RECALL: going into neutral / Speed Sensor failure

[arnolddeleon]

MOD EDIT: THIS RECALL HAS BEEN SATISFIED WITH FIRMWARE UPDATE 1.3.101

Recall for possible issue with car going to into neutral:

http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/03/11/us-toyota-recall-idUSKBN0M728220150311

http://pressroom.toyota.com/releases/toyota+recall+camry+highlander+rav4+march11.htm

I heard about it first from the Tesla Motors forum:
http://www.teslamotorsclub.com/showthread.php/4259-The-New-RAV4-EV/page88

[fixed the links, damn FB not showing the full link when I doing doing my cut & paste]

arnold

 

[kiwiguy]

Thanks for the info - very interesting. Here's a direct link:

http://pressroom.toyota.com/releases/toyota+recall+camry+highlander+rav4+march11.htm

 

[4EVEREV]

Great, they will update the software and create new worse issue :lol:

 

[Outlier]

FWIW, I'm at Oxnard Toyota for the 10K. They mentioned the recall and said they didn't have any information on it yet. The Service Manager volunteered that Toyota is considering a mass buyback. One guy at one small dealership doesn't make so, but maybe it shows the frustration Toyota is having.

 

[mysticmotz]

Removed

 

[TonyWilliams]

There is something strange in the press release. It says approximately 2,500 RAV EVs are effected. Correct if I am wrong but I thought Toyota built 2,500 RAV4 EVs a year for 3 years meaning they have sold a little over 7,500 units.

So either they misstated how many cars are involved in the recall or the recall is on a specific version of the firmware. It would be nice to know what the real facts are.

I don't see how you came to this conclusion on the press release... 2500 were built (2538 actually).

 

[fusiondynamics]

No!!!!!!!!! I hope they fix the issue and not do a buyback. The only other full electric this size and about the same size might be the Mercedes but the range sucks.

"Owners of the involved vehicles will receive a notification by first class mail. Toyota dealers will repair the electric vehicle traction motor assembly."

I wonder if this was the issue with my car when I loss total traction on the freeway. After a couple ON/OFF sessions, the car went back to normal. I did take the car in and they couldn't find anything wrong with it.

 

[4EVEREV]

So there is an issue in the ECU in the motor as Tesla has controls in the traction system and they can't seem to fix it via an update only? If this is the case it would likely impact Teslas as well assuming the same native electronics in the drive. I don't see Toyota doing a buyback of all the cars unless the motor swap was so prohibitive or it's clever way to get out of the program and further issues and still get CARB credits. More likely a vague press release. If certified letters are delivered and not regular mail it could be interesting. In the very very unlikely chance that ever happened I would not take a pro-rated deal. Full refund, perhaps :lol:

 

[dipper]

So there is an issue in the ECU in the motor as Tesla has controls in the traction system and they can't seem to fix it via an update only? If this is the case it would likely impact Teslas as well assuming the same native electronics in the drive. I don't see Toyota doing a buyback of all the cars unless the motor swap was so prohibitive or it's clever way to get out of the program and further issues and still get CARB credits. More likely a vague press release. If certified letters are delivered and not regular mail it could be interesting. In the very very unlikely chance that ever happened I would not take a pro-rated deal. Full refund, perhaps :lol:

Uh. If Toyota willing, I might swap a fully loaded Lexus NX300h awd. They might save some money with me.

 

[4EVEREV]

They will update the software and be done with it.

 

[GlennD]

No!!!!!!!!! I hope they fix the issue and not do a buyback. The only other full electric this size and about the same size might be the Mercedes but the range sucks.

"Owners of the involved vehicles will receive a notification by first class mail. Toyota dealers will repair the electric vehicle traction motor assembly."

I wonder if this was the issue with my car when I loss total traction on the freeway. After a couple ON/OFF sessions, the car went back to normal. I did take the car in and they couldn't find anything wrong with it.

The range is not up to RAV4 EV standards but the features are great! It has bells on top of bells and whistles. Just today when I was listening to an open AM station to the digital noise I discovered it has a built in weather receiver. As I understand BMW even deleted the AM band!

I tried to buy an end of production RAV but Cabe Toyota did not want to deal. I am happy to get the B Class for about the same money. Mercedes and green do not go in the same sentence so they are desperate. CARB discounts are great in a compliance car.

 

[oldman]

Read in today's SF Chronicle that Toyota is recalling all the EVs because there is a TESLA software glitch that may cause the car to go into neutral. Anyone know more about it?

 

[Outlier]

The Rav4 has been great for us. The recall issue seems be of an earlier problem that I thought was resolved by earlier software updates. No one seems to have mentioned it this year at all.

It will be interesting to see what Toyota does with the ones outside of CA. Software sounds like an easy install, but I recall a couple of cars being bricked for a while due to failed installs and battery issues.

Then there are the modified Rav4s. Hopefully there are friendly dealers for those Rav4s.

 

[mysticmotz]

Read the official PR release from Toyota and decide if you really think it is just a firmware (software) fix.

http://pressroom.toyota.com/releases/toyota+recall+camry+highlander+rav4+march11.htm

"In the involved RAV4 EV, components in the Electric Vehicle Traction Motor Assembly, which is part of the propulsion system, may cause the vehicle to shift to “neutral” due to a software issue. This condition will also trigger a “Check EV System” warning message on the instrument panel and turn on a malfunction indicator lamp. If the vehicle shifts to “neutral”, this will result in a complete loss of drive power, which can increase the risk of a crash.

Owners of the involved vehicles will receive a notification by first class mail. Toyota dealers will repair the electric vehicle traction motor assembly.

Initially, it does sound like just a software issue but when they end the second sentence they say "repair the electric vehicle traction motor assembly" which sounds like they have to do some work on our Tesla motors.

 

[4EVEREV]

Read the official PR release from Toyota and decide if you really think it is just a firmware (software) fix.

http://pressroom.toyota.com/releases/toyota+recall+camry+highlander+rav4+march11.htm

"In the involved RAV4 EV, components in the Electric Vehicle Traction Motor Assembly, which is part of the propulsion system, may cause the vehicle to shift to “neutral” due to a software issue. This condition will also trigger a “Check EV System” warning message on the instrument panel and turn on a malfunction indicator lamp. If the vehicle shifts to “neutral”, this will result in a complete loss of drive power, which can increase the risk of a crash.

Owners of the involved vehicles will receive a notification by first class mail. Toyota dealers will repair the electric vehicle traction motor assembly.

Initially, it does sound like just a software issue but when they end the second sentence they say "repair the electric vehicle traction motor assembly" which sounds like they have to do some work on our Tesla motors.

It is a software update, they use "repair" as legal jargon to indicate it is a fix or "repair" for the issue. The car has no mechanical neutral of any kind to replace or repair nor are they swapping drive systems for a software update. The ECU is in the traction pack.

 

[jspearman]

I'm scared to get any kind of update. I'm still running 2 1/2 yr old firmware, and if it ain't broke, I don't want to risk it.

 

[pchilds]

I'm scared to get any kind of update. I'm still running 2 1/2 yr old firmware, and if it ain't broke, I don't want to risk it.

I don't think that firmware updates have broken anything. The RAV4 EV only gets better with updates.

 

[fusiondynamics]

Maybe we can hope that we might get the new Tesla firmware that is rumored to have a more accurate GOM. We will find out Thursday when Tesla announces what their new thing is to eliminate range anxiety.

 

[miimura]

Maybe we can hope that we might get the new Tesla firmware that is rumored to have a more accurate GOM. We will find out Thursday when Tesla announces what their new thing is to eliminate range anxiety.

It doesn't matter to us what Tesla announces about range anxiety. I can guarantee you that it will not contribute anything to the RAV4 EV. I am almost certain that Toyota came up with the GOM calculations and that they do their thing purely based on the State Of Charge value reported by the Tesla Battery Management System.

 

[cardano]

Our 2014 Rav4 (bought in Sep 2014) EV ECU was replaced a couple of months ago (around 2K miles) after multiple "Check EV System" warnings and one episode of my wife finding herself suddenly in neutral. We were originally told only a software upgrade would be needed, but then the unit was replaced. Between this and the replacement of our entire front passenger seat, we have almost hit the 30 day in shop requirement for the CA lemon law (yay?).

I wonder if I need a new software update anyway?

By the way, our 2015 Leaf (purchased one month later) has zero trips to the shop.