Toyota RAV4 (XA40) 2013-2018 Owners Manual: If the vehicle becomes stuck
Carry out the following procedures if the tires spin or the vehicle becomes stuck in mud, dirt or snow:
- Stop the engine. Set the parking brake and shift the shift lever to p.
- Remove the mud, snow or sand from around the stuck tire.
- Place wood, stones or some other material to help provide traction under the tires.
- Restart the engine.
- Awd models: activate all-wheel drive lock mode.
- Shift the shift lever to d or r and release the parking brake. Then, while exercising caution, depress the accelerator pedal.
When it is difficult to free the vehicle
Turn off trac and/or vsc if these functions are hampering your attempts to free the vehicle.
Press 
to turn off trac.
2Wd models
Awd models
Caution
When attempting to free a stuck vehicle
If you choose to push the vehicle back and forth to free it, make sure the surrounding area is clear to avoid striking other vehicles, objects or people.
The vehicle may also lunge forward or lunge back suddenly as it becomes free. Use extreme caution.
When shifting the shift lever
Be careful not to shift the shift lever with the accelerator pedal depressed.
This may lead to unexpected rapid acceleration of the vehicle that may cause an accident resulting in death or serious injury.
Notice
To avoid damaging the transmission and other components
- Avoid spinning the wheels and depressing the accelerator pedal more than necessary.
- If the vehicle remains stuck even after these procedures are performed, the vehicle may require towing to be freed.
If your vehicle overheats
The following may indicate that your vehicle is overheating.
The high engine coolant temperature warning light Comes
on or a loss of engine power is experienced. (For example, the
vehicl ...
Other materials:
For vehicles equipped with catalytic converter caution:
If a large amount of unburned gasoline or gasoline
vapors flow into the converter, it may cause
overheating and create a fire hazard. To prevent this,
observe the following precautions.
Use only unleaded gasoline.
Avoid idling the engine for more than 20 minutes.
Avoid performing unnecess ...
Brake pedal load sensing switch
On-vehicle inspection
Inspect brake pedal load sensing switch
Hint:
Do not remove the brake pedal load sensing switch
from the brake pedal support.
When there is a malfunction in the brake pedal load
sensing switch, replace the brake pedal support.
Disconnect the brake pedal l ...
Emergency flashers
The emergency flashers are used to warn other drivers when the
vehicle has to be stopped in the road to a breakdown, etc.
Press the switch.
All the turn signals will flash.
To turn them off, press the switch
once again.
Emergency flashers
If the emergency flashers are used for a long ...
