Awesome Things to Know about the RAV4.4

firepit1x · Mar 20, 2015

Cool things to Know about the RAV4.4 (the not so obvious)

Hopefully many will chime in about something not so obvious about the RAV4.4 and we can all learn something. No reason to say "refer to the manuals" because the manuals are crazy long....I'm looking to start something that will benefit us all....

I'll start:
Smart Key owners, as you approach the "locked" vehicle the interior lights will illuminate before you can even grab a door handle!
:nerd

Nodnerb · Mar 20, 2015

Having the dash illumination brightness knob at max will negate the auto dimming of the head unit display. It just has to be clicked out of max position and auto dimming of the display at night will occur(assuming you have auto dimming "on").

The question "why won't my display auto dim work?" comes up a lot.

There is a hidden handy storage area in the floor just behind the rear seats. Most probably know this but I didnt. This is my first rav and first toyota so I found out about it on these forums by accident several weeks after getting it.

firepit1x · Mar 20, 2015

Nodnerb said:
Having the dash illumination brightness knob at max will negate the auto dimming of the head unit display. It just has to be clicked out of max position and auto dimming of the display at night will occur(assuming you have auto dimming "on").

The question "why won't my display auto dim work?" comes up a lot.

Which makes the navigation's annoying white background go black at night!

Nodnerb · Mar 20, 2015

I think you can change the theme(colors) of your navs day and night modes though can't you? Maybe I'm thinking of my last car.

talkindog · Mar 20, 2015

- You can link your memory seat settings to your smart key. That way when you unlock the door with your smart key, your seat automatically goes back to the stored position if it was changed.

- You can also link radio presets and preferences to your bluetooth device.

- When in sport mode and downshifting using the shifter in S, it rev matches for you.

Juggernaut14 · Mar 20, 2015

The cargo cover can be stored above the spare tire under the floor to get it out of the way.

firepit1x · Mar 20, 2015

Juggernaut14 said:
The cargo cover can be stored above the spare tire under the floor to get it out of the way.

I actually did this last night!

How many owners don't realize there is a hidden storage tray directly behind the rear seats? You'll find it by removing the cargo floor mat. Small but useful. It's where I hid all the manuals that came with the car.
(Totally missed that Nodnerb already mentioned this above)

siva_rknec · Mar 20, 2015

Time for me to find that hidden secret extra space

Tara525 · Mar 20, 2015

I have a limited and didn't realize that I could lock and unlock the door by just touching the handle with my hands. It doesn't work with gloves on, though.

Azjeff · Mar 20, 2015

There are 2 positions for the hood prop rod, you just move a plastic plug from one hole to the other. Ours came set for the really wide open hole. Take a look, you'll figure it out.

On the XLE 5 spoke wheels it's easy to get a wash mitt behind the spokes and wash the brake dust off all the way around the wheel.

Bet you didn't know your new RAV has 2 different sizes of windshield wiper blades, a 16" and a 25". Not sure if that's awesome or not..

firepit1x · Mar 21, 2015

Cup Holder

The cup holder between the gear shift and the middle arm rest is adjustable.
It has a removable soft plastic piece to allow for larger cups.

You can change your start up image and shutdown image on the touch screen. (Though at least on my, it just shuts off when I hit the stop button...no image ever)

If you have navigation...using voice control you can say to the Rav4 "I need gas" and it will list the closest gas stations.

You can also say, "I need food" and the navigation will list the closest restaurant's. I tried to say "I'm Hungry" but it came back with "Here are the closest Greek restaurants" :laugh

firepit1x · Mar 21, 2015

dealership

Tara525 said:
I have a limited and didn't realize that I could lock and unlock the door by just touching the handle with my hands. It doesn't work with gloves on, though.

I'd say this was a dealership failure.
I'm an IT guy and finally told my sales-lady that I got this because she sat in the vehicle with me going over everything forever.
I was very impressed with her knowledge of all the options found on my limited....so much so that I asked her if she owned one. (she didn't)

Lemon · Mar 22, 2015

At least in the 2013 XLEs, when you open the sunroof all the way until it stops, if you press the open button again, it opens a little bit more.

Also when the sunroof is open, if you take the keys out of the ignition, the car beeps to remind you.

-d

Leonard1818 · Mar 24, 2015

the passenger side mirror assembly is angled inward more than the drivers side. Stand at the dead center of your Rav and look at each mirror. You'll see it...

(not that awesome, but pretty awesome to know for no real reason)

Intrepid175 · Mar 26, 2015

firepit1x said:
Which makes the navigation's annoying white background go black at night!

If you go through the Nav setup menu, there's a point where you can select the "day" mode on the Nav screen regardless of whether the lights are on or not. It will still dim down when you turn on the lights and you can adjust how much. It's much better than the black background mode you mentioned. Toyota really dropped the ball on that one.

GTBaker · Mar 27, 2015

Tara525 said:
I have a limited and didn't realize that I could lock and unlock the door by just touching the handle with my hands. It doesn't work with gloves on, though.

It works for me while wearing gloves.

firepit1x · Mar 30, 2015

Power rear lift-gate

If you have the power lift-gate...you'll have a two button switch on the outside just above the license plate. One button opens the lift-gate and the other smaller button locks all the vehicles doors so you don't have to fumble with the remote to lock the RAV once your done unloading.

The power lift-gate also has jam protection and also offers height adjustment.

ken_rav4 · Mar 31, 2015

Rear head rests fold down so they don't need to be removed when folding the rear seats down flat. I leave mine folded down to improve rear window visibility.

mjhudson · Apr 3, 2015

talkindog said:
- You can link your memory seat settings to your smart key. That way when you unlock the door with your smart key, your seat automatically goes back to the stored position if it was changed.

- You can also link radio presets and preferences to your bluetooth device.

- When in sport mode and downshifting using the shifter in S, it rev matches for you.

I can't find the instructions to link my seat to my fobs? Can you help me?

firepit1x · Apr 3, 2015

mjhudson said:
I can't find the instructions to link my seat to my fobs? Can you help me?

Page 144 on the 2015 model with Smart Key System:
Make sure your door recall buttons are already programmed.
Carry only 1 key fob into the vehicle and keep the second fob away.
Turn the engine switch to IGNITION ON mode.
Recall the driving position that you want to record.
While pressing the recalled button, press and hold the door lock switch (either lock or unlock) until the buzzer sounds.

If my memory serves me correctly....I actually had to start my RAV for this to work but the instructions say not to.

Here's Toyota's Video on it:

Awesome Things to Know about the RAV4.4

firepit1x

Nodnerb

firepit1x

Nodnerb

talkindog

Juggernaut14

firepit1x

siva_rknec

Tara525

Azjeff

firepit1x

firepit1x

Lemon

Leonard1818

Intrepid175

GTBaker

firepit1x

ken_rav4

mjhudson

firepit1x

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