Your Toyota RAV4’s dashboard will display the word “BRAKE” if the braking system is malfunctioning or the brake fluid level is low. You need to repair this problem right away before you can keep driving.
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How are the headlights on a Toyota Rav4 cleaned?
Headlights are vital for lighting up your vehicle’s front end so you can easily see the road ahead. Of course, they are also necessary so that other drivers can see you while you drive at night or in other low-light conditions. Even though headlights are something that is readily ignored, oxidation over time causes them to turn yellow or fog up. Although there are many products available for purchase to clean headlights, did you know that you can also use a variety of everyday items to do so? See our guide on how to use common home objects to clean your Toyota headlights. For more Toyota advice, be sure to visit our blog.
How to Clean Headlights with Baking Soda
5 tablespoons of baking soda should be added to a bowl along with enough warm water to make a paste. Apply the baking soda paste to your headlights with a corner of your sponge after you’ve given your headlights a basic cleaning. Utilizing a clean cloth and small circular strokes, polish your headlights. You can carry out this step as many times as necessary to achieve your desired outcomes. Your headlights will sparkle like new after being washed with dish soap and warm water.
How to Clean Headlights with Vinegar
Remove the cover off your headlights, submerge it in a bath of white vinegar, and let it sit there for about an hour. Reinstall the cover after removing the filth with a rough sponge. Any caked-on dirt should be loosened by the acidity of the vinegar.
What kind of car will a 9012 bulb fit?
Chrysler 200 and 300, Dodge Dart, Ram, and Fiat all have modern car headlight upgrades.
Winter is coming, so you might wish you had waited for a car or truck with HID headlights. But what should you do if your budget is tight and you’re not satisfied with the headlights?
There are many subpar replacement bulbs on the market that overpromise and deliver. The Chrysler 200 and 300, Dodge Dart, Ram, and Fiat 500, 500L, and 500X are among the vehicles with bi-halogen projectors and HIR2 (9012) bulbs that have a relatively affordable, high-quality solution, thanks to automotive lighting expert Daniel Stern.
Up until 2015 (2016 for Fiats), the Philips 9011 HIR bulb, which costs around $19, will work perfectly; the 2016s, which utilize 9005 bulbs, can use up to the GM bulb #23342527, which costs around $16. The 9011 adds 650 lumens, bringing the total to 2,350, although the fittings must be slightly trimmed.
Never touch the glass is the golden rule, whatsoever. Wear gloves or exercise extreme caution.
Look at this bulb box. Keep in mind that it has no packaging material and says nothing about the normal size. Yes, they place the bulb in a box with loose fittings and allow it to rattle. It was shipped to me in a box by the provider, with packing paper placed above but not below the bulbs.
To grab the bulb by the base, it is best to open the box from the bottom. The bulb is now part of an assembly, not something you have to force into a socket. That may be in part because it is directional; if you insert it upside down, strange consequences will occur. Later, more on that.
It’s time to get in the automobile. We believe the 200 and Fiat have access panels with comparable designs to those on our Dart’s wheel wells. If you pull the tab in toward the center of the automobile, they open with ease. Did we mention that you should turn the wheels in when parking the car? (Or out. It makes little difference, and you can probably manage with the wheels pointed forward.)
This allows you to view two connectors and a cap that you ought to disregard. If you give the cap a small turn, it should easily come off. (We did this at night; we apologize for the flash photography.)
With the cap removed, there isn’t much to see within. With your eyes, you can see even less, so I used my phone to take these pictures of the space between the tire and the light cavity. Here’s one more.
You must now gently and slowly insert your hand through the hole to enter it. You’ll feel the old bulb dying, not see it! Determine the direction of the wires by feeling it carefully; the new one must travel in the same direction.
You can sort of wiggle and jiggle it out by rotating it just a little bit (also remembering the angle it leaves at). I can do this; it’s so simple! The initial one will probably take some time. The second will finish in a few seconds.
The connected bulb is seen here. The wiring is held in place by a clip on the rear, which is fairly simple to remove using your finger (not too hard! ), a spudger, a credit card, or other tool. The best and least-forceful option is a spudger, a plastic prying tool commonly used for computers and other items.
The bulb assembly is simple to remove in any case, and since the replacement only installs in one direction, a mistake is prevented.
The replacement one is now installed. I installed the first one upside-down with the cables pointing down out of habit. When I turned on the lights and saw how it seemed, I realized that. After finishing the second side, I found the wires exit the bulb not downward but above. Weird? Absolutely! The cables appear to be under a little more strain as a result. I’m curious why they chose that strategy. In any case, I had to crouch down next to my other wheel and fiddle with the headlight tube while trying to remove the first bulb because it was stubbornly stuck in place. It took a lot of persistence, jiggling, and wriggling until it finally came loose, allowing me to insert it properly.
If your arm recalled where (and how) the old ones came out, replacing the bulbs was rather simple. After that, all that’s left to do is put the covers on, which is fairly simple.
I made a mistake with the camera angle, but the photographs may still be compared because they were all taken with the same shutter speed and aperture. The new ones have a wider range, are less brownish, are brighter within the cutoff, and emit more light on either side. They appear to spread the light more evenly. (The abrupt shutdown is done to prevent blinding incoming drivers; high beams are used for this.)
The high beams are brighter overall, have a less eerie pattern, and spread a lot more light to the sides. Both are improvements, albeit neither is a “HIDs versus halogens” comparison, and they each cost considerably less. If you don’t make silly mistakes, the project isn’t difficult.
Step 4. Unscrew the old headlight
Zullo warns that every car is unique. “He claims that while you can reach the bulb with some autos, you can’t with others. Sometimes you have to remove the inner fender to reach behind it because the battery or air filter housing is in the way.
However, changing the halogen bulb is all that is required if you can get the headlight open. This entails carefully unlocking the bulb after examining how it is secured. Zullo cautions that if the clips that are being used here are broken, the entire headlight would need to be replaced. “According to him, you must first examine how it is connected, softly disassemble it, and then carefully reassemble it without touching the bulb’s glass.
Step 5. Screw in the new headlight bulb
Without touching the bulb’s glass, carefully screw in the new bulb. If you do, the oil and grime on your hands could cause the bulb to burst once it heats up. Your car’s hood should be closed. Your headlights ought to work perfectly again after installing the new bulb, allowing you to enjoy driving your automobile day or night.
Most of the time, changing a headlight is simple and doesn’t need sending your car to the shop. See what other do-it-yourself auto maintenance tasks are available.
How is a rear tail light assembly taken out?
Safety Advice
Always use safety eyewear when performing maintenance on your car. When necessary, put on additional personal protective equipment (PPE), such as latex gloves or closed-toe shoes.
On the back of your car, find the tail light assembly. When you use your brakes or turn signal, they illuminate on each corner.
Remove any mounting screws that are present on the exterior of the tail light assembly, if necessary.
How is a rear tail light assembly changed?
Replacing a Tail Light
- Step 1: Open the tailgate or trunk.
- Step 2: Remove the tail lamp assembly (if needed)
- Step 3: Remove the bulb.
- Step 4: Insert a replacement bulb after adding bulb grease.
- Step 5: Reattach the component (if needed)
- Repeat step 6 on the opposite side.
What does a Toyota Rav4’s exclamation point light mean?
Look for the horseshoe-shaped light with an exclamation mark in the middle since a flat tire can ruin your day. This warning light means that your Toyota’s tires need to have air added, therefore you should go to a dealership or service center. If you don’t, your car may be more prone to getting a flat tire. Additionally, because the tires won’t spin as smoothly, it will decrease your fuel efficiency.
Brake System Warning Light
There are various possible meanings when you see BRAKE in all capitals. It’s possible that the brake system is broken or that the brake fluid is low. However, if the parking brake isn’t fully released, the light can also turn on. You should be good to go if the light goes out once you release the brake.
Malfunction Indicator Lamp
This lamp resembles a car engine. If it shows up on the dashboard, one of the following could be broken:
- engine control electronics
- throttle control system with electronics
- electronic system for controlling an automatic transmission
Electric Power Steering System Warning Light
There may be an issue with the electric power steering system if you notice a steering wheel with an exclamation point next to it. If the light comes on, you should have your RAV4 checked out as soon as possible.
Seat Belt Reminder Light
This signal simply indicates that the driver or front passenger hasn’t buckled their seat belt all the way. It looks like a person wearing a seat belt. When you’re finished, the light ought to go off.
Low Fuel Level Warning Light
You can tell you’re low on gas when you see an image of a fuel pump (at 2.4 gallons or lower remaining). The light should go out when you fill the tank, so do it right away.