Check EV System warning message

[miimura]

The only important thing I have surmised from reading ALL the posts here about this problem is that after all this time, it certainly seems like Toyota (Tesla) still does not know what is causing it nor how to fix it. :shock:

Well, we don't know that. For all we know, they figured out the problem and then built a bunch of Gateway ECUs with the fix and that's why Joe_EV got his fixed so fast. I know it's frustrating when it happens to you. I guess I'm just lucky that it hasn't happened to me. This is just me being optimistic. I don't have any inside information.

 

[mhkp]

Whoooo! Just got my Check EV System warning this morning. It took 8000+ miles but it finally happened. I feel like a true member of the tribe now.

I used the skills I learned from those that came before me and cycled through on/off 5 times and the problem is gone! for now...

I plan on mentioning it at my next service but since there is no real fix, why go thru Toyota's guessing game.... my thoughts.

 

[Joe_EV]

Picked it up from the dealer. So far so good. Here's the relevant section of the service report:

They had told me that just getting a u1146 code would indicate they must replace the ECU, but apparently my old ECU wouldn't even allow them to proceed with the latest firmware update. They installed the new ECU today, and it updated without incident (probably on top of the same version firmware, but just to be safe).

I have to program the charging scheduler, but aside from that everything seems normal. More soon.

 

[Kohler Controller]

Whoooo! Just got my Check EV System warning this morning. It took 8000+ miles but it finally happened. I feel like a true member of the tribe now.

I used the skills I learned from those that came before me and cycled through on/off 5 times and the problem is gone! for now...

I plan on mentioning it at my next service but since there is no real fix, why go thru Toyota's guessing game.... my thoughts.

mhkp, I like your enthusiasm! I had my first Check EV light at 5k and then again at 6k. However, I haven't seen it since (currently at 22k miles), so welcome to the club/tribe!

 

[n3ckf]

So my case was "resolved" (maybe) today.

I took the car tot he dealer and waited while they looked at it.

The tech (same one who flashed the car last week to 1.3.83) said that something had been left out in the flash sequence, reflashed my car and gave it back to me.

The codes my car had were U1146 and U0293.

No more codes and i drove the car today without them recurring. On the other hand, i drove the car about 400 miles *after* my flash 10 days ago, and didnt have any problem till last night either. So i suppose i'll know in a couple weeks.

 

[n3ckf]

The same thing just happened to me today (without latest firmware update). I have an appointment to go into Fremnt Toyota tomorrow for 10K service. Any tips on who I should talk to? TIA

The service manager i had was Matt this morning (on the left side of the service drive-through). He got it done fairly quickly for me.

My guess is they will try to flash your car to the latest firmware first?

 

[Dsinned]

Well, we know what DTC U1146 means . . . "Gateway ECU Communications Link Failure", but what does DTC U0293 means??? To best of my knowledge, before I had my ECU replaced, I only got U1146, and unfortunatlely, I do not know what version of firmware came preinstalled in the new ECU. I doubt if the dealer bothered to check that. I only wish there was an easy "DIY" way to find out.

Miimura, if you go back through all the numerous posts in this thread, I believe there are at least one or two that mentioned "reoccurrence of this very same problem" even AFTER replacement of the Gateway ECU. However, those were probably with V1.3.79 or earlier firmware.

It would also be VERY HELPFUL if only we knew what each of these new firmware updates were supposedly meant to do. If there really has been "83" iterations, that really is an excessive number of changes. Way too many actually! So, the question becomes, were they all meant to fix the same problem, (namely the scheduled charging issue or issues), or other problems as well (such as the Check EV System issue), or both, or still other "issues" we don't even know about yet?

Again, it would be EXTREMELY HELPFUL to have a detailed list of all these many different updates and what each one was for, but I doubt even the "most knowledgeable" Toyota dealers have access to such a definitive list. So it seems we all must remain totally in the dark! :roll:

 

[miimura]

It would also be VERY HELPFUL if only we knew what each of these new firmware updates were supposedly meant to do. If there really has been "83" iterations, that really is an excessive number of changes. Way too many actually! So, the question becomes, were they all meant to fix the same problem, (namely the scheduled charging issue or issues), or other problems as well (such as the Check EV System issue), or both, or still other "issues" we don't even know about yet?

I agree that the lack of release notes is problematic both for us and service technicians. It directly leads to the attitude that "Whatever is wrong, just update the firmware and see if the problem is gone". A very poor method of troubleshooting and repair. The numbering of the "Calibration ID" 1.3.83 really has no meaning. It may be incremented each time some engineer gets an idea about how to fix something and it gets incremented again whether that fix worked or not. Also, it is my understanding that this Calibration ID is only the firmware that gets loaded in the Gateway ECU for the Tesla components. The charge timers are probably on the Toyota side and those functions are probably updated by USB and rolled into the NAV unit software which is revised in different TSBs from the Gateway ECU.

 

[Dsinned]

Has anybody determined if the new NAV S/W update, "VB503200", has fixed anything yet?

 

[n3ckf]

Well, we know what DTC U1146 means . . . "Gateway ECU Communications Link Failure", but what does DTC U0293 means???

From the printout for my event from the dealer:

U1146 / EV System Gateway No Comm.
U0293 / ABS System No Comm.

 

[Luckyduckie]

Well, we know what DTC U1146 means . . . "Gateway ECU Communications Link Failure", but what does DTC U0293 means???

From the printout for my event from the dealer:

U1146 / EV System Gateway No Comm.
U0293 / ABS System No Comm.

Yesterday, I got my car back from Matt at Fremont Toyota and my paperwork says U0293 / Lost comm with EV control. I also got the firmware upated to 1.3.83

n3ckf- I think I've seen your car a few times parked at Galleria plaza on Warm Springs blvd.

 

[Joe_EV]

I think all of you folks getting sent home from the dealer with just a firmware update should demand that your service advisors contact Toyota Corporate to confirm current policy. Insist on speaking to the service manager if necessary. Tell them customers of another dealer have been told the policy is now to replace the ECU after u1146 errors, and/or after any incidents in which the vehicle will not start. U0293 could be on that list as well, depending on what triggered it.

 

[sierrabill]

Hey Folks,
I've been reading posts about the screen of death (EV system check) and a couple other threads for a couple hours now...don't think I've posted anything yet as I had been spending more time on the Ver 1 RAV ev discussion board. This forum is of course more relevant though so I'll be hanging out here now.
Our RAV is VIN 1309, purchased in Dec 2012. In part because we are 150 miles from Roseville Toyota, I have been doing maintenance (described in the owner's manual) myself. So far I have only had to add a few ounces of G48 coolant to it's reservoir. Of course the only thing I cannot do is a system health check, which from my reading here would be quite interesting, eh?
I would have to say the the Check EV system warning has come up about 8-10 times over the 14+ months we've owned the RAV. Each time we've ignored it and just went on our way like it wasn't there. It would either be there for a couple minutes or sometimes for 1-2 days, but it never caused any noticeable change in the way the car ran and has appeared from soon after we brought the car home till just recently.
Nor did it seem to have any effect on charging with our Seimens Versicharge. I guess I just wanted the group here to know a variation on this problem and the experiences of other RAV4EV owners. At this point, we are just living with the warning and driving as usual. I would appreciate any feedback regarding experiences with RAV4EV service at Roseville Toyota. Thanks for all the info, I don't feel quite as much "EV-alone" up here in Plumas Co.

 

[climber]

I just had the check EV system message last friday and again today at the dealer. my RAV is at 3K. No error messages on diagnostics. the dealer opened a ticket with Tesla, whatever that means. They updated firmware and it didn't show the message on the way home. We will see.

Should i bring it back in if it happens again? or just forget about it till the car stops or has other symptoms?

 

[miimura]

Unless you live far away from an EV certified dealer like sierrabill above, I would call the dealer for an appointment with their EV tech each time you get the message. This message is the equivalent of the "Check Engine Light" in regular cars. Do you drive with that light on in your other cars?

 

[cwerdna]

I just had the check EV system message last friday and again today at the dealer. my RAV is at 3K. No error messages on diagnostics. the dealer opened a ticket with Tesla, whatever that means. They updated firmware and it didn't show the message on the way home. We will see.

Should i bring it back in if it happens again? or just forget about it till the car stops or has other symptoms?

Re: the bolded part, in many cases for customer support/CRM/help desk systems and bug tracking systems, they will open in a new case, issue, ticket, record, etc. to track the incident or issue. I've worked on software for my entire career. My current company uses https://www.atlassian.com/software/jira to track bugs and work items. Some developers (aka programmers) in my group like to call Jiras/Jira (bug) items "tickets".

My group doesn't use https://www.atlassian.com/software/jira/service-desk but I'd imagine some do. The preview of the video there even refers to tickets.

 

[4min]

Actually, Jira is exactly what Tesla's using (according to the keynote at Atlassian's conf last year).

So cwerdna's links above give you pretty good insight on what "Tickets with Tesla" look like.

 

[Joe_EV]

All, it's been a month since my my ECU replacement and firmware update, and that seems to have done the trick! I've done my best to surprise and confuse the software - just jiggling the stick shift during system startup used to do it - and I have not once seen "Check EV System" or any other strange messages. Charge scheduling, charge completion, starting, driving, stopping = all systems A-OK.

Also, I parked near a silver RAV4 EV just like mine at Palo Alto's Cubberly Community Center a week or so ago. Nice to see.

Sierrabill you're playin' with fire, man. It's best to just carve out some time to take the car down to the dealer for the latest firmware updates, plus a new ECU if you can convince them to do it. If the car does ever have a serious problem, you don't want it to be while you're driving, and neither does Toyota. Major liability for them. At minimum you should get the firmware updated to see if those messages go away. But if you can cite even one instance of the car not running, it shouldn't be hard to insist on a full hardware and firmware upgrade if your service rep has experience with these cars. That way you can get it all dine in one visit, and not have to go back there for a long long time.

Climber if they really weren't able to pull out any error messages after you saw a "Check EV System" screen, that's scary all by itself. The system is supposed to record those incidents. If you get more errors, especially as I said above with even one failure to start, you ought to be able to insist on an ECU replacement and not just a firmware upgrade. Toyota seems to have made a decision to avoid any possible liabilities here, but you may have to explain that to your service rep. It pays to be aggressive about this.

 

[Dsinned]

What firmware update version did you get?

 

[Joe_EV]

What firmware update version did you get?

Version 1.3.83

See http://www.myrav4ev.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=11713#p11713