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INFORMATION BEFORE DRI VING YOUR TOYOTA
This vehicle belongs to the utility ve-
hicle class, which has hi gher gr ound
clearance and nar rower tread in rel ation
to the height of its center of gravity to
make it capabl e of per formi ng in a wide
variety of of f−r oad appl ications. Specif ic
design char acterist ics gi ve it a higher
center of gravi ty t han ordinar y passen-
ger car s. Thi s vehicl e design feat ure
causes this type of vehicle to be mor e
likely to rollover. And, utility vehicles
have a signi ficantl y higher rollover rate
than ot her t ypes of vehicles. An advan-
tage of the higher gr ound clearance i s
a bet ter view of the road allowing you
to anti cipate pr oblems. I t is not de-
signed for cornerin g at the same
speeds as ordi nary passenger cars any
more than low−sl ung sports cars de-
signed to per form satisfact orily under
off−r oad conditi ons. Therefor e, sharp
turns at excessive speeds may cause
rollover.
CAUTION
Always obser ve the followi ng precau-
tions to minimize the risk of death,
serious injury or damage to the ve-
hicle:
D In a r ollover crash, an unbelted per-
son h as a signi ficant ly higher ri sk
of death or serious injury than a
person wearing a seat belt. Ther e-
fore, the dri ver and all passengers
should fast en t heir seat bel ts when-
ever the vehicle is moving.
D Avoid sharp t urns or abrupt m aneu-
vers, if at all possi ble. Failure t o
operate the vehicl e corr ectly may
result in loss of control or vehicle
roll over causing death or serious
injury.
D Loading car go on the roof luggage
carri er wil l make t he vehicle cent er
of gravity higher. When car go is on
the roof luggage carri er, take extra
care to avoi d high speeds, sudden
start s, sharp tur ns, sudden braki ng
or abrupt maneuvers. These acti ons
may result in loss of control or ve-
hicle roll over due to fai lure to oper-
ate the vehicle correct ly. If at all
possible, avoid l oading any heavy
cargo on the roof.
D Always sl ow down in gusty cross-
winds. Because of its profi le and
higher cent er of gr avity, your ve-
hicle i s m ore sensiti ve to side
winds t han an o rdinary passenger
car. Slowing down will allow you to
have better control .
Finish
RAV4_EE
Utility vehicle precautions
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