mjeds

I read my owners manual, I like tech guides, read them like novels, yup I'm a nerd.




haven't seen this mentioned so I am going to mention it.




in the RC-F owners manual it specifies that you can use the key fob to roll down the windows and open the moon roof by pressing and holding the unlock button, but that this feature is turned off by default, and can only be enabled by the dealer. .


had mine enabled yesterday, works like a charm, but you have to hold the button until the windows and moon roof are completely open..


why have this, because for me I can vent the hot air out of the car on my way out of my office building.. The fob works from about 60'-70' away so as I am walking thru the building I can open the windows and the heat is vented by the time I get to the car.




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second the lane change turn signals. the 3 flashes to me are not enough to properly change lanes, I was taught and practice the habit of signal first then change lanes keeping the signal on through the maneuver, 3 flashes isn't enough to alert others of your intentions.


fortunately this can be changed to 5 or 7 flashes (again only by the dealer), I also had this done yesterday at the dealer..






so there two features I bet most people don't know about.

ECL

The GS 350 has those same features. I updated mine over three years ago.

mjeds

my wife's 2007 Camry Hybrid has the remote window feature, which is why I went looking for the info in the manual. Her Camry doesn't have the lane change signal option though.


but since I didn't see it mentioned for the RC-F I felt obligated to do so.

JCtx

There're A LOT of dealer-only options. And yes, they're all listed in the manual, near the end. By the way, you don't need a dealer for the windows; just the moonroof. I'm going to do a few since I need to take the car to get the parking brake adjusted; it hardly holds the car now in a mild incline all the way in to the carpet. Nice PDI by my dealer. By the way, does anybody know where is the adjustment of that POS? Behind the pedal inside the car, or by the wheels? I might do it myself. Will lift the car at the rear, and check it out.

mjeds

If it's like every other Toyota its behind the hub at the wheel and requires the wheels off to adjust

JCtx

Thanks man, but cheaper cars usually don't have a 'drum-in-disc' parking brake system. In fact, some still have drum brakes at the rear. However, the adjustment can still be there. In fact, there should be one for sure, but once the balance is adjusted, the travel adjustment is usually done between the 'Y' and the pedal, so the balance between the wheels is not altered. That's just one issue. Also need to check how many 'clicks' before parking brake engages (remember seeing that somewhere in the manual). Dealer either didn't check it but marked it checked during PDI, or they don't know what they're doing. Either one is bad, and that's why I always like to do that kind of stuff myself. But need the freaking service manual. Will check again tomorrow if it's available now for owners. Thanks again for your help.

ThaDRD

You can do the turn signal thing on your own. I'm on mobile, but there's a thread on how to do it.

You can change a lot of "dealer only" settings by using a Bluetooth ODBII connector and the Carista app on your phone.

toystry

In addition to the land change time setting, I need to see if there is an option for it to beep at you if you try to change lanes with a car in it besides "just flashing". A cheap Mazda rental had the "beep feature WITH flashing side view mirror" option and it was great.

ThaDRD

It does on the RC if you ignore the flashing and move into the lane anyway.

Ryanmcd

Sounds like a fun test lol

mjeds

yeah mine beeps, never had a car with blind spot monitoring, and frankly I find it annoying as hell.


I was taught to properly adjust my mirrors and turn my head around before merging or changing lanes, I don't have blind spots on my cars.


The Camaro is claimed to be one of the worst visibility wise, the convertible "C" pillar is a huge "blind area", but with properly adjusted mirrors it was never an issue for me..


I also am not your typical put my signal on and move at the same time driver, just because your flipping signal is on does not give you the right to enter my lane, read the law, if you are merging into another lane you MUST yield the right of way to the traffic in that lane.


I am also not the idiot turd that slows down when changing lanes, I match the speed of the traffic in the lane or go a bit faster to avoid them having to jam the brakes to accommodate my entering their lane.




all this technology takes the responsibility of the driver away, they figure if the system says it's ok, then it must me.




there is no technology that can compensate for eyes, ears, and common sense..

mjeds

actually you have that backwards.


most cheaper cars are drum in disc parking brake design, for Toyota everything from the Corolla to the Avalon is .


there are very few vehicles anymore with drum only rears, some trucks, and a few of the bargain econo boxes like the Honda Fit and the Scion iA.


but the vast majority of vehicles today have rear disc with drum in disc parking brakes. Higher end cars have a separate caliper on the disc for the e-brake. and it's an e-brake, not a parking brake, these are 2 entirely different things.. The RC-F has a parking brake, try using it as an e-brake and it will crumble into dust..




and the adjustment @ the "Y" on the vast majority of vehicles is the equalization between the right and left brake, not the pedal or shoe adjustment, matter of fact I can't ever recall a vehicle with a foot parking brake that had any pedal adjustment at the "Y", some old school ones that had a pull cable release had an adjustment nut at the pedal, but that was for pedal tightness and it didn't affect the parking brake shoes, if parking brakes didn't hold the car they needed to be adjusted at the shoes, adjusting the pedal height and tightness did nothing to correct that issue.


and hand brake models have an adjustment at the hand brake, but again it doesn't affect the shoe adjustment, only the hand brake handle adjustment.

sorry man, I spent 20 years as a Certified ASE Master Tech in a dealer service bay,




that being said, heading over to Rock Auto, the RC-F most definitely has a drum in disc design, and like most Toyotas, the adjustment is behind a rubber cap on the back side of the housing and if you rack the car you can adjust it without removing the wheels.


but in your driveway, your better off removing the wheel unless you are cardboard thin and can get under the vehicle with it on jack stands. personally I can't.


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keithS

I had not had bsm before this RC F and I actually like it, though I agree, you should still use your head. But on my street, people can swing around really fast and be on me as I'm backing out before I can get my head turned back around from looking the other way. And the bsm actually catches those speeders a good ways away so I know to stop backing out. I can see it can be annoying at times, but for me, it actually works really well and I'm glad I have it. But I would definitely not just depend on it, I consider it a handy helper.

JCtx

I'm not, but have adjusted them on many cars. All you need to do is SHORTEN the cable distance from lever (either pedal or hand) to the wheels, just like on a bicycle. And yes, some cars have an adjustment at the 'Y', because I've done it. No need to mess with the wheel mechanism in my experience when you only want to adjust the length for wear. In my case, it was never adjusted properly. And yes, the drum-in-disc is the best PARKING brake system, but it's never been present in an 'econo-box'. Most of those without drum brakes have a lever on the caliper to mechanically push the piston to hold the car, not a drum-in-disc design, but whatever. Don't want to argue this. And the separate caliper is more of an emergency brake, not a parking brake, and not common. Will find how to adjust the RC-F myself. Not rocket science when you have done it many times. Take care.