A list of suggestions for Toyota

Toyota Rav4 EV Forum

Help Support Toyota Rav4 EV Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

Michael Bornstein

Well-known member
Joined
Oct 29, 2012
Messages
280
Overall the RAV4 EV is a great car, but ...

1. DC fast charge capability. Even the lowly Nissan Leaf has a CHAdeMO plug site. Considering our Tesla heritage, Toyota should retrofit the "Supercharger" or some other DC system to the RAV4 EV.

2. See number 1

3. See number 1

4. The Leaf comes with a bag for storage of the Level 1 charger. It is part number 296M2-3NA0A (Case Assembly) and sells for $50.53 (plus tax). You can get it from you local Nissan dealer, or hold your breath and wait for Toyota. The bag come free with a Leaf.

5. The rear view camera is nice, but it is not clear to me exactly what I am seeing. On the Leaf, a set of parallel lines mark the expected route of the car. This is especially helpful when you are backup up and turning, as in a parking lot. My other two cars are 8 and 11 years old, and they have sensors that let off a warning when anything is within a few feet of the bumpers. I actually like that system better than the cameras as it will warn me of pedestrians that are approaching the back of the car from the side.

6. The constant beeping in the cabin while in reverse is anoying. I can see having it as a warning outside the car, but why inside. For heaven's sake, it is not a truck.

7. Power controlled drivers seat. It is after all a >$50,000 car and should be appointed as one.

After reading this list, one might ask why I didn't buy a Leaf. I did rent one for a week in Maui, and although I liked it, I would not consider buying it. It did, however, have some good points that Toyota should consider copying.
 
My list is as follow:

1. Display true SOC. The range bars displays 16 bars whether it's charged in the normal or extended mode. It does not show the SOC of the battery pack.

2. Heated windshield.

3. Rain sensing wipers.

4. Heat Pump heating to improve efficiency.

5. Prespective view, birds eye or 45 degree angel or 3-D view of map

6. Should allow "start time" programing for charging because the new Rav4-EV's charge time is calculated based on a 40Amp feed. The Rav won't finish charging if you use "departure time" with any non-40Amp EVSE.

7. Regen needs improvements. There is only two levels of regens: the break and "B".
 
What no complaints about "missing" a spare tire on the back of the rear door? Actually, I like it that way. The car looks almost sleek enough now and with the power envelop to be in Tesla's product line as a "performance" oriented, Compact SUV.

My biggest gripe is when cycling the Power On button, either accidentally or intentionally, but not actually driving or moving the car, you take a big "hit" on your driving efficiency average Miles/kWh. I hate when that happens! :mrgreen:
 
1) level 3 or fast charge capability

2) as Waidy said a heat pump. It could be used not only for cabin comfort but also to maintain proper battery temperature in both warm and cold climates.

3) a real spare tire or at least a donut. Either of those is better than a can of fix-a-flat.
 
I like all the above. Here are mine.

1. Frankenplug DC fast charging or Tesla connector

2. Heat pump

3. Heated back seats - The Leaf has this and I am afraid my kids can no longer live without it

4. AWD - Easy to do on this platform

5. Percentage of charge display - Forget the Guess-O-Meter (GOM)

6. LED bulbs in all light fixtures

7. A better middle seatbelt in back - I have a family of 5 and that middle seat belt sucks

8. More sound insulation - My Leaf is considerably quieter. I don't know if I am hearing the motor, tires, active cooling, or what at freeway speeds

I don't care about having a spare since I have AAA that can tow me to the nearest Discount Tire. I haven't had a flat tire in 15 years.
 
reeler said:
I don't care about having a spare since I have AAA that can tow me to the nearest Discount Tire. I haven't had a flat tire in 15 years.

I had four flats on those cheap Bridgestone Ecopia tires on the LEAF in 35,000 miles, and one blow out already on the Rav4 (TireRack.com shipped me a new tire the next day).

The Nissan Altima spare that I used for the LEAF bolted right on the Rav4.

Hopefully, you guys know that they are not going to make ANY significant changes to the entire production run of 2600 cars, right? It's already in novelty car volume for Toyota, and not selling very well for its singular purpose of CARB compliance. When you have to drop the price $5000-$7500 on a brand new model (3 months on the market), don't expect them to change anything (that costs money).

So, if this list is for a potential future Rav4 EV (of which I highly doubt there will be another any time soon), then I can offer suggestions.
 
I would also like more more battery monitoring instrumentation, e.g. battery core temperature, an indicator light when the TMS is operating, battery terminal output voltage, battery load current, SoC meter, regen voltage or current meter, and 12V battery voltage. Of course, no production car has nearly as much instrumentation, so I would settle for just a battery temp gauge which I think is the most critical and perhaps a regular 12V battery gauge, both with digital readouts of course. :mrgreen:
 
I really shouldn't read "Owners manuals"
"Pushing up a locked head restraint forcibly may appear the head
restraint inner structure. These do not indicate problems." What on earth does this mean? :)
 
Back
Top