I have a 2012 with 73k miles and I do not have an extended warranty. It wasn't charging completely a few weeks ago. I took it to the dealer and they said it was the 12v battery so I paid just over $300 for a new battery. After a week or so it was back to not charging. I took it in again and they had a lot of problems duplicating the issue probably because the dealer has a super charger but finally after 3 days they said it was the onboard charger. The part costs over $5k and the dealer said they would pay for half since I am so close to being out of the warranty period. The motor was replaced last year at no charge when it was still under the 5 year 60k mile warranty. I have never fully charged the car to extend the battery life. I am thinking of selling the car since I don't have the warranty and am worried about more car problems. The dealer only offered $2k. I took it to CarMax tonight and they offered $8500. Questions: 1. Is there anywhere I can buy an extended warranty? 2. How much do super chargers cost and can I get one in San Diego? 3. Should I just pay the dealer to get the onboard charger? I want a car for the carpool lane for at least another year before I move. Thanks for any advice.
2012 onboard charger
- Thread starter Vkern
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davewill
Well-known member
There's no such thing as a "Supercharger" for a RAV4EV. QuickChargePower.com sells a CHAdeMO add-on to do DC quick charging, but I don't think you have that, and a Toyota dealer would be very unlikely to have the CHAdeMO charger, anyway, as no Toyota cars currently use one. What they almost certainly have is a regular 240v 30a EVSE just like most of us have at home to charge with. Have you been using the 120v EVSE that the car came with?
Tony Williams @ QuickChargePower might be able to find you a used charger, but honestly if the dealer is willing to pay half, I'd be inclined to go that route. We've had several people have a problem with their chargers after their 12v battery went bad. The common wisdom here is to put in a high quality 12v battery and replace it at the first sign of a problem. I changed mine at about the 3 year mark (I've got a 2014), and after watching the parade of bad chargers, I'm thinking about doing it again as I didn't use the recommended Bosch AGM. Cheap insurance.
Tony Williams @ QuickChargePower might be able to find you a used charger, but honestly if the dealer is willing to pay half, I'd be inclined to go that route. We've had several people have a problem with their chargers after their 12v battery went bad. The common wisdom here is to put in a high quality 12v battery and replace it at the first sign of a problem. I changed mine at about the 3 year mark (I've got a 2014), and after watching the parade of bad chargers, I'm thinking about doing it again as I didn't use the recommended Bosch AGM. Cheap insurance.
Thanks for the response. At home I have a 240 volt charger - a Leviton. The dealer is Mossy Toyota in San Diego and they told me they have a charger that charges in less than one hour so I referred to it as a super charger. I'll have to see what type of battery they put in. For $300 it seems like it should have been a high quality battery. My husband is recently out of the picture so I'm having to figure this out on my own. I appreciate the help.
davewill
Well-known member
Unless you had Tony put in the aftermarket CHAdeMO add on, it is not possible to charge the RAV4EV in an hour. I have no clue what they could be referring to.
I'm afraid that they almost certainly put in the same 12v battery the car came with. Dealers will rarely do anything else.
I'm afraid that they almost certainly put in the same 12v battery the car came with. Dealers will rarely do anything else.
yblaser
Well-known member
Don't forget that the white carpool lane stickers expire at the end of this year.
Even with the inoperable charger you could do much better than the CarMax offer if you sell it privately.
Even with the inoperable charger you could do much better than the CarMax offer if you sell it privately.
I didn't know that the stickers will expire. That definitely factors into my decision. Where would you recommend I sell the car? It seems like the dealer is the only place someone could get it fixed and another person would have to pay about $6k with labor for the repair so it seems like I wouldn't be able to sell it for more than $8500. What would be a fair price? Kelley blue book says $11,793 but that's without the charger issue.
yblaser
Well-known member
You can see what people have been listing them for here:
http://myrav4ev.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=454&start=240
I would probably be inclined to get the charger fixed at the reduced price.
http://myrav4ev.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=454&start=240
I would probably be inclined to get the charger fixed at the reduced price.
davewill
Well-known member
Is the CarMax offer WITH the broken charger? If so, then it sounds like a decent way out for you. If not, then you'd still be on the hook for the repair (or having them lower the offer by a lot) before you could sell to them. Since you've got the 50% offer on the repair, and you are the only one who can take that offer, I think it's still the best route.
No, I did not tell CarMax about the charger. The check engine or error message is not on but I'm sure that's just a matter of time. I am driving another car for now until I figure this out. I wouldn't sell it to a private party without disclosing the issue but from what I've read on the internet CarMax is a different story.
Especially if the dealer offered to pay half I would have them install the new charger. Do this right away before they change their mind.
Then sell privately for best price.
My dealer has some arrangement with Cars.com and gave me an offer IIRC for about $13k toward a trade in.
Then sell privately for best price.
My dealer has some arrangement with Cars.com and gave me an offer IIRC for about $13k toward a trade in.
davewill
Well-known member
Curious code of ethics there...Vkern said:
