towing

[roger_37]

just got my new rav4 2021 awd,

anybody know where is the towing eye is stored,searched the boot and tool bag but not found anything.

any ideas anyone?

[ernieb]

When I picked up my car recently, the dealer handed me the towing eye which i thought was strange but I found that in the boot under the cover there was a pre moulded section that had cut outs for tools including the towing eye.

[Shootgun]

As above, mine was in the boot under the cover,  where the tyre repair kit sits.

[roger_37]

3 hours ago, ernieb said:

When I picked up my car recently, the dealer handed me the towing eye which i thought was strange but I found that in the boot under the cover there was a pre moulded section that had cut outs for tools including the towing eye.

 

3 hours ago, Shootgun said:

As above, mine was in the boot under the cover,  where the tyre repair kit sits.

i have looked in the boot where the spare wheel is, and the only thing i found in the tool bag was wheel brace and the tools for the wheels ,but no towing eye.

so i guess i dont have one,so time to get on to toyota .

[Terry10]

Hi

Isnt there something about the hybrid rav4 not being towed???
I thought they had to be recovered by truck or trailer!
Or am I misunderstanding.

regards Terry

[philip42h]

48 minutes ago, Terry10 said:

Hi

Isnt there something about the hybrid rav4 not being towed???
I thought they had to be recovered by truck or trailer!
Or am I misunderstanding.

regards Terry

Very true ... but they might well want to make use of the towing eyelet to winch the car onto the back of the flat bed ... 

The storage locations of the towing eyelet and tools is shown in the Owners Manual. Assuming I have read it (mine) correctly, if you have a spare wheel, the eyelet should be with the wheel brace and tools alongside the spare in the boot; if you are 'blessed' with a repair kit, it is stowed along with the pump and gunk in its own dedicated slot in the foam in the "wheel well" in the boot.

The instructions to install the towing eyelet explicitly call for the use of the wheel brace (as a bar to tighten the towing eye) - if you have a UK spec car and a tyre repair kit, I'm pretty sure that you will have empty slots in the the foam in the "wheel well" in the boot where in other countries the jack and wheel brace might otherwise be! 😞

If I have any trouble with my RAV I'm simply calling Toyota Roadside Assistance and they can sort it out for me ... 😉

[ernieb]

Mine is a PHEV and has the same potential issues relating to towing but I was still handed a towing eye by the dealer when I picked up the car. I was also handed a box with the 4 wheel nuts that had been removed to replace with the security bolts.

[FROSTYBALLS]

1 hour ago, ernieb said:

I was also handed a box with the 4 wheel nuts that had been removed to replace with the security bolts.

Fairly standard practice - with all the cars we've had with alloys (Toyota, Nissan, Mazda, Honda and Hyundai), we've been given a box or bag containing the locking key and the four wheel nuts.

[ernieb]

@FROSTYBALLS, interesting in all the cars I’ve owned I’ve never had any additional wheel nuts, including, Subaru, Skoda, Kia, Landrover, etc.  I’m pleased to have them and I guess that the difference is that the security wheel nuts were added by the dealer and not at the factory?

[roger_37]

6 hours ago, Terry10 said:

Hi

Isnt there something about the hybrid rav4 not being towed???
I thought they had to be recovered by truck or trailer!
Or am I misunderstanding.

regards Terry

i thought you could tow for short time at 18mph,using tow eyelets,thats why i was asking about towing,or have misread this?

[ernieb]

My on line PHEV manual says,

If towing is  necessary, we recommend  having  your vehicle towed by  your Toyota dealer  or commercial  towing service, using a wheel-lift  type truck or  flatbed truck. Use a  safety chain system for all towing,  and abide by all  state/provincial  and  local laws. If  towing  your  vehicle  with  a wheel-lift type truck,  use a towing dolly.

[roger_37]

20 minutes ago, ernieb said:

My on line PHEV manual says,

If towing is  necessary, we recommend  having  your vehicle towed by  your Toyota dealer  or commercial  towing service, using a wheel-lift  type truck or  flatbed truck. Use a  safety chain system for all towing,  and abide by all  state/provincial  and  local laws. If  towing  your  vehicle  with  a wheel-lift type truck,  use a towing dolly.

but if no tow truck available, can you not for short while with tow rope?

30 7-2. Steps to take in an emergency attempted on hard surfaced roads for short distances at under 30 km/h (18 mph). A driver must be in the vehicle to steer and operate the brakes. The vehicle’s wheels, drive train, axles, steering and brakes must be in good condition. To have your vehicle towed by another vehicle, the towing eyelet must be installed to your vehicle. Install the towing eyelet using the following procedure. 1 Take out the wheel nut wrench and towing eyelet. (P.548, 559) 2 Using a flathead screwdriver, remove eyelet cover ( ), and then remove eyelet cover ( ). To protect the bodywork, place a rag between the screwdriver and the vehicle body as shown in the illustration. 3 Insert the towing eyelet into the hole and tighten partially by hand. 4 Tighten down the towing eyelet securely using a wheel nut wrench or hard metal bar. 5 Securely attach cables or chains to the towing eyelet. Take care not to damage the vehicle body. 6 Enter the vehicle being towed and start the hybrid system. Turn off the Parking Support Brake function (if equipped): P.392 If the hybrid system does not start, turn the power switch to ON. 7 Shift the shift lever to N and release the parking brake. Turn automatic mode off. (P.302) When the shift lever cannot be shifted:

 

[philip42h]

Yes, you can Martin - exactly as you quote ... 18 mph is pretty slow, and they don't specify how long or short a "short distance" actually is. I rather doubt that any of us would want to be towed very far ... but your dealer should have supplied you with a towing eyelet - so if you can't find it, you should get back to your dealer and ask where they have hidden it ... 😉 

[ernieb]

From what I’ve read you can probably tow the car a short distance if it’s a hybrid but so far I’ve not found any specified distance only the maximum speed 18mph.

My situation looks to be different again as it’s the PHEV.

Any kind of hybrid is new to me so it’s a steep learning curve but there also seems to be differences if the car is a PHEV rather than just a hybrid.  As the PHEV can drive the car up to 84mph and has a range of 40+ Miles on EV with no assistance from the ICE the planetary gearbox is configured somewhat differently. 
So far I’ve not been able to see, for the PHEV, any information that it can be towed for any distance even at a low speed.  This seems to be to do with the brake to lock the EV drive M2 motor in the planetary gearbox drive, this is also locked when stopped by the weight of the car. It’s also advised not to keep the car in neutral for extended periods and that the car will not start the ICE when neutral is selected as the car will lurch forward?

[roger_37]

13 hours ago, ernieb said:

From what I’ve read you can probably tow the car a short distance if it’s a hybrid but so far I’ve not found any specified distance only the maximum speed 18mph.

My situation looks to be different again as it’s the PHEV.

Any kind of hybrid is new to me so it’s a steep learning curve but there also seems to be differences if the car is a PHEV rather than just a hybrid.  As the PHEV can drive the car up to 84mph and has a range of 40+ Miles on EV with no assistance from the ICE the planetary gearbox is configured somewhat differently. 
So far I’ve not been able to see, for the PHEV, any information that it can be towed for any distance even at a low speed.  This seems to be to do with the brake to lock the EV drive M2 motor in the planetary gearbox drive, this is also locked when stopped by the weight of the car. It’s also advised not to keep the car in neutral for extended periods and that the car will not start the ICE when neutral is selected as the car will lurch forward?

im in the same boat, first hybrid  iv'e  owned, so big time learning curve here, but so far im really enjoying this automatic hybrid.

Not easy with all the new electrics than on them now ,but iv'e sorted most of them out on sat/sun drive to the cost here in NI.

need to sort out my towing eyes 😄

[ernieb]

@roger_37,  agreed, there are lots of settings but some buried deep into the systems and the documentation is a little weird sometimes.  Non the less it’s a brilliant car and I’m  very  impressed with the ability in hybrid mode to recover energy, the transition between EV mode and the ICE is impressive.  I’ve sometimes used the “energy” display to see when the engine is on as I can not hear it running. The low speed torque is amazing the car is so eager to run.

Enjoy your trip at the weekend, at the end of this week I’ll have clocked up about 1400miles in mine.

[Peterd23]

A few years ago I was nearly stuck in a muddy car park (field) at Goodwood after the heavens opened unexpectedly. Tractors were going round round to pull people out and the instruction was to turn on hazard lights and fit towing eye. Suspect if I had got stuck I wouldn't have objected to being towed !

I suspect that the towing eye isn't located in an exact location on a brand new car, possibly it is used to tie down on the transporter - someone on here might have more knowledge on this. The reason for me thinking this is that after buying my latest Rav I had to go back to the dealer for the spare wheel and tools it should have had. The replacement parts were transferred from a brand new car only just delivered by transporter. Salesman had trouble finding the towing eye which I insisted on after being messed about - it was eventually found on the front passenger seat !