driving...1. Reduce your speed gradually, keeping a straight line. Move cautiously off the
road to a safe place.
2. Turn on your emergency flashers.
3. Turn the ignition key to “ACC” or “LOCK”, and try starting the engine
again.
If the engine will not start, see “If your
vehicle will not start” on page 240 in this
Section.
CAUTION
If the engine is not running, the pow-
er assist for the brakes and steering
will not work so steering and braking
will be much harder than usual.
If engine speed does not increase when
the accelerator pedal is depressed, there
may be a problem somewhere in your
electronic throttle control system.
At this time, vibration may occur. Howev-
er, if you depress the accelerator pedal
more firmly and slowly, you can drive your
vehicle at low speeds. Have your vehicle
checked by your Toyota dealer as soon as
possible.
Even if the abnormality of the electronic
throttle control system is corrected during
low speed driving, the system may not be
recovered until the engine is stopped and
the ignition key is turned to “ACC” or
“LOCK” position.
CAUTION
Be especially careful to prevent erro-
neous pedal operation.
If your engine coolant temperature
gauge indicates overheating, if you ex-
perience a loss of power, or if you hear
a loud knocking or pinging noise, the
engine has probably overheated. You
should follow this procedure... 1. Pull safely off the road, stop the ve- hicle and turn on your emergency
flashers. Put the transmission in “P”
(automatic) or neutral (manual) and ap-
ply the parking brake. Turn off the air
conditioning if it is being used.
2. If coolant or steam is boiling out of the radiator or reservoir, stop the engine.
Wait until the steam subsides before
opening the hood. If there is no coolant
boiling over or steam, leave the engine
running and make sure the electric
cooling fan is operating. If it is not,
turn the ignition off.
CAUTION
To help avoid personal injury, keep
the hood closed until there is no
steam. Escaping steam or coolant is
a sign of very high pressure.
If your engine stalls while
driving If you cannot incr
ease engine
speed If your vehicle overheats

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3. Look for obvious coolant leaks from theradiator, hoses, and under the vehicle.
However, note that water draining from
the air conditioning is normal if it has
been used.
CAUTION
When the engine is running, keep
hands and clothing away from the
moving fan and engine drive belts.
4. If the coolant is leaking, stop the en-gine immediately. Call a Toyota dealer
for assistance.
5. If there are no obvious leaks, check the coolant reservoir. If it is dry, add
coolant to the reservoir while the en-
gine is running. Fill it about half full.
For the coolant type, see “Coolant type
selection” on page 287 in Section 7 −2.
CAUTION
Do not attempt to remove the radiator
cap when the engine and radiator are
hot. Serious injury could result from
scalding hot fluid and steam blown
out under pressure.
6. After the engine coolant temperature
has cooled to normal, again check the
coolant level in the reservoir. If neces-
sary, bring it up to half full again. Seri-
ous coolant loss indicates a leak in the
system. You should have it checked as
soon as possible at your Toyota dealer.1. Reduce your speed gradually, keeping a straight line. Move cau-
tiously off the road to a safe place
well away from the traffic. Avoid
stopping on the center divider of
a highway. Park on a level spot
with firm ground.
2. Stop the engine and turn on your emergency flashers.
3. Firmly set the parking brake and put the transmission in “P” (auto-
matic) or reverse (manual).
4. Have everyone get out of the ve- hicle on the side away from traffic.
5. Read the following instructions thoroughly.
If you have a flat tire—

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CAUTION
When jacking, be sure to observe
the following to reduce the possi-
bility of personal injury:
Follow jacking instructions.
 Do not put any part of your
body under the vehicle sup-
ported by the jack. Otherwise,
personal injury may occur.
 Do not start or run the engine
while your vehicle is supported
by the jack.
 Stop the vehicle on a level firm
ground, firmly set the parking
brake and put the transmission
in “P” (automatic) or reverse
(manual). Block the wheel diag-
onally opposite to the one be-
ing changed if necessary.
Make sure to set the jack prop-
erly in the jack point. Raising
the vehicle with jack improper-
ly positioned will damage the
vehicle or may allow the ve-
hicle to fall off the jack and
cause personal injury.
 Never get under the vehicle
when the vehicle is supported
by the jack alone.
 Use the jack only for lifting
your vehicle during wheel
changing.
 Do not raise the vehicle with
someone in the vehicle.
 When raising the vehicle, do
not place any objects on top
of or underneath the jack.
 Raise the vehicle only high
enough to remove and change
the tire.NOTICE
Do not continue driving with a
deflated tire. Driving even a
short distance can damage a
tire and wheel beyond repair.