Check EV System warning message

[tjka4231]

Got my RAV4 EV back from the dealer today. It was quicker than the original estimate of the middle of this week to get the new ECU. Brought it in to the dealer last Friday with the Check EV System message, they received and replaced with the new ECU today (Monday). I got the call from the service advisor this afternoon to pick up the car after giving it a full charge. I see on the receipt they put in a cause of open circuit along with the codes of U1146 and U039G. Everything was covered under warranty, including a free car rental through the weekend. Hopefully I won't see this Check EV System message anymore.


No more Check EV System message

 

[Dsinned]

I have heard of DTC U1146 (apparently a fatal error that means "Gateway ECU Communications Link Failure"), as reported before by others here, but I am unfamiliar with DTC U039G. Did your dealer happen to mention what that means?

 

[tjka4231]

I actually didn't get the information on what the codes stand for. By the time I got to the dealer to pick-up the car, the service advisor had already left for the day. I'll try calling him tomorrow and see if he can get me the information on the codes.

 

[tjka4231]

After several attempts to contact the Service Advisor, he called back today with the following information about the DTC codes, which resulted in the replacement of the ECU computer in my RAV4 EV.

U1146 - lost communications with the electric propulsion system

U039G - he couldn't find any definitions or notes on what this code means

 

[Dsinned]

Interesting . . . could Toyota be any more clueless about the "inner workings" of the RAV4 EV?

 

[atifn79]

I have found here the information extensively useful and important in this forum regarding the warning system. There are many technical and other issues are discussed here in detail about the Toyota Rav4 EV.

 

[Ferdball]

Is this "Check EV System" still an active issue?

I see some 9/2014 reports on the sheet, but I would think that the software upgrade would have solved it. But I see there is a column that asks "Did the dealers actions solve the problem," and there are a lot of "no" responses.

 

[miimura]

The Check EV System message is the equivalent of the Check Engine Light in a typical car. It can be triggered by a large array of different things happening in the car, so software updates cannot prevent it from coming up, but can reduce some of the "false alarms" caused by EVSE compatibility, etc. One of the common causes of this message is transient communication problems between the Toyota and Tesla parts of the car. Often, those transient issues do not result in a code stored in the system for later diagnosis. In those cases, there is not much the dealer techs can do but make sure the car is on the current firmware and send you home.

 

[Ferdball]

...One of the common causes of this message is transient communication problems between the Toyota and Tesla parts of the car. Often, those transient issues do not result in a code stored in the system for later diagnosis. In those cases, there is not much the dealer techs can do but make sure the car is on the current firmware and send you home.

Okay, so this isn't a significant issue for everybody?

Also, if someone does have a significant issue, is it severe enough to be like deactivating power (steering and brakes included) to be a safety issue?

There isn't much follow-up resolution on the sheet.

 

[Dsinned]

Worst case scenario, something as drastic as that might happen. A few RAV4 EV drivers have reported being "glitched" while driving, even on a freeway! Those instances, however, have been quite rare. It happened to my RAV4 EV only once (while still parked and trying to start up in my driveway) with about 7k miles on the car about 8 months ago. My dealer replaced the Gateway ECU after that first and only instance. I think replacing the ECU was merely a precaution, not a definitive solution to this potential problem. I suspect it could still happen again, but that is total speculation on my part. I'm sure, there are many RAV4 EVs out there that have NEVER experienced this problem, but still others that have had it more than once.

 

[mark_rivers19]

After 25,000 miles, 15 months of ownership..i got the check EV system display.
i was unable to start the EV and all lights were ON ( except for READY)
called a tow truck to bring it to the dealer.

Service Department did the 25,000 miles toyota care, replaced the G-48 coolant and
replaced the motor assembly ( 6 weeks ago i brought it for the milling sound on 65miles or higher)
i got the RAV after 2 days.

20 minutes after driving off the service bay..
i got the " High Battery Temp" Battery cooling Now, power output and max speed limited" warning.
and after 5-10 minutes of freeway driving I'VE LOST POWER" scary!

i was able to safely maneuver to the shoulder of 405 and call the SOS button for a tow.
after 30 minutes, tow truck was there and we're back at the service bay ( Hamer Toyota)

i'm back with a loaner ( Camry) and honestly, my service guy and the tech people don't know what's going ON.

add me to the club!

 

[Rav4EVoom]

After 25,000 miles, 15 months of ownership..i got the check EV system display.
i was unable to start the EV and all lights were ON ( except for READY)
called a tow truck to bring it to the dealer.

Service Department did the 25,000 miles toyota care, replaced the G-48 coolant and
replaced the motor assembly ( 6 weeks ago i brought it for the milling sound on 65miles or higher)
i got the RAV after 2 days.

20 minutes after driving off the service bay..
i got the " High Battery Temp" Battery cooling Now, power output and max speed limited" warning.
and after 5-10 minutes of freeway driving I'VE LOST POWER" scary!

i was able to safely maneuver to the shoulder of 405 and call the SOS button for a tow.
after 30 minutes, tow truck was there and we're back at the service bay ( Hamer Toyota)

i'm back with a loaner ( Camry) and honestly, my service guy and the tech people don't know what's going ON.

add me to the club!

Did this happen recently? Also did Hamer Toyota do the motor assembly replacement right before you lost power on the freeway? do you think Hamer Toyota service department know how to fix rav4ev?

 

[cwerdna]

After 25,000 miles, 15 months of ownership..i got the check EV system display.
i was unable to start the EV and all lights were ON ( except for READY)
called a tow truck to bring it to the dealer.
...
20 minutes after driving off the service bay..
i got the " High Battery Temp" Battery cooling Now, power output and max speed limited" warning.
and after 5-10 minutes of freeway driving I'VE LOST POWER" scary!

Once they remedy it and the remedy is listed on your receipt, I recommend you file a safety complaint w/NHTSA at http://www.safercar.gov/.

 

[miimura]

After 25,000 miles, 15 months of ownership..i got the check EV system display.
i was unable to start the EV and all lights were ON ( except for READY)
called a tow truck to bring it to the dealer.
...
20 minutes after driving off the service bay..
i got the " High Battery Temp" Battery cooling Now, power output and max speed limited" warning.
and after 5-10 minutes of freeway driving I'VE LOST POWER" scary!

Once they remedy it and the remedy is listed on your receipt, I recommend you file a safety complaint w/NHTSA at http://www.safercar.gov/.

His car turtled first, then shut down. I don't think this instance is worthy of a SafeCar report unless he personally felt that the situation was unsafe. Clearly the incidents where cars abruptly lost power should be reported.

 

[cwerdna]

After 25,000 miles, 15 months of ownership..i got the check EV system display.
i was unable to start the EV and all lights were ON ( except for READY)
called a tow truck to bring it to the dealer.
...
20 minutes after driving off the service bay..
i got the " High Battery Temp" Battery cooling Now, power output and max speed limited" warning.
and after 5-10 minutes of freeway driving I'VE LOST POWER" scary!

Once they remedy it and the remedy is listed on your receipt, I recommend you file a safety complaint w/NHTSA at http://www.safercar.gov/.

His car turtled first, then shut down. I don't think this instance is worthy of a SafeCar report unless he personally felt that the situation was unsafe. Clearly the incidents where cars abruptly lost power should be reported.

He used the word "scary". And since it happened while in motion on the highway, it sounds unsafe enough. Warning lights and messages don't == exemption from it being a safety complaint reporting worthy experience.

There are PLENTY of vehicles that have been recalled for reduced power and/or stalling. Just Google for recall cars for reduced power stalling and variants of this.

Can you imagine if every single day, one car in the traffic ahead of you suffered reduced power and then "stalled"? It greatly increases risk of injury or accident for the driver affected and all vehicles behind him compared to normal operation. Fortunately, my commute's short (12 miles each way), so this rarely happens to cars ahead of me, AFAIK.

 

[Jscifres]

2 years of trouble free ownership under my belt. On November 22, while driving 35 on a local blvd (luckily not crowded), my rav4 EV lost power and all propulsion systems shut off. Knowing that I likely just experienced an ECU communication failure, I snapped a quick pic while coasting to a stop, then a couple videos after I stopped.

Due to the holidays, I've finally got the car checked into the dealership today and am hoping they can find a fault code or something.

My mileage was 8300, and I'm not sure if they've ever updated my firmware, as I've only had it in for the free health checkup one time at 5000 miles.

 

[Dsinned]

Most likely they'll find a code and either reflash your Telsa ECM or replace it or both. At least they replaced mine after the one time this happen in my RAV4 EV just trying to back out from driveway. No reoccurrence (yet)!

 

[Jscifres]

So, they were able to pull an error code and they updated my firmware to the latest version. No new parts this time. Hopefully that"ll be the end of this gremlin.

 

[toyo33]

I just expereinced the "Check EV System" warning on my 1 month old RAV EV while driving on the freeway. Almost caused an accident on the 405 (LA freeway) but luckily avoided it. It was pretty scarry having your car all of a sudden lose power but I was able to stop the vehicle in the middle of the freeway and turn it back on and get power back to the accelerator. I was right by Carson Toyota where I purchased the vehicle and dropped it off and they gave me a Sienna loaner. My vin is 3500 so I thought they would have fixed this issue on the later models but I guess not.

By the way thank you to everyone on this forum. You guys helped me decide to pull the trigger on this vehicle. Its been a great car for 1300 miles until this issue.

Cheers

 

[Dsinned]

I just expereinced the "Check EV System" warning on my 1 month old RAV EV while driving on the freeway. Almost caused an accident on the 405 (LA freeway) but luckily avoided it. It was pretty scarry having your car all of a sudden lose power but I was able to stop the vehicle in the middle of the freeway and turn it back on and get power back to the accelerator. I was right by Carson Toyota where I purchased the vehicle and dropped it off and they gave me a Sienna loaner. My vin is 3500 so I thought they would have fixed this issue on the later models but I guess not.

By the way thank you to everyone on this forum. You guys helped me decide to pull the trigger on this vehicle. Its been a great car for 1300 miles until this issue.

Cheers

Sorry to hear this. I guess we are ALL on our own from here on out since Toyota has terminated production. It is very disappointing that in all this time Toyota never issued a "safety" recall to properly address this reoccurring problem. Since "toyo33" with a very recent VIN of #3500 just experienced this problem, like a ticking time bomb, I suspect it may still occur to any (or ALL) of us again. Although a total electrical failure happening while driving on the FREEWAY may be rare, it is horribly scary all the same!