Service requirements of Rav4 EV

RAV4 EV has special maintenance, service and data collection requirements. It is very important that you visit your Authorized Toyota RAV4 EV Dealer for all scheduled maintenance. Software updates may be available and installed at that time. RAV4 EV includes three years of roadside assistance, which includes towing.

I couldn't find anything in the Maintenance Manual that requires you to service things at a Toyota dealer.

http://www.toyota.com/t3Portal/document/omms/T-MMS-12RAV4EV/pdf/2012_Toyota_RAV4_EV_WMG.pdf

There is very little required maintenance. Am I missing something that needs to be done at a an Authorized Toyota RAV4 EV Dealer?

Look under "Safety Precautions" on second page of the Warranty & Maintenance Guide. It clearly says to take your vehicle to an "authorized" Toyota Repair facility. Also, I believe my dealership presented me with something in writing to acknowledge and sign before I closed on a deal to buy my RAV4 EV. I have also seen this requirement in other Toyota docs.

Btw, of importance to read in this guide is the section on "What Is NOT Covered", namely damage caused by incompatible charging equipment, as well as degradation over time of the traction motor (Tesla) battery.

I believe the initially "recommended", if not required service is at 5000 miles or 6 months, whichever occcurs first. I think Toyota and/or Tesla wants to monitor battery performance over time and this is the reason for the "special" maintenance requirements. In addition, there may also be periodic firmware updates that should be applied to the RAV4 EV during each service visit whether scheduled or not.

They want the rav4s in every 5,000 to run health checks on the car. They want to build data on driving style and charging style. This is one reason they are selling the car at a loss. On top of Toyota getting data from the Rav4s Tesla also pings all the Rav4s everyday. I have do not know what time or if it is the same time everyday, but I do know they do it.

Toyota cannot expect that in selling 2600 cars over their lifetime that none will ever go beyond 113 miles from an Authorized RAV4 Toyota Repair center. I think there are state laws that prevent voiding a warranty for using non-factory repair facilities.

I would bet that Toyota will accommodate buyers as these cars drift throughout the country over the years.

Does anyone have a RAV4 EV outside of California yet?

Conversely, Toyota may reasonably expect that most, if not all prospective customers will not live more than 100+ miles away from an "authorized" RAV4 EV dealership to buy one in the first place. There are only four metropolitan areas in CA with selling Toyota dealerships; SF Bay Area, Sacramento, LA and San Diego. Those areas probably cover 2/3rds of the state's population, maybe more. "Home basing" as Toyota calls it, out of CA, is not recommended in their documentation and for good reason.

However, if I was buying (or leasing) a RAV4 EV, and lived beyond the driving range of one of Toyota's authorized dealerships, I would put a contingency on the sale that requires the seller to pay (or reimburse) towing charges to bring the vehicle in every 5000 miles for a recommended service call. Or, at the very least, reimburse me for the in-route traveling public charging, and/or out of pocket costs to drive it back to the dealership from over 100 miles away. Sadly, these high priced SUVs are not selling well, so I'd bet some dealers might accept such a condition to make the sale, or credit back something to the buyer in return to waive any such condition.

reeler said:

Does anyone have a RAV4 EV outside of California yet?

Click to expand...

Yes, just none that were built in 2012 (that I'm aware of).

There will be Rav4 EVs outside the state soon and Toyota will have to deal with that eventuality the way we Americans move around. I think the ICE components of the RAV4 can be worked on by any Toyota dealership. The drivetrain and high-voltage components are all Tesla stuff so I bet the network of Tesla repair facilities will fill in the gaps.

I have a Think City that I bought in San Diego. They are sending a tech out to perform a recall on the 3 in San Diego. One of the owners donated his garage for the day to make things easier. In other cities, there was a garage or two that specialized in EV repairs and they did the factory recall there.