Fix it, or part it out?

[Old Gnu]

Greetings! New member to the forum, but an EV owner since 2015.

I have a situation with my 2012 Rav4 EV (I call him "Sparky").
~80000 miles, second owner. Original batteries. It will charge to 85-95 miles, and occasionally I’ll see 100 if it’s warm weather.

Last week I lost power to the wheels while on the freeway. Fortunately I was able to pull over safely. I got it towed to a shop (in Orange, CA).
Their diagnosis was the transaxle had failed—mechanical failure only. The splines got stripped. The motors are still good, and the diagnostics don’t report any system errors. Also, the axles were damaged and need to be replaced. I'm told the entire assembly needs to be replaced or repaired; individual repair parts aren't available.
They found a new OEM transaxle assembly from Toyota for $9000, or they can get mine refurbished for $7000, but will take 4 weeks.

So obviously I’m struggling to decide if the repair is worth it. I'm leaning toward a repair for various reasons, some financial but partly because I love the car! But I have no idea what the salvage/part out value would be, minus the shredded mechanicals.

Any opinions would be welcome! Thanks.

 

[alflash]

under construction

 

[Old Gnu]

Before making a decision, your answers to these questions.
1. Is READY mode available?
2. Is it possible to move the vehicle manually at N (w/o parking)?
3. Is it possible to rotate one wheel when the car is in N mode, without parking and on a lift?

• Does the other wheel also rotate in the other direction?
  Does the first wheel rotate if the second is fixed?

4. Are there traces of coolant on the engine speed sensor and/or motor assembly coolant reservoir level?

I asked the guys in the shop your questions:
1. Yes
2. Yes
3. Wasn't able to check. But they did confirm the damage was isolated to the transaxle and axels. The motors and inverters are good.
4. No

 

[alflash]

under construction

 

[miimura]

I would be willing to bet that the rotor spline gave out. I would contact Tony Williams at QC Charge in the San Diego area and see if he can put in a rotor that still has a good spline from a motor that died of other causes, like a dead inverter. Maybe it could be half the cost of the solution from Toyota.

https://qccharge.com/pages/service-your-ev

 

[doug401]

A similar "end of life" question.

My wife destroyed the passenger side of my Rav4 EV 2012 "4GETOIL" with 57,000 miles last week.
I'm truly heart broken. In the past I've always said "I look forward to cannibalizing the batteries someday when it gets totaled"

Now I'm facing that reality. I'm hesitant to file a claim with insurance because they will most likely total it. And recently we had 2 catalytic converter theft claims on 2 separate Priuses.

It's being driven still, by her, but doors are misaligned and slightly gapped.

About the batteries... I would love to add them to my live-aboard boat as a 48V pack. I already have 500 amp/hr 24 volt lithium, battle born, .... and 1000 amp/hr 12 volt FireFlys. Perhaps even using the 48V pack as a crude electric propulsion assist... Low speed, short range... I mean really slow, like just enough for steerage 3-4 knots. Range would be minimal, but enough to go island to island in fair weather, perhaps 10 nautical miles.

But the pack configuration is odd, if I recall, compared to a standard Tesla pack layout.

Anybody have any ideas as how to make a horrible marriage challenging situation better?

 

[miimura]

A similar "end of life" question.

My wife destroyed the passenger side of my Rav4 EV 2012 "4GETOIL" with 57,000 miles last week.
I'm truly heart broken. In the past I've always said "I look forward to cannibalizing the batteries someday when it gets totaled"

Now I'm facing that reality. I'm hesitant to file a claim with insurance because they will most likely total it. And recently we had 2 catalytic converter theft claims on 2 separate Priuses.

It's being driven still, by her, but doors are misaligned and slightly gapped.

About the batteries... I would love to add them to my live-aboard boat as a 48V pack. I already have 500 amp/hr 24 volt lithium, battle born, .... and 1000 amp/hr 12 volt FireFlys. Perhaps even using the 48V pack as a crude electric propulsion assist... Low speed, short range... I mean really slow, like just enough for steerage 3-4 knots. Range would be minimal, but enough to go island to island in fair weather, perhaps 10 nautical miles.

But the pack configuration is odd, if I recall, compared to a standard Tesla pack layout.

Anybody have any ideas as how to make a horrible marriage challenging situation better?

I would get an independent estimate for the body work before contacting your insurance. That will give you an idea on how to proceed.

Regarding the battery modules, I don't recall the exact configuration, but the modules are different configuration than the other Tesla vehicles. There is also more than one module configuration in the pack if I recall correctly. In any case, they will be much harder to use than something like a Battle Born.

 

[doug401]

Thanks for the reply.

Things are looking up. The insurance company says my "bride" has an "accident forgiveness" available. So no premium increase. Also if they total loss the claim I can buy back the car, with a salvage title, and do as I like with it.

The irony in it all.... the car is going into Toyota to get the white paint recall addressed today. So I'll ask the body shop to give me a quote on the new damage.


So... I could even buy a different used Rav, and have a complete set of critical parts on hand.


Cars, Guitars, and old girlfriends.... you don't know how much you'll miss em until they are gone