Rav4EV Maintenance
Using the Toyota Diagnostics Checker, TDC.
09 January 2003 - 679 miles
Several pre-delivery issues were skipped, including: Steering
wheel off-center, passenger left side lower seat belt gasket not installed
correctly, only 20 PSI in the 60PSI compact spare tire. All items corrected
on this visit.
05 July 2004 - 11,729 miles
A/C has not worked properly since vehicle was new. After
suffering through two summers of inadequate cooling, the vehicle finally
left a code (23) that could be read at the dealer. A new A/C amplifier
was installed, and the A/C is finally functioning as it should. This thing
works GREAT now - to the point where it actually gets too cold!
23 August 2004 - 13,313 miles
(vehicle returned 22 Sept)
Battery Event. At 33%
SOC vehicle goes into a no-warning, low voltage shut down. Vmin shows as
6.4V while the Vavg shows about 10V. Vehicle shows the turtle, beeps, shows
battery warning light and shuts down - all within a few seconds. A restart
allows use for a short period before the same activity. Reproduced at the
dealer. Error codes (SGC2853 & C2897) point toward a defective battery
ECU. The ECU was replaced, and made no difference. Two modules were about
to be swapped out, but instead, the entire pack was simply charged to full
several days in a row. Zero SOC was reset (at a guesstimated level), and
everything is now working as expected. Range is fine. It would
appear that somehow the battery ECU became confused and the correct SOC
was not being reported. Would be like the gas gage reading 1/4 tank
when the tanks was in fact empty.
11 May 2005 - 20,700 miles
After abusing the heck out of the under-sized Aux
battery (meaning that I left a door open one too many times),
I finally gave up on it. This is the same as the "starter" battery
found in all ICE vehicles. It is responsible for running all the 12V
accessories (windows, door locks, wipers, etc) and for waking up the computers
to start or charge the car. After a week of inoperation, the Aux battery
drains below 10V. Once jumped, the car starts right up and works flawlessly
as long as it is driven every day. I finally decided to replace it,
and should have done it earlier! Had to pay a pro-rated price for the replacement
($64.95) and the new battery has almost twice the capacity (pn 00544-35060-550,
Truestart battery). Seems to be common for the original under-sized battery
to fail early. All it takes is leaving a door ajar a couple of times.
22 June 2005 - 22,336 miles
Fifth regular warranty service (written as 24-month, though
it has been 30). All tires at 7/32" tread, front brakes at 9mm, rear
brakes at 5mm, changed coolant in inverter.
30 Sept 2005 - 24,000 miles
AC not working as well as it did after last fix so I drove
the Rav by Hanlees to see if another code was written. Sure enough, code 23
was written again, which points to A/C Amplifier problem again. A new one
is being ordered. To test for error codes, AC button is pushed with car "on"
and outside contacts of the harness behind the glove box jumped. Count the
flashes on the AC button.
14 December 2005 - 28,820 miles
Sixth regular warranty service (written as 30
month maintenance). Tires at 7/32", front brakes at 8.5mm, rear brakes
at 5mm. Also replaced AC amplifier as before. (PN 87130-42031 Blower Assembly).
Not able to test AC until May 06 - seems to work fine again now.
10 October 2006 - 36,450 miles
Experienced another no-warning
shut-down. Will bring this up to the dealer on the next visit.
18 October 2006 - 37,000 miles
Rotated tires front to rear. 76 ft-pounds for the nuts.
Used Rav scissor jack in the rear, and hydraulic floor jack for the front.
Tread still looks even and relatively deep.
30 August 2007 - 47,099 miles
One final service before battery warranty expires. Written as 24-month service,
and at a cost of $59.95 (this and the new Aux battery are the only expenses
I've had for this car in ~5 years, 50k miles). All 24 battery modules show
the same internal resistance (6 milli-ohm) and the same Voltage (13.0V
@ 67% SOC). See
the scan of the result. For all intents and purposes, the pack tests
quite healthy. I mentioned the no-warning shut-down, and was told it
would be looked into. AC and tires checked - everything OK. (AC is still
unreliable, but ALWAYS works when it is in the shop).
16 February 2008 - 52,000 miles
Replaced front brake pads due to squeal.
17 April 2008 - 54,500 miles
New tires and alignment. Found a set of original equipment Yokohama EF1's at a local Les Schwab for $105. The new version of this tire is now selling for close to $200. Had a four-wheel alignment performed at the same time, and discovered that the toe was off for both front and rear.
19 April 2008 - 54,500 miles
New Rear Shocks. PN 48531-49155. $33.37/ea from Hanlees Toyota. Took all of five minutes to install.
June 2008 - 56,000 miles
Somewhere in here I added Air Springs to the rear.
04 Dec 2008 - 61,868 miles
Rotate and balance tires.
05 Jan 2010 - 73,385 miles
Rotate tires at Les Schwab. Also retorque the axel nut on left side. Left side was making clicking sounds on gentle acceleration and deceleration when in D. Wheel nut torque: 76 ft-lb. Axel nut torque: 156 ft-lb. 30mm deep socket.
20 Feb 2012 - 88,000 miles
Rotate tires at Les Schwab Dixon.
01 Sept 2012 - 93,000 miles
Shipping car to Don Blazer in Oregon to replace the weakest modules and completely clean and seal the pack.
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