Rav4EV 2012 - Onboard Charger broken

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rav4ev2012

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May 19, 2017
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4
So, my 2012 Rav4 EV stopped charging yesterday at work. I had to tow it to my dealer and after the diagnosis they found that the on-board charger is broken. It would cost me ~4K to fix it. I am wondering if there is an cheaper option to fix it (outside a dealer maybe). Also, I was told that I could install Jdemo charger at a lower cost but I don't have much information about this product.

Anyone in this group have had a similar experience and how was it resolved? Any inputs/suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks.
 
First I would ask the dealer how much the labor is to fix it. Second, see if you can find a used charger from a wrecked RAV4 EV.

Another possibility is to see if one of the fuses is blown.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yPOtAotzvTY
If a fuse is blown, it could be for a good reason and changing it will just buy you a small amount of time before it blows again.
 
Thanks Miimura, appreciate your quick response.

The labor cost is $700 and the part is $3500. This is at Walnut Creek Toyota.

I tried searching on google for a wrecked Rav4 EV but not much luck. Will keep trying. Meanwhile, I am wondering if I could take it to a local shop and ask them to check if one of the fuses is blown. The challenge is to find a shop who can do it! Any thoughts?

Couple of weeks back my Levitton 40 Amp charger shut down as well (may be it was something to do with the car). Levitton refused to fix it as it was out of warranty and instead asked me to buy a new one. Luckily, with some help I was able to replace the fuse and the unit is working great now.

Thanks.
 
If you are interested in seeing what the jademo is all about shoot me a PM. I live about 10 mins from that WC dealership
 
Thanks 'GolfPilot' for your time yesterday and for showing me the jdemo charger installed in your car.

Here is the original diagnosis report from the dealer.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B8j6tLHJ9UqaV3hkQUkzY1M0dEk/view?usp=sharing

When I would connect the car to a charging station, I would hear the charger 'click(s)' (I assume this means the car is starting to charge) and in a few seconds "System Malfunction" message would be displayed. Tried multiple times and used different charging stations but same results. Today, I called up Toyota@Berkeley and explained it to the advisor (not EV technician as he was busy). The advisor thinks (based on my explanation of the problem) that had it been a problem with the fuse, the car wouldn't even start charging. Will reach out to other dealers and see what they think.
 
FYI Tesla sells what I assume is the same charger on their website for $2000, including installation. Obviously that installation is on a Model S, not a Rav4-EV, but I am curious what would happen if you just stopped by a Tesla support center and asked them about it. Maybe tweet Elon too. After all, this is a Tesla part failure, and they're great at making things right. Too bad Toyota is trying to screw you over.

Here's one on ebay for $1200: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Tesla-Model-S-2012-2015-OEM-GEN-1-10kw-Charger-Part-6009278-00-F-/332181333542?hash=item4d578ce626:g:xn8AAOSwmgJY7k7n&vxp=mtr
 
Is the charger in the S actually different from the one in the RAV? Would Tesla have designed a special charger for our cars versus using one of their S parts "off the shelf"? Perhaps the charger can be replaced with one from a wrecked S?
 
One from a wrecked S like I linked to (on ebay) should be the same, as long as it's a first generation one. I'm not sure if the charger listed on Tesla's website is the same as it could be configured to only work in dual charger mode or something like that. After more googling I found these guys down in San Diego that are parting out a bunch of Teslas. I think they're the same people selling the charger on ebay - maybe going through them directly can get you a better deal. Probably worth giving them a call: http://www.autobahnparts.com/carmodels/tesla/tesla/tesla/model-s
 
Thank you!

I reached out to Henry at Autobahnparts but he wasn't able to confirm if the Tesla first generation component would work with Rav4 EV. Here is what he provided. However, I am not technical enough to know if this would work for a Rav4 EV.

Part #: 6009278-00-F
This is a GEN 1 10kW charger

Here are some photos:
https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B8awQvyt_4CVMDVOeDB2dUFNT2M

I have also sent out an email to Tesla customer support but haven't heard back from them. I might stop by a Tesla support center today and see if that helps.
 
Certainly looks like the right charger to me, but maybe Tony or someone else who's dug deep under the hood can speak to whether the Tesla part number matches - maybe you could even pay Tony to test it out on his Rav since it's in his neck of the woods. Obviously the guys at the junkyard would have no clue about it working in the Rav - but could they at least confirm whether the junked Tesla was able to charge before they pulled the part? (I would guess probably not, but for reasons independent of whether the charger works.)

Anyway, if you went this route you probably won't know for sure whether the salvaged charger works until you install it and try. There's definitely a risk, but I'd say it's worth it to avoid having to pay Toyota $3500 then wait who-knows-how-long for them to get the part from Tesla and install it. Worst case maybe you could resell the charger to a Model S owner, or maybe the junkyard would let you return it. Good luck!
 
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