Possibly buying a 2002 Rav4..questions about Turtle Light

proteusmd · Dec 11, 2018

I am considering purchasing a used Rav4 with 103,000 mile son it. Drove it today and of course it wasn't fully charged (what do people think?) and when I stepped hard on the accelerator the turtle light came on and it beeped. Pulled ooff accelerator and it eventually went off. Wondering what exactly this means as I can't find it anywhere by searching.

Also, anyone have luck charging these cars off of 120v? IF so, what charger are you using?

Finally, the gentleman showing it to me is selling for his father in law so info was not immediately available. He did tell me that the battery was changed out 2 years ago and I've asked for paperwork. Am I incorrect that there were no battery swaps for this vehicle or did I misread?

Thanks in advance

co2112 · Dec 11, 2018

My understanding is that the battery would have need to replaced as an aftermarket upgrade. If it were done a couple years ago it wouldn't have had a warranty in place. I'd stay away from the 1st generation vehicles as the charge port is different than what is standard today. If its charge port was replaced with a j1772 it may have received an updated battery pack but again it would have been outside of warranty.

davewill · Dec 11, 2018

The forum is specifically geared to the 2012-2014 Rav4 EV. There's not many people here with experience with the older generation Rav4 EV. You might be better served finding a forum with owners of that car.

proteusmd · Dec 11, 2018

THanks, this is a 2002 so Gen 1. I can't seem to find a forum that's devoted to them. Anyone know of one?

eplantz · Dec 11, 2018

a discussion is here: https://teslamotorsclub.com/tmc/threads/first-gen-rav4-ev-1996-2003.2718/

jgblair · Dec 12, 2018

I am a long time owner of both a 2002 RAV4-EV ("1st Gen") and a 2013 ("2nd Gen"). The discussions about the 1st Gen are held on a mailing list. More information:

RAV4-EV mailing list
[email protected]
https://pairlist5.pair.net/mailman/listinfo/rav4-ev

When people talk about getting a "new" battery they mean the car was sent to BatteryMD in Sacramento, California for a refurbished battery pack. There were no new batteries due to a lawsuit filed against Toyota. The refurbished battery pack was carefully cycled and some individual batteries were replaced to provide a near new pack. As far as I know, BatteryMD stopped providing that service because of the cost of maintaining the pack and the low volume of orders. As I understand it, the turtle is showing a voltage sag and usually indicates either a pack is near empty or is at the end of its life.

We have three EV's (four if you count the 1982 Ford Escort conversion we are giving away) so one had to go. We are keeping the 2013 RAV4-EV and our new Tesla Model 3. We sold our 2002 a few days ago. It was a great little car and fun to drive.

If you go to the mailing list, there are lots of knowledgable people there that can help talk you through nearly any issue. I don't know of any charger except the 240 volt small paddle charger (SPI charger), although there have been a few advanced folks adding in a J1772 port or trying to convert the NiMH batteries to lithium. The thing most folks do is get a J1772 to NEMA 14-50 adapter box or cord and carry their charger with them (many chargers have had a NEMA 14-50 plug attached to it).

John