Check EV System warning message

[miimura]

I think it's interesting that there was a story today about similar failures in the Focus Electric.
Story on Autoblog Green

Misery loves company At least we are not alone!

Sounds like a similar issue to our Check EV System message...

Here as well...
http://insideevs.com/open-letter-from-owner-about-focus-electric-drive-failure-and-the-stop-safely-now-warning/

At least Ford, from what I understand, developed their own technology. You would think they would be able to jump on the problem and get it solved for customers right away... unlike for many of us left in the lurches between the secrecy squabble between Tesla and Toyota... resulting in a two week stay in the shop that really should be 2-3 days! :roll:

I guess the lack of urgency to correct problems associated with the very limited number of compliance vehicles produced is not limited to Toyota...

Didn't Mr. Spock say in The Wrath of Kahn... "The needs of the many (Toyota's bottom line) outweigh the needs of the few (Rav4 EV owners... us)"?

I don't think it's really true that Ford developed the FFE in-house. I understand most of the EV specific parts, including battery packs, came from supplier Magna. I don't know how much engineering Magna did vs. Ford, but I think it was significantly on Magna's side. So, they may have similar issues as Toyota/Tesla does with the RAV4 EV.

 

[snoltor]

Love it.

:lol: :lol: :lol:

The needs of the many (Toyota's bottom line) outweigh the needs of the few (Rav4 EV owners... us)

 

[TonyWilliams]

At least Ford, from what I understand, developed their own technology. You would think they would be able to jump on the problem and get it solved for customers right away... unlike for many of us left in the lurches between the secrecy squabble between Tesla and Toyota...

I believe Magna of Canada did the Ford Focus EV... Ford had nothing going on for EV's (or an obvious way to comply with CARB-ZEV).

 

[snoltor]

Did Toyota build the first generation Rav4 entirely on their own? There are several in my town still being used on a daily basis.

I believe Magna of Canada did the Ford Focus EV... Ford had nothing going on for EV's

 

[TonyWilliams]

Did Toyota build the first generation Rav4 entirely on their own? There are several in my town still being used on a daily basis.

I believe Magna of Canada did the Ford Focus EV... Ford had nothing going on for EV's

Yes, in Japan.

 

[evbuddy]

Diagnosis is that Tesla Part "Charger Assembly" is faulty.

 

[qwk]

I was going to buy a Rav4 EV, but I opted for the Model S instead. Very glad I did that.

I'm considering a Tesla for my next car, but the math doesn't work for me. Comparing the Rav4 to the Tesla you get about 2/3rds the car for 2/5ths the price. I'm not criticizing your decision in the least, but I'm finding it hard to make it work for me. I'm leaning strongly towards buying another Rav4 EV. I'm curious to hear your thoughts.

I won't deny that the Rav4 with the discounts that were available is a killer deal, definately much better than the base 40kwh model S was.

I don't live in California, so the service issue was something to consider. I know that Toyota can't deny service in the US, but getting any hassle(especially if it's major warranty work) will definately sour the experience. It's much easier to just rely on a Tesla Ranger. Then there is the J1772 charging port, and no 240V 40A charging cable problem(I was going to go the modified Tesla UMC route). The Model S has supercharging, and twice the range(I chose the 85kwh pack). IMO, the Model S UMC is quite a bit underengineered(I'm on my 3rd one). Once you modify one to a J1772 nozzle, the warranty is void, so there is more headaches and $$$.

I drive on quite a few gravel roads, and in snow/mud, so the Rav4 would have been better in that regard, especially being a FWD. Being able to pull a small trailer is also a big bonus. On the other hand, the Model S has leather and heated seats, which I like. The touchscreen is also a huge win. The Rav4 has an interior that is pretty much obsolete(like flip phones). One pedal driving is the $hit, so another big disappointment for the Rav4(brake pedal regen sucks bad).

That pretty much sums it up. I would have rather had a Tesla pickup truck(AWD would be a big bonus), but a small SUV like the Rav4 would have worked better than a car. The Model X would be better for my needs, but I needed a new car in 2010, so stretching it out any longer was definately not an option. Overall, I'm pretty happy with the Model S(5k miles in 2.5 months), and other than small quirks that will be fixed in software, the UMC has been the only problem so far. Tesla service is great, and it seems that they drop everything they are doing just to help.

 

[cwerdna]

This sounds like the direct result of making things complicated by introducing Toyota parts into a Tesla drivetrain. There was simply no need for a Toyota computer that needs to communicate with Tesla hardware and software. It looks like it would have been a lot simpler to just use the entire Tesla system(including the Tesla charging plug), instead of picking parts and pieces.

You weren't involved in the design and development process. I doubt there was "no need". ICE RAV4 was developed independently of the Model S and Tesla's bits. And, that generation of ICE RAV4's design was complete WAY before even the Roadster went on sale.

As for using the Tesla charging plug specifically, then that'd have meant they'd shipping a vehicle w/o J1772 compatibility unless one uses an adapter. And, they might've ended up having to include Tesla's EVSE.

Even the Gen 2 Prius has a "gateway ECU". See http://priuschat.com/threads/prius-computers-ecus.5456/#post-54822

 

[qwk]

This sounds like the direct result of making things complicated by introducing Toyota parts into a Tesla drivetrain. There was simply no need for a Toyota computer that needs to communicate with Tesla hardware and software. It looks like it would have been a lot simpler to just use the entire Tesla system(including the Tesla charging plug), instead of picking parts and pieces.

You weren't involved in the design and development process. I doubt there was "no need". ICE RAV4 was developed independently of the Model S and Tesla's bits. And, that generation of ICE RAV4's design was complete WAY before even the Roadster went on sale.

As for using the Tesla charging plug specifically, then that'd have meant they'd shipping a vehicle w/o J1772 compatibility unless one uses an adapter. And, they might've ended up having to include Tesla's EVSE.

Even the Gen 2 Prius has a "gateway ECU". See http://priuschat.com/threads/prius-computers-ecus.5456/#post-54822

Having been involved in very many ICE swaps, and completely modified race cars, I can say with confidence that It would be VERY easy to take a brand new ICE RAV4, get a Model S, and merge the two including everything, even the awesome touchscreen. It only takes $$. It would have been cheaper to do the straight drivetrain conversion than cobble up the mess of which is now the Rav4ev. I suspect one of the reasons for doing what they did, was the ability to incorporate the brake pedal regen, entunes, and the rest of the non tesla things like the resistive heater, which by the way also sucks. The other reason was Tesla's unwillingness to share the propriatery workings of the drivetrain with anyone including Toyota.

Compared to Tesla's, J1772 is a ghetto standard anyway, so no big loss there. They would have had to include the UMC, but at $500 retail, it's peanuts in the grand sheme of things. Toyota is one of the better auto manufacturers, BUT compared to Tesla, they look as incompetent as the government(Take 10 times as long at 10 times the cost, and still accomplish jack). Pathetic really.

 

[AvLegends]

At least Ford, from what I understand, developed their own technology. You would think they would be able to jump on the problem and get it solved for customers right away... unlike for many of us left in the lurches between the secrecy squabble between Tesla and Toyota...

I believe Magna of Canada did the Ford Focus EV... Ford had nothing going on for EV's (or an obvious way to comply with CARB-ZEV).

I heard that from a Ford salesman... goes to show you how little some salesmen know and what they will tell a prospective customer...

 

[Vach]

At least Ford, from what I understand, developed their own technology. You would think they would be able to jump on the problem and get it solved for customers right away... unlike for many of us left in the lurches between the secrecy squabble between Tesla and Toyota...

I believe Magna of Canada did the Ford Focus EV... Ford had nothing going on for EV's (or an obvious way to comply with CARB-ZEV).

I believe this to be true, but the difference is that Ford has gone on record saying this is more than a compliance car, one that they are planning to continue development on like the Volt.

 

[robertk925]

After getting this error on Monday, supposedly my car is fixed and ready today (Thursday). The service advisor said that they did a firmware update (not a gateway replacement) and now the Check EV System error doesn't come up anymore. I am dubious whether the new firmware really solve the problem, but I will report back after I pick up my car.

 

[evbuddy]

Is there any way to find out what firmware version the car has?

 

[Vach]

Is there any way to find out what firmware version the car has?

Oh man you beat me to it. My dealer keeps claiming there is no new firmware, so I wanted to check to see if it has already been updated.

 

[AvLegends]

Boy did I have a scare this afternoon... checked to see if the car had finished charging thru Entune and saw this :shock:

Turned out to be a false alarm but... this LOW charge indication and charge immediately is what I saw on the phone when I got the screen of death 3 weeks ago. I thought "oh no... not again". This time when I opened the door it showed 114 miles of range... whew! Don't know what happened. Has anybody had similar experiences?

 

[Vach]

Yea, I have had some interesting shots from Entune regarding my car charging. Never a "low" but definitely incorrect messages and ranges until I refreshed the application from the internet. Entune shows you the last thing that the car sent the servers before the car powers down, so knowing how buggy the software is and how bad the wireless communication between the car is it is more than likely that something like this could happen when nothing is wrong with the car and the service is interrupted.

I I also hear the iPhone version is a little bit more buggy, but I feel like that is the other way around because I use the Android version I have huge lag issues when getting updates.

 

[AvLegends]

Yea, I have had some interesting shots from Entune regarding my car charging. Never a "low" but definitely incorrect messages and ranges until I refreshed the application from the internet. Entune shows you the last thing that the car sent the servers before the car powers down, so knowing how buggy the software is and how bad the wireless communication between the car is it is more than likely that something like this could happen when nothing is wrong with the car and the service is interrupted.

I I also hear the iPhone version is a little bit more buggy, but I feel like that is the other way around because I use the Android version I have huge lag issues when getting updates.

I have had many "unable to communicate" but never a "Low" except when it quit and had to be towed to the dealership. This message was given when I refreshed the display. The car had been plugged in to the CS-60 most of the afternoon. For sure a "bug" but I'm just glad it wasn't really showing "Low" on the range display.

 

[snoltor]

No issues yet. Entunes on my iPhone has been reporting pretty accurate battery levels. But I've only put 1200 miles on mine so far and maybe that will change with more charges.

Has anybody had similar experiences?

 

[n3ckf]

Robertk:
Can you check if you can duplicate the scheduled charge issue described elsewhere now?

I met a Toyota engineer who said there was an imminent update to the Tesla system in the car that would address (at least partially) that problem, which he explained in detail why it would happen. Anyway he was saying that there was a Tesla system update "any day now" going out to dealers. (however he's pretty far from the actual distribution so that could mean a day or a week or a month or two i expect). I figure i'll check when i take mine in for its 5K service.

But it would be interesting to know if that problem suddenly disappeared in your firmware update.

 

[Vach]

Does anyone know how to communicate the firmware update to the dealers? Or what to tell them in order to get that checked? I have mentioned it to two dealers in my area and both of them keep saying "nothing is in our RAV4 EV bulletins"? Or perhaps I could head to a dealer a little farther out?