stop start TOYOTA RAV4 2023 Owner's Manual

1804-1. Before driving
rain, because there may be a
layer of water between the tires
and the road surface, preventing
the steering and brakes from
operating properly.
■Engine speed while driving
In the following conditions, the
engine speed may become high
while driving. This is due to auto-
matic up-shifting control or down-
shifting implementation to meet driv-
ing conditions. It does not indicate
sudden acceleration.
●The vehicle is judged to be driving
uphill or downhill
●When the accelerator pedal is
released
●When the brake pedal is
depressed while sport mode is
selected
■Restraining the engine output
(Brake Override System)
●When the accelerator and brake
pedals are depressed at the same
time, the engine output may be
restrained.
●A warning message is displayed
on the multi-information display
while the system is operating.
■Breaking in your new Toyota
To extend the life of the vehicle,
observing the following precautions
is recommended:
●For the first 200 miles (300 km):
Avoid sudden stops.
●For the first 500 miles (800 km):
Do not tow a trailer.
●For the first 600 miles (1000 km):
• Do not drive at extremely high speeds.
• Avoid sudden acceleration.
• Do not drive continuously in low gears.
• Do not drive at a constant speed for extended periods.
■Operating your vehicle in a for-
eign country
Comply with the relevant vehicle registration laws and confirm the
availability of the correct fuel.
(
 P.488)
WARNING
Observe the following precau-
tions.
Failure to do so may result in
death or serious injury.
■When starting the vehicle
Always keep your foot on the
brake pedal while stopped with
the engine running. This prevents
the vehicle from creeping.
■When driving the vehicle
●Do not drive if you are unfamil-
iar with the location of the brake
and accelerator pedals to avoid
depressing the wrong pedal.
• Accidentally depressing the accelerator pedal instead of the
brake pedal will result in sudden
acceleration that may lead to an
accident.
• When backing up, you may twist your body around, leading to a
difficulty in operating the pedals.
Make sure to operate the pedals
properly.
• Make sure to keep a correct driving posture even when mov-
ing the vehicle only slightly. This
allows you to depress the brake
and accelerator pedals properly.
• Depress the brake pedal using your right foot. Depressing the
brake pedal using your left foot
may delay response in an emer-
gency, resulting in an accident.
●Do not drive the vehicle over or
stop the vehicle near flammable
materials such as leaves, paper
or rags.
The exhaust system and
exhaust gases can be
extremely hot. These hot parts
may cause a fire i f there is any
flammable material nearby.

1834-1. Before driving
4
Driving
WARNING
●Do not attach adhesive discs to
the windshield or windows. Do
not place containers such as air
fresheners on the instrument
panel or dashboard. Adhesive
discs or containers may act as
lenses, causing a fire in the
vehicle.
●Do not leave a door or window
open if the curved glass is
coated with a metallized film
such as a silver-colored one.
Reflected sunlight may cause
the glass to act as a lens, caus-
ing a fire.
●Always apply the parking brake,
shift the shift lever to P, stop the
engine and lock the vehicle.
Do not leave the vehicle unat-
tended while the engine is run-
ning.
If the vehicle is parked with the
shift lever in P but the parking
brake is not set, the vehicle may
start to move, possibly leading
to an accident.
●Do not touch the exhaust pipes
while the engine is running or
immediately after turning the
engine off.
Doing so may cause burns.
■When taking a nap in the
vehicle
Always turn the e ngine off. Other-
wise, if you accidentally move the
shift lever or dep ress the acceler-
ator pedal, this could cause an
accident or fire due to engine
overheating. Additionally, if the
vehicle is parked in a poorly venti-
lated area, exhaust gases may
collect and enter the vehicle, lead-
ing to death or a serious health
hazard.
■When braking
●When the brakes are wet, drive
more cautiously.
Braking distance increases
when the brakes are wet, and
this may cause one side of the
vehicle to brake differently than
the other side. A lso, the parking
brake may not securely hold the
vehicle.
●If the brake booster device does
not operate, do not follow other
vehicles closely and avoid hills
or sharp turns t hat require brak-
ing.
In this case, braking is still pos-
sible, but the brake pedal
should be depressed more
firmly than usual. Also, the brak-
ing distance will increase. Have
your brakes fixed immediately.
●Do not pump the brake pedal if
the engine stalls.
Each push on the brake pedal
uses up the reserve for the
power-assisted brakes.
●The brake system consists of 2
individual hydraulic systems; if
one of the systems fails, the
other will still operate. In this
case, the brake pedal should be
depressed more firmly than
usual and the braking distance
will increase. Have your brakes
fixed immediately.
■If the vehicle becomes stuck
(AWD models)
Do not spin the wheels exces-
sively when any of the tires is up
in the air, or the vehicle is stuck in
sand, mud, etc. This may damage
the driveline components or pro-
pel the vehicle forward or back-
ward, causing an accident.

1984-1. Before driving
Please consult your dealer
when installing trailer lights, as
incorrect installation may cause
damage to the vehicle’s lights.
Please take care to comply with
your state’s laws when installing
trailer lights.
Your vehicle will handle differ-
ently when towing a trailer. Help
to avoid an accident, death or
serious injury, keep the follow-
ing in mind when towing:
Speed limits for towing a
trailer vary by state or prov-
ince. Do not exceed the
posted towing speed limit.
 Toyota recommends that the
vehicle-trailer speed limit is 65
mph (104 km/h) on a flat,
straight, dry road. Do not
exceed this limit, the posted
towing speed limit or the
speed limit for your trailer as
set forth in your trailer owner’s
manual, whichever is lowest.
Instability of the towing vehi-
cle-trailer combination (trailer
sway) increases as speed increases. Exceeding speed
limits may cause loss of con-
trol.
 Before starting out, check the
trailer lights, tires and the
vehicle-trailer connections.
Recheck after driving a short
distance.
 Practice turning, stopping and
reversing with the trailer
attached in an area away
from traffic until you become
accustomed to the feel of the
vehicle-trailer combination.
 Reversing with a trailer
attached 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
right. (This is generally oppo-
site to reversing without a
trailer attached.) Avoid sharp
or prolonged turning. Have
someone guide you when
reversing to reduce the risk of
an accident.
 As stopping distance is
increased when towing a
trailer, vehicle-to vehicle dis-
tance should be increased.
For each 10 mph (16 km/h) of
speed, allow at least one
vehicle and trailer length.
 Avoid sudden braking as you
may skid, resulting in the
trailer jackknifing and a loss of
Connecting trailer lights
NOTICE
■Do not directly splice trailer
lights
Do not directly splice trailer lights.
Directly splicing trailer lights may
damage your vehicle’s electrical
system and cause a malfunction.
Trailer towing tips

1994-1. Before driving
4
Driving
vehicle control. This is espe-
cially true on wet or slippery
surfaces.
 Avoid jerky starts or sudden
acceleration.
 Avoid jerky steering and
sharp turns, and slow down
before making turn.
 Note that when making a turn,
the trailer wheels will be
closer than the vehicle wheels
to the inside of the turn. Com-
pensate by making a wider
than normal turning radius.
 Slow down before making a
turn, in cross winds, on wet or
slippery surfaces, etc.
Increasing vehicle speed can
destabilize the trailer.
Take care when passing other
vehicles. Passing requires
considerable distance. After
passing a vehicle, do not for-
get the length of your trailer,
and be sure you have plenty
of room before changing
lanes.
 To maintain engine braking
efficiency and charging sys-
tem performance when using
engine braking, do not put the
transmission in D. If in the S
mode, the transmission shift
range position must be in 6 or
lower.
 Instability happens more fre-
quently when descending
steep or long downhill grades. Before descending, slow
down and downshift. Do not
make sudden downshifts
while descending steep or
long downhill grades.
 Avoid holding the brake pedal
down too long or applying the
brakes too frequently. This
could cause the brakes to
overheat and result in
reduced braking efficiency.
 Due to the added load of the
trailer, your vehicle’s engine
may overheat on hot days (at
temperatures over 85°F
[30°C]) when driving up a long
or steep grade. If the engine
coolant temperature gauge
indicates overheating, imme-
diately turn off the air condi-
tioning (if in use), pull your
vehicle off the road and stop
in a safe spot. ( P.480)
 Always place wheel blocks
under both the vehicle’s and
the trailer’s wheels when
parking. Apply the parking
brake firmly, and put the
transmission in P. Avoid park-
ing on a slope, but if unavoid-
able, do so only after
performing the following:
1 Apply the brakes and keep
them applied.
2 Have someone place wheel
blocks under both the vehi-
cle’s and trailer’s wheels.

2004-1. Before driving
3When the wheel blocks are in
place, release the brakes
slowly until the blocks absorb
the load.
4 Apply the parking brake
firmly.
5 Shift into P and turn off the
engine.
 When restarting after parking
on a slope:
1 With the transmission in P,
start the engine. Be sure to
keep the brake pedal
depressed.
2 Shift into a forward gear. If
reversing, shift into R.
3 If the parking brake is in man-
ual mode, release the park-
ing brake. ( P.213)
4 Release the brake pedal, and
slowly pull or back away from
the wheel blocks. Stop and
apply the brakes.
5 Have someone retrieve the
blocks.
■Break-in schedule
If your vehicle is new or equipped
with any new power train compo-
nents (such as an engine, transmis-
sion, differential or wheel bearing),
Toyota recommends that you do not
tow a trailer unt il the vehicle has
been driven for over 500 miles (800
km).
After the vehicle has been driven for
over 500 miles (800 km), you can
start towing. However, for the next
500 miles (800 km), drive the vehi-
cle at a speed of less than 45 mph
(72 km/h) when towing a trailer, and avoid full throttle acceleration.
■Maintenance
●If you tow a traile
r, your vehicle
will require more fr equent mainte-
nance due to the additional load.
(See “Scheduled Maintenance
Guide” or “Owner ’s Manual Sup-
plement”.)
●Retighten the fixing bolts of the
towing ball and bracket after
approximately 600 miles (1000
km) of tra iler towing.
■If trailer sway occurs
One or more factors (crosswinds,
passing vehicles, rough roads, etc.)
can adversely affect handling of
your vehicle and t railer, causing
instability.
●If trailer swaying occurs:
• Firmly grip the steering wheel. Steer straight ahead.
Do not try to contr ol trailer sway-
ing by turning the steering wheel.
• Begin releasing the accelerator pedal immediately but very gradu-
ally 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 occu- pants 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
appropriate, if possible.
• Check the load in the vehicle. Make sure the vehicle is not over-
loaded after occupants get in.
If you cannot find any problems, the

2044-2. Driving procedures
Some electrical components such
as the audio system can be used.
ON (“ON” position)
All electrical components can be
used.
START (“START” position)
For starting the engine.
■Turning the key from ACC to
OFF
1 Shift the shift lever to P.
2 Push in the key and turn it to
OFF.
■Key reminder function
A buzzer sounds if the driver’s door
is opened while the engine switch is
in OFF or ACC to remind you to
remove the key.
1 Pull the parking brake switch
to check that the parking
brake is set. ( P.213)
The parking brak e indicator will
come on.
2 Check that the shift lever is
set in P.
3 Firmly depress the brake
pedal.
and a message will be dis-
played on the multi-information dis-
play.
If it is not displ ayed, the engine
cannot be started.
4 Press the engine switch
shortly and firmly.
When operating the engine switch,
one short, firm press is enough. It is
not necessary to press and hold the
switch.
The engine will crank until it starts
or for up to 30 seconds, whichever
is less.
Continue depressing the brake
pedal until the engine is completely
started.
The engine can be started from any
WARNING
■Caution when driving
Do not turn the engine switch to
OFF while driving. If, in an emer-
gency and you must turn the
engine off while the vehicle is
moving, turn the engine switch
only to ACC to stop the engine.
An accident may result if the
engine is stopped while driving.
(  P.440)
NOTICE
■To prevent battery discharge
Do not leave the engine switch in
ACC or ON for long periods of
time without the engine running.
C
D
Engine (ignition)
switch (vehicles with
smart key system)
Performing the following
operations when carrying
the electronic key on your
person starts the engine or
changes engine switch
modes.
Starting the engine

2064-2. Driving procedures
1Stop the vehicle completely.
2 If the parking brake is in man-
ual mode, set the parking
brake. ( P.213)
Check the parking brake indicator
is illuminated.
3 Shift the shift lever to P.
4 Press the engine switch
shortly and firmly.
The engine will stop, and the meter
display will be extinguished.
5Release the brake pedal and
check that “ACCESSORY” or
“IGNITION ON” is not shown
on the multi-information dis-
play.
■Automatic engine shut off fea-
ture
●The vehicle is equipped with a
feature that automatically shuts off
the engine when the shift lever is
in P with the engine running for an
extended period.
●The engine will automatically shut
off after approximately 1 hour if it
has been left running while the
shift lever is in P.
●The timer for the automatic engine
shut off feature will reset if the brake pedal is depressed or if the
shift lever is in a position other
than P.
●After the vehicle
is parked, if the
door is locked with the door lock
switch ( P.123) from the inside
or the mechanical key ( P.475)
from the outside , the automatic
engine shut off feature will be dis-
abled. The timer for the automatic
engine shut off feature will be re-
enabled if the driver’s door is
opened.
NOTICE
■Symptoms indicating a mal-
function with the engine
switch
If the engine switch seems to be
operating somewhat differently
than usual, such as the switch
sticking slightly, there may be a
malfunction. Contact your Toyota
dealer immediately.
Stopping the engine
WARNING
■Stopping the engine in an
emergency
●If you want to stop the engine in
an emergency while driving the
vehicle, press and hold the
engine switch for more than 2
seconds, or press it briefly 3
times or more in succession.
(  P.440)
However, do not touch the
engine switch while driving
except in an emergency. Turn-
ing the engine off while driving
will not cause loss of steering or
braking control, but the power
assist to these systems will be
lost. This will make it more diffi-
cult to steer and brake, so you
should pull over and stop the
vehicle as soon as it is safe to
do so.
●If the engine switch is operated
while the vehicle is running, a
warning message will be shown
on the multi-information display
and a buzzer sounds.
●When restarting the engine after
an emergency shutdown, shift
the shift lever to N and press the
engine switch shortly and firmly.

2094-2. Driving procedures
4
Driving
*1: Shifting to the D position allows the system to select a gear suit-
able for the driving conditions.
Setting the shift lever to the D
position is recommended for nor-
mal driving.
*2: Selecting shift ranges using S mode restricts the upper limit of
the possible gear ranges, con-
trols engine braking force, and
prevents unnecessary upshifting.
■When driving with dynamic
radar cruise control with full-
speed range activated
Even when performing the following
actions with the in tent of enabling
engine braking, e ngine braking will
not activate because dynamic radar
cruise control with full-speed range will not be canceled.
●While driving in S mode, down-
shifting to 7, 6
, 5, or 4. (P.211)
●When switching th e driving mode
to sport mode while driving in D.
(  P.310)
■If “High Transmission Fluid
Temp” is displayed on the
multi-information display (AWD
models)
Make sure to return to D position
driving and reduce speed by easing
off the accelerato r pedal. Stop the
vehicle in a safe place, shift the shift
lever to P and le t the engine idle
until the warning message goes out.
When the warning message goes
out, the vehicle can be driven again.
If the warning message does not go
out after waiting a while, have your
vehicle inspected by your Toyota
dealer.
■Restraining sudden start (Drive-
Start Control)
 P.185
■AI-SHIFT
The AI-SHIFT automa tically selects
the suitable gear according to driver
performance and driving conditions.
The AI-SHIFT automatically oper-
ates when the shift lever is in D.
(Shifting the shift lever to S cancels
the function.)
Automatic transmis-
sion
Select the shift position
depending on your purpose
and situation.
Shift position purpose
and functions
Shift
positionObjective or function
PParking the vehi-
cle/starting the engine
RReversing
NNeutral
DNormal driving*1
SS mode driving*2
(  P.211)
WARNING
■When driving on slippery
road surfaces
Do not accelerate or shift gears
suddenly.
Sudden changes in engine brak-
ing may cause the vehicle to spin
or skid, resulting in an accident.

2104-2. Driving procedures
While the engine switch
is in ON and the brake pedal
depressed
*, shift the shift lever
while pushing the shift release
button on the shift knob.
Shift the shift lever while
pushing the shift release button
on the shift knob.
Shift the shift lever nor-
mally.
When shifting the shift lever
between P and D, make sure that
the vehicle is completely stopped.
*: For the vehicle to be able to be
shifted from P, the brake pedal
must be depresse d before the
shift release button is pushed. If
the shift release button is pushed first, the shift lock will not be
released.
■Shift lock system
The shift lock syste m is a system to
prevent accidental operation of the
shift lever in starting.
The shift lever can be shifted from P
only when the engi ne switch is in
ON, the brake pedal is depressed
and the shift release button is
pushed.
■If the shift lever cannot be
shifted from P
First, check whether the brake pedal
is being depressed.
If the shift lever cannot be shifted
even though the brake pedal is
depressed and the shift release but-
ton is pushed, the re may be a prob-
lem with the shift lock system. Have
the vehicle inspected by your
Toyota dealer immediately.
The following steps may be used as
an emergency measure to ensure
that the shift lev er can be shifted.
Releasing the shift lock:
1 Pull the parking brake switch to
check that the parking brake is
set. ( P.213)
2 Turn the engine switch to OFF.
3 Depress the brake pedal.
4 Pry the cover up with a flathead
screwdriver or equivalent tool.
To prevent damage to the cover,
cover the tip of the screwdriver
with a rag.
5 Press and hold the shift lock
override button and then push
the button on the shift knob.
Shifting the shift lever

2174-2. Driving procedures
4
Driving
Turn the brake hold system on
The brake hold standby indicator
(green) comes on. While the
system is holding the brake, the
brake hold operated indicator (yel-
low) comes on.
■Brake hold system operating
conditions
The brake hold system cannot be
turned on in the following condi-
tions:
●The driver’s doo r is not closed.
●The driver is not wearing the seat
belt. If any of the cond
itions above are
detected when the brake hold sys-
tem is enabled, the system will turn
off and the brake hold standby indi-
cator light will go off. In addition, if
any of the conditions are detected
while the system is holding the
brake, a warning buzzer will sound
and a message will be shown on the
multi-information display. The park-
ing brake will then be set automati-
cally.
■Brake hold function
●If the brake pedal is left released
for a period of about 3 minutes
after the system has started hold-
ing the brake, the parking brake
will be set automatically. In this
case, a warning buzzer sounds
and a message is shown on the
multi-information display.
●To turn the syste m off while the
system is holding the brake, firmly
depress the brake pedal and
press the button again.
●The brake hold function may not
hold the vehicle when the vehicle
is on a steep incline. In this situa-
tion, it may be ne cessary for the
driver to apply the brakes. A warn-
ing buzzer will sound and the
multi-information display will
inform the driver of this situation. If
a warning message is shown on
the multi-information display, read
the message and follow the
instructions.
■When the parking brake is set
automatically while the system
is holding the brakes
Perform any of the following opera-
tions to release the parking brake.
●Depress the accelerator pedal.
(The parking brake will not be
released automatically if the seat
belt is not fastened.)
●Operate the parkin g brake switch
with the brake pedal depressed.
Make sure that the parking brake
indicator light goes off. ( P.213)
Brake Hold
The brake hold system
keeps the brake applied
when the shift lever is in D,
S or N with the system on
and the brake pedal has
been depressed to stop the
vehicle. The system
releases the brake when the
accelerator pedal is
depressed with the shift
lever in D or S to allow
smooth start off.
Enabling the system
A
B