Check EV System warning message

[fusiondynamics]

So this morning driving to work I got the dreaded Check EV System warning on the freeway. I was driving approximately 40-50 mph and I suddenly heard a beep and looked down to see the system warning. Then the car lost all traction power. I was lucky enough to be able to pull over. I turned off and on the car after a few minutes and same error. While sitting waiting for the tow truck after about 20-25 mins I decided to try powering on the car again and found that everything looked normal again. I decided to go ahead and drive to the Berkeley Toyota dealership since it was only a few miles and I could take surface streets from where I broke down. Tow truck was gonna take another hour to get to me.

Also this is one of the few times that I did a extended charge.

So apparently they have another Rav EV in there that they could not figure out what is wrong and awaiting to change the whole traction battery (wonder who's Rav EV is in there, Member here?).

I got a call now that they showed no error logs on the system and found that there was a firmware update available and did that. So I will update this when I get my car back tomorrow.

My car has a vin # over 2000. I currently have 12k miles on it.

 

[sierrabill]

Weeelllllll, I did take the RAV to the dealer. In my post of 2 March I was describing how we have never had the RAV stop working despite having the screen of death appear many times. Then the heater died about a month ago which is the end of life to my wife so I took it to Roseville Toyota. They claim the screen of death was because of the failing heater (over time), Hmmmm. They fixed the heater, did the 15K mile service and updated the software (from whatever we had at the time purchase in Dec 2012).
It's been about a month....no screen of death.
Separate Note: There are NO J-1772 or L2 charging locations between Oroville and Rocklin. If there were (hint,hint), I would dare to make the 150 mile trip to Roseville Toyota in the RAV...so far been trailering it, which stinks.

 

[TonyWilliams]

Separate Note: There are NO J-1772 or L2 charging locations between Oroville and Rocklin. If there were (hint,hint), I would dare to make the 150 mile trip to Roseville Toyota in the RAV...so far been trailering it, which stinks.

I carry Tesla Roadster adapter, so if I you find yourself closer to Orland, the Berry Parch restaurant has had the Roadster charge station for some time.

 

[Njs1987]

Had this happen earlier this week. Car would not go into Drive. Then displayed screen of death.

Brought it to Santa Monica Toyota. No codes were stored. Tesla did their secret thing. Their solution: Installed updated firmware. No issues since.

 

[miimura]

I've never had the Check EV System message, but this morning I had the GOM temporarily show LO and zero bars. The first time, I opened the driver's door to open the charge port and saw the LO reading. As soon as I plugged in the J1772 handle, the reading jumped to 14 bars and 85 miles. Later, when I went to drive the car, it showed LO when I got in, but when it came READY, it showed the expected range and bars.

Is this kind of glitch a precursor to the Check EV System message?

 

[Dsinned]

It "might" be, but then again, it might not. When I experienced the screen of death, it just happened out of the blue with no prior warning that anything else was wrong. It only happend once that first time, several months ago, but nothing since then. I have since had my car's Tesla Gateway ECU replaced, but frankly I do not know if this was even really necessary or the solution to this seemingly infrequent issue.

 

[starlight]

I've never had the Check EV System message, but this morning I had the GOM temporarily show LO and zero bars. The first time, I opened the driver's door to open the charge port and saw the LO reading. As soon as I plugged in the J1772 handle, the reading jumped to 14 bars and 85 miles. Later, when I went to drive the car, it showed LO when I got in, but when it came READY, it showed the expected range and bars.

Is this kind of glitch a precursor to the Check EV System message?

That is kind of how it was for me- first once I had filled up with Electric Charge and was full, then it would drop to low while I drove away from the charging station- it was about a month after that incident that I had the check EV message show up!

 

[yblaser]

I've never had the Check EV System message, but this morning I had the GOM temporarily show LO and zero bars. The first time, I opened the driver's door to open the charge port and saw the LO reading. As soon as I plugged in the J1772 handle, the reading jumped to 14 bars and 85 miles. Later, when I went to drive the car, it showed LO when I got in, but when it came READY, it showed the expected range and bars.

Is this kind of glitch a precursor to the Check EV System message?

I've had this happen a few times over the last 8-12 months. Only right when I've gotten in the car and never while driving. I haven't had a check EV System message.

 

[miimura]

I've never had the Check EV System message, but this morning I had the GOM temporarily show LO and zero bars. The first time, I opened the driver's door to open the charge port and saw the LO reading. As soon as I plugged in the J1772 handle, the reading jumped to 14 bars and 85 miles. Later, when I went to drive the car, it showed LO when I got in, but when it came READY, it showed the expected range and bars.

Is this kind of glitch a precursor to the Check EV System message?

I've had this happen a few times over the last 8-12 months. Only right when I've gotten in the car and never while driving. I haven't had a check EV System message.

I guess that makes me feel better...

 

[tjka4231]

This morning I took my 2013 RAV4 EV to the dealer for its 10,000 mile service. I got it back a couple hours later with a clean bill of health, tires rotated and fluids filled. An hour after I picked it up from the dealer, the Check EV System message came up. I have never seen this message before on my RAV4 EV. It was still drivable. I took it back to the dealer. The service advisor said they will need to pull the codes and work with Tesla to see what's wrong and it could take a couple of days to diagnose. They gave me an ICE rental for the weekend.

Update, the service advisor called this afternoon and said they determined that the ECU needs to be replaced. He said it will be around the middle of next week when the new ECU arrives and it's replaced. The car will remain at the dealer until then.

 

[Dsinned]

Your dealer will probably update your (Tesla) Gateway ECU firmware, or replace it. To best of my knowledge, there is no definitive or known cause of this abnormal condition. It happens at random and cannot be replicated at will. Likewise, I do not know for a fact that updating or replacing the computer is the solution to the problem. To replace the Gateway ECU is certainly not cheap. I think a new one costs nearly $4000! :shock:

You'd think somebody would WANT TO KNOW the actual cause of this problem before spending that kind of money without knowing what the REAL problem is! :shock:

 

[Joe_EV]

Six month update: everything has been stable since Toyota replaced my ECU and updated it to the latest firmware.

Previously I had been experiencing warning messages, charge scheduling issues, and even failures to start.

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

 

[Michael Bornstein]

My car was doing fine at about 13k mi. Plugged in last night and the indicator lights flashed appropriately. Was scheduled to be ready to go at 6am. This morning the GOM showed 20 mi indicating that it hadn't charged, and I also didn't get any e-mails from Entune. The Check EV warning message was there. I have made an appointment with Carson Toyota to take it in next weekend (have to work this weekend (unless the message goes away).

This effectively puts a damper on my proposed trip to Las Vegas.

 

[Dianne]

I would still try to charge it tho. Power it off and on 5 times. I have no personal experience with this failure but I read that somewhere....

 

[Michael Bornstein]

Thanks Dianne. The plot thickens...

The scenario yesterday was that the car was on a Scheduled Charge (depart at 6am). When I plugged the car in Thursday night, the lights above the charge port flashed appropriately and I heard the normal slight buzzing noise from the car. When I went to the car Friday morning, the yellow light on the Leviton was still on (indicating charging) but the lights above the port were off. GOM said 20 miles (I needed a charge). Car started but gave the Check EV message. I drove the car a few miles, stopped for a few minutes, restarted and got the same warning. Drove home with no problem and drove to work with my wifes Volt.

This morning, i started the car and got the same warning. It let me choose "Charge immediately" so I did. Lights flashed appropriately, and the car started charging. About 3 hours later, the GOM said 78 miles and the warning was gone. Car drove fine at freeway speeds.

Question is: Should I bring it in to Carson Toyota next Saturday to have it looked at, or should I forget about it? I bought the car October 12, 2012 so the initial 2 year warranty is almost up, but I did buy whatever long term contract Toyota had. If the Tesla parts need replacement, should I get it done now or will they be covered under the other warranty?

BTW Dianne, Sean transferred me to another person who made the appointment, and then I was transferred again to car rentals, but they never answered. I left a message but they never called back. If I do come in, I will need a rental. Will this rental be covered under the warranty? Contact me and I can give you my VIN so that you can look up what warranties I have.

 

[miimura]

The most likely parts that need to be changed based on your description are the gateway ECU and the onboard charger, both of which are covered by the powertrain warranty for 60 months/60,000 miles. The extended warranty would most likely not be involved. See the Warranty thread here for the list of items covered by the powertrain warranty.

 

[Michael Bornstein]

The most likely parts that need to be changed based on your description are the gateway ECU and the onboard charger, both of which are covered by the powertrain warranty for 60 months/60,000 miles.

Thanks miimura. From what you are saying, I have over three more years remaining on my warranty for these parts.

I had this problem at least once before on my way to work over a year ago. I had no trouble driving to work, and the warning was gone when I started the car to come home.

Should I take the car in to Carson? It is a hassel as they are a 130 mile drive from my house. Perhaps I should wait until my 15000 mi service?

Now that the warning is gone, will there be any codes remaining for them to discover?

Mike

 

[Dsinned]

Mike, the randomness of this problem is such that it might not ever occur again. Or, it might occur on your way to the dealership. Since you are fully covered under warranty, you should take it in for "official" troubleshooting by the dealership. There may or may not be a history code to help with the diagnosis. Don't count it. Of course, without a way to replicate the problem, the dealer will be essentially clueless what to do. If your Gateway ECU does not have the latest firmware, most likely will update it. However, there is a chance that will fail for some reason. If successful, they may still want to replace the Gateway ECU as Tesla seems to lean in that direction in most similar situations. This has generally been the end point for most everyone else experiencing the same problem.

Some here with replacement ECUs say, they never experienced the problem again, but a few did have repeat incidences of the "Check EV System" failures. And some in a very small minority of cases have experienced this problem while actually DRIVING! :shock:

Btw, I feel your pain if you live 130 miles from the nearest "authorized" dealership. However, because of that and your plan to drive it on a trip as far away as Las Vegas, they should be more inclined to cover all your expenses, or even pay for a tow service to avoid driving it on a freeway.

 

[Michael Bornstein]

I appreciate the comments. Since this is a random event, what are the chances that Toyota will simply say "We can't find anything wrong with your system ... Take a few aspirin and call me in the morning."

I don't want to drive 260 mi and not get a new computer and charger, and even if I do, there is no guarantee that they will be any better than what I already have. As far as I know I have the latest firmware from Carson Toyata installed at my 10000mi checkup. I even shelled out for the latest NAV Map software (from a local dealer).

Tonight I will attempt a scheduled charge to see if it works. If it fails, I will bring the car in. If not, I might as well cruise along until I have a hard or reproduceable failure. I already upgraded my AAA membership to get a free 100 mile tow, and 99% of the time I am within 20 miles of home.

I truly don't understand Tesla's (and Toyota's) lack of enthusiasm for this car. If I were Elon, I would buy the rights from Toyota (it would be cheap as Toyota is off on a hydrogen kick), slap a 60kWh battery and a Supercharger in it, and it would sell like hotcakes. But thats another topic.

 

[Dsinned]

I appreciate the comments. Since this is a random event, what are the chances that Toyota will simply say "We can't find anything wrong with your system ... Take a few aspirin and call me in the morning."

This is entirely possible as well. :roll: