1st Week Impressions

[commasign]

Picked up my 2013 Rav4 EV Blizzard White (VIN 1684) on monday so it's not even a week yet, but here are some random notes and impressions. My other car is a Honda Fit EV so some of this is a comparison of the two.

- Went with my local dealer Hanlees Toyota in Davis. They didn't have one in stock, but matched Dianne's price. Ordered on 6/17. It arrived on 6/30 but we delayed delivery until 7/1 so I would qualify for the free charger. I did test drive their rental briefly, but would have still gone through with the purchase even without a test drive (based on all the reviews and forum posts I've read).
- Acceleration is amazing!!! Definitely V6-like power. While the Fit EV accelerates great at city driving speeds, it sort of protests once you get up to faster highway speeds (i.e. 70-80mph). Not so with the Rav4. Even on normal mode, it's silky smooth passing cars at 70+ mph, with the feeling that there's plenty more available if I need it. Definitely thinking Tesla as my next car.
- Guess of Meter has been pretty much spot on showing a range of 80-90 miles for a normal charge. This is driving a good mix of highways at 70-75mph. In comparison, the Fit EV has been way overestimating my range at the same speeds.
- Rav4 is very heavy. I'm finding I have to start breaking much earlier to avoid having to use the friction breaks. The car is deceptive small visually.
- Overall happy with the tech. All the LCD screens are functional and a pleasure to look at. Climate control works great. Nav system is easy to use. HD radio is a plus. Bluetooth Audio with Nav screen control of my iPhone is cool. Traffic and weather data is nice. Even though its 110 degrees in Sac, the Eco Hi climate mode is more than enough to keep the cabin cool for all passengers.
- It's charging faster than it says it will. Maybe that's cause I have a 32A charger instead of the usual 30A.
- The EV specialist at the dealer was able to help me turn off the annoying rear beeping sound as described elsewhere on this forum, and set the auto lights off and door unlock preferences.
- As suggested on this forum, I made sure to get the Safety Connect thing filled out while I was picking up the car. They actually had me fill things out on their computer and I got the contract emailed to me immediately. The Contract ID is at the top right of the second page. Unfortunately, it takes several hours for it to be active so I had to try several times that evening to add it to my Entune account before the EV apps became usable.
- The efficiency screen on the MID seems to be most useful. Its the equivalent to the instantaneous MPG on gas cars.
- Text messages come through on the screen and there's text to speech reading of the messages. How cool!
- Lots of space in the rear.
- Buzzing noise while charging. At first I thought it was a little irritating, but then it made sense. How else would I know whether it was charging or not? (other than looking at the flashing lights)

Minor Annoyances
- I wish the charging port were in the front like on the Fit and Leaf. Seems to make more sense given the way people usually park at charging stations. But I guess I should get use to this if I'm gonna get a Tesla eventually.
- Rear view camera doesn't have guide lines! I have to back into the garage now because of the position of the charging port. They really should have included guide lines. Especially since the camera isn't even midline!
- Radio controls are a little too complicated. I don't like that the presets span 6 different pages and are independent of the radio band. It's very hard to find the exact preset by using the steering wheel control. I also wish there was a volume knob.
- I don't find the driving range screen on the MID (the one showing how Eco Hi, Eco Low, Normal, and Off climate modes affect range) at all useful. It's 110 degrees! Why on earth would I care what my range would be with the A/C off?!?!?
- I wish there were a way to turn off the displaying of upcoming exits on the map screen while driving on the freeway. I can see how that might be useful if driving somewhere unfamiliar, but most people with EVs are using them for local in town driving or commuting to work, all familiar routes. I really don't care about all the exits ahead of me.
- The doors swing out very far, too easily. Almost hit the next car a few times. Don't know if that's a Toyota thing, or just specific to this model.
- The doors are also a little bit harder to close (need more force) than my other cars.

Anyway, thanks to everyone that has posted before me. All the information from others owners has been very helpful.

 

[eplantz]

any sign of the motor whine mentioned in other posts????



Gene

 

[commasign]

No motor whine. That was the first thing I checked for when taking delivery.

 

[TonyWilliams]

No motor whine. That was the first thing I checked for when taking delivery.

I drove Tesla Model S-85 Signature, serial number 43, and it has the same whine with about 28,000 miles. It's not nearly as noticeable in the rear of the car, though.

I then rode in a low mileage newer S-85 and it was very quiet.

 

[madcow]

Ok, I've only had the car for 2 days so far. I LOVE IT!

I've noticed that sometimes when I close the back doors they don't close fully. I don't think it's a fit and finish thing, I think it's more like the car is so air tight that it causes some resistance/pressure when trying to close them. It doesn't happen all the time, and it's not annoying, just an observation.

The car makes all kinds of little noises when charging, or when you unlock it and open the door. I'm sure it's all various kinds of pumps and whatnot. Just something to get used to.

I've been driving around in B mode mostly, I can't remember if the general consensus was that this was more or less efficient. The brakes work REALLY well. Someone nearly sideswiped the car in front of me and they jammed on their brakes which made me press the brakes a bit (I didn't jam them on), but they responded as if I planted my foot through the floor. The braking power in B mode was very surprising. I'm used to driving a heavy car (my previous was a Land Rover Discovery II), so I guess my expectations were that the brakes would perform in a similar way given the similar weight.

I've also noticed that when I connect my 6th generation iPod nano to the usb port, the iPod stays on all the time. It looks as if the USB port is powered continuously. The 12V cigarette lighter port doesn't appear to stay on all the time.

I don't have the little dust collecting storage compartment to the left of the steering wheel below the light leveling controls.

I haven't driven enough to make any kind of observations about range or anything. I also haven't exercised acceleration in sport mode much, except once when another RAV4 tried to accelerate past me at a stoplight that turned green as they were slowing down (I was already stopped).

 

[commasign]

I've noticed that sometimes when I close the back doors they don't close fully. I don't think it's a fit and finish thing, I think it's more like the car is so air tight that it causes some resistance/pressure when trying to close them. It doesn't happen all the time, and it's not annoying, just an observation.

Noticed that too. Rear doors especially take more force to close than any other car I've used before.

 

[TonyWilliams]

I don't have the little dust collecting storage compartment to the left of the steering wheel below the light leveling controls.

For some reason, that was not included in the EV.

 

[occ]

I've noticed that sometimes when I close the back doors they don't close fully. I don't think it's a fit and finish thing, I think it's more like the car is so air tight that it causes some resistance/pressure when trying to close them. It doesn't happen all the time, and it's not annoying, just an observation.

Noticed that too. Rear doors especially take more force to close than any other car I've used before.

Yeah, that and the rear door seems extra heavy to me.

 

[miimura]

Rear doors especially take more force to close than any other car I've used before.

Yeah, that and the rear door seems extra heavy to me.

Actually the door seems light to me, compared to my 2001 Passat Wagon. That is what makes it more sensitive to the air pressure inside. If there is another door or window open and you swing it closed with the velocity normally needed to overcome the air pressure inside, it slams with a tinny sound.

 

[madcow]

Ok, I've driven the car for 4 days now. I've been trying to read through the manuals and whatnot so I don't ask too many stupid questions.

I guess since the car doesn't have a spare, Toyota decided that it also didn't need a jack, or a lug wrench. I think this is really a big mistake. Maybe it's my mistake. I searched the car and the manual, and I can't find a jack or a lug wrench. Just because they provided a fix a flat kit, doesn't mean that we shouldn't have a proper jack and lug wrench. I think this will lead more people to use something else that could potentially damage the car. TOTAL FAIL in my opinion.

I haven't read the instructions for the radio, I think the UI for the radio is poorly designed if it requires someone to read the instructions before they can operate it. I don't really plan on listening to the radio much, but I did go in and try to setup some of the stations that I get news/traffic, and some music from. I couldn't find a way at all to increment the frequency. Basically I used scan to find a channel, then turned off scan, and then saved the desired station. I looked at the screen for a few minutes and played with it, but could never figure out how to tune up or down.

Still trying to figure out which screen I like having to the right of the speedometer. For a while it was on the screen that showed the status of the A/C and the range. All of that info is displayed elsewhere so I decided that I didn't need the redundant info. I switched it for a little while to the eco coach. That screen seemed interesting for a little while but then I couldn't tell exactly what it was telling me except that I'm a really inefficient driver. My highest score has been 72 and my lowest 13. I drive a lot of stop and go and climb 2 steep hills to get home. I think I've settled on the screen that shows average and current mi/kWh. I'm somewhere around 2.1 right now. I don't see myself getting much more than that since I need to have the A/C on all the time (it's hot in Hawaii) and I'm mainly driving in stop and go traffic.

I drive around in B mode mostly and I'm still trying to figure out if that is more or less efficient than D.

 

[duggie]

I currently have a Rav4 EV rental car from the dealer and I notice the motor whine pretty bad when I'm on the freeway. I don't hear it at all when I'm on side streets though. It's actually pretty annoying and I'm hoping mine doesn't start doing that if/when I ever get it back.

My rear doors are more difficult to close than the front doors as well. Have to close them with a little force. That's fine, doesn't bother me really.

If I try really hard, I'm getting just over 3 mi/kWh. If I'm driving normal, then I get in the low to mid 2's.

I'm still trying to get the courage to make the drive from coastal Orange County to Palm Springs. It's about 110 miles door to door. I'm experiencing a little range anxiety, but it seems there are a bunch of L2 chargers all around downtown Riverside so that may be a good spot to stop for a half hour to get a little boost.

 

[mhkp]

Looks like a number of us went and got a RAV in the last week or so. I've had mine 3 days so far.

I can also confirm my doors are hard to close. My previous cars had doors that pretty much closed themselves (it seems) compared to this car. I have to really give it a push to close them. My kids (8 & 6) are also having a hard time fully closing doors(more work for me).

Entunes is okay, maybe it will grow on me, but not super impressed with anything quite yet.

I have a noticeable whine when charging (doing 110v still until my Leviton gets set up).

I drove it around about 50 miles yesterday and had 93 miles left when I pulled in. My confidence is rising.

Now what I really love: took a bunch of big boxes and moving supplies to my friends house, something I could not have done with a Prius or Leaf. Love that the rear seats slide, so I can move my kids back far away so they don't kick my drivers seat! They love that they recline (These are not Toys! has been said a few times)

Love the premium features such as the rear camera, LED lights, NAV, bluetooth, voice control, etc.

Love the smooth silent drive. Love the power on demand. I've been driving hybrids recently and the RAV4 reminds me of my ICE BMW many years ago (power when you want it (SPORT mode)).

I feel safe in this and its nice to be sitting up high again. ( I had an Xterra few years back that had similar feel).

I've also been braking in B. I don't drive in B, just switch it to B prior to braking and when applying brakes. I need to read the comments here on B strategies.

 

[TonyWilliams]

I'm still trying to get the courage to make the drive from coastal Orange County to Palm Springs. It's about 110 miles door to door. I'm experiencing a little range anxiety, but it seems there are a bunch of L2 chargers all around downtown Riverside so that may be a good spot to stop for a half hour to get a little boost.

You don't need to stop, if you don't want to.

The Rav4 EV will get 3.4 miles per kWh at 65mph indicated with the cruise control on. Your trip is relatively flat, although uphill. Plus, you'll want to use air conditioning.

So, let's count on 3 miles per kWh. Charge fully to 100% "extended" charge with 41.8kWh available when the car is new.

3 multiplied by 41.8 is well over 110 miles. 3.4 multiplied by 41.8 equals 142 miles.

Easy trip. Have fun.

 

[miimura]

I haven't read the instructions for the radio, I think the UI for the radio is poorly designed if it requires someone to read the instructions before they can operate it. I don't really plan on listening to the radio much, but I did go in and try to setup some of the stations that I get news/traffic, and some music from. I couldn't find a way at all to increment the frequency. Basically I used scan to find a channel, then turned off scan, and then saved the desired station. I looked at the screen for a few minutes and played with it, but could never figure out how to tune up or down.

The manual frequency tuning is hidden with the touchscreen volume slider, mute, etc. on the pop-up dialog activated by the music note in the upper right hand corner.

Still trying to figure out which screen I like having to the right of the speedometer. For a while it was on the screen that showed the status of the A/C and the range. All of that info is displayed elsewhere so I decided that I didn't need the redundant info. I switched it for a little while to the eco coach. That screen seemed interesting for a little while but then I couldn't tell exactly what it was telling me except that I'm a really inefficient driver. My highest score has been 72 and my lowest 13. I drive a lot of stop and go and climb 2 steep hills to get home. I think I've settled on the screen that shows average and current mi/kWh. I'm somewhere around 2.1 right now. I don't see myself getting much more than that since I need to have the A/C on all the time (it's hot in Hawaii) and I'm mainly driving in stop and go traffic.

I drive around in B mode mostly and I'm still trying to figure out if that is more or less efficient than D.

You're probably like me and live at a higher elevation than most of town. In order to get a good idea of your net efficiency, you need to average a trip downhill and uphill. My drive to work is 5 miles, downhill, so I can get to work using less than 1kWh of energy - ie. I get about 5.8mi/kWh depending on which traffic lights I have to stop for. The return trip only gets about 2.2mi/kWh, so the average is 4.0mi/kWh which is pretty good. This is all on city streets with speed limits of 35mph or less. Look at your total average efficiency: Home - EV - Energy Monitor - Past Record. If that number is really 2.1, then you really need to ease up on the accelerator and start braking much earlier. The A/C has very little impact on efficiency, even in Hawaii. My lifetime average is 3.2mi/kWh - it has been steadily creeping up from 2.9mi/kWh, my average of the 329mi trip home from the dealer. Others here are much more efficient than me.

 

[duggie]

Do you want to follow me? haha So, even with AC, you're saying no problem? I'll probably take the 57 out to the 10 East to avoid most of the hilly areas on the 60. I was thinking I'd need a half hour charge or so at McDonald's in Riverside to be safe!

 

[TonyWilliams]

Do you want to follow me? haha So, even with AC, you're saying no problem? I'll probably take the 57 out to the 10 East to avoid most of the hilly areas on the 60. I was thinking I'd need a half hour charge or so at McDonald's in Riverside to be safe!

Not a problem. Please check out the Range Chart at:

http://www.myrav4ev.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=251#p251

If it were cold, that's when electric vehicles have range problems. As the battery degrades over the years, you will have to slow down to get the same range. Coming from sea level Orange County to Palm Springs is 477 feet above sea level. Plus, you'll have a slight tailwind the whole way (from the west).

If you have doubts, drive it at 60mph or even 55mph. I have regularly driven 150 mile legs at 50-55mph on flat, no wind, above 70F temperatures, dry hard surface roadways.

 

[ehelmholtz]

It's about 110 miles door to door. I'm experiencing a little range anxiety, but it seems there are a bunch of L2 chargers all around downtown Riverside so that may be a good spot to stop for a half hour to get a little boost.

Just to echo what Tony said - it's easily doable. For example, I drove from San Diego to Los Angeles, total distance of 110.8 miles, at 60-65 mph and made it there with the GOM estimating some 45 miles left (and this is after I started going 70-75 mph for the last 15 miles).

 

[commasign]

- I wish there were a way to turn off the displaying of upcoming exits on the map screen while driving on the freeway. I can see how that might be useful if driving somewhere unfamiliar, but most people with EVs are using them for local in town driving or commuting to work, all familiar routes. I really don't care about all the exits ahead of me.

Just to followup on this one item... After playing with it more, I realized that the nav screen can be customized in different ways by pressing the map mode button at different times. Unfortunately, you can only customize some of these while actually navigating in the city or on the highway (i.e. can't set city options while on the highway and vice versa). There seem to be at least 3 different activities each with two or more map mode options:

1) map without destination
2) navigating to destination, on city streets
3) navigating to destination, on highway

I was able to switch it from showing upcoming exits to just showing the main map and (when appropriate) next turn for mode #3. Hope that helps someone.

 

[eschatfische]

Just to be a third on this, Tony's absolutely correct about the range, and a 110 mile trip should be no problem with an extended charge.

The 103 mile EPA range for the RAV4 is the average of ~93 mile range on a standard charge and ~113 mile range on an extended charge. Those EPA ratings are themselves an reflection of testing in five different driving cycles, meant to simulate different a wide range of different driving conditions.

This means that you can drive the RAV4 EV pretty hard in a variety of circumstances and still get a healthy 113 miles out of an extended charge. If you stick to the speed limit, turn off HVAC and drive at a constant speed (or primarily downhill), you can get much more range. We took a 113 mile trip this weekend in our RAV4 EV, returned with 25 miles on the GOM and four bars of charge left.

It's always good to plot out where chargers are any time you take a long trip just in case something happens - you may need or want to make an unexpected detour - but a newish RAV4 EV really can do a 110 mile round trip with an extended charge without any special considerations.

 

[Dianne]

I think I can respond to a couple of these questions. First, the audio. There's a "down arrow" at the top of the audio screens that brings a drop-down box to view with fast forward and backwards arrows, for station setting. I agree, that design sucks big time. But, once you get the hang of it, set it n' forget it. Luckily one can set 36 separate stations whether they are AM, FM or SAT. I have a feeling that they pretty much expected the masses to music stream and just didn't put much effort into audio/radio design in regards to finding stations. :?

I also feel strongly that with roadside assist being free for 3 years + the extra weight of these things, along with the repair kit for emergency repair (because let's face it, there's nothing TO change) ... the repair kit seems adequate. Using something else - why? If you can't repair, you're getting it replaced somewhere right? Probably a tire facility with those things anyway.
I'm sorry - just my mom logic kicking in.

Lastly, use the D. Not the B.

Ok, I've driven the car for 4 days now. I've been trying to read through the manuals and whatnot so I don't ask too many stupid questions.

I guess since the car doesn't have a spare, Toyota decided that it also didn't need a jack, or a lug wrench. I think this is really a big mistake. Maybe it's my mistake. I searched the car and the manual, and I can't find a jack or a lug wrench. Just because they provided a fix a flat kit, doesn't mean that we shouldn't have a proper jack and lug wrench. I think this will lead more people to use something else that could potentially damage the car. TOTAL FAIL in my opinion.

I haven't read the instructions for the radio, I think the UI for the radio is poorly designed if it requires someone to read the instructions before they can operate it. I don't really plan on listening to the radio much, but I did go in and try to setup some of the stations that I get news/traffic, and some music from. I couldn't find a way at all to increment the frequency. Basically I used scan to find a channel, then turned off scan, and then saved the desired station. I looked at the screen for a few minutes and played with it, but could never figure out how to tune up or down.

Still trying to figure out which screen I like having to the right of the speedometer. For a while it was on the screen that showed the status of the A/C and the range. All of that info is displayed elsewhere so I decided that I didn't need the redundant info. I switched it for a little while to the eco coach. That screen seemed interesting for a little while but then I couldn't tell exactly what it was telling me except that I'm a really inefficient driver. My highest score has been 72 and my lowest 13. I drive a lot of stop and go and climb 2 steep hills to get home. I think I've settled on the screen that shows average and current mi/kWh. I'm somewhere around 2.1 right now. I don't see myself getting much more than that since I need to have the A/C on all the time (it's hot in Hawaii) and I'm mainly driving in stop and go traffic.

I drive around in B mode mostly and I'm still trying to figure out if that is more or less efficient than D.