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Phatcat73

Member
Joined
Jun 22, 2014
Messages
17
Location
Chicago, Il
I'm strongly considering the Rav4 EV. I currently own a Leaf, but looking for something larger to accommodate my tall height.

Top of mind concern is warranty coverage that I'm still weighing. Worse case I lose a years worth of gas savings shipping the car to CA & back ($2k).

Apparently I can't purchase new, however used are fair game. I am a bit concerned about the random failures (heat, invertor noise, power failure).

Are these problems typical within the first 5-10k miles? If the bugs are flushed out with higher mileage cars, perhaps that's the way to go.
 
A forum like this amplifies the apparent problems because people who do have problems come here and post about it. I've not had any unscheduled trips for service in my RAV4 EV in 14 months and 11,000 miles. However, my neighbor started the thread Engine/Power Steering turned off in middle of the freeway and had a terrible initial experience. However, after about 8 months of ownership, they've leased a second one and are in the process of selling their remaining ICE car which will leave them with two RAV4 EVs as their only vehicles. The second one has already had the Gateway ECU replaced in its first two months. Draw your own conclusions. I suspect you are right and the cars will have fewer problems after the first year and 10,000 miles. Only time will tell. The drive unit noise may be one thing that comes on later with wear.

Generally, I would not recommend that people take them out of state, but you seem to have studied up and are willing to take the risk. I agree that the limit of your risk is the expense of shipping the car back to CA for a major service.
 
We have 20k miles on ours with no problem, and we are in AZ. That said, I would probably buy the new Mercedes B-class now that I know they have a 36kW battery. That's nearly as big as the RAV, and the interior is way better. Plus, you can get it serviced where you live, no fighting, no hassle. The RAV is great, but not so great I want to fight Toyota about service.
 
The B class is only available in a few states for the first year. I got to drive the b class last week at a dealer meeting and it does drive better than the rav, it is nicer inside than the rav, however it is smaller feeling inside than the rav. I was only able to drive a few miles around long beach so range is still a question.
 
sbportech said:
The B class is only available in a few states for the first year. I got to drive the b class last week at a dealer meeting and it does drive better than the rav, it is nicer inside than the rav, however it is smaller feeling inside than the rav. I was only able to drive a few miles around long beach so range is still a question.

It will absolutely be sold in the CARB-ZEV "coalition" states - California, Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island and Vermont, plus the state with Mercedes Benz USA headquarters of New Jersey.

I would not count on it getting sold elsewhere anywhere soon.
 
I drove a FCV B class...Drives just like a BEV. I wonder if it has the same drive train? Nice car but I don't trust MB reliability. Of course, the Rav4 EV doesn't have the best record.
 
rickrides said:
I drove a FCV B class...Drives just like a BEV. I wonder if it has the same drive train? Nice car but I don't trust MB reliability. Of course, the Rav4 EV doesn't have the best record.

I work for Mercedes, and can tell you it does not have the same drive train as the FCV. They are also using the tesla drive and battery in the new B class. A far as Mercedes realibilty I think it is better than toyota, the only difference is they are a bit more expansive to fix. The car is slated for delivery in CA, NY, OR, and NJ, next month, then the rest of the CARB states a few months after. We will see how it goes and I will post some pics when I get one in.
 
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