Onboard charger fail after tire repair use

[astroev]

So on my way home from work yesterday I got a flat on the freeway (from a nail it turns out) that progressed rapidly. I pulled off and used the tire repair kit for the first time, following the instructions exactly. The repair itself worked fine. However the very next charge last night failed, throwing the charge not completed due to "charging system malfunction" error. This seems like too much of a coincidence. Could the use of the electric tire pump blow a fuse in the ECM? Anyone else ever run into this?

I have the extended warranty but I expect if its a fuse they would not cover that.

Any thoughts appreciated. I have one of the last VINs with almost 40,000 until now trouble free miles.

Mark

 

[ddoxey]

So on my way home from work yesterday I got a flat on the freeway (from a nail it turns out) that progressed rapidly. I pulled off and used the tire repair kit for the first time, following the instructions exactly. The repair itself worked fine. However the very next charge last night failed, throwing the charge not completed due to "charging system malfunction" error. This seems like too much of a coincidence. Could the use of the electric tire pump blow a fuse in the ECM? Anyone else ever run into this?

I have the extended warranty but I expect if its a fuse they would not cover that.

Any thoughts appreciated. I have one of the last VINs with almost 40,000 until now trouble free miles.

Mark

This may be evidence that the health of your 12v battery is declining.

 

[astroev]

This may be evidence that the health of your 12v battery is declining.

Good thought. I replaced it a couple of months ago but it likely didn't charge back up after the repair. I'll put it on my charger. Thanks.

 

[astroev]

So it was not the 12V battery causing the problem. I also checked with a 2nd charger, its definitely the car not wanting to charge. It charges for about 15 seconds and shuts off. I'm going to have to have it towed to Toyota Sunnyvale on Monday it looks like.

 

[TonyWilliams]

Check the 5 amp fuse for the charger. It is located underhood, on the passenger side. Remove the black plastic cover, and remove the 5 amp fuse. Check it for continuity.

 

[astroev]

Thank you Tony for the suggestion. I swapped that fuse out and also inspected all the other fuses that are related to the charger and power system and still no joy. The charging light flashes about 5 times and then it cuts out.

 

[astroev]

I also disconnected the battery to reboot the system, but still no joy.

 

[ddoxey]

I also disconnected the battery to reboot the system, but still no joy.

Have you tried a complete power on, power down, cycle four times? It tends to be the Toyota way that a fault code will persist for four power cycles after the last time the triggering condition is no longer present.

Aside from that, if it were me, I'd also try disconnecting, and reconnecting, the traction battery service disconnect (under the passenger seat) before taking it in for the dealer treatment.

 

[TonyWilliams]

Sadly, the first generation onboard chargers are a known problem. I think you're going to need a new one.

 

[astroev]

Well thanks, that doesn't sound good but glad I bought the warranty.

I usually go to Toyota Sunnyvale but reading through the forum it seems people really like Palo Alto for troubleshooting of the more complex stuff. Is that still true? Any recent experiences?

 

[miimura]

Well thanks, that doesn't sound good but glad I bought the warranty.

I usually go to Toyota Sunnyvale but reading through the forum it seems people really like Palo Alto for troubleshooting of the more complex stuff. Is that still true? Any recent experiences?

Yes, if Sunnyvale is convenient for you, Palo Alto is worth the extra distance.

 

[TonyWilliams]

Well thanks, that doesn't sound good but glad I bought the warranty.

I usually go to Toyota Sunnyvale but reading through the forum it seems people really like Palo Alto for troubleshooting of the more complex stuff. Is that still true? Any recent experiences?

I recommend Palo Alto and Berkeley because they will work on your Rav4 EV (with or without JdeMO) without treating you like a shoplifter.

 

[astroev]

Thanks for the suggestion Tony. I had it towed to Palo Alto and they diagnosed a bad onboard charger. A replacement has been requested from Tesla, estimated for Tuesday arrival. Someone must be walking it over from Fremont. We can't get that Hyperloop built fast enough it seems.

Interesting that this repair is covered by the original drivetrain 5 Year/60K mile warranty. I wonder if the whole flat tire/compressor use thing was just a red herring or played some role.

 

[miimura]

I think it's a coincidence. I can't think of how they could be related.

 

[davewill]

... Interesting that this repair is covered by the original drivetrain 5 Year/60K mile warranty. I wonder if the whole flat tire/compressor use thing was just a red herring or played some role.

I would expect it to be covered under the drive train warranty. After all, you can't drive an electric vehicle with a broken charging system (at least not very far).

I think the whole flat tire thing was just a coincidence.

 

[miimura]

According to the warranty booklet, the "EV Charger" is explicitly covered by the Powertrain Warranty.

 

[TonyWilliams]

I'm pretty sure that the onboard charger also failed after:

1) You ate
2) The sun came up
3) a bird flew over
4) You felt an odd feeling

 

[astroev]

The difference is that I have used the tire pump once in 1,000 days of ownership and the charger failed that same day. I have done the other things you mention every day. If the odds of each vehicle event happening are one in 1000 per day the odds they happen the same day are one in a million. If we have 4000 vehicles owned a 1000 days then we would expect this to happen, which apparently it did.

 

[Philly RAV4 EV]

LOL Tony

 

[TonyWilliams]

There's not any logical connection between the air pump (which consumes 12 volts through a fused source) and the onboard vehicle charger.