Problem with Aeroviroment Level 2 charger

Jaysonnenshein · Aug 12, 2014

I have had a problem 3 times where the car was dead. Needed towing to Toyota. Now they say I cannot use my Aeroviroment Level 2 charger. I don't believe this as it worked without
a hitch for months. They are helpful, have changed the starting battery about 5 months ago (2nd incident). Has anyone else had this problem?

miimura · Aug 12, 2014

If the problem is with the 12V "starting battery" being unable to start up the car, the problem is very unlikely to be related to the Level 2 charging station you use. It is more likely related to the DC/DC converter in the car. Did the tow truck "jump start" the car or just tow it in the "dead" state? If they did jump it, what was the traction battery level? Was the charging interrupted before it died?

Jaysonnenshein · Aug 14, 2014

miimura said:
If the problem is with the 12V "starting battery" being unable to start up the car, the problem is very unlikely to be related to the Level 2 charging station you use. It is more likely related to the DC/DC converter in the car. Did the tow truck "jump start" the car or just tow it in the "dead" state? If they did jump it, what was the traction battery level? Was the charging interrupted before it died?

The traction battery was fully charged. I got a message about the car not being "level" . But it was in garage on level ground. The car started up immediately upon being jumped and I had a full charge as I drove with no problem to Toyota where it has been for the last three days.
They downloaded information from the car that the sent to Tesla. I am awaiting their evaluation and response.
Toyota was going to dismiss me because they initially said i had the wrong charger. This charger was "OK" when I bought the car, and now they want me to spend $1500 for a Leviton charger. I insisted that they get a better answer. "Why would the traction battery charge with out any problem but the starter battery would not"? We will find out. Any isight or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks, Jay

user 340 · Aug 14, 2014

Jaysonnenshein said:
Toyota was going to dismiss me because they initially said i had the wrong charger. This charger was "OK" when I bought the car, and now they want me to spend $1500 for a Leviton charger. I insisted that they get a better answer.

Good for you for insisting on a better answer. If I was ever told this, then I'd ask why Toyota produced a car that was not compliant with the SAE J1772 charging spec yet they used a standard J1772 port? This is obviously asking for trouble.

DevinL · Aug 14, 2014

According to Toyota Tech Tip T-TT-0206-12 October 30, 2012

However, the following Level 2 charging stations* have completed a basic level of confirmation with the Toyota RAV4 EV and should function properly: Manufacturer Models
AeroVironment Level 2 EVSE-RS
Blink / ECOtality Level 2 Charge Station
Charge Point / Coulomb Technologies CT2000 Series
Clipper Creek CS Series
Eaton Pow-R-Station (Commercial), EV Charging Station (Residential)
Schneider Electric EVlink Indoor Charging Station (EV2430WS)
*This list is subject to change Toyota will continue to conduct basic testing on other manufacturers' Level 2 charging stations to identify those charging stations that are compatible with the RAV4 EV.

http://green.autoblog.com/2012/11/06/toyota-warns-that-rav4-ev-might-display-warning-at-some-level-2/

As far as I'm aware they haven't issued an update to that list, so the EVSE-RS is still acceptable to them.

Also, I've been using an AeroVironment EVSE-RS (Nissan branded) with the RAV4 EV with no issues. My EVSE-RS is one of the very earliest made, I bought it second hand when I got my LEAF, it originally belonged to Chris Paine of "Who Killed The Electric Car" fame.

TonyWilliams · Aug 14, 2014

tgreene said:
Jaysonnenshein said:

Toyota was going to dismiss me because they initially said i had the wrong charger. This charger was "OK" when I bought the car, and now they want me to spend $1500 for a Leviton charger. I insisted that they get a better answer.

Click to expand...

Good for you for insisting on a better answer. If I was ever told this, then I'd ask why Toyota produced a car that was not compliant with the SAE J1772 charging spec yet they used a standard J1772 port? This is obviously asking for trouble.

That is some clueless ********* on that one! Good Gawd !!!

No, you don't need their Leviton charge station. The charge station has NOTHING to do with the failure of the 12 volt battery.

Go to a different dealer for service.