ALL POSTS - Heater Failed - Service Bulletin TSB 0111-14

[cossie1600]

The dealer said he will call me when the EV loaner comes back, I am not going to bring it in until they give me an EV loaner or have the parts available.

 

[reeler]

It is getting fairly annoying with no heat. I wonder if I would be able to talk the dealer into not taking the car all the way apart to diagnose. What's really holding me back from taking it in is being without the Rav. If I could get them to order the parts quickly, I wouldn't be stuck in a gas burner for 2 months.

I know you are out-of-state, but I believe warranty repair will not be a problem at any Toyota dealership. The warranty talks about needing a certified dealer for high-voltage work, which this is not. As far as I know, no one has been turned down out-of-state for warranty repair, it is just free maintenance and firmware upgrades that are being denied.

If they push back, ask that they tow the car to the nearest dealer that will do the work. We have free towing on these cars. I suspect they will get pretty reasonable if faced with a cross-country towing bill.

Good luck!

 

[Charlestonleafer]

It was in the teens this morning here, so decided to take to the dealer. Dropped it off, they called back in less than 90 minutes saying the couldn't service it. I've got a call in to toyota customer relations, so we'll see how this goes!

 

[Sun2Drive]

On Dec. 19 the dealer estimated the parts would arrive in 2-4 weeks. I called today (almost 3 weeks later) and now they estimate Feb. 12 (just shy of 8 weeks from diagnosis).

Has anyone been able to wring any concessions out of Toyota other than faster service? It sucks driving without a heater, yet having to pay full fare on the monthly payment.

 

[reeler]

It was in the teens this morning here, so decided to take to the dealer. Dropped it off, they called back in less than 90 minutes saying the couldn't service it. I've got a call in to toyota customer relations, so we'll see how this goes!

Good luck. Toyota has a free Dispute Settlement Program if Customer Care is oblivious. Ask for a tow to the nearest dealer that will service as free towing is included. I think consumer protection laws prevent selling a car with a warranty with an unreasonable clause that requires service in just a select few dealers in one state.

 

[waidy]

On Dec. 19 the dealer estimated the parts would arrive in 2-4 weeks. I called today (almost 3 weeks later) and now they estimate Feb. 12 (just shy of 8 weeks from diagnosis).

Has anyone been able to wring any concessions out of Toyota other than faster service? It sucks driving without a heater, yet having to pay full fare on the monthly payment.

I asked them to take a heater out from their new Rav4EV to put in mine and I was able to get my Rav back within a week (Monday dropped off, Tuesday filed a claim and request for taking out a heater from a new Rav), Wednesday the dealer got the message. Changed it on Thursday, got my Rav back on Friday morning). So far the heater works great!!

 

[Kohler Controller]

Waidy, that's great! When you put yours on MAX HEAT, what is the most kW that you see being drawn by watching the AUX Power meter? Mine never gets over 1kW. I'm wondering if this is normal.

 

[reeler]

With so many heater dying on these cars along with the LEAFs, I wonder if the part is defective and there should be a recall. Does the replacement part have a different design that makes these problems less likely?

Hard to know on a forum where folks tend to only identify issues if this is a common problem or not. If it is a common problem, us owners deserve a better design. Imagine what it will be like once the warranty has run on these cars and a repair like this costs a few thousand out-of-pocket with no loaner car.

 

[waidy]

Waidy, that's great! When you put yours on MAX HEAT, what is the most kW that you see being drawn by watching the AUX Power meter? Mine never gets over 1kW. I'm wondering if this is normal.

I never had a need to put the heater in MAX so I don't know. I will try it today and report back. When I put it in HI LO setting, with the driver seat bun warmer on, it's between 200-300 watts.

 

[waidy]

With so many heater dying on these cars along with the LEAFs, I wonder if the part is defective and there should be a recall. Does the replacement part have a different design that makes these problems less likely?

Hard to know on a forum where folks tend to only identify issues if this is a common problem or not. If it is a common problem, us owners deserve a better design. Imagine what it will be like once the warranty has run on these cars and a repair like this costs a few thousand out-of-pocket with no loaner car.

My Rav technician told me that the early 2012 production Rav4EVs have defective heaters. He is the designated tech for all the EVs. He services my 2002 and 2012 Rav4EVs. Therefore, he paid a lot of attention to EV failures.

 

[yblaser]

The heater doesn't run on 12V so you are not going to see it's consumption on the AUX power screen.

 

[Kohler Controller]

If you are saying the AUX power only monitors 12V loads, what would cause 1kW to be drawn from the 12V system?

 

[yblaser]

If you are saying the AUX power only monitors 12V loads, what would cause 1kW to be drawn from the 12V system?

I don't know, but the manual clearly says the AUX power only shows the 12V battery power consumption. I also wonder if the manual is accurate why they would scale the readout to 4kW.

 

[shade]

My RAV is waiting for a heater part that was originally scheduled to come in on 2/14/14. I just got a call from Toyota Customer Service that now it might be 1/16/14. Hopefully, I will be able to get my RAV back next week (a month earlier than projected)!

 

[Charlestonleafer]

Still haven't got anything definite from corporate yet, they seem to be helpful though. Dealer wanted me to bring the loaner car back on Saturday, I told them I wanted to wait to see what the rep had to say before I took the loaner back.

 

[reeler]

Still haven't got anything definite from corporate yet, they seem to be helpful though. Dealer wanted me to bring the loaner car back on Saturday, I told them I wanted to wait to see what the rep had to say before I took the loaner back.

The warranty booklet says we can get a third party to do the work if we cannot get Toyota to do it. Toyota will reimburse for Toyota parts and reasonable labor. It seems crazy that Toyota would prefer third party shops to get this work out-of-state rather than their dealer network.

I expect sleazy denials of warranty service from some, but not Toyota. Luckily, their Maintenance Manual more accurately reflects what they have to do. Whomever is strong-arming out-of-state dealers is a thug within Toyota and probably hasn't run their strategy past legal who was likely involved in drafting legal warranty language.

 

[qwk]

I expect sleazy denials of warranty service from some, but not Toyota. Luckily, their Maintenance Manual more accurately reflects what they have to do. Whomever is strong-arming out-of-state dealers is a thug within Toyota and probably hasn't run their strategy past legal who was likely involved in drafting legal warranty language.

Unfortunately, companies nowadays have little regard for customers. They know that most people will not go through the expense and headaches of court, therefore they will do as they please. Since there are only going to be 2600 of these cars made, the numbers are in their favor.

 

[psangani]

I got the same message that the part was scheduled for 1/16, and now its 1/29.

 

[cossie1600]

My car went in today, hoping to get it back by month end. Also another thing that went haywire was the GOM with the AC/Heat on and off, I am not seeing the same problem in the 2012 RAV4 EV I got. It only has 1900 miles on it!!

 

[ckoski]

Another one joining the club. Our RAV is a year old with 14k on it, no problems until now. I have a simultaneous problem of about a 15 to 20% drop in power. Poor passing power and no more squealing off the line. The car did not display any warning lights. Has this happened to anyone else? Toyota 101 has my car and they haven't given me a repair date yet.