Compliance Car

[virtualy]

I believe I understand the meaning of "compliance car" - they're built to meet California regulations for zero-emission vehicles.

It worries me that Toyota will only manufacture 2600 EVs. I love the idea of the RAV4, with its Tesla guts and great incentive price, but I'm worried about the longevity of the vehicle and the commitment of the manufacturer to its customers. What happens in 4 or 5 or 6 years when the car is no longer being produced and I have a problem with the battery pack or the electronics or the motor? Who will buy my used "one off", and at what price?

I haven't seen any discussion of this. Are these concerns others have, or is it just me?

 

[TonyWilliams]

Just about every car has a beginning and end. I wouldn't worry about Toyota meeting their 10 year parts obligation (federal law).

 

[Dsinned]

This probably also concerns most of us, or at least remains in the back of our minds.

The RAV4 EV come with a lengthy warranty on the very expensive Tesla supplied battery and all of its electrified drivetrain components; 8 years or 100,000 miles whichever comes first. I originally purchased Toyota's extended warranty to cover the rest of the car for 7 years, because the standard "whole car" warranty expires in only 3 years. However, after only a short time with my RAV4 EV, I found it to be of high quality and "the new stuff" contributed by Tesla seems very well engineered and iseamlessly ntegrated in the car. The battery is not warranted for "normal" degradation, as is true for all other EVs as well, so I decided to cancel my extended warranty and save nearly $2000.

I think ALL EVs carry a considerable risk in terms of potential battery pack degradation over time. However, there is far less risk with respect to the durability of all the other new automotive technologies in electrified vehicles. The long term reliability and durability of any of these cars has yet to be fully proven in the real world. However, high density, Li-ion battery cells have been around for almost two decades, used in a wide variety of electronic devices subject to lots of abuses in the real world, but they seem to have a pretty good track record so far.

Sure, Tesla could vanish in a couple years should the economy take another huge hit, having already emerged from a fairly precarious financial condition over the past few years. There are NO GUARANTEES. However, I have far less concern about Toyota, the leading automaker in the world.

The best reassurance we have about the future of this so-called "compliance car" can be gained from the first generation of the essentially the same car, with only 7 years of production from 1997 to 2003. To wit, a large percentage of those cars are still in real world service, some with over 200,000 miles. Those cars also continue to have a fairly high resale value. Even fewer of those were manufacturered in total compared to the committment Toyota has publicly stated for the new model. Nearly 10 years after the old model was discontinued, I have not heard any horror stories about lack of spare parts and their current owner suffering from any lack of Toyota customer support.

Still, there are no guarantees!

Nevertheless, life is too short to worry about things we have no control over, or about things that have yet to happen and nobody knows whether they ever will or not. The bottom line . . . the new RAV4 EV is a great car to own in the here and NOW. Plus, it is truly fun to drive! I am so happy to be a real world RAV4 EV driver who is not dependent on any gasoline to keep it running. It is so much better to drive for the sake of cleaner air and protecting the planet for future generations.

It is a compliance car but that's a "good thing" when you really think about it.

 

[palmer_md]

Toyota does not seem to be going anywhere, and all the car parts for this vehicle are the same as the hundreds of thousands of other Rav4's on the road, so service and parts for the car are going to be quite easy. Tesla seems to be doing quite well at this point and their future as either a stand alone company OR one that is bought out by either Toyota or Daimler seems almost certain. They are selling thousands of cars with the same hardware, so electrical parts for the Rav4ev from Tesla seem fairly certain as well. I would not worry about after sales support on this car.

 

[SeaMonster]

Also keep in mind that this technology is changing so rapidly that I would be very surprised if it wasn't obsolete in just a few years. We're on the early part of the curve. I certainly hope that Toyota keeps making EVs. But I also hope they have a 3rd generation Rav4 EV (and a fourth and fifth) that blows ours out of the water. If I were them, I sure wouldn't plan to make too many of the current generation.

 

[virtualy]

Thanks for the thoughtful replies. Not sure I'm convinced that, as nice a vehicle as it may be, it's anything but Toyota ticking off a box for CARB, with no commitment to further development. We'll see.

None-the-less I'm intrigued, if only because I can get a Tesla for $35K. But, not wanting to make a complete fool of myself. I'm looking for functionality to match the spice. To that end, is it possible to get a sheet of 4x8 plywood in the back? Can one carry outsized lumber, say, 12' 2x4s or 4x4s or lengths of PVC pipe? I understand the rear door swings horizontally instead of a more useful vertical motion. (Now why in heck would they do that?) Does the rear window retract? Does the EV come with factory racks? Can a bicycle stand up in the rear space?

Thanks.

 

[Ampster]

Thanks for the thoughtful replies. Not sure I'm convinced that, as nice a vehicle as it may be, it's anything but Toyota ticking off a box for CARB, with no commitment to further development. We'll see.

None-the-less I'm intrigued, if only because I can get a Tesla for $35K. But, not wanting to make a complete fool of myself. I'm looking for functionality to match the spice. To that end, is it possible to get a sheet of 4x8 plywood in the back? Can one carry outsized lumber, say, 12' 2x4s or 4x4s or lengths of PVC pipe? I understand the rear door swings horizontally instead of a more useful vertical motion. (Now why in heck would they do that?) Does the rear window retract? Does the EV come with factory racks? Can a bicycle stand up in the rear space?

Thanks.

I don't think it has the cargo capacity that you are looking for. I looked into buying some factory racks or finding adapters for my Yakima system. I gave up because it was too costly. For the few times I need a sheet of plywood, I can get some carpenter friends to use their truck. Also I just rented a car from Enterprise to drive to San Francisco to see my daughter, so there are alternatives to the range limits. Life is too short for me to worry about Tesla's support. I have an EV grin every day I drive the RAV.

 

[Dsinned]

I like the rear hatch horizontal opening . . . the rear seat fold down flat, so there is a lot of cargo space in back; 76 cubic feet, same as the standard RAV4. The most useful item that much space would be good for is hauling a "big box" product home from the store.

There is also a fairly spaceous "hidden" rear storage compartment underneath the rear cargo space.

The RAV EV is hardly a "luxury" car, but it still has many passenger car features both useful and practical, although it does not have a trailer hitch option but at least one of our members here has figured out a DIY solution for that.

There is no roof rack, nor is that even an option. No "third row" jump seats, although there are cup holders on both sides way back there. The rear window does not retract, even though there is no more spare tire or hump on the back of the rear door. Instead, there is a hidden compartment on the right side of the rear cargo space for an air compressor and "fix-a-flat" kit.

The passenger compartment carrying weight rating is just under 1000 lbs, so I view the new RAV4 EV as the ideal grocery getter for a fairly an average size family, or commuter's car who can take up to four co-workers (comfortably) out for lunch.

It is loaded with safety features non the least of which is SUV-like rear visibility, which is generally lacking in most other EVs.
Comes with a 3 year free subscription to "Toyota Care" which includes free roadside assistace and automatic emergency response. There is even a so-called "SOS" button to call Toyota at any time for assistance.

You can program the telematics in the center console to locate and get directions to nearby charging stations, and remind you of upcoming important events like birthdays and anniversaries. With a bluetooth linked smartphone, you can display your contacts list and make phone calls, find restaurants and make reservations, find movie theathers and determine show times, and listen to Pandora or iHeart Radio stations. You also get a free subscription to Entunes for 3 years, which incorporates most of these additional "app" like features.

Up front there are two glove boxes and several more cup holders. Only a single cup holder comes with a drop-in rubber liner for smaller size cups, but I wish they all did. Unfortunately, to buy extras cost nearly $50 each OTC from Toyota Parts. The driver and front passenger side doors each have water bottle storage compartments as well, so the regular cup holders are available to use with real "cups". :mrgreen:

 

[brg2290]

Only a single cup holder comes with a drop-in rubber liner for smaller size cups, but I wish they all did. Unfortunately, to buy extras cost nearly $50 each OTC from Toyota Parts. The driver and front passenger side doors each have water bottle storage compartments as well, so the regular cup holders are available to use with real "cups". :mrgreen:

Just as an FYI, there are a number of auctions on eBay for cup inserts that may be of the type for your Rav4. I searched "Toyota cup insert" or "Toyota RAV cup insert". One auction shows Toyota part number - 55618-42040, which you may be able to verify through the dealer.

The prices look to be better than the OTC price you quoted.

Gary