Note that if the aftermarket JDemo kit isn't installed -- as it is in this video -- then it's not necessary to remove the 12v battery to access those three 19mm head bolts @6:56 .
shame they only made 2500 of these. looks like a super easy car to work on with a tesla motor. range isnt crazy high but still as good as some modern evs (looking at you mini ev and others in 100ish mile range) but reviews ive seen and owner experiences seem like mostly good and happy owners. some regret selling them, shows me these are/were some gems for the time, now little cool pieces of automotive history. worlds first Toyota+Tesla collab and maybe only one. the toyesla, or tesyota, or tosla 😅👍🙏💚 great video thanks for sharing and including hex nut sizes that may be on if not wing nuta 👍👍
In addition, the RAV4 EV's "sister car" is the 2014-2017 Mercedes B-Class ED/B250e. It uses most of the same HV components as the RAV4 (at least on the 2014 models), but has a smaller battery. The B-Class was actually Daimler's second collaboration with Tesla (the first being the second gen Smart ED, which used a battery pack built by Tesla).
If you had to choose between one of these or the B250e what would you choose? I hope you say RAV4 EV because I just bought one, heeheehee. Your channel is so good it has non car peeps peeping.
Very, very helpful video! For crate and shipping purposes, would you be willing to share the approximate dimensions of the drive unit? What's the length, width, and height? Also, the weight? Thanks for your time.
The Drive Unit will easily fit on a standard 42" x 48" pallet (actually you can fit two on a pallet if you nest them together), but if you're looking for minimum size, here's the rough dimensions of the Drive Unit: Width: 34" Length: 25" Height: 12" Weight: 300lbs.
Thanks for the video. Toyota suggested this particular car only be owned in California. Do you think buying a used one in the midwest, without a warranty, is unadvisable? The drive unit seems to have issues that need periodic replacement, and you guys are really the only ones I've found in the US that reliably can fix them. The particular car I'm looking at has 44k miles on it, and I don't think they've ever replaced the drive unit.
Please call our shop and we can advise. Thanks, Tony Williams QC Charge - Electric Vehicle Super Center 1497 Poinsettia, Suite 154 Vista, California 92081 USA support@QCcharge.com www.QCcharge.com Twitter: QCPower 1-844-EV-PARTS 1-844-387-2787 1-760-798-0342 Office Hours M-F, 9-5 Pacific Time
@@QCCHARGE Thank you, Tony. I spoke to Alex this morning, and he walked me through some things to look out for. He was super helpful. Probably the most helpful mechanic I've come across. Your guys run a great shop out there. I appreciate it!
Thankfully for informative video about electric car. Question:after how many miles needs to rebuild the motor? Another question I want to buy 2012 Toyota Rave4 EV and it had 100000 miles on it so I need your advice if it’s worth to buy it. Thank you again and have a great future.
It's pretty dependent of conditions as to when the motor might might need to be rebuilt. We've seen some motors in RAV4 EVs last as much as 150k mi, and some as little as 20k mi... If the motor is making a "milling" noise it should probably be addressed in the near future. The number one thing to watch out for though is coolant intrusion into the motor via a leaky seal. The way to check for that is by removing the speed sensor, here's a video that shows how to do that: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-XfncTZcsSHM.html If there is coolant present on the speed sensor, the motor needs to be addressed ASAP to avoid catastrophic damage.
How about if the motor stopped running? Can that be fixed with a rebuild? What’s the best case / worst case price range on something like that these days?
I bought one of this car from Copart. On Description: was saying that: "SHAKES AT LOW SPEED". And now the car shakes and hardly drivers forward feels like something blocking it or touching to go forward. Can you tell me what could be the issue ? I would love to bring my car to your shop to fix it but unfortunately we are too far away. Thanks for any help.
So you're saying that the car feels like it has resistance to moving? Will the car roll easily if you put it into neutral? If the car will not easily roll in neutral, it is very likely that your drive unit is starting to seize up due to rust buildup on the inside of the motor. If that is the case, it SHOULD NOT BE DRIVEN. If you continue to drive the car with a seizing drive unit, it's very likely that you will dislodge the rust buildup, and cause it to wash into the inverter, which will almost certainly destroy it. You car most likely needs either a drive unit rebuild (or a whole new drive unit). If you want to pull just the motor from the car to ship to us, that's a possibility, or you can have the whole car shipped to our shop. The cost for a drive unit rebuild (assuming we don't find catastrophic damage) if you ship just the motor is ~$2,750, or ~$4,000 if you ship us the whole car. We get cars and motors shipped to us from all over the country on a regular basis (and sometimes even from overseas).
@@QCCHARGE Hey do you have Patreon? I feel like I need to set aside some funds to send you for all the great advice. My 2014 RAV4 EV with 77k arrived and i’m loving it. Should I do anything preemptively?
@@QCCHARGE “most important is keep on top of checking the speed sensor on the drive unit to make sure vou don't have any internal coolant leakage.” Is that something I could do as a non mechanic or do I need to go to an EV specialist? Is this a more Tesla thing or more a Toyota thing?
Does the drive unit have to be removed to safely drill a drainage hole in the bottom of the case? I've checked my speed sensor and see no indication of coolant leakage, but I'd like to take some preventative measures.
Yes, the drive unit does have to be removed to add a drainage kit, otherwise you run a very high risk of causing damage, especially on the inverter side. We normally drill a hole both on the end cap of the motor, as well as one on the inverter cover. Both must be removed from the drive unit before drilling (hence why the drive unit must be removed from the car).
I have a 2014 Toyota Rav4 EV with 60k miles on it and the motor has a loud whining noise. It's under Toyota warranty but is there a specification for acceptable noise from the motor?
I assume you have the Platinum extended warranty? It shouldn't be very noisy at all. You can try taking it in to a dealer to complain, though depending on the dealer your experience may vary... If it's not something you're doing already, you should also be performing fairly regular speed sensor checks to ensure there is no coolant intrusion into the drive unit (we have another video that shows how to do that).
@@QCCHARGE Thank you for your reply. I do have the Platinum extended warranty until 110k miles. You can hear the whining from about 1/4 mile away. All fluids and speed sensor look good. I live close to the Bay Area. What do you charge for a Large Drive Unit replacement on my EV?
maybe a stupid question, but if I drive a 2014 model s, and my motor goes, would I be able to send it to you to be fixed? its still covered thru december but after that 🤷♂️
You’re awesome! I wish I was close enough to have you as my mechanic…do you have any connections in Austin? I just bought a 2014 with 72k…will it be very obvious if I need to have the motor fixed or replaced?
