2002 Toyota RAV4 Owners Manual - Page 178

Maintenance requirements Your Toyota vehicle has been designed for fewer maintenance requirements with longer service intervals to save both your time and money. However, each regular maintenance, as well as day-to-day care, is more important than ever before to ensure smooth, and trouble-free, safe, and economical driving. It is the owner's responsibility to make sure the specified maintenance, including general maintenance service, is performed. Note that the new vehicle warranties specify that proper maintenance and care must be performed. See "Owner's Warranty Information Booklet" or "Owner's Manual Supplement" for complete warranty information. General maintenance General maintenance items are those day- to-day care practices that are important to your vehicle for proper operation. It is the owner's responsibility to ensure that the general maintenance items are performed regularly. These checks or inspections can be done either by yourself or a qualified technician, or if you prefer, your EV service station will be pleased to do them at a nominal cost. Scheduled maintenance The scheduled maintenance items listed in the "Owner's Manual Supplement" are those required to be serviced at regular intervals. For details of your maintenance schedule, read the "Owner's Manual Supplement". It is recommended that only genuine Toyota parts be used for maintenance. Where to go for service? Toyota technicians are well-trained specialists and are kept up to date with the latest service information through technical bulletins, service tips, and in-dealership training programs. They learn to work on Toyotas before they work on your vehicle, rather than while they are working on it. You can be confident that your EV service station's service department performs the best job to meet the maintenance requirements on your vehicle-reliably and economically. Your copy of the repair order is proof that all required maintenance has been performed for warranty coverage. And if any problems should arise with your vehicle while under warranty, your EV service station will promptly take care of it. Again, be sure to keep a copy of the repair order for any service performed on your Toyota. What about do-it-yourself maintenance? Many of the maintenance items are easy to do yourself if you have a little mechanical ability and a few basic automotive tools. Simple instructions for how to perform them are presented in Section 8. 170