Online Forum for the 2012 Rav4 EV

Hi there,

Last week, our 2014 RAV4 EV (56k miles) stopped accepting a charge. I've tried both our JuiceBox Level 2 chargers as well as the Toyota OEM L1 charger, all with the same result. When I plug into the car, the two charging LEDs light up (one blinking), then I hear a series of clicking noises (as if a relay kept opening and closing) before the lights go out and things go quiet. All in all, the whole process lasts no more than a few seconds.

Based on the research I've done on this great forum, my guess is that the onboard charger is toast. Does that make sense? I should add that the car is running fine. Luckily, I discovered the problem with 75 miles of range remaining, hoping to top off for a longer trip.

I've scheduled an appointment with my local Toyota dealership (in Dallas). They've replace a DU for me in the past but that was still under the factory warranty. Now I'll be using the 100k/8yr platinum warranty. So I thought I'd ask if the many experts on this forum might have some advice. The service manager told me that they would charge me $258 for the diagnosis by a field-service tech (who won't be in until Wednesday of next week) until they determine that my problem is actually covered. I was under the impression that the platinum warranty should cover pretty much anything. Or did I get that wrong?

Now that I worry they may try to deny my claim, I'm wondering if I should replace my Bosch AGM battery with a Costco group 35 battery to bring the car back to stock. What do y'all think? Can they really deny coverage for something like this for an "upgraded" 12V battery? That's really the only way the car is non-stock at this point.

Thanks in advance for your wisdom!

I would pay the diagnostic fee and let them do what they can. If they pull some BS about the 12V battery, ask them how much it is to put in the Toyota battery. If it's more than $150, go get a new one from Interstate or Costco (made by Interstate).

There is very little chance that the Platinum policy will decline to cover it unless you did something in the Exclusions section of the agreement.

I got grief from Carson Toyota that the Bosch battery was too large and the car could not keep it charged and that is the reason the 12v battery was going dead overnight. Just over $200 to pop in the miniature Toyota battery that was dead next morning. No sense in looking at the gateway computer that failed.

If they seem like morons (carson toyota), take it somewhere else.

Stupid Car Dealer Tricks™ are just part of life.

I would pay the money with the stipulation, IN WRITING, that the money will be refunded when the warranty work is complete.

Don’t waste money on any 12 volt battery, unless you need a new 12 volt battery.

Many thanks for all your thoughts – super helpful and highly appreciated.

Have any of you actually encountered this kind of charging behavior / failure with a series of clicking noises? Somehow I have more faith in this forum's remote diagnostics than my local dealership...

It's been a while, so I forget the exact details, but I had a similar problem. Charge would fail after about 10-15 seconds. Turned out to be my Leviton charger. Bad contactor.

If you have enough charge in the vehicle to get to a known good EVSE, it might be worth a try. Otherwise, let the dealer sort it out. That's why you bought the warranty.

As you probably know, we not only build the JdeMO fast charge kit for the RAV4 EV, but we also repair the various Tesla components on the car, like the onboard vehicle charger (OBVC), motor/inverter/gear box assembly, main traction battery, gateway ECU, and DC2DC converter. We also repair/replace the cabin heater (supplied by Toyota through vendor Denso).

The issues with the OBVC are legendary. Of course, you need to test on more than one charge station, but assuming there is still a problem after multiple charging attempts at a least two "known good" charge stations, it's the OBVC.

Good luck! Call us with any issues.

Many thanks for all your thoughts and suggestions. I thought it seemed only fair to give you an update:

The car has been with Cowboy Toyota since yesterday. The Toyota "Field Service Specialist" (apparently only one for all of DFW) came by this morning and determined it was probably my charging cord. So, instead of pulling codes and connecting with Tesla for remote diagnostics, they went back to their nest to return tomorrow with their own cord. Sooo frustrating. As a courtesy to the dealer, I had left the OEM L1 cord into the trunk. I guess I should have also left my two L2 cords alongside it so they could see for themselves that it has nothing to do with the cord. I love this car but, boy, Toyota service is not making this easy. In their defense, they gave me a brand-new RAV4 loaner but, interestingly, it feels a lot more chintzy than the EV, using a lot of cheap-feeling plastic throughout. More, and better, news soon, I hope.

It sounds like you have the Toyota Platinum warranty, so I think you'll be ok... eventually!

Thanks for the words of encouragement, Tony. Alas, eventually appears not to be around the corner...

So here's the latest: When the EV tech finally showed up again with his charging cable, he confirmed that it was not the cable. Then Tesla asked the dealer to park the vehicle outside so they could read out the codes remotely. That was last week. Today, I finally heard back that Tesla could not connect to the car so they say the ECU Gateway controller needs to be replaced. According to the service advisor, the Platinum Warranty folks needed convincing to even sign off on that repair. Meanwhile, we all know that, once the ECU is replaced, the codes will likely tell Tesla that the car needs a new on-board charger. Frankly, I did not expect that an official Toyota Platinum Warranty would be such a pain to work with.

And it gets better: The service advisor told me that the ECU part is backordered and won't get in until January 10. They could expedite it for an extra $300 but I would have to pay that out of pocket. Have any of you ever heard of this? Sounds like a scam to me.

It looks as though I'll be without my daily driver for several more weeks (assuming that the ECU replacement is but the prerequisite to replace the OBC). Plus, I just learned that the Platinum Warranty only covers 5 days of loaner rental. Ah, it really is the season to be merry...

More generally, have any of you ever had this kind of trouble getting the Platinum Warranty to cover repairs?

I remember reading, in another thread, about an "advocate" for our RAV4 EV community at Toyota corporate. Could anyone remind of that person's name or, better yet, share their contact info?

Many thanks in advance!