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I have been working on a port of the OVMS system for the RAV4 EV. It is ready for people to start using it now. OVMS is short for Open Vehicle Monitoring System. It consists of a small box that connects to a vehicle and can report on its status. It was originally independently developed for the...

Photobucket has changed their Terms of Service. In order to use them to host images for forums like this one, you have to pay some exorbitant amount for annual membership. I have found that the Forum search is good for finding your own posts that include Photobucket images, but it will still...

There is now a 8 stall DCFC site online in Mountain View, California. The site uses the ChargePoint Express 200 DCFC units that can output 125 amps to either its CHAdeMO connector or its CCS connector. This is the largest industry standard (ie. non-SuperCharger) fast charge site I know of in the...

SCE has started their Clean Fuel Rebate program. They are late to the party. PG&E and SDG&E started theirs earlier this year. These programs are funded by the Low Carbon Fuel Standard. The utilities provide "transportation fuel" to plug-in cars, so they get to collect these credits. They...

Well, I can't believe it. There is finally evidence of the I-5 corridor fast chargers from the 2014 CEC grant being installed. The first one has popped up in PlugShare at Santa Nella Village, just north of the I-5 CA 152 interchange at the Best Western Andersen's Inn. It is listed as a single...

I had a new issue with Entune today. The iPhone app and the MyEntune.com web site says that my SafetyConnect is expired, so I cannot access EV Apps. However, my original contract says it doesn't expire until March 2016. SafetyConnect customer service agrees that the original contract is still...

Two reminders regarding Daylight Saving Time, which just started today March 8, 2015: 1. The RAV4 EV does not automatically adjust to Daylight Savings Time, you have to enable it manually. From the home screen, touch the gear icon in the lower right for Setup, touch General, then Clock. Turn...

I just reviewed the January PG&E rate increase and I must say PG&E is really trying to screw EV owners that have elected to stay on Schedule E-9. This is the "Experimental" rate schedule that was developed to encourage customers to charge their Electric Vehicles Off Peak. This rate plan has been...

I think turning this thread into a discussion about an Open Source DC Fast Charger would be useful and interesting. Tony's proposal for a higher power unit that has two handles and can charge two vehicles with variable power is very interesting. This is the way that Tesla SuperChargers work...

I was exiting the freeway the other day at maximum regenerative braking. When one front tire went over a bump, the car felt like it suddenly lunged ahead because the Regenerative Braking was cut due to tire slip. The effect was more pronounced than in an ICE vehicle because all of the slowing...

I saw this on the TeslaMotorsClub forum and was literally LOL-ing all over the place. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=daW9XmG9krc http://www.teslamotorsclub.com/showthread.php/27554-New-Downfall-Parody-Involving-Tesla-Superchargers

I was looking at my EV Past Record screen and found it to be useless because all the bars are the same height. My driving is not THAT consistent. I was hoping that the January bar would reflect the colder weather lowering the efficiency with heater use. Are others seeing this? I did an...

I got an e-mail from Entune with the contents below. This has happened to me before when I set up a new e-mail account just for the car and changed my Entune e-mail. However, this time I did not do anything in Entune to trigger this. In response to this, I logged into My Entune and found that...

Well, even though the RAV4 EV has its own issues, I think the Fiat 500e has a more serious problem. Basically, half shafts are falling off the cars due to improper assembly at the factory. Several have broken while driving due to the bolts holding a CV joint onto the transmission output shaft...

PluginCars.com has a story on the REFUEL 2013 event that took place at Laguna Seca here. Yes, you read that right, a RAV4 EV beat the fastest ActiveE! As a RAV owner, I find that very amusing.

I have been using the cruise control on the RAV4 EV more than my previous cars. Here are my observations about it. 1. Cruise will not enable in B mode, only D. 2. When the cruise is enabled and the vehicle is traveling downhill, it will use more regeneration than lifting completely off the...

When a RAV4 EV is driven enough miles and ages through the years, it will gradually lose traction battery capacity. This is an eventuality. The question is, how will the car indicate this capacity loss? We know the range indicator (Guess-O-Meter) next to the fuel gauge is based on your past...

I just wanted to share the solution I found to hold my phone and charge without having a cord that's too long cluttering the car. The phone holder is a "MacAlly mCup Adjustable Cup Holder for All Portable Devices". Amazon Link The phone holder requires the Toyota Cup Holder Insert, which I did...

I was just thinking about the situation where an EV owner has an older house that does not have the capacity to add a new circuit for an EVSE or running that new circuit to the desired location is too expensive. If there is an existing circuit that is being used for another purpose, is there...

I just got my 2012 RAV4 EV after joining the forum several months ago. I’ve been thinking about this car since I first heard about it. I did the little joke of a test drive at the National Plug in Day event at DeAnza College in Cupertino. This was during the Toyota tour where they were taking...