So, I happily purchased my 2014 RAV4 EV with 124K miles for several thousand under book. I knew it was 10 years old and had some battery degradation. Range was exactly as the small dealer promised: between 75 and 90 miles without and with Extended Charging respectively. We had charged it with a Level 2 at home and the stock Level 1 at work.
Then this past Friday, my wife plugged in at work and we realized the car was plugged in all day and hadn't charged. We thought that maybe the GFI in the 15amp power outlet had triggered, but we had 18 miles of range to get home and we only live a few miles away. I plugged in at home with my Level 2. But that night I realized that it wasn't charging past 18 miles anymore at all! We tried fiddling with settings and using both charging cables and got the same result: One blinking light indicating a low range but charging normally...but only long enough to get to about 19 miles. Once it got to that "max range" both lights would illuminate, just as normally when topped off. NO error messages pop up with any of this.
Once I get it to Max Range again, I try charging. Rather than an error, the 'amp count' on my Level 2 charger gets up to around 24 (out of 32) and then slowly trickles down to zero amps. Only then do I get the two solid lights indicating a full charge.
I took it to my local Toyota dealership, the one I called PRIOR TO purchasing the RAV4 EV to make sure they could service my car. They kept it overnight, then charged me $200, had the exact same problem with their ChargePoint Level 2 charger, and then told me not to bring it back. This was the same service manager that I was referred to by their service department that 'had experience with those cars' prior to my even buying it. He literally told me that his service techs urged him to get it off their lot right away.
I get referred by a friend and Tesla owner to GreenTec Battery. The guy there swallows hard and quotes me $15K plus $1K labor for a new battery. I tell him what's going on, then he tells me it's almost certainly NOT the battery because it's still drivable and the sudden drop in range is not simple battery degradation. He says to go get a new 12v battery and try that. About that time, I'm reading this forum, and I find Tony's thread about resetting the Range calculations by disconnecting the 12v battery after fully charging it (back up to 18 miles). I left it disconnected overnight and followed all Tony's steps. I reconnected in the morning and still had 19 miles of range. Should I even bother buying a new 12v? The current batter seems fine and is only 9 months old.
Given that 3 different chargers have resulted in the same issue, but that I AM able to charge...but only back to the new 'max', what is my recourse? I'm not mechanically inclined or I would try paying Alflash to diagnose and get in their myself. I really want to keep the car, but I can't keep it with a real-world range under 20 miles. Please help!
Then this past Friday, my wife plugged in at work and we realized the car was plugged in all day and hadn't charged. We thought that maybe the GFI in the 15amp power outlet had triggered, but we had 18 miles of range to get home and we only live a few miles away. I plugged in at home with my Level 2. But that night I realized that it wasn't charging past 18 miles anymore at all! We tried fiddling with settings and using both charging cables and got the same result: One blinking light indicating a low range but charging normally...but only long enough to get to about 19 miles. Once it got to that "max range" both lights would illuminate, just as normally when topped off. NO error messages pop up with any of this.
Once I get it to Max Range again, I try charging. Rather than an error, the 'amp count' on my Level 2 charger gets up to around 24 (out of 32) and then slowly trickles down to zero amps. Only then do I get the two solid lights indicating a full charge.
I took it to my local Toyota dealership, the one I called PRIOR TO purchasing the RAV4 EV to make sure they could service my car. They kept it overnight, then charged me $200, had the exact same problem with their ChargePoint Level 2 charger, and then told me not to bring it back. This was the same service manager that I was referred to by their service department that 'had experience with those cars' prior to my even buying it. He literally told me that his service techs urged him to get it off their lot right away.
I get referred by a friend and Tesla owner to GreenTec Battery. The guy there swallows hard and quotes me $15K plus $1K labor for a new battery. I tell him what's going on, then he tells me it's almost certainly NOT the battery because it's still drivable and the sudden drop in range is not simple battery degradation. He says to go get a new 12v battery and try that. About that time, I'm reading this forum, and I find Tony's thread about resetting the Range calculations by disconnecting the 12v battery after fully charging it (back up to 18 miles). I left it disconnected overnight and followed all Tony's steps. I reconnected in the morning and still had 19 miles of range. Should I even bother buying a new 12v? The current batter seems fine and is only 9 months old.
Given that 3 different chargers have resulted in the same issue, but that I AM able to charge...but only back to the new 'max', what is my recourse? I'm not mechanically inclined or I would try paying Alflash to diagnose and get in their myself. I really want to keep the car, but I can't keep it with a real-world range under 20 miles. Please help!
I'll post results here.
