Toyota RAV4: If the vehicle becomes stuck

Toyota RAV4 / Toyota RAV4 Owner's Manual / When trouble arises / Essential information / If the vehicle becomes stuck

Carry out the following procedures if the tires spin or the vehicle becomes stuck in mud, dirt, or snow.

1 Stop the engine. Set the parking brake and put the shift lever in P.

2 Remove the mud, snow, or sand from around the stuck tire.

3 Place wood, stones or some other material to help provide traction under the tires.

4 Restart the engine

5 4WD models: Activate four-wheel drive lock mode.

6 Shift the shift lever to the D or R position, release the parking brake and carefully depress the accelerator pedal to free the vehicle.

Turn off TRAC and/or VSC if these functions are hampering your attempts to free the vehicle.

CAUTION
■When attempting to free a stuck vehicle
If you choose to rock the vehicle back and forth to free it, make sure the surrounding area is clear, to avoid striking other vehicles, objects or persons. 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 and result in death or serious injury.

NOTICE
■To avoid damaging the transmission and other components
●Avoid spinning the wheels and do not rev the engine.
●If the vehicle remains stuck after trying these procedures, the vehicle may require towing to be freed.

If your vehicle overheats

If your engine overheats: 1 Stop the vehicle in a safe place and turn off the air conditioning system. 2 Check to see if steam is coming out from under the hood. If you see steam: Stop the engine ...

If your vehicle has to be stopped in an emergency

Only in an emergency, such as if it becomes impossible to stop the vehicle in the normal way, stop the vehicle using the following procedure: 1 Steadily step on the brake pedal with both feet and fi ...