Buying a RAV4 EV in Seattle

My wife liked the RAV4 EV so much that we're going to purchase a Mercedes B-Class for her later today! We'll be all electric in a few more hours.

Test drove with the Shop Foreman and Field Technical Specialist (FTS) at Toyota of Seattle and they confirmed the drive unit whine. It has some minor clunk noise too going from drive to reverse or acceleration to regeneration. New drive unit is on order =) The new drive unit should have updated parts in it so these issues are unlikely to return.

I'm pretty darn close to joining the mini Seattle club - just trying to make sure I'm comfy with the last few details around warranty, et al. Looking at a clean '14 with 22k miles. I'm curious if any of the Seattle folks have updates on service/warranty work/purchasing a warranty and the cost, etc.? Hoping to get good news to push me over the edge, but I don't think I want to take the full plunge without a warranty. Thanks all!

Are you buying from a Toyota dealer? If so, it's easy to get the Toyota New or used car Platinum warranty.

Otherwise, buy your Platinum warranty from any of the recommended Toyota dealers.

SuedeGopher,
Hope your questions have been answered. Be sure to check out the Toyota RAV4 EV group on Facebook, too. Lots of helpful owners here in the Seattle area. We should have 3-5 at the EV Meetup this weekend at NW SolarFest. Saturday, July 22nd from 10-5 on the campus of Shoreline Community College ( 16101 Greenwood Ave N, Shoreline, WA 98133).

PM me if you want to talk and we can swap phone numbers.

TonyWilliams said:

Are you buying from a Toyota dealer? If so, it's easy to get the Toyota New or used car Platinum warranty.

Otherwise, buy your Platinum warranty from any of the recommended Toyota dealers.

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Hi Tony - no, I'm looking at one from a third-party dealer and the timing of the in service might rule out the new car version.

Larry_in_Seattle said:

SuedeGopher,
Hope your questions have been answered. Be sure to check out the Toyota RAV4 EV group on Facebook, too. Lots of helpful owners here in the Seattle area. We should have 3-5 at the EV Meetup this weekend at NW SolarFest. Saturday, July 22nd from 10-5 on the campus of Shoreline Community College ( 16101 Greenwood Ave N, Shoreline, WA 98133).

PM me if you want to talk and we can swap phone numbers.

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Hey Larry - that's looking like my pickup date if things go smoothly - shooting you a PM!

Platinum warranty
Available from any Toyota dealer. The Rav4 EV is a "T3" vehicle.

Eligibilty:

NEW car - within 36 months / 36,000 miles from when sold as a new car

USED car - within 9 years / 150,000 miles from when sold as a new car


Period of time offered:

NEW car - up to 10 years / 125,000 miles from when sold as a new car

USED car - up to 5 years / 60,000 miles from when the warranty is purchased

Hello! Just a quick note to say "thank you" and an introduction.
I got a rav4EV from Paramount last week and I've been learning a lot reading through these boards. (Which is good, because I totally bought on an impulse!.. an ~affordable, electrical, well equipped SUV has been my unicorn car for a long time and I didn't know it actually existed!)

I'm very happy with the car so far and thanks to many of you I'll be looking into the extended warranty with Toyota Kirkland.
Who is Kevin Spillane? (I don't think I need his help as my unit has no outstanding recall and the updated FW sticker)... just curious that his name comes up as the go-to guy.

These are the experiences I've had in the last few days that may help others.
1. This car does not have a spare, a jack or a wrench to fix a flat tire. Toyota offers a tire repair kit (air pump and can of gel). My unit did not come with the spare tire repair kit, nor did I know to ask for one. I had a Slime 70005 Safety Spair 7-Minute Flat Tire Repair System that I got in amazon for <$40 so I carry that with the car.
2. I downloaded the app and connected it to the car. Upon doing it the car took an update to the apps, so there's some updates to the nav system that are available.
3. To use the interesting apps (remote info on charge, location, control of climate controls) you have to sign up for their road assistance program. Its < $160 a year so I'll try this for one year instead of AAA and see how it goes. I had some trouble setting up the account (problem on Toyota's back end), but they ended up fixing it and giving me 3 free months... so good customer service on their part.

finally... Has anybody been to solar fest before? just learned about it a few posts up and I'm curious to go check it out...

Hi KurtManz - I spoke with a Susie at Kirkland yesterday on the topic of warranties and confirmed they would sell me a used car platinum warranty - she said they'd be happy to take my money Other local dealers may feel the same, I just called them up and asked for someone in finance.

Thanks for the notes and first impressions - regarding Solar Fest, sounds like it's old hat to Larry. Hopefully he'll be along soon to say hello!

KurtManz: Congratulations and welcome to the Seattle area RAV4 EV club!

Kevin Spillane WAS the Toyota national RAV4 EV expert ('ombudsman') - our interface for getting service from Toyota, especially outside of CA. He's moved on to another position and Thorn(?) took his place. If you roll into a Toyota service center outside of CA they'll almost certainly tell you "We can't work on that." or "We can't even touch it!" That is FALSE, but most will continue to say it. We make the call to the ombudsman, he contacts the dealer we want and then the dealer sets up an appointment for you. It's a PITA, but since little needs service, a livable solution.

To their credit, Toyota does fly an EV certified tech to WA to do the work! That's why the warranty is SOOOOO important. Nobody will do that for an out-of-warranty car.

NW SolarFest is in its's 14th year. I am co-founder of Shoreline Solar Project which is the 501c3 non-profit that puts it on. It's a 1-day only event that draws 3k-5k people. It's free and a great place to learn about all aspects of sustainability, from city-animals (chickens), to tiny houses, to beekeeping, to gardening, solar, and a lot more. The Kid Zone is a favorite for families with free mini-solar cars, hands on make-it things. Food, entertainment, and a whole lot of interesting exhibits, people, and presentations.

We've had EV's since year 1. It's really an excellent chance to talk to those who are considering an EV, but have concerns or reservations. Talking to real owners about the cars right in front of them is very important to many fence-sitters. Not only that, but meeting other EV owners and taking in the event is great.

I REALLY hope you'll bring your RAV4 EV to NW SolarFest! Do you have a JdeMO fast charger installed by QuickCharge Power? If not, you'll have to check mine out!

If you sign up online you're also invited to stay for the after-party with free beer and pizza!
https://shorelinesolar.org/2017-transportation-zone-application/

1. This car does not have a spare, a jack or a wrench to fix a flat tire. Toyota offers a tire repair kit (air pump and can of gel). My unit did not come with the spare tire repair kit, nor did I know to ask for one. I had a Slime 70005 Safety Spair 7-Minute Flat Tire Repair System that I got in Amazon for <$40 so I carry that with the car.

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I would never put goop in a tire, particularly one with tire pressure sensors like our RAV4 EV.

Buy a jack, lug wrench and spare tire out of a Toyota Camry or 2013 and newer RAV4, or a Nissan Altima (2006 and newer). Take them with you on trips. For local driving, just leave them in the garage and at least you can retrieve them if you have a flat nearby.

2. I downloaded the app and connected it to the car. Upon doing it the car took an update to the apps, so there's some updates to the nav system that are available.

Click to expand...

The NAV update is probably about $200... I personally wouldn't spend that knowing it is outdated the moment they upload it. The old data works for most US destinations. Use WAZE or Google Maps on you smart phone for the rest.

3. To use the interesting apps (remote info on charge, location, control of climate controls) you have to sign up for their road assistance program. Its < $160 a year so I'll try this for one year instead of AAA and see how it goes. I had some trouble setting up the account (problem on Toyota's back end), but they ended up fixing it and giving me 3 free months... so good customer service on their part.

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I would keep that AAA membership going... ask me how I know.

TonyWilliams said:

2. I downloaded the app and connected it to the car. Upon doing it the car took an update to the apps, so there's some updates to the nav system that are available.

Click to expand...

The NAV update is probably about $200... I personally wouldn't spend that knowing it is outdated the moment they upload it. The old data works for most US destinations. Use WAZE or Google Maps on you smart phone for the rest.

Click to expand...

There is an update of the Apps portion of the head unit, not the actual NAV maps update, that is downloaded from your phone through Bluetooth. I think that's what he was talking about. I would never pay the dealer the $200 for the NAV maps update.

@SuedeGopher: I called Toyota of Kirkland today and asked about the warrant. I spoke with Jesse. He offered me a 3rd party warranty "Protective" for 6 years and 75K miles for $1,925. He said this is not a Toyota warranty, but that it's cheaper and has more coverage.

I asked him if he realized this was an electric vehicle. He didn't, but he said he'd use the vin number and so this should apply. He said I could even take this to 3rd party mechanics that didn't need to be a Toyota dealer. Given how unique the car is I doubt a regular mechanic would be able to service it beyond simple fixes so I don't think I'm going down the right path.

When you talked to Susie did you go into details as to the type of warranty? do you have info on ~cost and coverage?

Does anybody have any recent experiences to share regarding getting a warranty in the Puget sound area?

@Larry: thank you for the welcome!. Can you share the contact info for Thorn? Maybe it may be worth contacting him to check on info about what the right warranty to get is. I want to get a warranty that would include getting the Toyota trained mechanics to come here to service the car if needed.

I haven't done any mods to the car yet and it comes with the stock plug. I'm only at the beginning of the journey
I'm working on getting an electrician to come put a 220V outlet in my garage for a charger. I got the 40A charger form Paramount when I got the car.

I'll try to get to SolarFest and check it out. This weekend my wife's out of town and I'm seeing potential craiglist buyers for my gas car that the RE4 is replacing. Is it only Saturday? or sunday too?

TonyWilliams said:

I would keep that AAA membership going... ask me how I know.

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oh oh... I'll bite... what's the story?

I would NEVER buy a third party warranty for a RAV4 EV. Spending $2,500-$3,000 for 5yr/60k Toyota Platinum Service Agreement would be a much better insurance policy than a third party one for 6yr/75k for $1,925

NW SolarFest is Saturday only, from 10 AM - 5 PM.
Shoreline Community College West Parking lot entrance.
16101 Greenwood Ave N, Shoreline, WA 98133 (off Aurura Ave N. - Hwy 99- at 160th)

Hope you can make it!

miimura said:

I would NEVER buy a third party warranty for a RAV4 EV. Spending $2,500-$3,000 for 5yr/60k Toyota Platinum Service Agreement would be a much better insurance policy than a third party one for 6yr/75k for $1,925

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Thanks for the advice, I think I agree with you, I'd rather get a Toyota warranty.
I'm now doing searches for what to ask for.

Tony posted:
Platinum warranty
Available from any Toyota dealer. The Rav4 EV is a "T3" vehicle.
Eligibilty:
NEW car - within 36 months / 36,000 miles from when sold as a new car
USED car - within 9 years / 150,000 miles from when sold as a new car

Period of time offered:
NEW car - up to 10 years / 125,000 miles from when sold as a new car
USED car - up to 5 years / 60,000 miles from when the warranty is purchased

Based on this I would have to go for the USED car Platinum warranty. The car is just north of 36 months as most will be by now (this was a 2014 lease).
I'm not finding the price online but I will give them a call now that I know what to ask for and see if I can get more info

KurtManz said:

TonyWilliams said:

I would keep that AAA membership going... ask me how I know.

Click to expand...

Click to expand...

oh oh... I'll bite... what's the story?

Click to expand...

I ran out of juice just a short distance (less than 1000 feet) from the charger, but when Toyota was contacted to tow the car, they would only tow it to a dealer many miles away that clearly would NOT have a charge station, nor was it likely even open then.

Clueless.

AAA took care of it.

Good to meet you Larry, thank you for the tips and chatting at SolarFest. That was fun.

When I got there I parked right next to the other white rav4ev that had just came out of Paramount. Whoever got it: nice score!
Here are some of the things we talked about, and some questions

Accessories shop:
Larry, you mentioned that you knew of a local place to get original Toyota parts.
I thought you said toyotaoemparts.com, but that is sending me to sparksparts.com (a california shop).
Was that the place where you looked for parts?

On the accessories:
1. The big one is of course the level3 charger. JdeMo charger from http://www.QuickChargePower.com. I don't think I'll do that right away, but it's definitely on my list.

2. I liked the mud flaps. You said to look for ones that fit the 2012 Rav4 Sport Trim?
I found these on amazon, but one of the comment says that these don't fit models with flares. As far as I can tell mine doesn't have flares, so it should be ok (I hope)
https://www.amazon.com/Genuine-Toyota-PT769-42091-2006-2012-Models/dp/B002SB02PC/ref=sr_1_1?s=automotive&ie=UTF8&qid=1500827016&sr=1-1&keywords=PT769-42091


3. The Hitch receiver is nice. I want to get one for a bike rack and it's nice to hear that it's easy to install
I found this which amazon claims fits the rav4EV
https://smile.amazon.com/Draw-Tite-75235-Max-Frame-Receiver-Opening/dp/B01B6P2LK4/ref=au_as_r?_encoding=UTF8&Make=Toyota%7C76&Model=RAV4%7C1032&Year=2014%7C2014&ie=UTF8&n=15684181&s=automotive&vehicleId=3&vehicleType=automotive

4. The cargo net Tray was interesting, good idea to "close" the trunk from view.

I can hit two of these - where to get parts and the cargo cover

Cargo cover at OEMpartWorld