Check EV System warning message

[miimura]

mice/rats chewed the JdeMO harness, compromising the CANbus signals? It wouldn't be the first time...

 

[TonyWilliams]

mice/rats chewed the JdeMO harness, compromising the CANbus signals? It wouldn't be the first time...

Sadly, this has indeed happened several times.

I'm still betting on speed sensor. Have the dealer check the DTC codes, if any.

If it is the speed sensor, it will happen again.

 

[ddoxey]

This morning it was a chilly 59F. I got in the Rav and started it up. There it was -- the dreaded "Check EV System" message.

I tried cycling the power 4x, and the message persisted. But there were no secondary indications of trouble.

I decided to press on with my morning commute. I'll follow the instructions and take it to the dealership immediately, as I leave the office in the afternoon. I kept a death grip on the wheel the whole way expecting the clunk followed by a loss of power, or something. But nothing. The car performed normally all the way to the office.

Later in the afternoon when I got in and fired it up, no sign of the "Check EV System" message. :roll:

 

[TonyWilliams]

This morning it was a chilly 59F. I got in the Rav and started it up. There it was -- the dreaded "Check EV System" message.

I tried cycling the power 4x, and the message persisted. But there were no secondary indications of trouble.

I decided to press on with my morning commute. I'll follow the instructions and take it to the dealership immediately, as I leave the office in the afternoon. I kept a death grip on the wheel the whole way expecting the clunk followed by a loss of power, or something. But nothing. The car performed normally all the way to the office.

Later in the afternoon when I got in and fired it up, no sign of the "Check EV System" message. :roll:

Do you have the original 12 volt battery?

 

[ddoxey]

This morning it was a chilly 59F. I got in the Rav and started it up. There it was -- the dreaded "Check EV System" message.

I tried cycling the power 4x, and the message persisted. But there were no secondary indications of trouble.

I decided to press on with my morning commute. I'll follow the instructions and take it to the dealership immediately, as I leave the office in the afternoon. I kept a death grip on the wheel the whole way expecting the clunk followed by a loss of power, or something. But nothing. The car performed normally all the way to the office.

Later in the afternoon when I got in and fired it up, no sign of the "Check EV System" message. :roll:

Do you have the original 12 volt battery?

It appears that the answer is "Yes."

I've never seen corrosion like that on the positive terminal.

I installed a voltmeter for the 12v system. It typically reads 14.0 to 14.5 volts.

 

[TonyWilliams]

I installed a voltmeter for the 12v system. It typically reads 14.0 to 14.5 volts.

Yes, that is with the car in READY, and the power is coming from the traction (main) battery through the DC to DC converter.

Measure the 12 volt battery after the car has be turned off for at least 15-30 minutes.

 

[ohyeahbigtime]

Our original 12V battery fried itself last week during the heat wave. It had a similar failure that I saw someone else posted. A VERY strong rotten egg smell was coming from the garage. Turned out to be the 12V battery steaming/smoking and spewing out sulfur through the top vents. A bit scary actually. Anyway, I picked up a replacement at Costco and dropped it in. Everything seems to be working okay, except we started getting the "Check EV System - Have your vehicle checked by a dealership immediately" message right after the new battery. the vehicle has been restarted 1-2 dozen times now, so it's not likely to clear. I am going to take it to the dealership tomorrow morning, but figured I would check in here to see if there was anything specific that they should be looking for given the 12V battery failure, subsequent replacement, and the warning message not clearing. I am getting a bit of a knocking/clicking noise from the some of the wheels (I don't recall which one), maybe the bearings/bushings, but I am thinking that's a whole other problem that I am going to have them look at while I am there. The motor is getting a bit louder/whiny as well. We are just about to tick past 50k. Sometime back we had the entire battery/charging system replaced when the car died completely, had to be towed and it took over week. I'm thankful I purchased the extended warranty.

 

[miimura]

Our original 12V battery fried itself last week during the heat wave. It had a similar failure that I saw someone else posted. A VERY strong rotten egg smell was coming from the garage. Turned out to be the 12V battery steaming/smoking and spewing out sulfur through the top vents. A bit scary actually. Anyway, I picked up a replacement at Costco and dropped it in. Everything seems to be working okay, except we started getting the "Check EV System - Have your vehicle checked by a dealership immediately" message right after the new battery. the vehicle has been restarted 1-2 dozen times now, so it's not likely to clear. I am going to take it to the dealership tomorrow morning, but figured I would check in here to see if there was anything specific that they should be looking for given the 12V battery failure, subsequent replacement, and the warning message not clearing. I am getting a bit of a knocking/clicking noise from the some of the wheels (I don't recall which one), maybe the bearings/bushings, but I am thinking that's a whole other problem that I am going to have them look at while I am there. The motor is getting a bit louder/whiny as well. We are just about to tick past 50k. Sometime back we had the entire battery/charging system replaced when the car died completely, had to be towed and it took over week. I'm thankful I purchased the extended warranty.

Low speed clicking sounds are likely from the Toyota emblems on the center wheel caps. If you tap them while the car is parked you can see that they're loose, by design. If it bothers you, just put some gel superglue on them. Other clicks and clunks are possible in the actual driveline, but if you didn't know about the wheel center caps, take a look and see if that's it.

 

[TonyWilliams]

If everything is working fine, and the CHECK EV light won't go out with 4 cycles of OFF and READY (one right after another), then you will have to go to the dealer and get them to download the DTC code(s).

Assuming the code is for a bad battery, they can just reset it.

Does the cabin heater work? In other words, can you turn the car to READY, and crank the temperature of the cabin climate control to 90F degrees, and within 5-10 minutes, blazing hot air is coming out the vents?

 

[locman]

... I am getting a bit of a knocking/clicking noise from the some of the wheels (I don't recall which one), maybe the bearings/bushings, but I am thinking that's a whole other problem that I am going to have them look at while I am there....

I had this clicking problem for years, and it had gotten progressively worst. I finally brought it in couple weeks ago. They fixed it. In their words - "Cleaned and added grease to the axle/spline"

 

[Golfpilot]

yesterday my car wouldn’t start on the airport ramp. Check ev system take to dealer. Car wouldn’t go to ready after all sorts of trying. I got a Lyft to pep boys and got the battery Tony recommended, didn’t do the trick so it was towed to concord Toyota. They now have the tech that used to be at Walnut Creek.

Anyway, I have the Jadmeo in there and I showed the guy that took the car and told him if they are not comfortable working around, with, or removing before at a price, I would have it towed to Berkeley as it’s my understanding they are familiar.

Should I just have it towed or should I let the concord guy look at it?
I don’t want some guy with no clue red stamping my warranty. Especially with Berkley just 20 miles away.

Edit: rolled to the dealership early this am to grab some papers out of my car. Still sitting there. What do you know, it went to ready. Still telling me to go to dealership with all kinds of errors (steering, brake, and) but working. Is it possible this was a 12v problem that needs to be reset and I’ll be good to go? I guess no way to find out until the guy looks at it.

update: Said they won't touch it because of liability. Anyway, I called roadside assistance and told them that their insistence on Concord being able to work on it was wrong and I'm not driving a car that has an error message saying the brakes and airbags aren't working right. They agreed it was their error and have agreed to move the car to Berkley. Hard to believe Concord felt they have less liability giving back someone a car with brake and airbag issues vs having a certified mechanic (who is there) work on the car in their "non certified" shop...

 

[user 340]

They agreed it was their error and have agreed to move the car to Berkley. Hard to believe Concord felt they have less liability giving back someone a car with brake and airbag issues vs having a certified mechanic (who is there) work on the car in their "non certified" shop...

You definitely did the right thing by having the car taken to Berkeley Toyota. Believe me, you really don't want to have your car worked on - especially for a potentially complex problem like this - by a shop that doesn't want to work on it. Toyota hates electric cars (at least ours) and many dealers treat you like a criminal for having one. It is worth seeking out better dealers, and Berkeley is the best in the East Bay (if you have a JdeMO).

 

[Golfpilot]

Well its been at Berkeley for 5 day now. Still nothing. What makes the whole scenario worse is how they act like there is a chance I won't be covered under warranty.
"Tesla and Toyota aren't on good terms so we'll have to see if they will be able to do anything"
"you have the Jademo and aftermarket 12v battery, we have to have somebody come out and determine if one of those caused the issue"
"If Toyota decides they don't want to fix this under warranty you will be responsible for the $45 a day rental car"
Then when you ask if they decline this type of repair often they say "I don't know its case by case"

If it was just a day I can deal with it, but when this car goes into the shop its anxiety inducing. They did the same thing with the heater repair.

If this IS covered under warranty I think I'm going to start looking for someone who wants it.

 

[jimbo69ny]

Well its been at Berkeley for 5 day now. Still nothing. What makes the whole scenario worse is how they act like there is a chance I won't be covered under warranty.
"Tesla and Toyota aren't on good terms so we'll have to see if they will be able to do anything"
"you have the Jademo and aftermarket 12v battery, we have to have somebody come out and determine if one of those caused the issue"
"If Toyota decides they don't want to fix this under warranty you will be responsible for the $45 a day rental car"
Then when you ask if they decline this type of repair often they say "I don't know its case by case"

If it was just a day I can deal with it, but when this car goes into the shop its anxiety inducing. They did the same thing with the heater repair.

If this IS covered under warranty I think I'm going to start looking for someone who wants it.

I believe it is federal law that unless any modification that you had done to the car directly CAUSED the problem they have to cover it under warranty. I'm not a lawyer but thats what I have read.

 

[evdrive]

This is an interesting and all too familiar story for me personally and likely one that is common among RAV4EV drivers.

Having driven this car for 4 years and owning 2, I’ve had this dreaded “check ev system go to dealer immediately” warning a dozen or more times along with a failure to power on into “ready”. The first time I took it to the dealer and nothing wrong was found, no reason for the codes. Hmm. Anyway, i’ve taken both of my cars to Berkeley Toyota about it. I no longer panic, now I turn the car on and off up to five times to get it into ready and often that doesn’t work so I have to unplug the black 12v battery terminal, perhaps a few times. This warning hit my car well before I had a JdeMO installed.

Anyhoo, these are pretty common (every few months) and often happen when I am stopping aggressively at a stop sign for example. Several times I think I touched the break and the accelerator at the same time to trigger the shutdown (oh snap, the car no likey that, my feet are too big and maybe the pedal is too close to the break). Maybe pedal and break user error is the most common trigger for the warning. Charging on a 240volt outlet has caused so occasional issues as well. I wonder if it’s a safe mode resulting from current spikes. Dunno but they always clear after restarts or a few days of driving around with the code. Mine often retains the error warning on the dash for days after I get it to go back to “ready” and drive off.

Error codes are definately a quirk with this car. It’s still a good day trip car regardless of this. If I ever can’t reset the car By cycling it on and off or unplugging the 12v, I’ll be pretty unhappy. So far, I’ve driven 70,000 miles in the RAV4EV and never been stranded, and am rarely stuck anywhere too long thanks to the JdeMO

 

[Golfpilot]

Well it has been 25 days now. Answer is still. We haven't sourced the part yet... How long am I expected to wait. The PriusC they gave me is not suitable... My bikes don't fit in it, I'm not supposed to have a dog in it, it doesn't hold 4 people and bags. This is getting a little annoying.

 

[cossie1600]

I was driving, got the clunk and lost all drive and got the check EV msg. Is this just a wheel sensor issue or is this something else? Toyota won't tow it to the shop I want, the closest shop is being richard about giving rental car. I am gonna tow it in, wait until tomorrow and request a rental car so they can't charge me. Car service sucks at Toyota, you would think they would treat you a little better if they are charging $150/hr for labor.

This is my first time using the extended warranty I think.

 

[TonyWilliams]

A clunk and loss of power could be several things:

1) broken drive shaft / stripped splines
2) speed sensor out of calibration / failure
3) high voltage interlock failure somewhere
4) motor / inverter failure
5) gateway failure

 

[cossie1600]

It's being diagnose right now, have to wait for Tesla and Toyota to talk.

The motor was replaced from the whine, battery was replaced last year. I don't think the gateway was replaced, I am hoping it is just a speed sensor.

New Camry is not sexy or fun to drive

 

[n3ckf]

ive had several apparently random instances of the Check EV symptom which "went away" after serveral start/stop cycles.
So far no "car disabled" events. My son is driving the car now as his daily driver and we're up to 78K on it but only one occurrance for him.