10). Narrow rear door opening 9). Not as much rear seating room as regular RAV4 (also must upgrade to xse to get rear pockets on front seats) 8). Charging speed could be better (240V 5-6 hrs) 7). Has a REVERSE 60/40 rear seat 6). Infotainment display would have problem with iPhone connection - volume control (fixed/updated) 5). When driving, could not flip to maps setting on display while taking a phone call (fixed/updated) 4). Smart key (keyless entry) rarely works 3). Braking system is “grabby” 2). Gas engine has to be running to use defrost 1). Below -20F , you do not have any heat on electric only. Must use gas engine and turn off eco mode.
The 60/40 seat configuration was actually a selling point for me. I wanted to be able to put 2 paddle boards in and have my wife still fit in since they’d go all the way over the front passenger seat. This way she can ride behind driver seat with two boards inside. If we don’t want to use the racks.
O man, I just ordered mine, and when I saw this video i got frozen, but after watching it I relaxed, because none of the things bothers me except maybe narrow back door entrance
@@nczioox1116 I was waiting for almost 4 mounts for mine, and just got it last week. Everything is mostly what I expected. Only thing that I do not like is the quality of the plastic covers at the rear door and interior of the back pack. The rear door rattle like crazy and it's annoying like hell. At the dealer they said that there is no help with this, and the cause of rattle is installation in between metal door and plastic inside cover. The same thing with the other new car at the shop. In my 11 years old BMW there are no noises after all that time. However, the hybrid engine and cvt gear box are excellent and these are the reasons I bought new RAV4. My first Japanese car....will see how it goes
I just got mine earlier this month and drove across the country (got it in NY state as they’re not available in Washington state… I was there for work) So far I love it! So much more comfortable than my ‘13 Ford Fusion Energi and the EV range is 3x better. There are a few things I like more in the Ford but on the whole I’m SO happy with it! MPG on the 2200 mile trip was 41mpg. Only plugged in once in Minneapolis. Love hearing people’s concerns though! Thanks for posting!
The heat below 20 and the defrost gasoline only seems to be a "you can't have it all" problem. Its a HYBRID. There is a petrol engine because it not supposed to be all electric. If you use the battery to power a resistance heater your going to loose significant all battery miles. Personally I am thrilled that Toyota was intuitive enough to maximize the battery life and not dribble drain it with unnecessary power loads. Run the damn engine for 5 min to defrost the windshield and heat the cabin or buy a full electric.
Exactly. I was thinking WELL DUH!! Anyone would expect such issues with a hybrid under such extreme temperatures. Just buy an ICE if you're living in such areas.
Minor issues.. I want this car so badly but having a hard time getting one. It’s got a high resale value, AWD, very quick acceleration and 40 mpg. It’s got everything I’m looking for in a car. I’m so done with my gas guzzling Corvette, Tundra and Jeep Wrangler right now.
Thanks for the honest review. Some of the issues won’t be issues for me since I’m short and don’t have kids. I’m also old so having the rear hatch open and close slowly is a plus :). As for heating, with a hybrid the battery output capacity is much lower than a pure EV. Heating the car on battery especially at low temperature is really going to drain the battery so Toyota opted to limit that option. It’s a compromise between range, comfort and the alternative of using the gas engine for heating.
The problem with going with a heat pump is that they simply are less efficient the colder it gets outside, because it works by extracting heat from the surrounding air. Of course, when it's cold outside, it takes much more energy to suck the heat out, since there's so little of it. I wonder why they went with the heat pump. If you live in a place that gets cold in the winter, this is simply unacceptable. Imagine going 4 months (or longer) trying to decide whether or not you want heat or the fuel savings.
The gasoline engine starts when the defrost is activated because your AC compressor also kicks in to remove the cabin humidity that causes the need to defrost the windows. That compressor adds quite a load, similar to driving up a hill that triggers the gas engine.
AC will run on EV mode no problem. It will defrost it down to 14 or 17 I believe, below that the heat pump can't function efficiently enough so ICE is turned on. In my Prius Prime, if I leave it on Defrost/floor combo, it won't turn ICE (where full defrost instantly turns ICE on).
But EV cars can do it fine. I can understand it would significantly lower the range, but right now, it is actually making me doubting my order as here in Canada, 20F (-6C) is pretty much every day in the winter. Hopefully normal heat with defrosting does not turn it on?
@@wgemini4422 You should complain to your dealer for not warning you about this issue. All dealers in Canada should tell their customers before they buy one of these.
"White people problems!". He should have opened with a warning that there are almost certainly better ways to use the next ten minutes. That said, his No.8 is something I am seeing on the Sonata Hybrid I just bought. Brakes are not good for low speed maneuvering.
@@errcoche WTF. So my problems are because I am white? That is so racist. Leave and never come back or I will gladly block you from ever watching and commenting on another one of my videos. I post this stuff for free. I dont deserve your racism.
The rear seat split is smart safe. If you want to haul something of size, you want it on the other side of the driver for space and in case of a collision.
I just bought this the other day. I love the cabin room. I came out of a Honda Accord. great car, but it was tight for me getting in and out. I am surprised by the stereo in the RAV. Sounds very good. I love the sport mode. So far so good. I bought the bright white one. It had the black trim package. Roof and rims are blacked out. TY for the video.
Break grab may be related to rust on the brake rotors, which accumulates in all cars but is usually worn off immediately. In cars with regen braking, the brake rotors don't get used as much, so you don't clean them off quickly. As a result you have 'grabby' brakes when they do kick in. A few seconds of aggressive braking (engaging the rotors) following periods of rain or snow may be enough to reset the pads.
About the folding rare seats, its better this way so incase you have a long pole or something, you can fold down the passenger rare+ passenger seat and haul it. When you are hauling, its safer to keep kids at home since you might leave the trunk hatch open
But it doesn’t seem to accounts for the sides being uneven…He was saying the sign on the driver side was a smaller opening. Most cars have an even opening.
5:30 that’s exactly as advertised, and probably enough for most people. 18 kWh battery, 3.3 kW charger, yeah it’s going to take nearly 6 hours to full charge. As someone who would drain it daily, it would be charged again every morning - and even a 120/12 “extension cord charge” at work would get me over half a charge while at work.
I actually prefer the 60/40 split that way. It makes it so you can haul more long items inside from rear to the dash and still have room for a passenger behind the driver. One example is a Christmas tree. No need to have to strap it to the roof. Another is lumber.
I appreciate the candid discussion of pros and cons. While no product is perfect, the RAV4 Prime is a significant investment (and cost premium vs alternatives) for most people. I have now owned my RAV4 Prime SE for 4 months and while my experience isn't aligned with all of the issues listed in this video I appreciate the perspective and that it might be applicable for other buyers with different needs and expectations. In the spirit of adding to the discussion here's my top 5 pros/cons. Big picture I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this vehicle for most people. I love most things about it. Pros 1. Ride quality in electric and electric/hybrid mode - very refined with quiet cabin and good acceleration (every day driving). 2. Great EV range for PHEV - I started with 34 miles range, and its steadily increased to 50 miles range. 3. Comfortable drivers position - great visibility, good seat support. Sunroof, heated seats, heated steering wheel enhance driving. 4. Good EV battery position - low center of gravity, does not project into cargo space. 5. Lights - remarkably good for stock, very good visibility in most conditions. Cons 1. Some lower quality cabin materials (vs XSE) - hard plastic doors, non-lighted window switches, hard/slippery finish in storage bins. Hard to justify given positioning within RAV4 lineup. I also own a base-model 2020 Prius Prime, which I expected to be lower fit and finish than 2021 RAV4 Prime given the big difference in overall price. However that is not the case, the interior of the Prius is more refined. Odd. 2. Tires - underwhelming. Will definitely invest in separate rims and snow tires for Winter 21/22. 3. Passenger seat - no height adjustment. Would be ok to be manual adjustment, but nothing. 4. Wired Car Play. Its inconvenient to attach phone every single time. Fortunately Carlinkit 2.0 [$100 / Amazon] works very well with head unit to enable wireless Car Play. Recommended upgrade. 5. Occasional instability when braking; well known with Toyota hybrid vehicles - braking "skips" momentarily under heavy braking conditions on rough road surface (eg, man hole covers).
I experience the 'brake grab' issue in my Chevy Volt as well. It's no where as bad as what you described, but I definitely feel when the friction brakes start grabbing when stopping. Tesla handles this better where the brake pedal is friction brakes only. This way there's no issues with trying to blend regen and friction brakes together. The low temperature cabin heating thing also occurs in the Volt. Below 15f, the engine will turn on randomly to heat the battery and/or the cabin. It doesn't require any interaction from the driver though, it just happens automatically.
Hey, about your problem with keyless entry. I have the same problem with my 2016 RAV4 Hybrid. And I noticed it always happens when my smartphone is close to the key. If I keep them seperated everything just works fine. Maybe that is also the case for you.
Jim I have no issues with the door lock and unlock. I don't "pinch" as you mention just simply touch the top of the handle towards the front (where you note to pinch it). While I haven't experienced the breaking nor the no heat issues, I have the dragon growl I reported to Toyota. The heat pump is angry and growls at me upon start up in cold temps; but keeps me toasty warm. LOL so I guess I will take the growl over no heat. Keep us posted on the opening where the mouse was, possible to block that vent or opening? Interesting. Never owned a Tesla, but love this car as I didn't want charger anxiety for road trips for EV and is the main reason I bought the R4P. Even with bitter cold weather in Upstate New York (yup, no sun) I still average 88.1-91.6 mpge and smile as I pass the gas stations. Is it perfect, no; but i still love it!
The issue about using ICE to heat the cabin in your RAV4 Prime is inherited from HEV technology Toyota has for 20 years - I have it in Prius 2005 not heating at all when it is very cold outside except after driving at least 5 miles with ICE on. In a lot of videos on RU-vid RAV4 Prime was praised for its heat pump so I am very amazed to learn about your frustration with it.
@@JamesKlafehn I think I may know why you are having a problem and I'm not. I only tap on top to lock, I do not pinch top and bottom. That might be confusing it?
@@JamesKlafehn I thought you might be having trouble locking the car and you mentioned that you pinch (top and bottom) to lock it. I only tap on top and that always works for me. However that won't help for your unlock issue. I've never, not a single time had the unlock issue either. Possibilies might be your car has a defect, your hand is weird ;-) or if you happen to also be touching the lock area on top around the same time, maybe that is the cause?
I have one and will second the heat pump issue. A couple issues not mentioned are that the buttons in the door and overhead arent backlit. To lock the car or turn on the overhead lights is really hard when you can’t see them.
Door handle unlock: Mine always works. Never had any issue on my Prime SE. A quick touch to the backside of the handle and I have all the doors unlock. My Mazda 3 would auto lock when I walked away. I miss that a little. Toyota just doesn’t offer that on any vehicle.
Are you sure the autolock isn't a feature you can set? I have a 2004 Prius and I'm pretty sure the manual said you can set that feature. I think I tested it and it takes about 30 secs to lock if I remember correctly. I didn't like that because I thought it was too long of a time. But I might be wrong.
You should be able to set the doors to automatically lock after a certain amount of time in your settings through the Toyota stock system, nothing like auto lock based on proximity though
So important that we share our real experience with the products we use. Thank you! Toyota also got the same problem as Tesla with new technology such as smart key.
Again while I really like my RAV4 Prime, my biggest gripe would be no lighting of the buttons on the ceiling for the moonroof, overhead lights, etc. and the buttons on the door.
A thousand times yes. Not being able to see these buttons when driving at night is making me crazy! What was Toyota thinking? This seems like an obvious thing.
Yes in EV mode, heat pump is the source of heating, but heating is only operational at outside temperature -10C or higher. So no heating from outside temperature -11C down to -20C and so on. It will stay in EV mode even when you activate the Defroster but only when outside temperature 15C or higher. If those are not met, the engine will run and the source of heating will be the hot water that radiates the heat thru the heater core.
The gas probably comes on under 20 degrees to preserve the small 42 mile range or protect the cells. Does your range halve or significantly decrease in sub 20 degree weather? The RU-vidr car care nut, master mechanic & hybrid specialist did mention that when the gas kicks on, to not force the hybrid into EV mode with the EV button, that the engine comes on to protect the battery pack and that the Toyota engineers built and programmed this safety feature in & know what they are doing, FWIW, but I’m no engineer, so what do I know. Glad you enjoy it, bro, even with these minor inconveniences. It does look to be superior to the Model X in dependability, & that’s what counts, especially not getting stranded in a snow bank in freezing temps, lol!
You have the soy based plastic which rodents love to eat. I know, because on my '16 Rav4 XLE hybrid had squirrels eat away some wiring and a lot of the wiring harness. I bought new wiring, installed it and then went nuts with the electric plastic tape and wrapped everything I could find.
I am not sure about the US version, but in CA , the top of the line (Rav4 Prime) has memory seats. However, for some reason, the mirrors are not part of the memory settings like almost every other car I was researching (that have memory settings). To me, that was a lazy or weird or cheap design decision. I don't have this car but we were considering it. And we would trying one car for a while so having driver settings memorized it's a cool feature. The car seemed exciting enough from reviews, then I noticed the top of the line model with tech package or whatever has memory settings, and yes, I can press a button to adjust the seat but ... wait ... I have to adjust the mirrors manually. What ?!
I feel like they are I have one and I personally hate the escape I’ve had it for 2 years and it’s just small it’s not comfortable and it sucks on gas lol
Lol funny thing is those people that complain about toyota, it's always about small stuff. It's never about the motor or the transmission or anything that's super costly to fix. Then just get other brand that don't even last 50k miles and your putting in new motor or transmission.
One of my biggest annoyances with the RAV4 Prime is having a wireless phone charger, yet it doesn't support wireless Android Auto. That pretty much makes wireless charging absolutely useless! Oh, and the key fob issues are at the top of my list.
Yea! I think Toyota cut a few corners that are unnecessary. As for the heat, if I am not mistaken, I look at a video of a guy testing how long it take to warm up the cabin on electric only on his prime. I will look back for the video just to confirm.
Grabby brakes at slow speed: I have the same issue with my 2019 Prius Prime. At speeds below about 15 mph, the MG rotors are spinning too slowly for the stators to generate any significant amount of electrical current, so the brakes switch over from regen mode to friction mode, and the switch is rather abrupt. The grabbiness is also not the same in "B" mode as it is in "D" or "N" modes, so you have that to get used to also. But I just look at it as another minor quirk. All cars have quirks of one kind or another, and in the Toyota plug-in hybrids, I'd say the overall functionality of the vehicles and the amazing energy and fuel efficiency make the small quirks pretty unimportant. In my Prius Prime, the most annoying thing is that the stereo has no "Folder" mode for MP3 music on a CD or thumb drive that's organized in folders. Charge time: The 5 hour charge time with the standard 3 kilowatt L2 is a much more serious issue for the Rav4 Prime. My Prius Prime also has only a 3 kW charger, but the traction battery is only 8 kW/hr, compared to 18kW/hr in the Rav4 Prime, so my Prius charges in only 2.5 hours from dead flat. I agree completely with James that Toyota really needs to make the 6kW charger standard on all the models that have a traction battery larger than about 10kW/hr. I'm also not a fan of the 18" wheels on the Rav4 Prime: the selection of A/T tires is way smaller for 18" wheels than it is for 16" and 17" wheels. I'd want to put BF Goodrich TA/K0-2's on the car, and they are simply not available in the Rav4 Prime's OEM wheel size. Toyota probably use these low-profile tires for more sidewall rigidity and better fuel economy, but for anyone wanting to put serious A/T tires on the car, you will probably have to ditch the 18" wheels and buy new 16" rims in addition to new tires. Defroster turning on the gas engine: Same issue on all plug-in hybrids, including my Prius Prime, and here's why: in order for the car to have an EV mode, the heater/airconditioner has to be capable of running independent of the gas engine, and the solution Toyota uses is a heat pump using a scroll compressor that is driven by an electric motor running off the traction battery. This compressor can pump in either direction, to either heat or cool the cab. BUT - in very cold weather, Toyota discovered that it can't pump nearly enough heat to de-ice a frozen windshield in less than a full half-hour or more, and few drivers would tolerate a delay that long. So, the car's control computer runs the gas engine, which heats up quickly, and the hot coolant is pumped to a heater core in the HVAC manifold, same as in any conventional gas engine car. This system can produce ten times more BTU's of heat into the car than the scroll compressor can, albeit at the cost of some gas burned. But if you have to run the gas engine to heat the interior, switch the Hybrid system to CHARGE mode, and you can recover some of that gasoline as traction battery charge instead of just burning it for heat. No heat in the car in winter unless you run the gas engine: Same in all plug-in hybrids, including my Prius Prime. The simple fact is that Plug-in hybrids just aren't great cars for extremely cold climate use. Another problem is that the lithium-ion traction battery in these cars really, REALLY doesn't like to be any colder than about 35°F; my Prius Prime's traction battery actually has a heater grid in the battery tray to warm the battery if the ambient temperature gets too low. If you left a Rav4 Prime or Prius Prime parked outside overnight in sub-zero temperatures, I'm not sure if the car would even function at all in EV mode for at least 1/2 hour, until the heater grid could warm the battery up to at least +35°F. I live in central California, where it hardly ever gets below 38°F, so I've not had to put up with these cold weather issues to the extent that someone living in, say Minnesota, or Fairbanks, Alaska would.
Door openings are so important. My wife, we are elderly, has arthritic and sciatica uses. Her physical therapist said sedans are part of the problem. He suggested suvs or vans for people that have difficulties. We traded our sedan on the new Toyota Venza. Fantastic easy in/easy out access. My wife is so much more comfortable. Glad you are making that point.
Thank you for the comment! Yours is the first I have responded to in months. People have been fucking assholes! I never wanted to be a youtuber. I just did this to help people. I caught so much shit I decided to take a step back. I am so glad it helped you and thank you for your comment!
So sorry. You ARE helping people-I'm sure more of them than the nasty ones harassing you! I'm in Minnesota and it just started getting really cold. I wondered what the heck was going on with cabin heat - there not being any!!! Thank you for explaining. Other than that, I love the car. @@JamesKlafehn
The door unlocking, you say you have to "put your hand behind the door handle" to unlock it - I assume you already know that you have to grip (or at least touch the inside of) the handle for it to unlock. I'm only mentioning this since I've never experienced the problem you describe on my R4P. Also, for those that may not know (I didn't until I read it in the manual), by default settings, keep holding the handle (manual says for approx 2 seconds) and all doors will unlock (at least it works that way on my XSE). Thanks for the vid - we all have little things we don't like, or that don't work well in our particular situations. Overall I think the R4P is nicely done.
I failed to mention another possibility, which may be less obvious. The key fob uses weak radio waves to operate, so it is subject to interference. Window tint with a metallic content? Key fob in pocket with cell phone, coins, etc.? Vehicle parked in a location where strong radio waves or electrical noise exists? You get the idea...
I had a mouse get in through my cooling vent for the battery in my Prius. Ended up making its way to the squirrel fan for my AC. Unfortunately I turned on the fan and chopped the mouse up the bits the inside of my car stunk for months while Waited for the little pieces to decompose that I wasn’t able to reach in and get out after tearing have to dash apart. So be careful about mice getting in
Heat pumps don't really work below -5C/20F, so the reason the gas engine kicks in is because it lacks a standard restive heater. That being said gas engines are "inefficient" because they lose a lot of energy to heat, but when you're using that heat it doesn't really count against the efficiency. I understand what you mean though, it takes a lot of gas to heat the engine block before it can heat the cabin. You could try getting a magnetic block heater and use that to pre-heat your oil before you head out so at least you wouldn't have to burn as much gas.
The technology is gaining. Depending on who you talked to, the one I installed at my home in 2019 was in fact limited to 20f. We since moved and put one on the house we just bought indicates 100% capacity down to -5f.
The RAV4 Prime also has an electric heater called PTC Heater (Quick Heater Assembly). It has 3 heating elements rated at 280W each, current flows to these heating elements to generates heat.
The electric heater is not very strong but it helps. It works either during EV mode or with Engine running depends on conditions like coolant temperature, engine speed and outside temperature. It may drain the battery if use full time in EV mode. So they think the most effective way for heating at very low temperature is thru the engine running.
Hey James. Looks like you have some cool after market accessories added to your 2021 RAV4. Is there a video with a list of them or can you provide a list? Thanks for what you do!
Don't be to bummed over the engine coming on to heat and defrost the cabin, all PHEVs are like this. If I remote start my Kia Niro PHEV, the engine starts to run the climate control settings. The engine idles while I'm driving in all EV mode to heat the cabin, then shuts down once the temperature is reached. It sounds as if your Rav4 Prime is performing just as advertised.
Using the gas engine to heat the car is horribly inefficient. Gas engines are the most inefficient when they are warming up. I love the car otherwise but this is really bad. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-Xgo4xR9xbE0.html
@@JamesKlafehn I completely agree with you. I have to suspect that the necessary equipment to use the EV battery to heat the car would increase the cost of the vehicle and at the same time reduce the all EV range. I suppose Toyota, and other manufacturers, make a calculated decision not to add those expenses and mileage reduction in order to achieve their price point for marketing. Also working against you is your beautiful, but snowy, local. On the west coast, the majority of the PHEV target market, infrequently need the engine boost to warm the cabin.
@@JamesKlafehn James, it must be said though that the R4P engine is nearly 41% thermal efficient which beats the other average gas engines hands down. It is the most efficient gas engine on the market right now from what I've read. The Toyota Dynamic Force engines are a real engineering geekfest. It also has multiple coolant valves to shut off flow to different areas, very similar to the famous Tesla octovalve. Only difference is there are multiple valves and not just one, but it's very intelligent in how the engine controls coolant flow during and after warmup.
I'm happy to hear that none of your "hates" will apply to my 2021 gas engine XLE. I have no young children and live in the deep south. Unfortunately, its November and I'm still waiting for my new 2021 Rav4. BTW it is 75 and sunny. 😀
It has been happening since day one. It even happened with my other Toyotas. I catch it on camera in my latest video. Its uploading now. Should be live within the hour. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-Xgo4xR9xbE0.html
Loved your candid overview of this vehicle, why can't we see more of this in reviews? Also think your concern and care for your son (and wife who sits in the rear with him) is wonderful, he is blessed.
the issue with the mouse nest in the charging area definitely needs to be looked at. I would suspect that the mice are climbing up the charging cable into that spot. You might try and see if you can keep the charging cable from being anywhere on the ground. You definitely do not want them making a house inside the chassis of your car. Brakes being a bit grabby has been a common issue with Toyota hybrids for a long time, I have a 2008 Prius and below 8 miles per hour the friction breaks blend in, I have the opposite problem, if the brakes are cold they tend to kind of judder when grab like when you go to a car wash and you get your brakes wet and for the first few seconds they grab a bit weird., but once I drive around for a while or after I do some hard braking and they warm up it doesn't behave this way anymore. your problem could have gone away because it took some time for the brake pads and the brake rotor surface to wear into each other. The key fob issue is interesting I have the smart key access in my 2008 Prius also and sometimes it doesn't react correctly but not to the degree you're talking about. I think your skin has to actually touch the back side of the handle I've never tried it with gloves on myself but that could be the issue since you have a lot of winter where you live you're more likely to have gloves on. But there could certainly be a fault with the smart key access receiver inside the car I would definitely have that looked at. I'm surprised the heat pump system can't maintain heat at 20° f. I wonder if they went with a somewhat small heat pump. I've seen people do car camping in Tesla's at minus 20 Celsius and it can maintain cabin heat without any problems. I'm kind of surprised also that they didn't just make it somewhat automatic, and that if the system cannot maintain the set cabin temperature that the gasoline engine automatically starts.
This a terrific RAV4 Prime video. Thank you for making it. I had seen your positive reviews, and was glad to see the few areas where the RAV4 Prime falls short. The issue with the heater was not discussed anywhere else. Your videos contributed to me making an informed decision (I'm probably buying the RAV4 Prime). Keep up the great work.
Totally. This greatly concerns me as I am ordering a Rav4 Prime as well. Heat is kind of important in Canada. This is the reason I am not getting a Prius prime as I heard a lot of bad things with engine turning on in the winter. I was hoping Rav4 Prime would do better.
Thank you SO much for making this video. I have a 2012 Toyota Sienna and I have complained for years about their heater system. It DOES NOT heat up forever! Only after you have started driving for about 15 minutes does it START to defrost. I also had problems with the brakes for the first year. They would Hydrolock below -20C and I couldn't move the van at all. They kept it for days and lubricated all the areas to prevent it from happening repeatedly. Now I am looking for a new vehicle that is NOT a Toyota. Too many issues between the brakes and not heating up in Winter. You would think that for the price Toyota charges for their vehicles they would make simple things like heat and brakes work better.
I don't see why it's a problem for the ICE to turn on for heat. The whole point of EV is that you don't waste energy as heat(efficiency loss, especially when cold), so now that you want heat, it's no problem at all that you're using the engine to partially move the vehicle and partially provide heat.
If you want to use gas to heat the car you might as well buy a hybrid. I am an ev guy. I would like to have heat in the winter like every other ev. Had I known about the lack of heat in the winter I wouldve bought a hybrid and saved $10,000
If I carry inside a long and wide object on the right side and I advance and lower the passenger seat forward, Id rather have my 60% behind on the right down for the large object there.
Exactly this. The 60% in my Santa Fe is behind the driver and it's MUCH less useful since I can't exactly move myself out of the way :). LOVE that it's on the passenger side!
Over the last few days in Wisconsin, it has been 0 degs F and down to -15 deg and my 2021 Rav4 Prime wouldn't go into electric mode AT ALL with 28 miles of electric battery left. It never kicked over or would let me drive in EV mode. I even took it out of defrosting and reduced the heat. I had a 40-mile trip to make and it only ran in gas mode. So basically I have learned that this car isn't meant for any environment that experiences really cold freezing temps. Other really frustrating issues have been the fuel cap monitor falsely saying the fuel lid is open. (I had to go back to the dealer 4 times about this issue). The wipers do not go fast enough for severe rain (my basic 2011 Chevy Colorado had a faster wiper speed than this). And if you drive off-road in muddy areas mud gets up inside the door all the way up INTO the weather strip/door seal. I took it 2 times to the self car wash and spent an hour scrubbing by hand to get the mud off from the inside of the door. This is the perfect vehicle if you live in a climate that is warm and sunny every day.
the lack of a resistive heather actually sucks big time. like really, its part of the joy of owning an electric(or electrified) vehicle to be able to stay warm and not have to listen to the engine rattling and burning power it doesn't need to burn. i mean i use seat and stearing wheel heathers almost exclusively for short trips. but it still kinda sucks.
Hot take on the 60/40 split. I’ve always heard you the baby goes on the driver side because the driver inherently protects its side over the passenger side. I’m a new parent though.
I do mostly suburban driving in Florida(prius prime). If its been raining the first stop or two will grab a little, expect it, then the rest of the trip is fine. As you said the transition is at about 8mph, that will equal about two wheel revolutions before the stop. Just enough to squeegee and scrape off the rotors. I'm from Buffalo(go bills) and remember my 08 prius being worse in the winter.
Subaru rear seats fold the same way. Some like it because they can fold down the passanger side 60% and be able to load large object with a person sitting behind the driver.
Aside from the last two, you are just nit picking. The lock system works just fine on mine and the braking is mostly you. It does have two stage braking, in that it mostly uses electric braking until it decides it cannot stop as fast as you want, and switches to hydraulic brakes. If your braking force is consistent, it will never transition. You are braking too lightly at first and then deciding you need more stopping power too late in the process which triggers the transition from electric brake to hydraulic brake at low speeds which you will definitely notice. My minor complaints for the Prime, or any other 2019-2021 Rav4 is the (difficult to find in the dark) buttons for lock/unlock and the overhead lights. My major complaint is the fact that you can't fill up the tank past 3/4 full.
Cmon. This brakes are bs. Stop defending them. Transition from regen to hydraulic is bad. Sometime i have even dead zone when i hawe no brakes at all, then hydra kiks but your shit is already with you on your seat. And in adition when you on ice and hydraulic kiks you slide.
Seems to me like most of the problems on your list can be fixed by taking an EV not a hybrid. Are you sure you don't want a proper electric car? Gas engine spooling during winter is a problem where there is none. Wider doors and better access is guaranteed with longer wheelbase of EVs etc.
I was thinking the same thing. He had a Tesla previously so I’m thinking he left his brain in the Tesla. Not sure if realizes he owns a hybrid. Personally I plan on going full electric when it’s more mature.
Also drive the Limited Hybrid and am absolutely delighted with it. However Alexa on Android mostly does not work. Suspect this may be a phone related issue.
I have the 2021 AWD gas model with the tried and true Toyota AWD system (no torque vectoring tech).. and I honestly got to say I love it. It’s nothing special, mind you, but that’s what I like about it. The transmission, the AWD system, the engine has all been used on different Toyota models with very little issues. I have manual cloth seats but that doesn’t bug me. It’s AWD and that’s all the “special” I wanted. The thing is a beast in the snow. Wherever I turn the vehicle- that’s where the vehicle goes. It’s like a tank for me! 😂 What I do NOT like- you can’t check your tire pressures inside the car- there’s no monitor on board that I can find. And when you try to check pressures on the Toyota app- the pressures are always unavailable. The vehicle will tell you if your tires are low- but you can’t see the pressures- you’re supposed to use the app and the app doesn’t work. I also dislike the front doors. It’s a little awkward to shut and sometimes doesn’t shut all the way. Other than those 2 things.. I am really enjoying it.
This video isn't "why you shouldn't buy a Toyota Rav4 Prime XSE", it's a video on why you shouldn't have kids. Oh, and also that living anywhere it snows is insane. You chose to have kids, you chose to live in the snow, so stop complaining.
Good info as I’m in the market for this car...For the on board charger, you can’t really compare it to the pure EVs. With smaller batteries on PHEVs, you can’t have a high speed charger much above 7kw. I had the same complaint and learned that. If you think about it, it makes sense...like trying to shoot a fire hose into a 1 gallon can versus a 20 gallon vat. But, agree with another poster, if you really want to travel on EV, get a full EV! Easy day! Seats: I wish all cars did a 40/20/40 split. I HATE auto hatches...wish they would just leave it manual. Both Toyota and Honda make them too slow and noisy with all the bells/whistles going off while closing and opening. Good to hear the OTA possibility. As for the engine coming on....yeah, I’m finding out with most PHEVs, even if it has a pure EV mode, it needs the engine to either heat or cool the cabin. Again, small battery is limited in the things it can do. Same with getting heat below 20 degrees...if you want heat/cool in pure EV mode, get an EV. With a small battery in a PHEV, it’s a lot to ask to run the car and heat up a resistive heater...
@@nw1018 Since my post 4 months ago, I took delivery of my RAV4 Prime SE. LOVE IT! I’m in Virginia, so the heat/cool thing isn’t really an issue for me. It’s been in the mid 90s the last few days and I’m still getting 51 miles pure EV range. My only constant gripe are the brakes at low speeds coming to a stop…very grabby. Hard to glide into a stop which I need every morning getting into the military base gate! Other than that, all the other gripes are minor: Base stereo sucks. I upgraded the tweeters for $45 and the sound is much better now. Might upgrade the door speakers later. The app SUCKS! No mention of the EV aspect of the car…charge level, whether the car is charging, etc…nada! The UI SUCKS! But I knew that from other friends who own Toyotas. Thankfully, I use CarPlay almost 100% of the time, so easy work around. Backup camera is very low quality. Lastly, too many freakin’ beeps…but, that’s what you get with Honda/Toyota…beeps for everything! To the point where you ignore all of them…wish there was one fuse to stop all of them!
@@petegalindez9961 good review! I pretty much knew about all those grips from other Toyota vehicles. I can't wait to buy one of these! Hopefully this late this year!
My mother has had hers 2021 Rav4 for just over a week. She came to our house today and when she headed home, she called and said that she was coming back to our house because something was very wrong. She got to the house and told me that when she got up to around 45, there was a knocking sound and it sounded terrible. (There is still less than 500 miles on the car.) I checked the fluids and the tires and anything else that might be obviously wrong. I drove it and noticed that the right rear window was down and just let it up out of habit and the drive was uneventful, the car seemed fine to me. She started her trip back and she called about 10 minutes later and said that it was even worse and that it even hurt her ears. She drove it to the Toyota dealer that she bought it from and was going to leave it there overnight (it was closed). I met her at the dealership and as I was walking up to the car, I noticed that the right rear window was halfway down, and it was rather cold out. I asked her if there was any reason that the window was down and she said "I didn't roll it down. It's too cold". So, I got back in the car, rolled the window up and took her with me this time and when we got up to 45, I opened the right rear window and, sure enough, the way the wind came in the window would just about bust your eardrums from the pressure reverberating. I asked her if that's what she meant and she said it was. It did actually hurt in, not only the ears but the neck, chest and head, especially around the eyes. All of the cars I've owned that had automatic windows, it was for the driver's door only. The Rav4 has it on all four windows and the way the buttons are laid out, it's really easy to inadvertanly bump the switch and not realize it, which is what had happenned to her. Twice in one evening. (The dealer probably would never have found the problem and thought she was just nuts.) And, after over 45 years of owning cars, I've never had a vehicle that had such rapid pressure changes in the interior when a rear window was let down, even just a little bit. Something in the aerodynamics has to be off. It is a very nice car and I drove it on a 300+ mile road trip last weekend and it did a fine job. A bit smaller than I"m used to but she likes it and that's what counts.
I feel like I'm okay with the gas engine coming on in extreme cold. The way I'm looking at this car is more of a "bridge" car to an all electric future. The writing is on the wall, but I don't want a FULL EV quite yet, and I just want something reliable with really good gas mileage, and an EV mode so that if gas prices surge to $10/gallon for some reason I'm not totally screwed. So if this means I only really drive in EV mode on our warmer days here in Colorado, I'm cool with that-- I'm still getting excellent MPG's, and then once the cabin is warmed up I can kick it into EV mode for a bit lol. Thanks for the video!
I have been driving a model s for a long time now and now feel like i very much like a lot of the characteristics of electric vehicles but have run into the charge time issues on long trips and when i forget to charge over the night. La driving means you're often going 50-70 miles each way with 10-30 miles of incidental driving during the day. 221 miles means that dealing with that is very inconvenient. Electric handling and engine off in and out of the garage plus the ability to fill up with gas fits my thinking. Also construction on that tesla was terrible so much whistling from the door/window seals. Worst service I've ever experienced from a car company too
@@CtrlAltRetreat Yeah, the Prime sounds right down your alley for sure. I think everyone can agree that Toyota is known for prioritizing reliability and quality, so the Prime feels like a really good bet... Probably going to jump on one within 4-6 months, and I'm hoping that we get enough inventory that I'm not paying significantly over MSRP.
No issues at all with Tesla heat pump in Model Y. Puts out great heat, very quickly--So hot you'll be turning it down. Seems much more efficient than the M3 I had without heat pump. You can preheat cabin(& battery) from your phone. If plugged in, power to preheat will come from panel. Highly recommend!
For the key problem. I have a 2016 forester. When my key is in the same pocket than my phone, the car won't unlock. I suspect is interference between my phone and the key. Now I put my keys in a pocket of my coat with them alone in there. So no more problem.
Great video. Glad I haven’t had some of the issues that you’ve had, I’ve been lucky. My Prime is supposed to be coming this week and am looking forward to using it. Currently driving a ‘19 Rav AWD.
I was laughing so hard to the point there were tears coming down my cheeks when you said that many of your trips in the winter involve you driving cold 😂😂😂😂😂😂
Dude, almost all of these issues are inconsequential. The car is a PHEV not an EV so they behave differently depending on how you use them. None of the issues you listed would be a negative for me. I'm single, no kids and live in Southern California which, BTW, is where most Rav4 Primes are sold. Oh, the braking and maybe even the inconsistent keyless entry issue might have been fixed with the OTA update as well. At least with the braking issue you said it was still doing it about a month ago which is the same time period that your entertainment display issues were fixed too.
Sounds like some 2021 Toyota stuff… I have a lot of same complaints about my Camry hybrid. The seats are the same, the brakes are grabby, the door handles are iffy, the heat don’t work in ev mode, then the engine takes a while to heat up the car. A lot of the same problems
@@SoopaBee Totally true. Humans suck especially when they think they can say anything they want on the internet where they cant get punched in the face. But I spend a lot of time making FREE videos for people to watch. If they want to be rude I have no problem blocking them so they can never watch my FREE videos.
@@JamesKlafehn Also the same in my RAV4 hybrid 2017 , traction control. But in other aspects no other issues with RAV4 2017 , brake transitions are perfect, keyless system also perfect....
I totally agree. I had my 2016 RAV4 in for bodywork and was given a demo of 2021 RAV4 XLE for 2 weeks. Although the look and feel of the 2021 is intoxicating at first, I don’t think the design is as good. The legroom width on the new car was very cramped. The 2016 XLE is overall much quieter for road noise on the highway over 60 mph, the 2016 engine is overall quieter, it accelerates better, it has a shorter turning radius, and has much easier heat and air-conditioning controls, just a name a few. I ended up liking the look of the newer car and performance of my older car, and I’m VERY happy be back in my restored 2016 RAV4 XLE.
I'm a 14 year Toyota master technician and recently did the Rav 4 Prime web module, wait until 80K miles and you need to top off the R1234 to ensure the hybrid battery cooling is optimal, this freon is like 30$ an ounce plus labor, I'm not looking forward to future headaches....
@@mreid08 Yes I understand that but the fluid circulating through the battery has to be G48. It runs through a heat exchanger to warm the fluid or cool the fluid. They do not run refrigerant through the battery pack. NO EV company does that.
They are so much better than ICEVs. You really should try driving one. Much more fun, and much more convenient if you have an outlet to plug in at night; very nice to avoid gas stations for long periods of time (weeks, months) while still driving every day if you have a PHEV like the RAV4 Prime. ICEVs are sooo 20th-century; the world is moving on.
Convenient they are definitely not, since they are just for short to max medium range drives. And the avoiding gas stations is kinda stupid argument when you are sitting ages at the charge station 😅 the only thing EV have is fast acceleration, nothing more
@@qqqwark No charging stations, ever. We just plug in at home every night; can't get much more convenient than that (and only have to go to gas stations about once every 6 weeks on average; many other RAV4 Prime owners are going months without getting gasoline). When we go on long road trips, we don't bother with plugging in and still get much better mpg rates than in our old ICEVs, as it's still making use of regen while coasting and braking. I'll define "convenient" for you in our terms: it's ultra-convenient because we can drive locally in all-electric most of the time (we are getting up to 45 miles of all-electric range on a single charge even in sub-freezing temps while driving around town at non-highway speeds), but yet we have the convenience of not having to do public charging when we do longer trips (which is about 10% of our driving). So the RAV4 Prime is the perfect vehicle for us in many respects. Are you aware that the average American driver drives about 29 miles per day? With the all-electric range of the RAV4 Prime, that covers most people's daily driving, provided that they can plug in at home at night. If you never need to drive out of town, a BEV is fine if you can charge at home -- never needing public charging, either.
For some reason I was thinking you are talking about EV my bad. Yes PHEV are the best of both worlds. I just have a problem with pure EV cars since they are basically useless outside your short range routines.
@@qqqwark PHEV is good only if you are doing city driving like going to meet your friends or going for job. For long tours those folks mostly have a mid or full size suv or truck to do their fun stuffs.
I have only gone down to 24 degrees and electric still operated this winter. The electric heat seats work well. The defrost works when I set defrost and feet setting to the right. If I press the defrost only button on the left side it does turn to gasoline only to defrost. Try the right side button click it until you see the defrost and feet symbol. I just leave it on that setting.
