Car won't charge / Onboard Charger Failure

B-Bob · Dec 9, 2013

Yes. Twice.

The first occurrence it failed to charge and I received the dreaded screen of death, "Check EV system"
It turned out to be a software issue. The dealer was able to troubleshot and update the same day and send me on my way.

The second time I was not so lucky. No screen of death this time, " charging stopped by vehicle malfunction"
Toyota/Tesla determined that the on board charger had failed. Vehicle spent 43 days at Toyota waiting for Tesla to supply the replacement on board charger.

Fixing these vehicles is a very low priority for Tesla and since Toyota relies solely on them for parts it makes for ridiculously long service repairs.

mark_rivers19 · Dec 9, 2013

B-Bob said:
Yes. Twice.

The first occurrence it failed to charge and I received the dreaded screen of death, "Check EV system"
It turned out to be a software issue. The dealer was able to troubleshot and update the same day and send me on my way.

The second time I was not so lucky. No screen of death this time, " charging stopped by vehicle malfunction"
Toyota/Tesla determined that the on board charger had failed. Vehicle spent 43 days at Toyota waiting for Tesla to supply the replacement on board charger.

Fixing these vehicles is a very low priority for Tesla and since Toyota relies solely on them for parts it makes for ridiculously long service repairs.

43 days? Seriously?
Can you remember the milage of the RAV when the symptom first appeared.
That's simply unacceptable.
So B-Bob swhat were you driving while the RAV4 EV is at the shop?

Calco Creek · Jul 21, 2014

Our Rav4 EV broke down without any prior warning at 6700 miles only. Just one morning we woke up getting ready to go to work only to find out that the car is showing an error message and that it has not charged overnight. We tried multiple "MS Windows like" tricks by turning off and on to no avail. I called Sunnyvale Toyota and they told me that if I had enough charge to drive it to their dealership then the car should be safe to drive. That was around the time when we were hearing of Tesla fires.
They did a firmware update but that did nothing to solve the problem. They had to replace the charging unit which they had to order from Tesla and the entire process took 3 days
Since then, we drove another 7K miles without any issues, but I lost the sense of driving a new car. I frequently look at the dashboard waiting for warning indicators. The first thing I do when I wake up in the morning is to go into the garage and make sure that the car did charge overnight.
I wonder if anyone else had similar experience.

miimura · Jul 21, 2014

Sorry to hear about your experience, but surprised to hear that it has affected your ownership experience for so long after the repair.

I use the Entune e-mail notification system so I always know whether my car charged as soon as I wake up. I set up a dedicated Gmail account for the car and used that to register for Entune. I also set up that account on my iPhone. This way, I can see at a glance on the Mail app's home screen, the number of new messages regarding the car. The normal situation is to have one Charge Start e-mail and one Charge Complete e-mail when I wake up in the morning. If there are no new messages or only one, then something definitely wasn't right overnight.

The dealer actually replaced the on-board charger in my car before I took delivery, but I think nothing of it. The only way that I know this is that it appears in the service history on the Toyota Owner's web site. There are always a small number of early failures in electronic systems. I guess I was just lucky that it happened before I owned the car.

Calco Creek · Jul 21, 2014

Thanks Minura,
I have to say that you are far more invested in your car than I am. I mean 752 posts in 18 months while this was my first in 9 months! Are you sure you don't work for Toyota?
Thanks anyway. I will try to setup the email notifications the way you suggested.

miimura · Jul 21, 2014

Calco Creek said:
Thanks Minura,
I have to say that you are far more invested in your car than I am. I mean 752 posts in 18 months while this was my first in 9 months! Are you sure you don't work for Toyota?
Thanks anyway. I will try to setup the email notifications the way you suggested.

Yes, you could say I am an "enthusiastic" owner. I wish Toyota employees knew as much about this car as we do.

If you want to set up the e-mail the way I suggested, make sure you do not create a duplicate Entune account. Go into your existing account, if you have one, and change the e-mail. If that doesn't work, completely delete the account before you register again. I made this mistake and it caused trouble later down the line.

Edit: By the way, the Secondary Users feature in Entune does not support the EV Apps, so don't even bother trying that.

cwerdna · Jul 22, 2014

Calco Creek said:
They had to replace the charging unit which they had to order from Tesla and the entire process took 3 days

Out of curiosity, what's the part number and description on the receipt?

Sounds like they replaced the on-board charger, which would be supplied by Tesla.

B-Bob · Jul 22, 2014

Just be thankful it only took 3 days.
When my on board charger failed at 7100 miles my rav sat at Toyota for 43 days before Tesla supplied the part to repair.
I've since put 22,000 miles on it with no problems.

Damchi · Aug 12, 2014

I just had my on board charger replaced. Car worked perfect for 22 months and 29,000 miles than one night my phone started getting charger started and charger stopped notices every 10 minutes. I didn't hear it right away, but after about 40 minutes I went out to garage to see what was going on. About every 10 minutes the car would try to start charging, I could hear clicking in the EVSE like the breaker was going on and off and than the car would stop trying to charge. It would repeat that every 10 minutes. I tried my 120 charge cable, same thing. Dropped car off at dealer, they had to contact corporate cause they had not seen that trouble code, but corporate knew what it was right away and sent out a on board charger right away. Car still stayed at dealer for a week.

Calco Creek · Nov 27, 2014

cwerdna said:
Calco Creek said:

They had to replace the charging unit which they had to order from Tesla and the entire process took 3 days

Click to expand...

Out of curiosity, what's the part number and description on the receipt?

Sounds like they replaced the on-board charger, which would be supplied by Tesla.

Sorry Cwerdna, I swear I never got any notification for your question. The work order states

890411 Charger Assembly 2753 W93

I honestly don't know which is which

Calco Creek · Nov 27, 2014

Damchi said:
I just had my on board charger replaced. Car worked perfect for 22 months and 29,000 miles than one night my phone started getting charger started and charger stopped notices every 10 minutes. I didn't hear it right away, but after about 40 minutes I went out to garage to see what was going on. About every 10 minutes the car would try to start charging, I could hear clicking in the EVSE like the breaker was going on and off and than the car would stop trying to charge. It would repeat that every 10 minutes. I tried my 120 charge cable, same thing. Dropped car off at dealer, they had to contact corporate cause they had not seen that trouble code, but corporate knew what it was right away and sent out a on board charger right away. Car still stayed at dealer for a week.

Damchi, my car broke down again this time with the same exact symptoms you are describing only they say that they already replaced the charging unit but the car still won't charge. The car has been sitting in the dealership since Nov 7th.
They have summoned Tesla engineers who arrived "reluctantly" and gave no further recommendations. BTW, my dealership is only 14 miles away from Tesla factory!
Would you be able to share with me the details of your work order? Maybe that will help the dealership repair the car.

TonyWilliams · May 8, 2015

#2496 just got a new charger, and I have yet to pick it up.

After successfully charging #1134 overnight, I drove about 9 miles, then plugged in.

"Check EV System"

I did the four ON / OFF cycles to clear the error message, however, as soon as I plugged back in, the error returned.

I disconnected the 12 volt battery, then reconnected, and still get the error message.

The lights blink above the charge port like it is charging, but the main battery contactor never closes and the onboard charger does not close the contactor in the EVSE.

Each attempt results in "Check EV System".

So, I'll just swap one car for the other to get a new charger.

20,000 miles on #2496 and 50,000 miles on #1134.

Michael Bornstein · May 8, 2015

Tony:

Are you just unlucky or is it because you drive that much more than the rest of us. I am at 17,500 mi on #1086 and have had essentially no problems that required dealer intervention.

Is there a difference between the 10 kW charger on the RAV4 and the Model S (and the MB B type)? If not, how can it take 43 days to get a replacement charger. If there is a difference, why is there one?

Will MB put up with such poor service with Tesla, or do they have them by the short hairs with regard to up time and time to repair on the B type?

Is Toyota required by law to maintain a parts inventory for recent model year cars, or can they legally say that a car under warranty can't be repaired for months because they didn't bother to make/acquire sufficient replacement parts.

Has anyone considered a Class Action lawsuit against Toyota to require them to obtain the parts in advance and keep them in stock rather than going hat in hand to Tesla each time they need a part?

Has anyone approached Tesla to see if we could buy an extended warranty from them for the Tesla parts in the car?

I love my RAV4 but if Tesla offered me a sweet trade for a Model S 70D I would part with it in a heartbeat.

TonyWilliams · May 8, 2015

With three RAV4 EVs, we have almost a total of 80,000 miles.

So, that's a completely different situation than somebody with... well, a lot less.

With #1134, it's the last major Tesla part that has NOT been replaced, except the battery.

The other two cars have actually been quite good:

#3021 - 11,000 miles - oil leak repaired out-of-state under warranty

#2496 - 20,000 miles - charger (two dealer visits) and motor (speed sensor)

That's it for those two cars.

#1134 - 50,000 miles - everything except the battery, including two motors

I doubt that there are ANY differences between a Model S charger and a RAV4 or B-Class ED. Just some programming.

I doubt that there are laws requiring levels of parts.

We do not have any sales agreement with Tesla. There will not be a warranty from Tesla to consumers.

There is an entirely different relationship between Daimler and Tesla than there is with Toyota and Tesla.

Class action lawsuits are possible... there is a law firm somewhere who will take your money. Your chance of success: 0%

mhkp · Jun 4, 2015

Team Rav4EV-

I'll add my name to the Onboard Charger replacement group. Happened 3 weeks ago. Got in the car and noticed it was not charged overnight. Went through the manual and found the System Malfunction Error with "Contact Dealer" as the only solution. Tried using different EVSE, including Leviton 40A, 110Volt included with car, and JESLA. No charging occurred.

Its been 2 and a half weeks with no expected date of completion. And I have been pushing them hard. They apparently diagnosed the software and determined that the Onboard Charger failed. Tesla provided Charger and replaced it this week, BUT now it is shorting their EVSE. They need another charger and/or will consult with Tesla.

My mileage is 23,464 and this is the second major hardware problem I have had. The first was gateway ECU.

I did have the Check EV System Error come on once about 10,000 miles ago, but it went away and never showed up again.

Will keep you updated.

Meanwhile, I'm driving a Ford Fusion Titanium rental and am loving it. The MPG is about 25-30, but the car build, interior, and performance is wonderful. Drives like a BMW.

TonyWilliams · Jun 4, 2015

Charger is definitely in the "Top Ten" list for the Rav4 EV. I always love the posts that say, "I've had no problems with the car except for (one of the items listed)".

In other words, it had a problem.

http://www.myrav4ev.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=20079#p20079

Issues with RAV4 EV:

1) Speed sensor - RECALL ITEM - vehicle will pop into neutral and stop, power steering disabled)

2) Gateway / communications "ECU" (can disable vehicle, usually a Check EV light)

3) Motor / gear box noise (requires motor replacement)

4) Heater failure (which then takes out the DC to DC)

5) DC to DC failure

6) Onboard charger failure (can't recharge vehicle... except JdeMO equipped cars with CHAdeMO quick chargers)

7) Leaking oil from gear box (I've had this on both one RAV4 and our Mercedes B-Class ED that shares the same Tesla Model S drivetrain)

8) "CHECK EV SYSTEM" message du jour (requires four ON/OFF cycles)

9) Charge Timer

10) Entunes

11) 12 volt battery

mhkp · Jun 4, 2015

Well, Tony, as you can see with a list of 12 MAJOR problems, I feel as f my car is doing just fine having just 15% of the issues listed!

My lease is coming up in a year and I really wanted to buy it and keep it, BUT I'm just scared of these problems and not having parts or anyone motivated to help me fix them when I own the car.

I love having an all electric SUV, so maybe the Model X will finally be available in a year!

mhkp · Jun 9, 2015

UPDATE: I took the car in on May 18th and received an estimate of July 1st for when the car may be ready. "Our hands are tied, since we are waiting on Tesla for the charger." I am waiting on a second replacement charger as the first one short circuited the EVSE.

4EVEREV · Jun 11, 2015

mhkp said:
..... so maybe the Model X will finally be available in a year!

That made me laugh

mhkp · Jul 3, 2015

UPDATE! My car has been at Simi Valley TOYOTA since May 18th. No news as to when it may be ready. I'd be more upset but Toyota is paying for a large comfy SUV rental I'm using to shuttle my kids around to Lego Land and the Grand Canyon while we wait for the Rav4 to be fixed. That being said I'm paying the gas prices and miss my electric car.

At 2 months, on July 18th, I'm thinking of reporting this to someone, but whom? BBB? State off California?

Apparently Tesla doesn't care to fix this and Toyota has no fix for it either....

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