How to take your RAV4 through an automatic car wash

The RAV4 car wash checklist

So this is the whole list in the order I'd do it. Further down the page, I explain each item and where its button is.

Before you pull up to the car wash

• If you have a RAV4 Hybrid and the hybrid battery gauge is low, drive for a few minutes first so the hybrid battery charges.
• Turn the power liftgate off in the settings on the screen between your gauges.
• Push the front wiper stalk to OFF, not AUTO, and twist the rear wiper to OFF.
• Turn PKSB off. PKSB is the system that brakes the car by itself at parking speeds.
• Turn Brake Hold off with the Brake Hold button on the center console.
• Keep the smart key 6 feet or more from the car, or put the smart key in battery-saving mode if you're riding through inside the RAV4.

On the car wash conveyor

• Fold both outside mirrors in toward the windows.
• On a 2019 to 2025 RAV4, shift to N and leave the car running.
• On a 2026 RAV4, follow Toyota's steps for holding N on the shifter your 2026 has.
• Take your hands off the wheel and your feet off the pedals.
• If the parking sensors beep, press OK on the steering wheel to mute the beeps.

After the car wash

• Shift to D and drive off the conveyor. On a 2026 with the electronic shifter and P button, press P, restart the car, then shift to D.
• Unfold the mirrors before you drive on the road.
• Turn PKSB, the power liftgate and Brake Hold back on, and put the wipers back on AUTO.

Why a RAV4 needs a checklist for the car wash

So this is what a conveyor car wash looks like from the driver's seat of a 2020 RAV4, with the brush right over the windshield where AUTO wipers would get caught, from TRAVEL CLIPS's video.

So a conveyor car wash, or pull-through wash, is the kind where a track pulls your car along while brushes and sprayers do the work. Your RAV4 has to roll freely the whole time. And a few RAV4 features can stop the car from rolling, or get damaged along the way.

Basically, the brushes can catch the mirrors, and the AUTO wipers can turn on in the spray and get torn up. The rollers can trigger the power liftgate. And the car's own automatic braking can stop the RAV4 on the track, which can jam up the whole wash. Toyota's owner's manuals list each of these problems, and owners on the RAV4 forums have run into every one of them.

Step 1: Fold the RAV4's outside mirrors

So Toyota's manual for every year from 2019 to 2026 says to fold the outside mirrors before an automatic car wash. And the manual says to unfold the mirrors again before you drive. If your RAV4 doesn't have power-folding mirrors, you just push each mirror back toward the window by hand.

Now something to note is that folding the mirrors isn't always enough at a car wash with brushes. Two owners had the brushes swing their folded mirrors forward hard. One of those owners now pushes each mirror all the way forward by hand before the wash starts.

And on a 2026 RAV4, folding the mirrors also switches PKSB and RCTA off for the moment. RCTA, or Rear Cross Traffic Alert, is the warning that beeps when a car is coming from the side as you back up. But I'd still turn PKSB off in the settings, which I explain in step 4.

Step 2: Turn the power liftgate off

So Toyota says to turn off the power liftgate before an automatic car wash, if your RAV4 has a power liftgate. Basically, a power liftgate is the motor that opens and closes the back hatch for you. One owner turns the power liftgate off every time after seeing a photo of car wash rollers opening a RAV4's liftgate.

And to check whether your RAV4 has a power liftgate, open the hatch and look at the inside bottom edge. A power liftgate has a close button there. Toyota calls the liftgate the "back door," so the power liftgate setting is called PBD, short for power back door.

On 2019 to 2025 RAV4s, the PBD setting is on the screen between your gauges, not on the big touch screen. Toyota calls that small screen the multi-information display. You move around the multi-information display with the arrow pad on the left side of the steering wheel. The arrow pad has an OK button in the middle and a back button with a curved arrow just to the right.

1. With the RAV4 on and in P, use the left or right arrow to pick the gear icon, which is the settings tab. On a 12.3-inch gauge screen, press and hold OK until a cursor shows up. Then move the cursor to the center of the screen, pick the gear icon and press OK.
2. Press the up or down arrow until you reach Vehicle Settings, then press and hold OK. A quick press of OK won't open Vehicle Settings.
3. Press the up or down arrow until you reach PBD, then press and hold OK again.
4. The first line in the PBD menu turns the whole power liftgate on or off. Highlight the first line and press OK so the power liftgate is off.
5. Press the back button to leave the menu.

On a 2026 RAV4, you can use those same gauge screen steps, or the touch screen. On the touch screen, the path is Settings, then Vehicle, then Doors, Lights and Keys, then Enable power back door. Just keep in mind that the touch screen wording comes from one dealer's video of a 2026 XSE, so your 2026 could word it slightly differently. I go through every RAV4 year in my power liftgate guide.

Step 3: Set the wipers to OFF, not AUTO

So setting the wipers to OFF is the step owners forget the most. If your RAV4 has rain-sensing wipers, the wiper stalk has an AUTO setting. Basically, in AUTO a sensor on the windshield turns the wipers on when it sees water. And a car wash covers the windshield in water.

Toyota's manual says that if the wiper switch is in AUTO during a car wash, "the wipers may operate and the wiper blades may be damaged." One 2023 owner says his wife's wiper blades were ripped off in a car wash, and the attendant told him "it happens all the time."

1. Find the wiper stalk. The wiper stalk is the lever on the right side of the steering column.
2. If the stalk is on AUTO, which is one click down from OFF, push the stalk up one click to OFF.
3. Then twist the very tip of the stalk until the rear wiper is set to OFF.

Now if your stalk says INT instead of AUTO, your RAV4 doesn't have rain-sensing wipers. But I'd still make sure the stalk is on OFF. And something worth noting is that some websites say the wipers shut off by themselves in neutral. That's a feature on another brand's cars, and nothing in any RAV4 manual says the RAV4 does that. I explain every setting on the wiper stalk in my rain-sensing wipers guide.

Step 4: Turn PKSB off

So PKSB stands for Parking Support Brake. Basically, PKSB watches for walls, posts and other cars at parking speeds, about 9 mph or less. If you keep rolling toward something, PKSB first cuts the power and then slams on the brakes. And Toyota's own list of times to turn PKSB off includes automatic car washes.

Toyota's 2019 to 2020 manual even lists a "moving type automatic car wash" as something that can set off the parking sensors when there's no real danger. And PKSB uses those same bumper sensors. PKSB braking is a problem on a conveyor, because a car braking on the track can stop the whole wash. Two owners have seen another car do exactly that and shut a car wash down.

Now keep in mind that PKSB is a different switch from the parking beeps. Turning off the beeps, which Toyota calls intuitive parking assist, doesn't turn off the braking. And neither does muting the beeps. Only the PKSB switch turns off the automatic braking.

How to turn PKSB off on a 2019 to 2025 RAV4

On 2019 to 2025 RAV4s, PKSB is on the small gauge screen, not the big touch screen. So if you've been looking for PKSB on the touch screen, that's why you couldn't find PKSB.

1. With the RAV4 on and stopped in P, press the left or right arrow on the steering wheel pad until the gear icon is picked. On a 12.3-inch gauge screen, press and hold OK until a cursor shows up, then pick the gear icon in the center of the screen and press OK.
2. Press the down arrow until you reach PKSB.
3. Press OK once so PKSB reads Off. A message confirms the change, and a PKSB OFF light comes on in the gauge screen.
4. Press the back button to leave the settings.

How to turn PKSB off on a 2026 RAV4

On the 2026, Toyota moved the PKSB switch to the center touch screen. With the RAV4 stopped in P, tap the gear icon for Settings on the main menu, then tap Driving Assist. Then find PKSB (Parking Support Brake) and tap PKSB so PKSB is off. The PKSB OFF light comes on in the gauge screen.

Just keep in mind that Toyota says the exact spot for the Driving Assist settings varies by trim and options. So if PKSB isn't on the first Driving Assist screen, look through the screens under Driving Assist.

And if there's no PKSB item at all, your RAV4 didn't come with PKSB, so you can skip step 4. I cover every RAV4 year in my guide to turning off automatic braking.

Step 5: Turn Brake Hold off

So Brake Hold is the feature that keeps the brakes on after you come to a full stop. Basically, Brake Hold lets you take your foot off the brake at a red light. The Brake Hold button is on the center console, near the shifter. Press the Brake Hold button to turn Brake Hold off.

Now Toyota's car wash list for 2019 to 2025 doesn't mention Brake Hold. But the manual says Brake Hold works in D, S and N, so Brake Hold could hold your RAV4 still while the conveyor tries to pull it. And if Brake Hold is holding the car and you open the driver's door or unbuckle, the electric parking brake sets itself. Toyota's 2026 car wash steps start by turning Brake Hold off, and I'd do the same on any year.

Step 6: Keep the smart key away, or put the smart key in battery-saving mode

So a smart key is the kind of key you keep in your pocket while the car unlocks itself. Toyota says that if the door handles get wet in a car wash with the smart key nearby, the doors can lock and unlock over and over.

Toyota gives two fixes. You can keep the key 6 feet or more from the car. Or, if you're riding through the car wash inside the RAV4, you can put the key in battery-saving mode, which stops the key from talking to the car.

1. On the key, press and hold the lock button.
2. While you hold the lock button, press the unlock button twice.
3. The light on the key flashes 4 times to show battery-saving mode is on.

The 2026 manual describes the same button press and the same 4 flashes. And something important to note is that while battery-saving mode is on, the car can't sense the key. So press any button on the key to turn battery-saving mode off before you need to start the car again.

And if your RAV4 has a regular key you turn in the ignition, your RAV4 doesn't have the smart key system, so step 6 doesn't apply.

How to keep a 2019 to 2025 RAV4 in neutral through the car wash

So on a 2019 to 2025 RAV4, you leave the car running in N for the whole wash. N is neutral, which lets the wheels roll freely. Toyota's manual for these years doesn't give a separate car wash procedure for N. But leaving the car running in N is what nearly every owner does. Nine owners on the RAV4World forum describe leaving the car running in N with no problems, one of them weekly with the A/C and music on.

1. Do steps 1 to 6 while you're still in P, before the car wash entrance.
2. Drive onto the conveyor track the way the attendant directs you, and stop with your foot on the brake.
3. Shift the lever into N. Leave the car running. On a hybrid, the green READY light stays on in the gauge screen.
4. Take your foot off the brake and your hands off the wheel. Several car washes tell drivers exactly that: car running, in neutral, hands off the wheel, feet off the pedals.
5. If the parking sensors start beeping, press OK on the steering wheel to mute the beeps. Shift into N before you mute, because changing gears cancels the mute.
6. When the car wash is done and the attendant waves you on, press the brake, shift into D and drive off the conveyor.

Why you shouldn't turn a 2019 to 2025 RAV4 off in N

So on a 2019 to 2025 RAV4, pressing the power button while the shifter is in N doesn't actually turn the car off. The RAV4 goes into ACC, or accessory mode, and the shifter stays in N. One owner who tried pressing the power button in N says you get a warning message and a beep, but the car doesn't go to off.

And one 2019 hybrid owner who did get his RAV4 off in N had a bad time. He says that halfway through the wash, his wheels just stopped turning. The car got pushed sideways and the wash hit its emergency stop. His posts don't say why his wheels stopped. But he now leaves the car running in N.

Also, if the car is off at the end of the conveyor, you can't quickly restart and drive away. So I'd just leave the RAV4 running in N.

Now if you open the driver's door while you're in N, you'll see "Shift to P when Parked." That message is just a reminder. And on a 2023 to 2025 hybrid, opening the door in N doesn't set the electric parking brake. Toyota's manual says the parking brake only sets itself that way in a gear other than P or N.

The "Traction Battery Needs to be Protected" message on a 2019 to 2025 hybrid

So on a RAV4 Hybrid, the big hybrid battery, which Toyota calls the traction battery, doesn't charge while you're in N. That's true even if the gas engine is running. And if you sit in N long enough, a buzzer beeps on and off. The gauge screen shows "Traction Battery Needs to be Protected Refrain from the Use of N Position."

But for a normal car wash, that message is fine. A normal car wash takes about 2 to 6 minutes. Two owners got the message partway through a wash, and one of them says his hybrid battery was already low. Another owner's reply was that sitting in N is fine for 10 minutes in a car wash.

If the charge drops very low, the message changes to "Traction Battery Needs to be Protected Shift into P to Restart," and the buzzer sounds steadily. So that's why I'd start the wash with some charge in the hybrid battery. If the hybrid battery gauge is low, drive a few minutes first. And one owner's tip is to turn off the A/C, the screen and the headlights during the wash to use less battery. Gas RAV4s don't have a traction battery, so a gas RAV4 never shows this message.

How to keep a 2026 RAV4 in neutral through the car wash

So the 2026 RAV4 is different, and Toyota gives official steps for car washes. Basically, the 2026 sets the electric parking brake by itself when you turn the car off. And the 2026's electronic shifter can jump to P by itself. Either one would stop the car on a conveyor. Toyota's steps turn those features off for the wash.

How to tell which shifter your 2026 RAV4 has

A 2026 RAV4 has one of two shifters. The 2026 XSE and Limited with Advanced Park, which is the self-parking feature, get an electronic shifter with a separate P button. Every other 2026, including an XSE without Advanced Park, has a regular shift lever that works like the one on older RAV4s. So if your shifter has its own button for P, you have the electronic shifter. If you put the car in P by moving the lever, you have the regular shifter.

On both shifters, you'll use the parking brake switch, the switch you pull up to set the parking brake, and the Brake Hold button near the shifter.

2026 RAV4 with the regular shift lever (Toyota's manual, page 237)

1. Stop the RAV4 at the start of the conveyor.
2. Turn Brake Hold off with the Brake Hold button.
3. Press and hold the parking brake switch until a buzzer sounds and a message shows on the gauge screen. Holding the switch turns off the parking brake's automatic mode.
4. Shift the lever into N.
5. Press and hold the parking brake switch again until a buzzer sounds and a message shows on the gauge screen. The parking brake light flashes.
6. Leave the car running for the whole wash. Toyota's steps for the regular lever don't include turning the car off.
7. At the end of the wash, press the brake and shift into D.

The parking brake's automatic mode comes back on by itself when you shift out of N, pull the parking brake switch, or turn the car off and back on. And just like the older hybrids, the 2026 hybrid battery doesn't charge in N, so it's worth starting the wash with some charge in the hybrid battery.

2026 RAV4 with the electronic shifter and P button (Toyota's manual, page 233)

1. Stop the RAV4 at the start of the conveyor.
2. Turn Brake Hold off with the Brake Hold button.
3. With the car running, press and hold the parking brake switch until a buzzer sounds and a message shows on the gauge screen. Holding the switch turns off the parking brake's automatic mode.
4. Shift into N.
5. Press and hold the parking brake switch until the parking brake light flashes.
6. Press the power button once. The car turns off and the shifter stays in N. Check that a buzzer sounds and the gauge screen shows "Holding N Push P switch when done."
7. Don't press the power button again during the wash. Toyota says that if you press the power button repeatedly, the car shifts itself into P.

And then at the end of the wash, you have to get the car going again yourself:

1. If you put the key in battery-saving mode, press any button on the key first so the car can sense the key.
2. Press the P button. Toyota says you have to go to P before you can shift to anything other than N.
3. With your foot on the brake, press the power button to start the car.
4. Shift into D and drive off the conveyor.

Now something to keep in mind is that with the electronic shifter, the car is off when you reach the end of the conveyor. So you'll be pressing P, starting the car and shifting into D while cars come up behind you. One owner pointed this out on the RAV4World forum. So be ready before the end of the wash, or ask the car wash if they push cars off the end.

Toyota also says to use the hold-in-N steps on level ground, and to block the wheels if needed. And Toyota says to only use the hold-in-N steps for automatic car washes.

What to turn back on after the car wash

So the car wash settings don't all reset on their own. And turning the car wash settings back on is the part that's easy to forget.

• Unfold the mirrors before you drive on the road. Toyota's manual says this for every year.
• Turn PKSB back on. PKSB stays off after you turn the car off and on again, on every year from 2019 to 2026. You'd follow the same steps as step 4 and press OK, or tap PKSB, so PKSB is on. The PKSB OFF light on the gauge screen goes out. Basically, that light is your reminder if PKSB is still off.
• Put the wiper stalk back on AUTO if you like the rain-sensing wipers. AUTO is one click down from OFF.
• Turn the power liftgate back on in the PBD menu, with the same steps as step 2. On a 2026, pressing the dash liftgate button while the power liftgate is off brings up a question on the gauge screen. You just choose "Yes" to turn the power liftgate back on.
• Turn Brake Hold back on with the Brake Hold button, if you use Brake Hold.
• On a 2026, the parking brake's automatic mode comes back on by itself when you shift out of N or restart the car.

Car wash problems RAV4 owners run into, and the fixes

• Wiper blades torn off in the car wash. Torn-off blades happen when the wiper stalk is left on AUTO, or gets bumped into AUTO. Push the stalk up to OFF before every wash.
• Mirrors slammed forward by the brushes. Two owners had the brushes swing their folded mirrors forward. Pushing each mirror fully forward by hand before the wash is what one of them does now.
• The parking sensors beeping the whole way through. On a 2019 to 2025 RAV4, shift into N first, then press OK on the steering wheel to mute the beeps for now. On a 2026, a mute button shows up on the center touch screen when something is detected. Muting only stops the noise, so PKSB still needs to be off.
• The doors locking and unlocking over and over. That's the smart key sensing wet door handles. Put the key in battery-saving mode, or keep the key 6 feet or more from the car.
• The "Traction Battery Needs to be Protected" message on a hybrid. For a normal wash, the message is fine. Next time, start with more charge in the hybrid battery and turn off the A/C and screen during the wash.
• Turning off the beeps but still getting braked. Owners with bike racks and campers have turned off the parking beeps or RCTA and still had the car brake hard. Only the PKSB switch turns off the automatic braking.

More car wash tips, and what other sites get wrong

• The car wash steps you see online are often only for the 2026. A lot of how-to pages give one car wash procedure for every RAV4, with "Holding N" and pressing P at the end. That's Toyota's procedure for the 2026 electronic shifter. A 2019 to 2025 RAV4 has no "Holding N" step, and you just leave the car running in N.
• PKSB doesn't brake for walls and posts in N anyway. Toyota's manual says the part of PKSB that brakes for walls and posts may not work with the shifter in N. But I'd still turn PKSB off, because Toyota lists automatic car washes as a time to turn PKSB off.
• Brushes can scratch the paint and wheels. Toyota says the brushes in an automatic car wash can scratch the paint and the wheels, and the rear spoiler may not be washable. Toyota also says to start washing from the front of the car.
• Matte painted wheels need care. Toyota's 2023 gas RAV4 manual says not to use a car wash with wheel brushes on the matte painted wheels some trims have.
• At a self-serve wash, keep the pressure wand back. Toyota says to hold a high-pressure wand about 12 inches (30 cm) away. And don't aim the wand at the door gaps, the camera, the radar, the sensors or the underside. And don't spray water inside the engine bay. Two owners found water in the engine bay after touchless washes, coming in through gaps above the headlights.