How many people have had zero problems with their Rav EV?

[Airton]

no problems here other that the "Check EV System" coming on once but after software/firmware I have not seen this again.
smooth sailing with no drivetrain noise, milage at 12k

 

[jimbo69ny]

It's great to hear so many of you haven't had any issues at all!

Thank you for replying!

 

[sqwalker]

I bought mine last May (2014) and now have 1800 miles. No problems so far. I did have a sticky charge port, but that was easily fixed.

Btw, what exactly is the engine hum issue that some are reporting? Did this happen to be fixed in the 2014 RAV EV's?

 

[miimura]

I bought mine last May (2014) and now have 1800 miles. No problems so far. I did have a sticky charge port, but that was easily fixed.

Btw, what exactly is the engine hum issue that some are reporting? Did this happen to be fixed in the 2014 RAV EV's?

Eighteen Hundred miles in 14 months? Really? Did you mean Eighteen Thousand?

 

[4EVEREV]

None- Knock, Knock.

 

[RAVev4SF]

Only that charger door. 2100 miles since picking up the car in June. Only regret that I didn't get unlimited miles. Use this car for everything. Drove from Sf to San Jose and back without recharging and a trip to Sacto. on an extended charge. Going to Monterey tomorrow with the car. Been great so far. Bringing the Jesla in case I find an RV park to charge up.

 

[VegeLady]

Purchases in Feb 2013; Have 19,000 miles....almost zero problems. I LOVE the car. occasionally stuck charging door and occasionally didn't charge as planned, not a show stopper.

 

[sqwalker]

I bought mine last May (2014) and now have 1800 miles. No problems so far. I did have a sticky charge port, but that was easily fixed.

Btw, what exactly is the engine hum issue that some are reporting? Did this happen to be fixed in the 2014 RAV EV's?

Eighteen Hundred miles in 14 months? Really? Did you mean Eighteen Thousand?

Heh sorry, I meant May of this year.

 

[TonyWilliams]

Btw, what exactly is the engine hum issue that some are reporting? Did this happen to be fixed in the 2014 RAV EV's?

Tesla calls it the "milling sound", and according to the latest quarterly report from them, it's due to a loose wire assembly.

Regardless the issue, they have to replace the entire motor assembly, which is covered by warranty (I HIGHLY, HIGHLY, HIGHLY recommend the extended warranty on this car if you plan to keep it past 3 years / 36,000 miles).

The motor assembly has been replaced on a Tesla Model S used in a taxi service and it cost $15,000.

The battery pack retails for $36,000.

 

[fromport]

(I HIGHLY, HIGHLY, HIGHLY recommend the extended warranty on this car if you plan to keep it past 3 years / 36,000 miles).

Do you buy this from your dealer or another source ?
When do you buy it ? just before the 3 year is over ?

 

[Philly RAV4 EV]

I thought the warranty was for longer than that on the drive train?

 

[Kohler Controller]

Philly, the warranty for the drivetrain is longer at 5 years/60k miles, but if you want to purchase any extended warranty, it must be before you hit 3 yr/36k miles.

 

[DerekRiehl]

Short-timer/miler (3 months, 3K miles), but so far no real problems. Minor annoyance with the charge door sticking in hot weather.

Only real concern is getting the son & wife to pay a bit more attention when navigating the driveway - :shock: Two dings already - Khalid at International Auto in Santa Clara has been very helpful (highly recommend!).

So, yeah, other than user error - very happy.

This is the car of choice now for whoever can grab it first each day, and we make an effort to use it for any trip within range. Other options for us are two Prii, which are, admittedly, not that much nicer, not that much worse, depending on your criteria. Now, if we get a tasty EV motorcyle, all bets are off, and that flash you thought you saw just might have been me....... :lol:

 

[SeattleRav4]

17K over 18 months with only 1 problem.
My canoe sheared the drivers side mirror off and I wound up repairing it because I could not get a replacement.

I know this counts as a no problem but it is kinda funny.

Seriously my only problems have been with public chargers and Toyota's refusal to pay for routine out of state service. It has mostly affected the dealers with very little effect on me.

My car reliability really has been 100%.

 

[sqwalker]

So after the 3 year lease is up, it sounds like getting the extended warranty is the way to go.

I love this car, but I wanted to hear everyone's thoughts on keeping there RAV4 EV longterm - even after the extended warranty ends.

Just some random thoughts:

What scares me is the expensive costs of some of the potential replacements like say, battery replacement (35k), motor assembly (15k), etc...assuming they happen outside the extended warranty.

Maybe it will make sense to turn in the car after the lease ends in 2-3 years or buy and resell the car and purchase another electric car (Tesla Model III?) that will have better range and also to avoid a potential expensive replacement part?

It looks like many people's opinion is that RAV4 EV will sell for more than the residual value. If so, that would be great.

 

[miimura]

So after the 3 year lease is up, it sounds like getting the extended warranty is the way to go. Thanks Tony.

You need to buy the warranty before 36 months and 36,000 miles pass. If you exceed either one, you're not eligible to buy the Toyota VSA.

 

[miimura]

What scares me is the expensive costs of some of the potential replacements like say, battery replacement (35k), motor assembly (15k), etc...assuming they happen outside the extended warranty.

While under warranty, the easiest thing to do is just replace the whole unit - Battery Pack Module, Drive Unit, etc. However, there is usually only a small broken part inside. When the cars are out of warranty and there is sufficient demand, there will be repairs done inside those modules. For example, there is a contactor inside the Model S battery pack. Tesla has been installing complete remanufactured battery packs when the contactor fails. In the future, there will probably be the option to "rent" a temporary pack so you can continue to drive the car and have your battery pack repaired and re-installed. Right now Tesla is not set up to do this. It will be interesting to see how Tesla handles this in the future. Somebody with the right training could do this as an independent traveling repair service for the RAV4 pack also. Shipping battery packs around is a pain. In addition, somebody could buy up wrecked RAV4 EVs and build up some inventory to sell used and rebuilt drive units with core exchange. Same with spare packs from wrecks - cell modules inside the pack could be swapped into customer packs when they go bad. Lots of opportunities for enterprising folks.

 

[TonyWilliams]

(I HIGHLY, HIGHLY, HIGHLY recommend the extended warranty on this car if you plan to keep it past 3 years / 36,000 miles).

Do you buy this from your dealer or another source ?
When do you buy it ? just before the 3 year is over ?

You can buy it from any Toyota dealer, but some will be more competent than others concerning the Rav4 EV.

Yes, I recommend buying only a bit before your current warranty expires at 3 years / 36,000 miles.

 

[TonyWilliams]

So after the 3 year lease is up, it sounds like getting the extended warranty is the way to go.

If you wait for the warranty to expire at 36 months / 36,000 miles, you will NOT be able to get the extended warranty.

 

[burningmay]

6 weeks, 1500 miles..no problem except the charging door issue.