Check EV System warning message

[waidy]

Great!! It's affordable, at least. Thank you.

It's my turn, getting "Check EV System" warning message. The vehicle was purchased November 11, 2012 and is now 56176 miles. From viewing this forum, the problem may be one of these: Thermal ECU, 12V battery, Battery Coolant Pump, Battery pack.

Question: Would it still be under warranty?

It depends on what problem they find. If it is just the 12V battery, you will probably be charged for the new battery and a diagnostic fee of $160. At least that's what recently happened to a fellow Los Altos owner with a newer car than yours. If your problem ends up being a coolant pump, the Thermal ECU, or Gateway ECU, those are all covered by the Powertrain Warranty for 5 years & 60,000 miles.

 

[waidy]

The Rav is at the Toyota Service now. They charged me $160 for the diagnosis regardless they find the problem or not. Is it normal?

 

[miimura]

The Rav is at the Toyota Service now. They charged me $160 for the diagnosis regardless they find the problem or not. Is it normal?

If they end up claiming there is no ongoing issue, you will likely have to pay it. On the other hand, if it ends up that there was a problem covered by warranty, you should owe nothing.

 

[waidy]

I got my RAV back. They didn't find anything. They dumped the log and the log showed there were incidents of charger failures with comment "Plug Related". I didn't get $charge$ for the $160 but am upset that they couldn't find the cause of the "Check EV system". As the RAV is only 3000+ miles toward the end of power train warranty, I am concern if it happens after the 60K miles mark, I will have to pay for the labor and parts shall the message comes back again.

 

[fromport]

The Rav is at the Toyota Service now. They charged me $160 for the diagnosis regardless they find the problem or not. Is it normal?

What dealer ?
Did they say why they want $160 ?
DCH toyota of Oxnard tried to charge me that.
It surprised me so much that I said out _aloud_ "are you f* kidding me ?"
And they were upset because I said that.
Took my car to another dealer (Carson) and they never even ask/said anything.

 

[fromport]

I got my RAV back. They didn't find anything. They dumped the log and the log showed there were incidents of charger failures with comment "Plug Related". I didn't get $charge$ for the $160 but am upset that they couldn't find the cause of the "Check EV system". As the RAV is only 3000+ miles toward the end of power train warranty, I am concern if it happens after the 60K miles mark, I will have to pay for the labor and parts shall the message comes back again.

Get an extended warranty if you intend to keep your EV
Even past the 36K miles you can get one, but it will need to pass inspection afaik

 

[waidy]

The dealer is MAGNUSSEN TOYOTA OF PALO ALTO. I did scream when they told me the $160 fee. I threaten to escalate the charge. When I picked up the vehicle, they wave it.

I have had 9 EVs since 1998 (currently own 6). Never buy extended warranty because they never failed me. I guess this Tesla Inside EV is different ...

 

[TonyWilliams]

The dealer is MAGNUSSEN TOYOTA OF PALO ALTO. I did scream when they told me the $160 fee. I threaten to escalate the charge. When I picked up the vehicle, they wave it.

I have had 9 EVs since 1998 (currently own 6). Never buy extended warranty because they never failed me. I guess this Tesla Inside EV is different ...

Yes, this one needs a warranty. Just having the heater fail is about $2500. The onboard charger is more than that.

The navigation unit is $4000. The motor is $15,000.

 

[Khaihon]

The dealer is MAGNUSSEN TOYOTA OF PALO ALTO. I did scream when they told me the $160 fee. I threaten to escalate the charge. When I picked up the vehicle, they wave it.

I have had 9 EVs since 1998 (currently own 6). Never buy extended warranty because they never failed me. I guess this Tesla Inside EV is different ...

Yes, this one needs a warranty. Just having the heater fail is about $2500. The onboard charger is more than that.

The navigation unit is $4000. The motor is $15,000.

The Nav is $4000? That's crazy. This guy is selling one for $325.

2012 2013 2014 TOYOTA RAV4 RAV-4 EV OEM GPS NAVIGATION SYSTEM 86100-0R

http://orangecounty.craigslist.org/ptd/5585759442.html

 

[MinnesotaRav4ev]

I have the same Check EV System Warning Light.

What I do is disconnect the battery and then after I reconnect it I may have to restart the car a couple of times before it will work. I haven't tried just restarting the car 4 or 5 times. Maybe I'll do that the next time. I notice, however, that after I reconnect and start the car the milage range changes to a higher level. For instance, there might be 75 miles on the range indicated before I disconnect and then 112 miles after. Has anyone experienced this? I am assuming it is a software glitch that causes this message to pop up because it works fine afterwards. I haven't replaced the battery yet and it has been 3 1/2 years.

Any thoughts?

 

[TonyWilliams]

The CHECK EV SYSTEM reset is to turn the car on and off four times. If this is an ongoing concern, I recommend having the dealer at least download the DTC codes to find out what is wrong.

Any time you disconnect the 12 volt battery, the cabin climate control is automatically turned off when you turn it back on. This will change the GOM readout. If you leave it disconnected long enough, it will reset to the default value of 3.5 miles per kWh multiplied by the remaining kWh in the battery.

It always takes two (and only two) button pushes to turn the car back on after a 12 volt battery disconnect. I recommend that you wait 15-20 seconds in between each button push for the center navigation to spin up.

 

[TonyWilliams]

By the way, get a new 12 volt battery before you get stranded!!!

Rav4 EV 12 volt Battery recommendations:

I recommend the Bosch of Exide battery with the following specs for around $150-$180:

1) AGM (not flooded acid cells like the original)

2) Group 24F size

3) 60 amp/hour rating


Here are the specific models I recommend:


Exide Edge FP-AGM24F Flat Plate AGM Sealed Automotive Battery


Bosch S6508B S6 Flat Plate AGM Battery

The two above batteries are identical, except for superficial color and markings.

 

[MinnesotaRav4ev]

Thanks!

 

[cashcow]

Just had this issue.

Woke up and drove off the rav4 ev no problem. Went to the store then after that went to cook something. Turned rav4 ev off. Cooked ate and organized things. Turned on rav4 ev and got the LO warning and I believe no bars on the battery range. When I woke up the rav4 ev was only 2 bars shy of FULL. Turned rav4 ev off then on. Had 2 bars now shy of full and now LO message but check ev system and bring to dealer immediately was on. Turned on and off the rav4 ev about 6 times with a minute or so wait inbetween. Error cleared and drove off. Went off to charge rav4 ev about 1 mile away. Lv2 charged a litlte over 80% (full bars) with out issues. Turned on rav4 ev no issues. Drove off and no issues. Hoping this issue doesn't come up again.

Temps around here have dropped to 38 F and in the morning it was 36 F. Not an issue for me since I camp out in the rav4 ev but dont use the heater just fan/blower on eco hi low over night, Reading here how the coolant pump in the rav4 ev can DIE OFF makes me feel a little concerned on the amount of 'miles' I'm putting on the pump and the TESLA's battery temp management system since I leave the rav4 ev on overnight while camping.

About 8hrs every day + regular driving. Got the rav4 ev sometime in july. Its decemeber now? That is 6 months. about 30 days a month? 30*6=180*8hrs per day=1440 extra hours on the system not taking into account regular driving. Should I be worried?

+ had called Toyota center a while back and told me there were 2 recalls for the rav4 ev. I'd guess the first is the firmware update I have herd. THe other? maybe the speed sensor update?

 

[TonyWilliams]

You likely lost 12 volt power... get a new 12 V battery.

When you see LO and Full Battery indications means that you lost 12 volt power.

 

[co2112]

Alright 72 pages later and I am not 100% of the cause of this problem. This issue has spanned 46 months since the first post.

I bought my RAV4 EV in November of 2016. I have put 8,700 miles on it since I have purchased. Car now has 72,600 miles. I charge each day at work on 240v 6.6kWh charger for two to three hours and the 1kWh cable at home for 8-12 hours.

I unplugged at work and moved the car to another parking spot. 4 hours later I get ready to leave and EV System message. I pulled up this post and saw it could be 12v battery issue. I tried the 5 resets and nothing. I waited 30 seconds to a minute between tries. Making sure system was completely off. Car could go to neutral but no drive or reverse. Also most dash lights stayed on, even the ready light. After the 5th try and no start I decide to ask a coworker for a jump.

We walk out together he pulls up and I try it again no start, same error (6th time). I then turn off headlight (were on auto), turn off nav screen and audio, and make sure car is unlocked. Didn't want to drain battery and get locked out.

He pulls up but battery is on opposite side of car and cables don't reach so I because it could go to neutral I was going to push it out of parking spot and he would pull up in front. I turn it on to get it to neutral and starts up like nothing happened.

I decide against taking to dealer and head straight to auto store to get a new 12v battery. Store says tester doesn't test batteries in hybrid or electric cars and the battery has to be removed. I drove about 50 miles to store pulled 12v and it tested at 12.99v. He said it was good but now I am wondering if it came up as good because of the long drive.

Is this issue a ECU Gateway handshake issue? My heater worked this morning. The car charges. No loss in power. I'll test battery with voltmeter tomorrow morning and if it is low after sitting a while and I'll just replace the battery. The battery appears to be Toyota 12v but couldn't find any dates on it so not sure if it is original or is replacement.

I can't think of any other unusual errors with car except a sloshing sound. It has rained a lot near me and I wondering what the sloshing noise is. I can hear it pulling out of parking spots on clear days too so I don't know if I am hearing battery coolant as I am backing up or is a drain tube clogged. No water in carpet and no smells. I also had to get the front battery cover reinstalled because I didn't have clips in it after hitting a branch driving last month. The front cover is folded into the second cover and I am wondering if water can get in this opening and that is what I am hearing.

If I get the check EV system error I will take it in. If it ends up being the traction battery I think that's the only part still under warranty.

 

[TonyWilliams]

So the guy didn't do a load test on the battery? If it's the original Toyota battery I would replace it now.

Rav4 EV 12 volt Battery recommendations:

https://m.pepboys.com/search/?term=bosch+24f+60ah+agm

I recommend the Bosch or Exide battery with the following specs for around $150-$180:

1) AGM (not flooded acid cells like the original)

2) Group 24F size

3) 60 amp/hour rating

 

[fromport]

I can't think of any other unusual errors with car except a sloshing sound. It has rained a lot near me and I wondering what the sloshing noise is. I can hear it pulling out of parking spots on clear days too so I don't know if I am hearing battery coolant as I am backing up or is a drain tube clogged.

Whenever it has rained and my car wasn't in garage/under carport for the night , I hear a sloshing sound when I drive away.
It is my perception the disk brakes have rusted and since that expands the surface of the cast iron brakes, they "hit" the brake pads.
In my case it is always almost gone over a few hundred yards and can not hear it after a minute at all anymore.
Is that also the case with you or do you keep hearing it ?

 

[co2112]

No it could be sunny and in the afternoon and I hear it. I generally hear it pulling out of parking spaces as the audio system is still quiet. Can't tell if I hear it from a standstill at lights due to road noise/traffic.

Just seems odd.

 

[alanp99]

Got the EV System warning message on 2/19/17. Vehicle is 2014 with 25,000 miles. Would not clear after multiple start attempts. Only shiftable to neutral. Had towed to dealer and was advised main battery pack replacement required. 8 days later and dealer has not been able to secure a battery. Says another week.