TOYOTA RAV4 PHEV 2021 Service Manual
Manufacturer: TOYOTA, Model Year: 2021, Model line: RAV4 PHEV, Model: TOYOTA RAV4 PHEV 2021Pages: 666, PDF Size: 161.28 MB
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1 
1-1. For safe use
For safety and security
■Location of the SRS airbags
SRS front airbags 
SRS 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 driver protection
SRS side and curtai n shield airbags 
SRS front side airbags
Can help protect the torso  of the front seat occupants
SRS curtain shield airbags
SRS airbags
The SRS airbags inflate when the vehicle is subjected to certain  
types of severe impacts that may  cause significant injury to the  
occupants. They work together with the seat belts to help reduc e  
the risk of death o r serious injury.
SRS airbag system
A
B
C
D 
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401-1. For safe use 
Can help protect prim arily the head of occupants in the outer seats
■SRS airbag system components 
Front impact sensors 
Airbag manual on-off switch
Front passenger airbag
Side impact sensors (front door)
Curtain shield airbags
Seat belt pretensioners and fo rce limiters (front seats) 
Side impact sensors (front)
Side airbags
Side impact sensors (rear)
Seat belt pretensioners and force  limiters (outboard rear seats) 
Driver airbag 
Knee airbag
SRS warning light
Airbag sensor assembly
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
J
K
L
M
N 
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1 
1-1. For safe use
For safety and security
“PASSENGER AIR BAG” indicator 
The main SRS airbag system comp onents are shown above. The SRS air- 
bag system is controlled by the  airbag sensor assembly. As the airbags  
deploy, a chemical reaction in t he inflators quickly fills the airbags with non- 
toxic gas to help restrain t he motion of the occupants.
■If the SRS airbags deploy (inflate)
●Slight abrasions, burns, bruising etc.,  
may be sustained from SRS airbags,  due to the extrem ely high speed  
deployment (inflation) by hot gases.
●A loud noise and white powder will be 
emitted.
●Parts of the airbag module (steering 
wheel hub, airbag cover and inflator) 
as well as the fron t seats, parts of the  front and rear pillars, and roof side  
rails, may be hot for several minutes. 
The airbag itself m ay also be hot.
●The windshield may crack.
●The hybrid system will be stopped and  
fuel supply to t he engine will be  
stopped. ( →P.98)
●All of the doors will be unlocked.  
( →P.206)
●Vehicles with Secondary Collision  
Brake: The brakes and stop lights will  be controlled au tomatically. (→P.439)
●The interior lights will turn on automat- ically. ( →P.466)
●The emergency flashers will turn on  automatically. ( →P.560)
■SRS airbag deployment conditions  
(SRS front airbags)
●The SRS front airb ags will deploy in  
the event of an impact that exceeds 
the set threshold level (the level of  force corresponding to an approxi - 
mately 20-30 km/h [12-18 mph] frontal 
collision with a fixed wall that does not  move or deform).  
However, this  threshold velocity will be  
considerably higher in the following situ - 
ations: 
• If the vehicle strikes an object, such  as a parked vehicle or sign pole,  
which can move or  deform on impact 
• If the vehicle is involved in an under - 
ride collision, such as a collision in  which the front of the vehicle under - 
rides, or goes under , the bed of a  
truck
●Depending on the type of collision, it is 
possible that only the seat belt preten - sioners will activate.
■SRS airbag deployment conditions  
(SRS side and cu rtain shield air- 
bags)
●The SRS side and curtain shield air - 
bags will deploy in  the event of an  impact that exceeds the set threshold  
level (the level of force corresponding 
to the impact forc e produced by an  approximately 1500 kg [3300 lb.] vehi - 
cle colliding with the vehicle cabin 
from a direction perpendicular to the  vehicle orientation  at an approximate  
speed of 20 -30 km/h [12 -18 mph]).
●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  
than a collision 
The SRS front airbags and SRS curtain  shield airbags may a lso deploy if a seri- 
ous impact occurs to the underside of 
your vehicle. Some e xamples are shown  in the illustration.
●Hitting a curb, edge  of pavement or  hard surface
●Falling into or jumping over a deep hole
●Landing hard or falling
O 
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421-1. For safe use
■Types of collisions that may not  
deploy the SRS airbags (SRS front  airbags) 
The SRS front airbags do not generally  
inflate if the vehicle  is involved in a side  or rear collision, if it rolls over, or if it is  
involved in a low-speed  frontal collision.  
But, whenever a collision of any type  causes sufficient forwa rd deceleration of  
the vehicle, deployment of the SRS front 
airbags may occur.
●Collision from the side
●Collision from the rear
●Vehicle rollover
■Types of collisions that may not 
deploy the SRS air bags (SRS side  and curtain shield airbags) 
The SRS side and curtain shield airbags  
may not activate if the vehicle is sub - jected to a collision  from the side at cer- 
tain angles, or a colli sion to the side of  
the vehicle body other than the passen - ger compartment.
●Collision from the si de to the vehicle  body other than the passenger com - 
partment
●Collision from the  side at an angle 
The SRS side airbags do not generally  
inflate if the vehicle is involved in a fron - tal or rear collision, 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 shield airbags do not  
generally inflate if the vehicle is involved 
in a rear collision, if it rolls over, or if it is  involved in a low-speed side or low- 
speed fronta l collision.
●Collision from the rear
●Vehicle rollover
■When to contact any authorized  
Toyota retailer or Toyota autho - rized repairer, or any reliable  
repairer 
In the following cas es, the vehicle will  
require inspection and/or repair. Contact  any authorized Toyota retailer or Toyota  
authorized repairer, or any reliable  
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For safety and security
repairer as soon as possible.
●Any of the SRS airbags have been  
inflated.
●The front of the vehicle is damaged or 
deformed, or was involved in an acci - 
dent that was no t severe enough to  cause the SRS front  airbags to inflate.
●A portion of a door or its surrounding  area is damaged, deformed or has  
had a hole made in it, or the vehicle 
was involved in an accident 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 instru - 
ment panel 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 pil - 
lars or roof side  rail garnishes (pad- ding) containing the SRS curtain  
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 m ay cause death or  serious injury.
●The driver and all passengers in the  
vehicle must wear  their seat belts  properly. 
The SRS airbags are supplemental 
devices to be used  with the seat  belts. 
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441-1. For safe use
WARNING
●The SRS driver airbag deploys with  
considerable force, and can cause 
death or serious injury especially if  the driver is very  close to the air- 
bag. 
Since the risk zone for the driver’s air - 
bag is the first 50 - 75 mm (2 - 3 in.) of 
inflation, placing yourself 250 mm (10 
in.) from your drive r airbag provides  
you with a clear margin of safety. This 
distance is measured from the center 
of the steering whee l to your breast- 
bone. If you sit less than 250 mm (10 
in.) away now, you  can change your  
driving position in several ways: 
• Move your seat to the rear as far as  
you can while still reaching the ped - 
als comfortably. 
• Slightly recline the back of the seat.  
Although vehicle designs vary,  many drivers can achieve the 250  
mm (10 in.) distanc e, even with the  
driver seat all th e way forward, sim- ply by reclining the back of the seat  
somewhat. If reclin ing the back of  
your seat makes i t hard to see the  road, raise yourself by using a firm,  
non-slippery cushion, or raise the 
seat if your vehicle has that feature. 
• If your steering wheel is adjustable,  
tilt it downwa rd. This points the air- bag toward your chest instead of  
your head and neck. 
The seat should be adjusted as rec - ommended above, while still main - 
taining control of  the foot pedals,  
steering wheel, and your view of the  instrument panel controls.
●The SRS front passenger airbag also deploys with considerable  
force, and can caus e death or seri- 
ous injury especially if the front pas - senger is very clo se to the airbag.  
The front passenger seat should be 
as far from the airbag as possible  with the seatback adjusted, so the  
front passenger sits upright.
●Improperly seated and/or restrained 
infants and children can be killed or 
seriously injured by a deploying air - bag. An infant or  child who is too  
small to use a seat belt should be 
properly secured  using a child  restraint system.  Toyota strongly  
recommends that all infants and 
children be placed in the rear seats  of the vehicle and properly  
restrained. The rear seats are safer 
for infants and  children than the  front passenger seat. ( →P.50)
●Do not sit on the edge of the seat or  lean against the dashboard.
●Do not allow a child to stand in front of the SRS front passenger airbag  
unit or sit on the knees of a front 
passenger.
●Do not allow the  front seat occu- 
pants to hold items on their knees. 
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WARNING
●Do not lean against the door, the  
roof side rail or the front, side and 
rear pillars.
●Do not allow anyone to kneel on the 
passenger seat toward the door or 
put their head or  hands outside the  vehicle.
●Do not attach anything to or lean anything against areas such as the  
dashboard, steering wheel pad and 
lower portion of the instrument  panel. 
These items can become projec - 
tiles when the SRS driver, front  passenger and knee airbags  
deploy.
●Do not attach anything to areas  such as a door, windshield, side  
windows, front or rear pillar, roof 
side rail and assist grip. (Except for  the speed limit label  →P.585)
●Do not hang coat hangers or other  hard objects on th e coat hooks. All  
of these items c ould become pro- 
jectiles and may  cause death or  serious injury, should the SRS cur - 
tain shield airbags deploy.
●If a vinyl cover is put on the area 
where the SRS knee airbag will 
deploy, be sure to remove it.
●Do not use seat a ccessories which  
cover the parts wh ere the SRS side  airbags inflate as they may interfere  
with inflation of t he SRS airbags.  
Such accessories may prevent the  SRS side airbags from activating  
correctly, disabl e the system or  
cause the SRS side airbags to  inflate accidentally, resulting in  
death or serious injury.
●Do not strike or apply significant 
levels of force to  the area of the  
SRS airbag components or the  front doors. 
Doing so can cause the SRS air - 
bags to malfunction.
●Do not touch any of the component 
parts immediately after the SRS air - 
bags have deployed (inflated) as  they may be hot. 
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461-1. For safe use
WARNING
●If breathing becomes difficult after  
the SRS airbags have deployed, 
open a door or side window to allow  fresh air in, or lea ve the vehicle if it  
is safe to do so.  Wash off any resi- 
due as soon as possible to prevent  skin irritation.
●If the areas where the SRS airbags  
are stored, such as the steering  wheel pad and front and rear pillar  
garnishes, are damaged or 
cracked, have them replaced by  any authorized Toyota retailer or  
Toyota authorized repairer, or any 
reliable repairer.
■Modification and disposal of SRS 
airbag system components 
Do not dispose of your vehicle or per - 
form any of the following modifica - 
tions without c onsulting any  authorized Toyota ret ailer or Toyota  
authorized repairer, or any reliable 
repairer. The SRS airbags may mal - function or deploy  (inflate) acciden- 
tally, causing death or serious injury.
●Installation, removal, disassembly  and repair of the SRS airbags
●Repairs, modifications, removal or replacement of the steering wheel,  
instrument panel, d ashboard, seats  
or seat upholstery,  front, side and  rear pillars, roof side rails, front  
door panels, front door trims or front 
door speakers
●Modifications to the front door panel 
(such as making a hole in it)
●Repairs or modifications of the front 
fender, front bumper, or side of the  occupant compartment
●Installation of a grille guard (bull bars, kangaroo bar, etc.), snow  
plows or winches
●Modifications to t he vehicle’s sus- 
pension system
●Installation of ele ctronic devices  such as mobile two-way radios (RF- 
transmitter) and CD players 
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For safety and security
Exhaust gas precautions
Harmful substance to the  
human body is included in 
exhaust gases if inhaled.
WARNING
Exhaust gases contain harmful car - 
bon monoxide (CO), which is color - 
less and odorless. Observe the  following precautions. 
Failure to do so may cause exhaust 
gases to enter the vehicle and may  lead to an acciden t caused by light- 
headedness, or may lead to death or 
a serious health hazard.
■Important points while driving
●Keep the back door closed.
●If you smell exhaust gases in the 
vehicle even when the back door is 
closed, open the side windows and  have the vehicle inspected at any  
authorized Toyota retailer or Toyota 
authorized repairer, or any reliable  repairer as soon as possible.
■When parking
●If the vehicle is in a poorly venti - 
lated area or a closed area, such as 
a garage, stop t he hybrid system.
●Do not leave the vehicle with the  
hybrid system opera ting for a long  time. 
If such a situation cannot be 
avoided, park the vehicle in an  open space and ensure that  
exhaust fumes do not enter the 
vehicle interior.
●Do not leave the  hybrid system  
operating in an area with snow  build-up, or where it is snowing. If  
snowbanks build up around the 
vehicle while the hybrid system is  operating, exhaust gases may col - 
lect and enter the vehicle.
■Exhaust pipe 
The exhaust system needs to be  
checked periodically. If there is a hole 
or crack caused b y corrosion, dam- age to a joint or abnormal exhaust  
noise, be sure to  have the vehicle  
inspected and repai red by any autho- rized Toyota retaile r or Toyota autho- 
rized repairer, or any reliable repairer. 
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481-2. Child safety
1-2.Child safety
“PASSENGER AIR BAG” indi- 
cator
“PASSENGER AIR BAG” and “ON”  
indicator light turn on when the airbag 
system is on, and  about after 60 sec- 
onds they go off ( only when the power  
switch is in ON).
Airbag manual on-off switch
■“PASSENGER AIR BAG” indicator  information 
If any of the following problems occur, it  
is possible that there  is a malfunction in  the system. Have the  vehicle inspected  
by any authorized Toyota retailer or 
Toyota authorized repairer, or any reli - able repairer.
●The “OFF” indicato r does not illumi- nate when the air bag manual on-off  
switch is set to “OFF”.
●The indicator light does not change 
when the airbag manual on-off switch 
is switched to “ON” or “OFF”.
Insert the mechanical key into the  
cylinder and turn to the “OFF” posi - 
tion.
The “OFF” indicator  light turns on (only  
when the power switch is in ON).
Airbag manual on-off  
system
This system deactivates the  
front passenger airbag. 
Only deactivate the airbag  
when using a child restraint 
system on the front passenger 
seat.
System components
A
B
Deactivating the airbags for  
the front passenger