warning TOYOTA RAV4 PHEV 2021 Owners Manual

449
5
5-6. Driving tips
Driving
cautions to ensure your driving
enjoyment and to help prevent the
closure of areas to off-road vehi -
cles:
 Drive your vehicle only in areas
where off-road vehicles are per -
mitted to travel.
 Respect private property. Get
owner’s permission before enter -
ing private property.
 Do not enter areas that are
closed. Honor gates, barriers
and signs that restrict travel.
 Stay on established roads. When
conditions are wet, driving tech -
niques should be changed or
travel delayed to prevent dam -
age to roads.
WARNING
■Off-road drivin g precautions
Always observe the following precau -
tions to minimize the risk of death, serious injury or damage to your vehi -
cle:
●Drive carefully when off the road. Do not take unnecessary risks by
driving in dangerous places.
●Do not grip the steering wheel
spokes when driving off-road. A
bad bump could jerk the wheel and injure your hands. Keep both hands
and especially your thumbs on the
outside of the rim.
●Always check your b rakes for effec-
tiveness immediately after driving in sand, mud, water or snow.
●After driving through tall grass, mud, rock, sand, ri vers, etc., check
that there is no g rass, bush, paper,
rags, stone, sand, etc. adhering or trapped on the underbody. Clear off
any such matter from the under -
body. If the vehi cle is used with these materials trapped or adhering
to the underbody, a breakdown or
fire could occur.
●When driving off-road 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
■To prevent the water damage
Take all necessary safety measures
to ensure that wat er damage to the hybrid battery (tr action battery),
hybrid system or other components
does not occur.
●Water entering the engine compart -
ment may cause severe damage to
the hybrid system.
●Water entering the hybrid transmis -
sion will cause deterioration in transmission quality. The malfunc -
tion indicator may come on, and the
vehicle may no t be drivable.
●Water can wash the grease from
wheel bearings, causing rusting and premature fa ilure, and may
also enter the h ybrid transaxle
case, reducing the gear oil’s lubri - cating qualities.

4566-1. Using the air conditioning system and defogger
●During use, various odors from inside
and outside the vehicle may enter into and accumulate in the air conditioning
system. This may t hen cause odor to
be emitted from the vents.
●To reduce potential odors from occur -
ring: • It is recommended that the air condi-
tioning system be se t to outside air
mode prior to turning the vehicle off. • The start timing o f the blower may be
delayed for a short period of time
immediately after t he air conditioning system is started in automatic mode.
●When parking, the system automati- cally switches to outside air mode to
encourage better air circulation
throughout the vehicle, helping to reduce odors that occur when starting
the vehicle.
■Air conditioning filter
→ P.532
■Noise from air conditioning system
Approximately 90 seconds after the
power switch turned to OFF, you may
hear sound coming from air conditioning system. This is the sound of a air condi -
tioning system initial ize and, it does not
indicate a malfunction.
■Customization
Settings (e.g. A/C Auto switch opera-
tion) can be changed.
(Customizable features: →P.640)
1Press the “AUTO” switch.
The dehumidification function begins to
operate. Air outlets and fan speed are automatically adjusted according to the
temperature setting and humidity.
2 Adjust the temperature setting.
3 To stop the operation, press the
“OFF” switch.
If the fan speed se tting or air flow
modes are operated, the automatic
mode indicator goes off. However,
automatic mode for functions other
than that operated is maintained.
■Using automatic mode
Fan speed is adjusted automatically
according to the temperature setting and
the ambient conditions.
WARNING
■Cautions for using “My Room Mode”
Do not leave children, people who
need assistance, or pets inside the vehicle. The system may turn off
automatically and the interior tem-
perature may become high or low, resulting in heat stroke, dehydration
or hypothermia. Fa ilure to do so may
result in death or serious injury.
■To prevent the windshield from fogging up
Do not use the wi ndshield defogger
switch during cool air operation in extremely humid weather.
The difference bet ween the tempera-
ture of the outside air and that of the windshield can cause the outer sur -
face of the windshield to fog up,
blocking your vision.
■When the outside rear view mir -
ror defoggers are operating
Do not touch the rear view mirror sur -
faces when the out side rear view mir-
ror defoggers are on.
NOTICE
■To prevent 12-volt battery dis - charge
Do not leave the ai r conditioning sys-
tem on longer than necessary when the hybrid system is off.
Using automatic mode

457
6
6-1. Using the air conditi oning system and defogger
Interior features
Therefore, the fan may stop for a while
until warm or cool ai r is ready to flow immediately after the “AUTO” switch is
pressed.
■Windshield fog detection function
When automatic mode is set, the humid- ity sensor detects fog on the windshield
and controls the air conditioning system
to prevent fog.
This feature is used to prevent ice
from building up on the windshield
and wiper blades.
Press the switch to turn the system
on/off.
The indicator come s on when the sys-
tem is on.
Vehicles with windshield wiper de-icer:
The windshield wiper de-icer will auto-
matically turn off after a period of time.
Vehicles with Heated Windshield
Defroster:
 The Heated Windshield
Defroster will automatically turn
off in 4 minutes.
 The Heated Windshield
Defroster will not operate if the
outside temperat ure is 5°C
(41°F) or higher.
Windshield wiper de-icer switch
Heated Windshield Defroster
switch
This function automatically controls
the air conditioning airflow so that
priority is given to the front seats.
When the front passenger seat is
not occupied, airflow may switch to
only the driver’s seat. Unnecessary
air conditioning is suppressed, con -
Windshield wiper de-icer (if
equipped)/Heated Wind -
shield Defroster (if
equipped)
WARNING
■To prevent burns
●Vehicles with windshield wiper
deicer: Do not touc h the glass at lower part of the windshield or to
the side of the front pillars when the
windshield wiper de-icer is on.
●Vehicles with Heated Windshield
Defroster: Do not touch the wind - shield (especially the lower part) as
the surfaces can become very hot
when the Heated Windshield Defroster is on.
Front seat concentrated air -
flow mode (S-FLOW)
A
B

459
6
6-1. Using the air conditi oning system and defogger
Interior features
■Adjusting the air flow direction
and opening/closing the air
outlets
Front
1 Direct air flow to the left or right,
up or down
2 Open the vent
3 Close the vent
Rear
1 Direct air flow to the left or right,
up or down
2 Open the vent
3 Close the vent
WARNING
■To not interrupt the windshield
defogger from operating
Do not place anyth ing on the instru- ment panel which may cover the air
outlets. Otherwise, air flow may be
obstructed, preventing the windshield defoggers from defogging.
NOTICE
■Humidity sensor
In order to detect fog on the wind - shield, a sensor which monitors the
temperature of the windshield, the
surround humidity, etc. is installed.
Follow these points to avoid damag -
ing the sensor:
●Do not disassemble the sensor
●Do not spray the glass cleaner on
the sensor or subject it to strong
impacts
●Do not stick anything on the sensor

461
6
6-1. Using the air conditi oning system and defogger
Interior features
●The outside temperature is extremely
low
●When the hybrid syst em is cool (for
example, after being left for a long time in low temperatures)
■Windshield defogger
When defogging the windshield using
the Remote Air Conditioning System, defogging may be insufficient due to the
power being restricted more than during
normal air conditioning operation. Also, the outside of the windshield may fog up
due to the outside temperature, humidity
or air conditioning set temperature.
■Using the heater via the Remote Air Conditioning System
●When the outside te mperature is low, heating may feel insufficient due to
restricted operation of the air condi -
tioning.
●When the outside heat exchanger
becomes frosted ov er, heating perfor- mance may decline due to automati -
cally switchi ng to the frost removal
operation. ( →P.452)
■Security feature
Any unlocked doors will be automatically
locked when the system is operating.
The emergency flashers flash to indicate that the doors have been locked or the
system has been turned off.
■Conditions affecting operation
→ P.225
■While the Remote Air Conditioning System is operating
●Depending on the operating condition of the Remote Air Conditioning Sys -
tem, the air condit ioning compressor
or cooling fan may spin and an operat -
ing noise may be heard. However, this does not indicate a mal -
function.
●The air conditi oning operation
switches, etc. will not operate while
the Remote Air Conditioning System is operating.
■Electronic key battery depletion
→ P.202
■When the electronic key battery is fully depleted
→ P.543
■Customization
Setting (e.g. Operation using “A/C” on the wireless remote control) can be
changed. (Customizable features:
→ P.629)
WARNING
■Precautions for the Remote Air Conditioning System
●Do not use the system if people are
in the vehicle. Even when the system is in use, the
internal temperature may still reach
a high or low level due to features such as the automatic shut-off.
Children and pets left inside the
vehicle may suffer heatstroke dehy - dration or hypothermia, or could
result in death or serious injury.
●Depending on the surrounding envi -
ronment, signals from the wireless
switch may transmit further than expected. Pay appropriate attention
to the vehicle’s surroundings and
use the switch only when neces- sary.
●Do not operate “A/C” on the wire - less remote contro l if the hood is
open. The air conditioning may
operate unintentionally and objects may be drawn into the electrical
cooling fan.
NOTICE
■To prevent the hybrid battery (traction battery ) from being dis-
charged
Use “A/C” on the wireless remote control only when necessary.

4626-1. Using the air conditioning system and defogger
*: If equipped
Turns the heated steering wheel
on/off
The indicator light comes on when the
heated steering wheel is operating.
■Operation condition
The power switch is in ON.
Heated steering
wheel*/Front seat heat-
ers*/Front seat heaters
and ventilators*/Rear
seat heaters
 Heated steering wheel
Warm up the grip of the steering
wheel
 Front seat heaters
Warm up the fr ont seat uphol-
stery
 Front seat ventilators
Maintain good ventilation by pull -
ing air through the Front seat
upholstery
 Rear seat heaters
Warm up the rear seat upholstery
WARNING
■To prevent minor burn injuries
Care should be taken if anyone in the
following categories comes in contact with the steering wheel or seats when
the heater is on:
●Babies, small children, the elderly, the sick and the p hysically chal-
lenged
●Persons with sensitive skin
●Persons who are fatigued
●Persons who have taken alcohol or
drugs that induce sleep (sleeping drugs, cold remedies, etc.)
■To prevent causes of overheat - ing and minor burn injuries
Observe the following precautions
when using a seat heater:
●Do not cover the seat with a blanket
or cushion when using the seat
heater.
●Do not use seat heater more than
necessary.
NOTICE
■To prevent damage to the seat heaters and seat ventilators
Do not put heavy objects that have an
uneven surface on the seat and do not stick sharp objects (needles,
nails, etc.) into the seat.
■To prevent 12-volt battery dis -
charge
Do not use the functions when the hybrid system is off.
Heated steering wheel

469
6
6-3. Using the storage features
Interior features
Unlock with the mechanical key
Lock with the mechanical key
Open (pull up the lever)
Lift the lid while pushing the button
to release the lock.
■Console box tray
The tray can be removed and stored in
the bottom of the console box.
WARNING
■Items that should not be left in
the vehicle
Do not leave glasses, lighters or spray cans in the storage spaces, as
this may cause the following when
cabin temperature becomes high:
●Glasses may be deformed by heat
or cracked if they come into contact
with other stored items.
●Lighters or spray cans may
explode. If they come into contact
with other stored items, the lighter may catch fire or the spray can may
release gas, causing a fire hazard.
Glove box
WARNING
■Caution while driving
Keep the glove box closed. In the
event of sudden braking or sudden swerving, an accident may occur due
to an occupant be ing struck by the
open glove box or t he items stored inside.
A
B
C
Console box
WARNING
■Caution while driving
Keep the console box closed.
Injuries may result in the event of an
accident or sudden braking.

4706-3. Using the storage features
Front
Rear
Pull the armrest down
Front
Rear
■Bottle holders
●When storing a bottle, close the cap.
●The bottle may not be stored depend-
ing on its size or shape.
Cup holders
WARNING
■Items unsuitable for the cup
holders
Do not place anything other than cups or beverage cans i n the cup holders.
Inappropriate item s must not be
stored in the cup holders even if the lid is closed.
Other items may be thrown out of the
holders in the event of an accident or sudden braking and cause injury. If
possible, cover hot drinks to prevent
burns.
Bottle holders
WARNING
■Items unsuitable for the bottle holders
Do not place anyth ing other than a
bottle in the bottle holders. Other items may be thrown out of the
holders in the event of an accident or
sudden braking and cause injury.

471
6
6-3. Using the storage features
Interior features
Push the lid.
Driver’s side
Front passenger’s side
Front of console
Vehicles with wireless charger:
→ P.479
NOTICE
■Items that should be not stowed
in the bottle holders
Do not place open bottles or glass and paper cups containing liquid in
the bottle holders. The contents may
spill and glasses may break.
Auxiliary box (if equipped)
WARNING
■Caution while driving
Do not leave the auxiliary box open
while driving.
Injuries may result in the event of an accident or sudden braking.
■Items unsuitable for storing
Do not store items heavier than 200 g
(0.44 lb.).
Doing so may cause the auxiliary box
to open and the items inside may fall out, resulting in an accident.
Card holder (right-hand
drive vehicles)
Open tray

4726-3. Using the storage features
Raise the hook to use.
The cargo hooks are provided for
securing loose items.
Pull the tab and open the deck
board.
WARNING
■Items unsuitable for the open
tray
Observe the following precautions when putting items in the open tray.
Failure to do so m ay cause items to
be thrown out of the tray in the event
of sudden braking or steering. In these cases, the items may interfere
with pedal operation or cause driver
distraction, resulting in an accident.
●Do not store items in the tray that
can easily shift or roll out.
●Do not stack items in the tray higher
than the tray’s edge.
●Do not put items i n the tray that
may protrude over the tray’s edge.
Luggage compartment
features
Cargo hooks
WARNING
■When cargo hooks are not in use
To avoid injury, always return the hooks to their stowed positions when
not in use.
Deck board