Member Introduction

[sam]

I have just joined Rav4 EV Forum and I think it'd be great to get to know the other members of the forum. One thing that is common between all the members of Rav4 EV Forum is that we all are car enthusiast or at least interested in cars. So lets introduce ourselves and we might as well find some other common interests.

 

[Dsinned]

Welcome Sam. I'm "Dsinned" (real name, Dennis, male, age 63, married, empty nesters, except for two dogs, both Pomeranians, and a very LOUD, Sun Conure, minature parrot).

Btw, it is helpful to get to know other members when we add some additional information to our profiles and/or "signatures". Anyway, there are only a few of us here so far, but hopefully other owners will join; all 2600 of them!

The RAV4 EV is my second electrified vehicle this year! The best part about that is the "double dipping" allowed for the federal tax credit and CA rebate . . . to the tune of $19,000, almost enough to pay for half of one these things. :shock:

Oh, also, I have the proud distinction of being the very FIRST person to buy a new RAV4 EV from my local dealer, Piercey Toyota in Milpitas, CA. For some reason they are not selling too well though. I think that is because Toyota has done virtually no advertising, which is to be expected for such a low volume vehicle. Which means I guess it is up to us to help spread the word around. :mrgreen:

 

[TonyWilliams]

Tony Williams
Male
50
San Diego
2.3 kids
Unemployed airline pilot
Owned two Nissan LEAFs
Developed a range chart for the LEAF that I will also do for the Rav4
http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?p=101293#p101293

 

[Joyride]

My name is Chris and I live in Costa Mesa, CA. I'm in my early 40s, am married, and have one child. Before buying the Rav4EV, we owned a 2005 Prius and a 2008 Prius. We are selling the '05 to my brother and his fiancé, who are going to use it as a daily driver, replacing a Toyota Sequoia. I believe the Sequoias in NoCal will appreciate that.

I purchased a white Rav4 EV last Sunday (11/11). I had the dealer change out the cloth seats for black leather by Katzkin, which I like much better than the cloth interior. They had originally redone the interior in a grey leather that matched the armrest, but the interior ended up VERY grey, and not attractive to me. They re-did it in black, which I like much better.

I had the Leviton 40A charger installed at my home, which is working very well indeed.

Thanks,
-Chris

 

[RavTesla]

Hi all! Count me in as a new (eager) member.

My name is Woody, and I live in Menlo Park, CA. I am 45, married. Upon the passing of Steve Jobs, I transferred my tech idolatry to Elon Musk and Tesla, but with a kid on the way, I thought, "Hey, Rav4, lots of room, Tesla drive train and battery... that's the vehicle for me!" Plus, the Teslas are a bit pricy and luxurious for me and my muddy mountain bike. A stealth-EV was more my speed. Yes, speed.

I previously had a Subaru WRX with 212K miles. And multiple Subarus before that, too. I felt like I was cheating on Subaru a little in getting a Toyota, but there are no available EV Scoobies. I wasn't sure about foregoing AWD, actually, but my wife still has an Impreza if I need to hit the Sierras for some skiing, snowboarding, or singletrack.

I purchased a white RAV4 EV on October 25th at City Toyota in Daly City. I played the Toyota/Leviton 40A charger game in advance (20 days from first call to completed installation, $2290), so I was charger-ready in my garage before buying. I was the first RAV4 EV buyer at this dealership, although there was another woman buying a blue one the same day (she didn't have a charger yet).

I have lots to share, mostly pro and some con, but I am really enjoying the RAV4 EV overall. The "EV grin" straight line acceleration has really won me over. Wow. It feels faster than the WRX.

Right now, I am enjoying being an early adopter. The EV secret (Tesla secret?) won't be a secret for long (not when the Model S is winning Motor Trend car of the year). In 20 years, 80% of the cars on the road will be EVs. This is going to be a big shift. Very rough estimates from my first PG&E bill are that the RAV4 is costing about 1/4th the cost to run than my gasoline powered 24mpg Subaru WRX.

In almost a month, I have about 980 miles. Fun miles. Occasionally, fast (torque steer) miles. The furthest I've driven in one day was about 108.8 miles, and the range still suggested I had 23 miles remaining (this was the first time I used the "extended charge" and I haven't needed it since):

Love the range, love the acceleration, love the stealth, love the significant cargo capacity, love the fast charging at night with the 240/40A Leviton, love the zero emissions. Not a big fan of the center console GUI, the seats and interior refinements, and the lack of a spare tire. And the radio audio seems to flange a bit every once in a while, maybe when the reception isn't great.

Still, this was the first vehicle I wanted to actually purchase in many years. I love the gasp I get from passengers when floor it. Maybe I shouldn't do that so often, but WOW this is the real deal. And thankfully Toyota will be rotating the tires for the first couple of years for free.

Tailpipes are so last century.

See you all in the forums.

Woody

 

[TonyWilliams]

Hi
Tailpipes are so last century.

See you all in the forums.

Woody

Welcome to EVs, Woody.

I actually may put on a tailpipe, since the hangars are still on the car. Then, a little speaker inside....vroom, vroom from my iPhone app.

 

[Dsinned]

Welcome Woody. I was another "first customer" at my local dealership as well. I had four to choose from, two silvers and two whites. I might have gone for a blue one if they had one. My dealership is Piercey Toyota in Milpitas just off 880 at the turn off to the Great Mall. I went with a "DIY" (plug-in) leviton EVSE L2 charging station rated for 240V and 32A (7.7kW). Gives me a full (extended charge in <7 hours, so works out great for PG&E's E9A very low "off-peak" rates between midnight and 7am.

I live very close to the dealership where I bought my car, and the great thing about that is they allow me to charge for "free" whenever I want. Unfortunately, there are no places to eat nearby, and my workplace is several miles away, or I probably would recharge there at least once per week.

Last time I did an extended charge, one week after purchase, my RAV4 EV topped out at a range of 112 miles. I think it can do a lot better. I scheduled my next charge for delayed start for completion by 7am on Thanksgiving. It will be interesting to see if the range increases any higher this time.

My EFFICIENCY "gauge" so far has a running average indicating ~3.7mi/kWh, but the SUMMARY reading indicated on my EnTunes cell phone app, via the ECO Dashboard, is currently at 3.1 mi/kWh (and slowly rising day by day).

Question for the forum members here, will my fully charged battery's extended range be about 130 miles (3.1 * 41.8) tomorrow morning, or closer to 155 miles (3.7 * 41.8), or still around 112 miles like it was last time???

 

[TonyWilliams]

Question for the forum members here, will my fully charged battery's extended range be about 130 miles (3.1 * 41.8) tomorrow morning, or closer to 155 miles (3.7 * 41.8), or still around 112 miles like it was last time???

I don't believe you will ever have 41.8kWh available to you. My current guess is 30kWh for a "normal" charge, and 37.6kWh for extended range charge.

 

[Dsinned]

Hi Tony. Assuming your right, after an overnight extended charge, will I see around 139 miles on my range estimator, or perhaps 117, based on my current Efficiency gauge reading of ~3.7mi/kWh or my EnTunes ECO Dashboard Efficiency Summary of 3.1mi/kWH respectively? I should know the answer in about 10 hours and will post that range estimate here some time tomorrow.

 

[Damchi]

From what I was told by Toyota the range estimator is calculated from your last few times you drove the car. Very similar to how it's done on a gas car. When I drove the car a lot the range estimator says around 100 miles on an 80% charge and when my wife drives it says around 112 miles. It kills me that she is a better EV driver than me.

 

[TonyWilliams]

Hi Tony. Assuming your right, after an overnight extended charge, will I see around 139 miles on my range estimator, or perhaps 117, based on my current Efficiency gauge reading of ~3.7mi/kWh or my EnTunes ECO Dashboard Efficiency Summary of 3.1mi/kWH respectively? I'll should know the answer in about 12 hours and will post that range estimate here some time tomorrow.

What we affectionately call the "GuessOmeter" (GOM) in the LEAF is what you are referring to, and as we know from that experience, we do NOT know what programming went into the calculations it makes. It is bad business to estimate your current trip based on the last, because that is how the GOM calculates things, and your next trip may be nothing like the last.

The only chance to get reasonable baseline information is to RESET both the odometer and the miles/kWh screen (pictured below).

None of this data is from the GOM or EnTunes. I suspect I'll say this a lot on this forum. I'll repeat: None of this data is from the GOM or EnTunes. As we say in the airplane world, we want "raw" data, and the miles/kWh that you get from the Nav screen is probably as close as we will get (same in the LEAF). Once you do that big drive, and get the miles driven and the economy, we can get a better picture of the battery power available to us.

That's how I derived my current estimate for power available. Driving from normal or extended charge to Turtle mode will do it; I did this a LOT in the LEAF, because temperature is also a large determiner for battery capacity even with zero degradation.

Pictured is "Turtle mode" in the Rav4 that I did Saturday:

Rav4 economy meter:

 

[HD172]

I thought I'd formally introduce myself. My name is Raul I'm 30 and I live in Pleasanton. I too have a blizzard white Rav4. I also own a Leaf. My home has solar on the roof. That's about it.

 

[Ampster]

Hi I am Rick and I purchased my RAV in early October and was also the first one sold. My dealer is Santa Monica Toyota and there were 5 people ahead of me, but they all deferred when the car came in and I got the call. They have one of the largest allocations based on their hybrid sales.

I live in Hermosa Beach and have previously converted a VW to electric. I am 68, retired, divorced and have a grown child living in Northern California. My little beach town has 4 free charging stations which also offer free parking. I also have solar panels on my roof.

 

[Damchi]

Hello,

I am David, 40, married, two kids. This is my first EV. I waited for the Rav4 EV. I have been fallowing the Rav4's development since before officially announced at 2010 LA auto show. I was the first sale at Manhattan Beach Toyota back in September. Only the service manager had been to the Rav4 EV training in Torrance. I had to tell the sales people things about the car.
I have the Leviton 40amp charger at home and both my wife's work and mine have chargers. No solar panels at home, electric bill is to low.

 

[Dsinned]

Current status @ 9:46am: 118 miles so far, with 58 min left to go, while charging in extended mode.

Note, although the battery gauge already is showing "100%" capacity on my EnTunes App Charge Management display screen, it seems adding more capacity, via extended charging, not visibly represented on the display. All that you see is an elongated blue button labeled "Extended Charge" and below that, the "Remaining Charge Time" duration which makes it virtually impossible to interpole the actual maximum range upon completion.

I will report status again after extended charge is completed, but my guess is that it will top out at 125 miles or slightly greater.

Stay tuned . . . :mrgreen:

***UPDATE***

Looks like Tony "effective" battery capacity (37.6kWh) is not too far off, but perhaps a bit too conservative. I just completed an early morning charge with a total range now estimated to be "126" miles. Interpolating backwards from my last cummulative driving Efficiency Summary from ECO Dashboard of 3.1 miles/kWh, I think the total "useable" battery capacity is about 40.65kWh.

Of course, a lot of other variables come into play, so Tony's lower prediction may be much more accurate. It was about 55F early this morning while I was extended charging my RAV4. Next time I drive the car with a freshly "extended" charged battery, the OAT should be about 10F warmer. This may actually bump up my in-car range estimator another mile or two for all I know. I have seen that happen actually in my VOLT.

Anyway, I'm satisfied with this result and will be taking a 90 mile R/T today to visit relatives for Thanksgiving. I will have virtually no "range anxiety" whatsoever! :mrgreen:

 

[TonyWilliams]

Looks like Tony "effective" battery capacity (37.6kWh) is not too far off, but perhaps a bit too conservative. I just completed an early morning charge with a total range now estimated to be "126" miles. Interpolating backwards from my last cummulative driving Efficiency Summary from ECO Dashboard of 3.1 miles/kWh, I think the total "useable" battery capacity is about 40.65kWh.

How did you arrive at this? Was it the GOM prediction divided by miles/kWh? Or did you physically drive 126 miles.

Gigantic, mega stupendous difference. If I drove my Rav4 at 100mph uphill for the 10 minutes before I shut it down, and then charged up, my GOM may say 98 miles (instead of 126).

Did the capacity change? No. But using the GOM to determine battery capacity is not going to work.

So, like I said in this or the other thread; my data will not correlate to the GOM since I use real earth driven miles, and the best guess of economy (currently the Nav screen).

 

[Kohler Controller]

Hi, my name is Marc. In my 40s, married with two kids, living in Austin, Tx. I work for a small lithium ion battery company focusing on advanced material development.

I've ordered a hitch and will be adding it this weekend. Looking into adding a ~3kW PV system on top of the garage.

Like others, I think the seats are flat, the white fabric gets dirty too easily, and the multi-function display is unnecessarily clumsy. Can someone just give me (or the passenger) a dial to adjust the radio volume like every other car since 1930?

Entune is beautiful, but could be so much better in this day of Apps (go hire a group of 15 year olds!). My Vehicle Finder function has only worked once. The scheduled charging could be tightened up and more reliable. But these things can be fixed with software upgrades so I can be patient.

However, those items fail to detract from the joy of the acceleration and utility/functionality of the vehicle. Kudos to Toyota for partnering with Tesla on this aspect. Although the original RAV4EV in ~2003 was nice, it had a motor with 1/2 the power, and about 1/2 the fun.

Is it just me or is the hood surprisingly heavy? Makes the Prius' aluminum hood feel like a feather.

I've converted many vehicles to electric power and even built an EV from the ground up. I own a '06 Prius which I upgraded to a PHEV with a 10kWh battery pack, but will be selling it soon to help pay for the RAV4EV.

After 20 years of being in the EV industry, I can't tell you how excited I am to have such a wonderful vehicle. It incorporates most of the ideas that have been seriously considered since the development of GM's game changing Impact (the concept car of the EV1), and in a practical manner.

These are exiting times and I'm lucky enough to be a part of it.

 

[Gravlock]

Picked up a blue one on the first of march from Troy in Carlsbad. I love driving this thing, so fun! I am coming from a Lexus RX 400H. I was spending about $450 a month in gas. I kept the Lex, not sure if I should sell or save for the occasional trip... This machine is amazing and "not slow". I have been looking for another in the wild, but have only seen her older sister (2002 model).

I'll be keeping an eye out for you all...

Blue
1304
North County San Diego

 

[TonyWilliams]

Picked up a blue one on the first of march from Troy in Carlsbad....
I'll be keeping an eye out for you all...

Blue
1304
North County San Diego

Welcome to the EV grin !! Also, let me invite you to our San Diego electric vehicle breakfast in Poway, primarily populated with Nissan LEAFs:

http://myrav4ev.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=73

http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?p=155193#p155193


Saturday, April 20, 2013, 8am-11am

Hamburger Factory restaurant
14122 Midland Road
Poway, CA 92064

Phone: 858-486-4575

http://hamburgerfactory.com/

http://www.poway.org/Index.aspx?page=110


8am - 8:30am: Arrivals, please park in the lot directly across Midland street from the train depot.


8:30am - 11am: Breakfast in the back room reserved for us at Hamburger Factory restaurant.


After 11am: Lots of mulling around the cars that usually lasts through 12pm.



*********************

Nearby charging locations:

Brand new L2 charger, no card required at:

1.2 miles away:
Walgreens
13390 Poway Road
Poway, CA 92064

Three L2 chargers, no card required at:

1.7 miles away:
Mossy Nissan
14100 Poway Road
Poway, CA 92064

******************

Tony

 

[AvLegends]

Like others, I think the seats are flat, the white fabric gets dirty too easily, and the multi-function display is unnecessarily clumsy. Can someone just give me (or the passenger) a dial to adjust the radio volume like every other car since 1930?

I agree but sometimes it's kinda nice to not having passengers raise or lower the volume!