What is my RAV4 EV telling others?

[sobayimage]

I have a general knowledge of the capabilities of my Rav 4 EV. It seems to know when it starts to charge and finish charging and sends me an email stating so. It has the knowledge of where it is at any time through GPS. It appears to have the capability to communicate with the internet and send information about itself on its own. Are there any other bits of information the car gathers and to whom does it send it to? What information does Toyota, Tesla or others receive from my car without me knowing it or am I completely wrong and my imagination is just running wild?

 

[eschatfische]

The agreement that we were asked to sign - a transcript of which can be found at http://www.myrav4ev.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=584 - includes the following text:

Tesla Motors, the powertrain and battery manufacturer, will periodically remotely collect data about your RAV4 EV's powertrain performance for analytical and product quality purposes. While the VIN will be identified, this information does not include vehicle location or personal information.

While I don't believe any of us know the true extent of what is being broadcast to Tesla and Toyota via the SIM card in the Tesla ECU, given the very specific logging that Tesla has revealed they can remotely perform on the Model S, such as with http://www.teslamotors.com/blog/most-peculiar-test-drive and http://www.teslamotors.com/blog/when-life-gives-you-lemons, I would expect that the information Tesla receives on the similar RAV4 EV drivetrain is granular, and that they can ultimately track any drivetrain-related electrically-controlled events - speed and SOC correlated with times in which the car is in operation or charging, etc.

While the agreement says that Tesla does not collect location data, it is clear that Toyota collects location as well as SOC and charge event information for SafetyConnect/Entune. The SafetyConnect agreement also lists collision and airbag deployment detection as being information sent to Toyota, and Toyota can most certainly correlate all that information back to the car's owner via the SafetyConnect contract.

Based on the above, I think it is wise to assume that the RAV4 EV could conceivably communicate any electronically controlled or monitored event to Tesla or Toyota, and that one or the other are getting reasonably detailed reports on any location, powertrain and safety data.

So, yeah, the RAV4 EV is not the optimal car for individuals with substantial privacy concerns. That said, rest easy, there's no indication that they're watching what radio stations you're listening to.

 

[drmanny3]

Sobayimage, can you tell me a bit more about your modification of adding pneumatic struts to the front hood. I think that sucker is way too heavy. I would love to add pressurized struts. Can you tell us what you did and where you acquired them?
Thanks,
Manny

 

[sobayimage]

The hood struts I have, are from Redline http://www.redlinetuning.com/products_quicklift.html . The regular 2012 RAV4 struts from Redline work perfectly on the EV model. The best struts are about $120 and come with very detailed instructions. You do need a $20 pop rivet tool to install them. Take great care in drilling the holes for the hood end of the strut connection to not mar the outer skin of the hood. When you open the hood the struts raise it without assistance and they give the motor compartment a cleaner look. Here are some pictures of the installation https://www.flickr.com/photos/45428304@N05/ .

 

[Anonymous]

Wow Sobayimage,
Love how you changed the badging on the back of your EV.
I ordered the redline quicklift plus. They were easy to install on my Fusion Energi, no drilling. I hope they improved them, not sure how comfortable I am popping holes in my ride.
You sure hooked up yurs real sweet.

 

[4EVEREV]

It's an EV, how many times do you open the hood? I have once and I likely will never open mine unless someone asks and even then it's not like I'm dropping the pack. Seems like an odd place to spend money and time on the car.

 

[drmanny3]

I ended up purchasing struts from eBay that did not require any drilling and work great. If you are adding the quick charge option to your car it might make sense to have this assuming Tony's mod still requires that you open the hood. Even if it does not having the struts really makes it easy to open that thing. I am surprised how heavy that hood is.
Manny

 

[Kohler Controller]

I ended up purchasing struts from eBay that did not require any drilling and work great. If you are adding the quick charge option to your car it might make sense to have this assuming Tony's mod still requires that you open the hood. Even if it does not having the struts really makes it easy to open that thing. I am surprised how heavy that hood is.
Manny

drmanny3, can you send us a link to what you purchased? I'm interested, as a potential quick chargee, and don't want to mess with pop rivets.

 

[Anonymous]

I received the Redline tuning ones today in the mail. For the 2012 RAV4 you have to drill holes in the hood. If you have a 2013 or 2014 you may not have to drill. I would recommend calling them to confirm before you order. The website showed the plus and elite installed without drilling, but they do not. I'll be returning them Monday.