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Charles

Guest
This is the only solution I found on the Internet that actually worked! To be able to shift the car into reverse without cranking the engine, make sure your key (real or push button) is in the On position, not the Accessory position, and WITHOUT the engine running. And set a timer to make sure you leave it in reverse for the FULL 5 minutes. There is no telling how many owners the dealers have charged for unnecessary head unit replacements.
 
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Mary

Guest
This is the only solution I found on the Internet that actually worked! To be able to shift the car into reverse without cranking the engine, make sure your key (real or push button) is in the On position, not the Accessory position, and WITHOUT the engine running. And set a timer to make sure you leave it in reverse for the FULL 5 minutes. There is no telling how many owners the dealers have charged for unnecessary head unit replacements.
Yes!! Thank you! Worked for my 2019 RAV4 Adventure. As you said, I hit the Ignition button twice and put car into Reverse for 5 min (not starting car). Certainly saved me a chunk of change and time arguing with the dealer!
 
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Donnie

Guest
Can anyone explain how the same issue has several different solutions that seem like a video game cheat code? Yet some work and some don’t?
 
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Gia

Guest
I have an 2021 Toyota Highlander (automatic) and had the same issue with the radio rebooting constantly. I put it in reverse and turned the engine off for two-three minutes and it fixed the issue. Just make sure you keep your foot on the brake otherwise you’ll roll! Thank you so much for the solution!
 
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MistyLvsToyota

Guest
If you run across a 2019 Toyota (in this case a Camry but also Rav 4) that the radio starts rebooting over and over. Make sure that the radio software is up to date, disconnect the battery for half hour and then if that fails, put the key in, set the parking brake, engine off and put it in reverse for 5 minutes. That should fix it. DensoTen rep I spoke with, it’s the navigation unit that has the radio stuck in a loop. Reverse interrupts the comms with nav long enough for it to reset.
2019 rav4 hybrid and this works! To clarify, you have to hit your push button start twice. So your car is on lights, air, etc…. When mine switched to reverse the back up camera came on and warning bell sounded the entire 5 minutes. I had tried it with just the accessories on and it didn’t work. But with it actually on it works. After the 5 minutes I started my car and my radio fired up, touch screen worked and steering wheel controls worked again. Thank you, because in my 2018 I had the radio replaced for the same issue!
 
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Dutch

Guest
I tried both the items mentioned in this discussion, neither worked. I have a 2020 Hybrid Rav4 with the keyless button, how do I do the reverse thing? Just pressing key once without pressing brake? (accessory mode) Please clarify. Not sure how my situation corelates to a Key ignition.
 
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Dutch

Guest
2019 rav4 hybrid and this works! To clarify, you have to hit your push button start twice. So your car is on lights, air, etc…. When mine switched to reverse the back up camera came on and warning bell sounded the entire 5 minutes. I had tried it with just the accessories on and it didn’t work. But with it actually on it works. After the 5 minutes I started my car and my radio fired up, touch screen worked and steering wheel controls worked again. Thank you, because in my 2018 I had the radio replaced for the same issue!
I did this with the clarified instructions above for the push button start type system. It worked all appears to be OK now. Thank You
 
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Dutch

Guest
I tried both the items mentioned in this discussion, neither worked. I have a 2020 Hybrid Rav4 with the keyless button, how do I do the reverse thing? Just pressing key once without pressing brake? (accessory mode) Please clarify. Not sure how my situation corelates to a Key ignition.
I tried a slightly modified version shown on this topic and it worked like a charm. Thank you.
 
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Dutch

Guest
Can anyone explain how the same issue has several different solutions that seem like a video game cheat code? Yet some work and some don’t?
Having worked in Technology for many years it makes sense to me. While this is a bit lengthy, let me try to explain in a very simplified fashion. Vehicles such as being described here have many interconnected devices (computers of one sort or another) When you start your car a main computer initializes and starts looking for all the various systems to connect. The sequence isn't always the same because there are hundreds of variables that can determine how quick a particular device connects. When the main controlling computer determines something is ready it connects and activates the function. Variables can be things such as how quick do you hit the brake to start the car, or do you adjust seat first, how quick does your cell phone connect and many many more. One key thing that is done on shutdown is the various vehicle systems remember their status for the next startup. Things like what radio station did you have on, what's mode is your display screen in, likewise things dealing with navigation etc. consider an example such as this: You've shut down your car and all the various systems successfully saved their data. But... before your next car start your navigation system loses its stored information needed for a successful restart. Perhaps due to a nearby lightning storm or other surge. Perhaps after long term storage. So now you try to start your car and the main computer tries to get connected to your navigation system, but it's not getting the information it needs. So after a period of time it re-initializes and starts over again trying to connect again but it fails again because the data needed isn't there. So here is your endless loop. These startup sequences follow a preset pattern to insure things work. Example: the navigation must successfully start before the map display is activated or it to would fail. So how can you get out of this? Force a break in the sequence. This example handled this failure for me (I believed it to be navigation because randomly would put prompts on the audio with things such as "Welcome to Georgia" or "welcome home" when I wasn't using it. When one puts the car in reverse as described the normal startup sequence is broken because putting the vehicle in reverse puts your backup camera on, temporarily stopping your navigation from attempting to initialize. Leaving it there for 5 minutes probably tells the main computer that the navigation unit failed forcing it to re-initialize itself even though the normal saved startup data was missing. The main computer probably has logic that assumes no one will be backing up for some number of maximum minutes (lets assume 4 minutes) so leaving it in that state for 5 minutes it assumes that the device failed. It's also likely that because you're not running the engine other steps needed for a successful start aren't completed. The whole idea is to break the normal sequence of events which will often cause resets of components that may have hiccupped. That's perhaps one reason that the pulling of the Radio fuse worked for some and not others because the failing component wasn't exactly the same. Perhaps in one situation the navigation unit itself hiccupped and in the other the display unit (Radio) interface failed, so pulling the radio fuse made the radio unit fail forcing a restart of it. So, if your navigation unit failed pulling the radio fuse wouldn't force a restart of it. But doing the reverse trick would. I hope this explains the potential complexity of the problem. It would be nice if there was a button to reset everything but that's not practical. I've been told there are over 20 computers of one sort or another in a my Toyota all talking to each other. Hopes this has helped some of you to understand the complexity of the issue.
 
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LindsO

Guest
I've got a 2023 Rav4 hybrid that was having the same problem but the reverse trick didn't work for me. What did work though was (with the car off) pulling the radio fuse, turning the car on for 15ish minutes (I put mine in EV mode so the engine didn't run), turned it back off, replaced the fuse, and everything started up normally (without the reboot loop). The fuse is way under the driver side dash on the left, under a small panel that's clearly marked. It's a 15amp fuse marked RADIO in the diagram on the cover. There's a fuse Puller under the fuse box cover in the engine compartment on the driver side.

Hope this helps someone. I couldn't find much when searching for the problem in the latest gen of rav4s.
Trying this right now.... really hope it works. The reverse thing didn't work for me either. I have 10 min left with my fuse out, and car running. Praying this works. I'll let you know!
 
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LindsO

Guest
Trying this right now.... really hope it works. The reverse thing didn't work for me either. I have 10 min left with my fuse out, and car running. Praying this works. I'll let you know!
So bummed..... It didn't work for me.
 
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Paso Winemaker

Guest
IT WORKED!

After having my windshield replaced, my head unit began the constant re-boot problem described above.
I disconnected the battery for 30 minutes or so in the effort to perform a hard re-boot, but this was ineffective. So, following a tip I read earlier in this thread, I started the car (a 2020 Highlander), put it in reverse, then turned off the engine. The backup camera remained on, as did an annoying audible alert tone. I left it in this state for about 15 minutes. I then put it in Park, started the engine, and VOILA!!! The system now works normally.

IT WORKED!
 
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Andrea

Guest
This is the only solution I found on the Internet that actually worked! To be able to shift the car into reverse without cranking the engine, make sure your key (real or push button) is in the On position, not the Accessory position, and WITHOUT the engine running. And set a timer to make sure you leave it in reverse for the FULL 5 minutes. There is no telling how many owners the dealers have charged for unnecessary head unit replacements.
Yep! Quirky, but it works.
Love the video game cheat code reference, below!
 
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Szabolcs

Guest
Hello!
I have a 2019 European-market Camry with JBL radio, the brand of which is Panasonic. It restarts all the time for me too, it gets to loading the map and restarts. I tried the reverse position thing, but it didn't work. Is there a solution for my car? Thanks!
 
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dao

Guest
2019 rav4 hybrid and this works! To clarify, you have to hit your push button start twice. So your car is on lights, air, etc…. When mine switched to reverse the back up camera came on and warning bell sounded the entire 5 minutes. I had tried it with just the accessories on and it didn’t work. But with it actually on it works. After the 5 minutes I started my car and my radio fired up, touch screen worked and steering wheel controls worked again. Thank you, because in my 2018 I had the radio replaced for the same issue!
2015 rav4 limited. I tried this and it didn`t work for me. Also tried pulling the (-negative) terminal, check the fuse(20), the fuse is fine, and i also tried pulling the Micro SD and cycle the radio power button. Please help.
 
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