Bay Area repair shop that can still work on RAV4EV?

[DougL]

I have a 2014 with 99K miles blizzard white (repainted) all stock. Car was flawless until now. Got dreaded EV error... go to dealer. Got the car diagnosed at Toyota Marin and couldn't find anything wrong. Few weeks later car stopped in traffic while driving. Towed back to Toyota Marin. This time they said that their diagnostic equipment wasn't working and couldn''t do more. Was thinking about sending the car to QCcharge San Diego. Not sure they're still open? No more calls returned after December. Contacted a few more Bay Area EV-rated dealerships. Nobody said they could fix the RAV4EV. Earthling Automotive in SF said that they do work on the cars but waiting for diagnostic software with unknown ETA, Had extended warranty expired last year.

Really love the car but with nobody to fix or even diagnose, what to do?
Anyone has a shop that still works on RAV4EV?

 

[bdunst]

One of my Rav's was serviced in Berkley till I moved to the mountains. The Berkley EV tech was highly rated. I would check if he is still there - not too far from Toyota Marin(who serviced my other Rav for years). Tony and QC Charge are still there - I think they were closed over the holidays.

 

[alflash]

Hello!
You may be interested in remote diagnostics of the Tesla system of your vehicle..
For example, as shown in


And described in other links in this topic https://www.myrav4ev.com/conversations/support-with-my-rav4-charger-repair.13446/#convMessage-13625

BR, Vlad

 

[hokiematt]

If your 12V battery is more than a few years old, it might be worth having it checked and/or replaced. A lot of folks have reported various issues that seem to be tied to a poorly performing 12V battery. I recommend something like this to keep an eye on things: Amazon.com Any reading less than about 14.0V while in READY mode is indicative of a DC-DC converter not working.

Based on the age of your RAV4 and the info that it suddenly quit while driving, you may have a contactor in the battery pack that is starting to fail (this is a fairly common problem). If this is the case, an EV shop like Earthling should be able to drop the pack and replace both contactors (but a positive diagnose should be made before going through that effort).

 

[james]

I had my Rav4EV serviced at Folsom Lake Toyota a year ago. They replaced the motor. They also had a couple other Rav4EVs they were working on at the time.

It was a good experience.

 

[MamaSita]

One of my Rav's was serviced in Berkley till I moved to the mountains. The Berkley EV tech was highly rated. I would check if he is still there - not too far from Toyota Marin(who serviced my other Rav for years). Tony and QC Charge are still there - I think they were closed over the holidays.

I don't know which side of the Bay Area you moved to, but if you went north, Freeman Toyota in Santa Rosa has an excellent EV tech who owns a RAV4 EV himself.

 

[DougL]

One of my Rav's was serviced in Berkley till I moved to the mountains. The Berkley EV tech was highly rated. I would check if he is still there - not too far from Toyota Marin(who serviced my other Rav for years). Tony and QC Charge are still there - I think they were closed over the holidays.

I'll try Berkeley again. I think I spoke with them once before. I haven't heard anything back from Tony. I stopped by his office near San Diego while I happen to have been passing by on the highway in early January. It was empty and a crew was changing the floors for another tenant. I did hear something before the holidays about them moving.

 

[DougL]

I don't know which side of the Bay Area you moved to, but if you went north, Freeman Toyota in Santa Rosa has an excellent EV tech who owns a RAV4 EV himself.

I'll call them. They had the car for a month for repainting before the car stopped on the road.

 

[DougL]

If your 12V battery is more than a few years old, it might be worth having it checked and/or replaced. A lot of folks have reported various issues that seem to be tied to a poorly performing 12V battery. I recommend something like this to keep an eye on things: Amazon.com Any reading less than about 14.0V while in READY mode is indicative of a DC-DC converter not working.

Based on the age of your RAV4 and the info that it suddenly quit while driving, you may have a contactor in the battery pack that is starting to fail (this is a fairly common problem). If this is the case, an EV shop like Earthling should be able to drop the pack and replace both contactors (but a positive diagnose should be made before going through that effort).

The 12v battery was recently replaced. I was hoping that it was just a bad 12v charging system. I put a meter on the cig lighter while driving and it looked fine. How can you diagnose the contactor failure? I think I mentioned that Earthling was waiting on software from the Ukraine. Thank you.

 

[hokiematt]

The 12v battery was recently replaced. I was hoping that it was just a bad 12v charging system. I put a meter on the cig lighter while driving and it looked fine. How can you diagnose the contactor failure? I think I mentioned that Earthling was waiting on software from the Ukraine. Thank you.

Normally when you start your RAV, you should hear 'thunk-thunk' of the two contactors closing. If there is a problem with them, you will either hear a single 'thunk' or simply nothing at all, the READY indicator on the instrument cluster will flash rather than being on steady, and you will not be able to shift out of Park. There will also likely be a fault code set in the Tesla side of things, that can be read with the proper software.

Another possibility is that the manual service disconnect under the passenger seat is loose. If the shop 'pulled the plug' prior to repainting your vehicle, they may have failed to properly re-install the plug or broken the locking tab, and vibration or a bump in the road was enough to loosen it to the point of interrupting the high voltage or the interlock circuit. Slide the passenger seat all the way forward, and remove the four fasteners holding the plastic cover in place. See if the disconnect plug underneath is loose/can be moved at all.

What is the current status of your RAV? Do you hear anything when you try to start it? Does the READY light stay off, flash, or turn on?

 

[DougL]

The mechanical problems predated the paint job.

A few different things have happened when we tried to start the car:

1. everything is normal

2. Everything sounds normal after you press the start button. When you put the car in reverse or drive it starts to move normally except a second or two later the regen warning light comes on the dashboard. After driving a few hundred feet the light turns off.The rest of the trip appears normal.

3. Same as number two except it throws another error and says take the car to a dealership check EV system. This appears to happen when the car is placed into gear shortly after being started. I haven't confirmed this scientifically. Car drives normally with the error.

4. Same as number three except when you put it in gear it immediately shifts into neutral. This was the case once when it stopped on the road and we needed it to tow it.

Thank you for your reply.

 

[DougL]

Hello!
You may be interested in remote diagnostics of the Tesla system of your vehicle..
For example, as shown in


And described in other links in this topic https://www.myrav4ev.com/conversations/support-with-my-rav4-charger-repair.13446/#convMessage-13625

BR, Vlad

That sounds like a possibility. The problem is, while I may have the skill to make the cable and connect the routers, I probably wouldn't have any idea how to fix whatever we find. Are you the source of the diagnostic system for some of the independent shops in the United States? I have been in touch with at least one of them in San Francisco who claims they are waiting on software from the Ukraine. It might be more practical if it's possible that they install the diagnostic software. Since they are able to make the fixes.

Thank you

 

[alflash]

I don't distribute or sell software. Moreover, I don't do this and will not do this for authorized car services, whose specialists have direct access to the software for diagnosing the Tesla systems of this vehicle.
I provide free consultations*. If necessary, I can perform remote diagnostics* with appropriate subsequent repair tech support and final procedures.
*
https://alflash.com.ua/service/rav4ev-precheck-customize-list-2/

 

[user 8152]

Roseville Toyota (Sacramento) services mine. Not quite the Bay, but they are very good.

 

[asavage]

My '14 was originally sold at Roseville, and they later handled the battery replacement (for a failed contactor, under warranty) in Aug2019. I won't say I'll recommend them, but they didn't do any obvious damage whilst performing the battery swap, which is about the best I can hope for.

 

[miimura]

Magnussen's Palo Alto has been good for me since 2013. I haven't been in for a year+ but they have always taken care of the things I needed.

 

[hokiematt]

The mechanical problems predated the paint job.

A few different things have happened when we tried to start the car:

1. everything is normal

2. Everything sounds normal after you press the start button. When you put the car in reverse or drive it starts to move normally except a second or two later the regen warning light comes on the dashboard. After driving a few hundred feet the light turns off.The rest of the trip appears normal.

3. Same as number two except it throws another error and says take the car to a dealership check EV system. This appears to happen when the car is placed into gear shortly after being started. I haven't confirmed this scientifically. Car drives normally with the error.

4. Same as number three except when you put it in gear it immediately shifts into neutral. This was the case once when it stopped on the road and we needed it to tow it.

Thank you for your reply.

A contactor near the end of its life could fit most of these symptoms, and is a common failure mode. However an equally common problem is coolant ingress into the motor electronics due to a leaking rotor shaft seal, which can cause intermittent and wildly varying issues. QC Charge made a video that shows how you (or a local mechanic) can easily check the motor speed sensor to see if coolant is leaking into areas it shouldn't:



It would be worth spending a few minutes to see if you sensor is wet or dry, to help determine the next steps to be taken.

 

[DougL]

I think Toyota Marin did check the sensor and said it was OK (dry I suppose). The speed sensor feeds the motor position back to some speed control logic? Given that the car throws errors when it begins or attempts to move would you think that the sensor or the control system may be failing?

I've asked the dealer to also rule out any rodent cable issues and they said they didn't see any signs of that. Some rodent(s) took out our cable tv twice around the same time that the car started having problems.

Thanks

 

[DougL]

I don't distribute or sell software. Moreover, I don't do this and will not do this for authorized car services, whose specialists have direct access to the software for diagnosing the Tesla systems of this vehicle.
I provide free consultations*. If necessary, I can perform remote diagnostics* with appropriate subsequent repair tech support and final procedures.
*
https://alflash.com.ua/service/rav4ev-precheck-customize-list-2/

Understood. I can try to do the cable/router connection.
I'm thinking using Amazon.com and then just punch down the 4 wires on a network jack I found in the garage.

 

[alflash]

Understood. I can try to do the cable/router connection.
I'm thinking using Amazon.com and then just punch down the 4 wires on a network jack I found in the garage.

Note.
The router requires special settings

https://alflash.com.ua/2019/to_rav4ev/remote_set.gif
to implement this method of remote diagnostics

https://alflash.com.ua/2019/to_rav4ev/rem_diag2a.png
I hope we can do remote diagnostics. The main thing is that during its implementation the malfunction manifests itself.