Recent content by laguna_b

Bought my first 2014 in 14 and it was totalled from a modest head-on collision and $4k wiring harness replacement cost. Second 2014 took someone's lease and had a battery contractor failure. Dealer sent battery in under warranty and my 146 mile battery came back at 123 miles! They just swapped...

A few years ago I took my second RAV4 EV in due to a contractor failure. I had nursed it like a baby and had excellent range over 143 Tony Test miles. The replaced the battery with a "new" battery that only had 123 Tony miles! Seems that there are NO NEW batteries anywhere. They are a myth. I...

I believe the motor for the Model S is in the rear and for the RAV4 is in the front. So the S bulletin is probably not appropriate.

I had a heater failure in my RAV4 EV and the repairs were going to cost around $8k...pretty ludicrous. I have the Platinum warranty but when they check a lesser warranty had been registered. I contact my guy at Carlsbad Toyota and he told me he would get that corrected.... Thank you Truman...

The problem I have with this is that if the charging rate is slow enough, convection cooling should be enough to cool the battery.......which of course assumes that ideal charging temperature is above ambient. I did seem to verify there was a positive impact on efficiency when I went from 24A...

Thanks for this info! Wow, this is interesting....both clearly point to higher efficiency with higher charge rates. I suspect the reasons are that since the charger in the vehicle had to reduce charge rates when operating below max, it does so by using switching like a thyristor or similar...

Dealer said that before I bring it in put ANY tires on that have a couple 32nds above wear marks. He said to go some place like Pep Boys and buy the cheapest tires that fit if needed. I went to a local place specializing in used tires for vehicle returns and got a couple tires installed for $70...

Ok, another test from yesterday.... 47 miles driven 19.841 KWHr used. Efficiency metered at 2.9 Assuming full efficiency charging that would yield 2.37 Miles /KWHr actual versus predictive 2.9 The Juicenet is actually VERY accurate as it is certified to be used as a secondary meter in the PGE...

Ok, here was a test I ran where I reset the energy use at the beginning of the day. I drove 76 miles which included starting high going 1800' to sea level, then after a bit of flat, back up to 1800', down to 500' flat driving, then back up to starting point at 1800'. I got exactly 3 miles/KWHr...

True it in! There are deals right now that are downright shocking on lease returns. I got mine 5 days from end of warranty a month or 2 ago....11,700miles!!!! PERFECT condition, especially the battery 100% Tony Tested. $20.9k. I see 2014s between 14k and 29k miles selling for 17k to 21k .....Be...

This discussion addresses the question I have had on all my RAV4 EVs. Like everyone, I have seen the Tony test as a way to "open up the range" after each instance. In this case instead of using a nominal 70% of battery capacity, you access 90% nominally. The question always hit me as to if it...

I tried it and there was no option to change from "Best"

I just shipped my RAV4 EV from Sd to SJC. I used an online service uship which puts the job out for quotes and they have customer feedback on each. Highly recommend it! Saved me about 40-50%

The curb weight of the vehicle is ~4000lbs. It seems to me that you would have to reduce that by 10% (400lbs) have any significant impact. I know when I complained I had no spare tire or jack, Toyota told me it was to reduce weight. I bought a spare wheel and jack because getting stuck and...

I got the car up here a week ago. The motor is much quieter than my old ones. The car is immaculately clean, especially under the hood. You would SWEAR it was brand new, not 12k miles. It shows no sign of the wear and tear that I put on my old one living on mountain roads and pot holes. BEST of...