New 2023 RAV4 Prime XSE - tips & tricks from a tech guy

Hey all, I'm back with a 2nd (unabashedly unprofessional as ever) video covering a few more items that I found to be of interest/value with respect to my new car. It's now been a week since I picked it up, and I've already encountered a few of the typical irritations that others have mentioned many times before. Fortunately, however, I've found solutions to all of them. That's what this video is about.
In the process, you'll also find a nearly-complete tour of the options on the 12.3-inch multi-information display, a feature that many owners (for good reason) find rather opaque in its functionality. Hopefully someone finds some value in this!
Like/subscribe/lol, kidding. Though seriously, if people enjoy my content, perhaps I'll try to broaden it out to other products, scrutinized with the same approach!
Thanks for watching.

[@notsoeasyryder5150]

Wow! What a stroke of luck finding your video. Just got my Prime XSE last Saturday after waiting a whole 2 weeks (yeah, I know, I got lucky). The manual is formidable, but you just saved me a whole lot of reading and guess work. Thanks much! And like you, I LOVE this car!

[@beagle101ful]

Ha ha, same here. Picked my RAV4 Prime 2 weeks ago and have struggled with a few of these settings. This video is gold!

[@kakbb]

Thanks man. Got mine in July and love it.

[@Reb7771]

All you have to do is say "hey Toyota" (instead of pushing the talk button) for voice commands to the Toyota System, or, for iPhone, Hey Siri. Both work for each system voice commands.

[@Freynightwalker]

Awesome video, we get our Rav4 prime next week, and the info you provided is very helpful. I will be loking up more of your videos

[@JEGamel]

This was a very helpful video. Steve explained many useful techniques. Kudos to him for actually using the word "plethora" correctly!

[@Blaznboy1]

Awesome video thanks ❤👍🏽🙌🏽🙏🏽

[@dakotaburns7551]

Another good video for those of us considering the Prime - thanks! Interested in 2024 XSE Red; (2 of them 200 miles away in VA.) Haven't test driven one - could do that local since they'd be my service location, and have them handle getting the model I want.

[@d.j.sanmarco2184]

Awesome job Steve, thank you!

[@howardparker6342]

Collecting my RAV4 this week. Cannot wait. Looking forward to using the tech and using less fuel!

[@lee9576]

Same

[@MrMoinmoin]

Thanks for the video. It explained a lot to me. Interesting thing, I received a charging cable when I bought the car together with a USB stick and the Toyota Daruma head.

[@raminderchahal4138]

Great video! Does the Rav4 Prime start with Remote connect? Which mode is the best for snow ?

[@jonhansen4745]

Great video, Steve. I have to disagree with you on the MID being, very intuitive, but hey this is coming from someone who has to have his wife or grandkids help me with streaming stuff on our TV. Quick question if I may. We don't have a Prime, but are driving a '23 RAV4 Limited hybrid. How do I get to a cumulative or tank average fuel gauge. It was on cumulative when we bought it, but I've played with the MID several times and actually lost the original fuel guage & it's now on trip average which I detest. I can't for the life of me get to a setting where I can choose tank or cumulative. Thanks in advance!

[@intensepar8975]

Very helpful. I finally got my dash screen configured as I like it, and crazy I didn't realize I could have multiple screens set up. Have one for minimalist, lane keep assist info, and finally an AWD + Tire Pressures and a quick shortcut to the settings; "Diagnostic Screen". One tip that I picked up from others is to set a staggered charging schedule. I often would get home late, plug in, and I'd get home later than my charging schedule, only to be disappointed when I wake up in the morning to a car that didn't charge. The workaround I found was to set a charging schedule starting with the off peak time beginning, and create a charge action every hour for the next few hours. So that even if I got home late past the charging schedule, the car would pick up charging at the next interval.

[@OtherSteve]

That's a great idea. I wonder if setting a Departure Time requires you to plug in by a certain hour for charging to begin? I've set 8am each morning as a departure time and thus far I haven't had any issues. But come to think of it, I'm not sure if I've plugged it yet beyond the typical projected charging start time as correlated with the departure time + current charge. Might be worth experimenting with...

[@intensepar8975]

@@OtherSteve The main issue with departure time only would be if you are on a lower voltage / current charging setup, and it begins charging before your off peak rate kicks in.

[@OtherSteve]

​@@intensepar8975gotcha. Well, luckily for me, I'm not on a demand-based schedule currently. We pay about $0.12 per kilowatt hour here so it's cheap enough as it is!

[@nikushatevzadze2991]

Hey, nice informative video. Is it possible to change total average consumption from kwh/100km to L/100km? Thanks!

[@kaderferhat2495]

I would think that when vehicle is started, the wireless scans X and Y to auto zero which takes a few seconds and you drop your phone it for it to line up the coil and magnet, what do you think?

[@Ivanbam_bam]

Hey man, amazing videos and glad you share this… one question, have you faced any issue with the gps map? I am using CarPlay and seems when using wirelessly the gps is not accurate vs wire connection, I have read is something with iOS and Toyota system, wondering if it happen in android car too… thanks!

[@OtherSteve]

I haven't had any issues with Android Auto/Google Maps *or* the built-in Drive Connect navigation, and I've actually used all of these a ton since I've received the vehicle. It does sound like it may be something specific to CarPlay then... I hope you get it worked out!

[@user-dy3uy2bv7r]

I’m curious if the placement of the phone on the wireless charging pad would inhibit reception from GPS signals. It would seem extremely shielded from line of sight from the sky unless, perhaps, the car had a panoramic sun roof. But a pano roof allowing for better signal reception is just a left-field guess.

[@slicksalmon6948]

Very impressive, but the XSE is made of unobtainium. The basic SE is one heck of a car, however.

[@lindanordlund6753]

is there a way to set your seat preferences? I have the xse, but not the best package with the door buttons to set them

[@thehappywanderer4230]

My parking assist or the noise when getting too close to an object or a thing doesn’t send the alarm off and I’m trying to figure out how to get into the settings to address that

[@33818ual]

Is their a way to get back your dash readings when your talking on the phone? My 2022 ray 4 plug in prime loses its dash info when I call or talk on my phone.

[@hashtagtnt]

Can you cover the voltage cable section too, related to cablegate and corrosion, is the connector on 2023 any different or has any changes vs to prior years of prime ?

[@richardlafford1397]

2023 has the improved cable.

[@kennethwatt3491]

Why, after answering a call does the screen go to GPS ? The radio sound comes back on but the display goes to current location GPS and it takes Me several minutes to get the radio screen back on......b/c IDK what I'm doing......can You help Me ? My Android has been linked to the Truck by the Salesman.......

[@johnseidel8971]

An iPhone charging tip I figured out is that the orientation of the phone in the charger matters. The phone likes to be top toward the driver side. The coil seems to hunt less when the phone is oriented that way. Now, the 15 second wait before charging is not factored into my suggestion. I may have accidentally waited long enough without knowing that to be a factor. Let us know what you discover with your phone.

[@jlawr4427]

Seems like you must set a charging schedule in the car first. After that's done, you can temporarily change it for the next day on your phone. I set mine to finish charging at 8:00 am every day. If I need it to finish earlier or later the next day, I can change the schedule on my phone. The following day it will revert back to the schedule I entered in the car. It works for me.

[@OtherSteve]

I get that, but that's not the problem here actually. I did the research and thus set the charging schedule on the car the first day; however, setting a departure time later via the app simply resulted in a messily-merged conglomeration of schedule data points that made no sense. The car did not charge at all consequently. Clearing this out and reconfiguring the entire schedule via the infotainment system completely fixed the problem however -- and the schedule shows correctly in the app. But I don't dare try to change it from there ;-)

[@fransilva69]

Can't get wireless android auto working any tips? I have a Pocophone F3.

[@longann7560]

Wonder if you can help, I just got my new RAV4 prime 24, XSE and when I go into the VEHICLE SETTINGS and into CHARGIND SETTINGS, i don't see the option for CONNECTOR LOCK....The funny thing is, i'm sure I saw it 2 days ago and now its nowhere to be found. Any clue ?

[@tsdr6830]

According to my research, they got rid of that option with the 2024 Primes.

[@longann7560]

​@@tsdr6830 Yes I saw that later on as well, what a dum idea. Every morning I need to unlock my truck just to get the plug out, its totally useless as I dont plug my truck into commercial recharge stations, so what is the point when you always recharge at home ??? My wife has a Prius Prime and she doesnt have the charge port lock feature and she can remove the plug anytime she wants without having to carry her key in her pocket. Its not a big issue I know but its a pain every time I go to work, with my lunch box and laptop in hands, I have to either reach out the front door or pull out the keys to unlock the damn port. A very idiotic choice in my opinion. The owner should ALWAYS have the option to turn this feature and many others, on and off. Thumbs down on this one

[@tsdr6830]

@longann7560 Maybe if a lot of us complain, they might bring it back. I'm thinking it's a software issue. Correct me if I'm wrong. I just got a New 2024 Rav4 Se Prime and I charge mine at the commercial station. Wish these Primes had at least 100 ev miles. The 42 is not enough.

[@andrewkhody]

Question! After I park my RAV4 Prime, my window is usually open in the garage, I plug in the charger, since the window is open I get window open notification. The charge now, button disappears. I do find the infotainment system crappy given price tag of 51k.

[@OtherSteve]

You can invoke charging in the app or simply set a departure time and it will handle it automatically. Also - a little known feature - is you can plug in, unplug, and then immediately re-plug to force the Prime to charge immediately (a bit of a shortcut). You must disable autolock for this shortcut to work however.

[@andrewkhody]

Thanks and good to know about the plugin it back in to force charging. My other vehicle is a Tesla so I am very spoiled. Tesla to Toyota is like going back to flip phone :)

[@OtherSteve]

@@andrewkhody Perhaps, but this is a phone that will likely last 15+ years without major problems also ;-)

[@andrewkhody]

an android one :)

[@sushi8204]

@@andrewkhody You are full of shit. RAV4 beats any Tesla in every practical category.

[@sushi8204]

Some math for you. 18KWh battery. 14.5KWh usable capacity. Which is 20% reserve. So if you think that battery is charged to 90% that would leave 10% in reserve. Now 10% is the size of the battery in the regular Hybrid. The problem here is that even with the traction battery depleted you can still go 0-60 in 5.4 seconds because the motors are much more powerful than in the hybrid. These powerful motors require more juice to do it and there is no way they will be able to do it on 10% reserve. Yes, I know ODBII shows 90% charge at the end of the charge. But if you trust that then you should also trust Toyota app which shows 30-100% full charge but 9.68KWh instead of 14.5Kwh. So since you can't trust Toyota app that is obviously wrong I highly doubt I would trust ODBII either. On a different note. I have tried many times to program the display and it might stay programmed like I want it to but it only last a few days. Suddenly some items just disappear. Like compass is suddenly gone or trip odo is gone. Also, if compass is programmed to be displayed and then trip is programmed in AA compass will be displaced with directions in its place. So why in the hell I need those directions in the small window then I have 12 inch display I can look at? Toyota programmers suck!!!! And finally. I don't know if everyone has this problem but if I voice program destination in AA and there multiple locations it will ask if I want to go to location #1. I say Yes, nothing happen. I say Yes again and nothing happens. I say Yes you mother fucker and still nothing happens. So I have to select the location manually. But everywhere else if Yes or No response required it works perfectly. But if there is a single location then system thinks I want to go there and automatically set the destination. Which is kind of stupid. Lets say I want to display Costco Gas locations. It would not let me because it will set the destination instead to the closest location even if it is behind me. I had AA in other cars before and it did not perform like this. Toyota programmers suck!!!!! I have reported this to Toyota but they told me it is my phone because it is not on the tested phones list. BS. I also told Toyota that they advertise 11 speakers but there are only 9. At first they showed me the spec sheet. I said go and fuck yourself. So then they said Yes there is 9 speakers but there is also an amp so it makes it 11. I told them to go to the school to improve their math. I know there is only 9 speakers because I replaced almost all of them. Toyota customer service sucks!!!!! Otherwise I love the car.

[@djaztec97]

I thought Toyota programs its Prime to get charged up to 80% to protect the battery life despite it saying "100% charge"?

[@razzielbg]

Is this a wireless android auto? I have an "adventure" hybrid trim '23 but it seems that is only wired.

[@OtherSteve]

Yes, wireless.

[@tandjs0851]

Do your side mirrors fold automatically when you turn the car off? If so how do you turn that feature on

[@sushi8204]

RAV4 does not ave that feature. You might be able to install aftermarket one.

[@fransilva69]

I have the RAV4 Sport GR plugin and it has the function of folding the mirrors. I am from Portugal

[@fransilva69]

To work automatically, you must set the button to auto.

[@markschrader7223]

I know dumb question, how do i get back to the screen that shows app and the map at the same time?? Thank you, sorry brand new owner haha

[@djaztec97]

You need Apple Carplay on. Click on the "folder tab" looking icon on bottom left corner and it'll split your screen to maps on left side and active app on right side.

[@djaztec97]

I wanna say it's the same thing for Android.

[@saligaurav]

Can you see maps on driver screen ?

[@KristianKulukFrederiksen]

Seen om reddit post somewhere that there is maps on the driver screen, and i can’t find it

[@ICEMAN7679]

HOW ARE U AFFORDING VEHICLE? PURCHASE OR LEASE?

[@OtherSteve]

Lease, then purchase first month to take advantage of tax loophole.

[@djaztec97]

⁠@@OtherSteveCan you make a video on how to lease and then buying it out ? I see many people doing this trend and taking advantage of the savings from the lease incentive.

[@shashankjp88]

Would anyone believe back then that these models will go 3-4k under MSRP in 6 months😅

[@33818ual]

Please let me know where they are going 3to 4k under msrp? Its more like 2 t0 5K over MSRP !!

[@bo4130]

Does the SE model has the tires pressure reading as well?

[@OtherSteve]

I'm not sure, but I believe I heard it was part of the MID on that model also. I know it's available in the app as well on the XSE. I'm assuming that applies to the SE as well, but I can't say for sure...

[@tsdr6830]

Yes. I have the 2024 Prime Se and it does in fact have it.

[@bo4130]

@@tsdr6830 is yours US model or Canadian model?

[@tsdr6830]

@bo4130 i purchased mine here in the U.S, but the Rav4 Primes are actually made in Japan.

[@jillianarmit8382]

You’re showing the display but you’re not showing what you’re touching. You showed what you were touching at first but then after you just focused on the display. Your talking way too fast.

[@hesham3326]

⚫🖤⚫ Rav4 ⚫🖤⚫ . . 👁️🗿👁️ 🏁 . . 🕳️ 💚 🕺🏻 .

[@longann7560]

TOYOTA GOT RID OF THE LOCKING RECHARGE PORT OPTION, ON MY 2024 XSE MODEL. What a dum idea. Every morning I need to unlock my truck just to get the plug out, its a totally useless feature for me as I dont plug my truck into commercial recharge stations, so what is the point when you always recharge at home ??? My wife has a Prius Prime and she doesnt have that dum lock port feature and she can remove the plug anytime she wants without having to carry her keys in her pocket. Its not a big issue you might say, but its a pain every time I go to work, with my lunch box and laptop in hands, I have to either reach out the front door or pull out the keys before I can unlock the damn port. A very idiotic choice in my opinion. The owner should ALWAYS have the option to turn this feature and many other fetures, on and off. Thumbs down on this one TOYOTA !!

[@sudokillall]

Sell it