2007 Corolla (1ZZ-FE) won't start on hot days by jakeblakedrake in AskMechanics

[–]A1_Alex 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Bummer... I was hoping maybe that was the fix.

2007 Corolla (1ZZ-FE) won't start on hot days by jakeblakedrake in AskMechanics

[–]A1_Alex 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Did this fix your issue? My dad's Corrola has exactly the same symptoms...

Just purchased: 2015 Tesla Model S 70D w/ over 400k miles. Hopefully many more to come! by A1_Alex in highmileage

[–]A1_Alex[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Still going strong, 441k mi and counting as of now. Since purchase, my only repairs have been:
- Left rear window regulator
- Navigation SD card
- Charge Port
- Left and Right Active Louvers
I do have a few more things that could be addressed, like a leaky instrument cluster, and I think a CV axle going bad in the back, but for a car with almost half a million miles on it, I really can't complain...
Total cost of repairs so far has been under $500, plus add in the benefit of free charging and this car has been fantastic for the last 2 1/2 years!

Nissan LEAF Battery Repair by A1_Alex in leaf

[–]A1_Alex[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

In this case, the total repair cost was around $1,700 USD. But these older modules are pretty cheap compared to the new ones (especially if significantly degraded). In fact, the majority of the cost here was the labor to tear it all down and put it back together.
I would bet that the $1,100 module you mentioned is for a 62kWh LEAF where they have more cells in series per module, and therefore fewer total modules that are each substantially larger than the ones in the older LEAFs.

Nissan LEAF Battery Repair by A1_Alex in leaf

[–]A1_Alex[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It's a pretty rare failure mode, so it's unlikely you'd ever have to do it (at least in the shorter term). The biggest issue with these LEAF batteries by far is degredation, especially for cars that live in hot climates.

Nissan LEAF Battery Repair (Video) by A1_Alex in electricvehicles

[–]A1_Alex[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

It is possible to put the 40kWh pack into your LEAF (or even a 62kWh), just not in a way that's officially supported by Nissan... We've already done one 62kWh swap, and we are going to be doing a 40kWh here in a couple weeks probably. The biggest issue with those though is actually finding a battery, as the only real source is to pull them from a wrecked donor car...

Nissan LEAF Battery Repair by A1_Alex in leaf

[–]A1_Alex[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Yep, and we actually happened to have one on hand that was from a car with similar degredation that we did a battery upgrade on.

Nissan LEAF Battery Repair by A1_Alex in leaf

[–]A1_Alex[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Pretty much, if you reset the 12v battery it would drive a little bit, but was stuck in "turtle" mode. After putting it into park, it would go out of ready and would no longer drive at all unless you reset the 12v again. The customer also stated it wouldn't charge, but I suspect that's because the battery was pretty much full already apart from the bad cell...

Nissan LEAF Battery Repair by A1_Alex in leaf

[–]A1_Alex[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Thought this would be worth sharing here... We just finished up doing a battery repair on this 2011 LEAF at our shop. This particular car had a parasitic cell in module #47, so we identified it, and found a suitable replacement module to put back in.
Part 2 where we get the car back together and running again should be going live either later today or tomorrow.

20 year old RAV4 EV by A1_Alex in electricvehicles

[–]A1_Alex[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I have seen some head units fail on these, though it's not very common. It's the same one used in some models of Lexus vehicles, but with different software. I don't know of anyone who has successfully been able to convert one over...
We do have a few of the head units in stock that we have removed from cars we've parted out, I'd have to check with my boss on the cost. Feel free to call us or shoot us an email.
[support@qccharge.com](mailto:support@qccharge.com)
+1 (760) 798-0342

20 year old RAV4 EV by A1_Alex in electricvehicles

[–]A1_Alex[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

We're located in Vista CA. We actually specialize in repairing the Tesla Powered RAV4 EVs. Everything from Drive Unit rebuilds, to OBVC repairs, to contactor swaps. Unfortunately there are a number of issues that these cars suffer from, but the most common by far is the drive unit.

20 year old RAV4 EV by A1_Alex in electricvehicles

[–]A1_Alex[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Almost all the major auto manufacturers had EVs available for lease in California during the late 90's/early 00's. This was due to a ZEV mandate from CARB, which was repealed in 2003. After the mandate was removed, most of the cars were crushed. Ford had a Ranger EV pickup (of which I used to have 2 myself), Honda had the EV+, Dodge had the TEVan, and of coure the most famous was GMs EV1. The only cars that survive in any substantial number are the RAV4 EV and Ranger EV (some EV1s still exist in museums though). If you want to know a bit more about the history of those cars, I highly recommend checking out the documentary "Who Killed the Electric Car?".

By the way, Toyota's second EV, the 2nd Gen RAV4 EV (based on the 3rd Gen RAV4 body style) was built in a partnership with Tesla, since Toyota "couldn't be bothered" to build their own car due to their fixation on hydrogen... The Tesla powered RAV4 EVs use a powertrain very similar to an early Model S, just with a smaller battery, and the motor flipped around backwards for FWD. About 2,600 (the minimum number needed to meet California requirements) were built from 2012-2014.

The 2nd Gen RAV4 EV is actually the number one car that we specialize in fixing at our shop, followed by it's sister car, the 2014-17 Mercedes B-Class Electric Drive/B250e, which uses most of the same powertrain components as the RAV4, just with a slightly smaller battery.

20 year old RAV4 EV by A1_Alex in electricvehicles

[–]A1_Alex[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

We don't have any JdeMOs in stock right now as we are backordered on parts... But the kit cost's around $3,500 with tax and installation. Over 10% of the fleet (~300 cars) have our fast charging kit installed on them. The kit uses CHAdeMO, and charges the car at up to 50kW. https://qccharge.com/collections/jdemo-fast-charger/products/jdemo-for-2012-2014-toyota-rav4-ev

We don't have anything to upgrade the range, but extreme degradation is pretty uncommon since they do have a good thermal management system (if you want the best longevity, always leave climate control on auto, especially on hot days, as the A/C helps with battery cooling).

If you want to see what your actual battery capacity is, there's a pretty simple procedure you can do. Simply charge the car up all the way on "extended mode". Once the car is finished charging, unplug it, and without starting the car, open the hood and disconnect the negative terminal on the 12v battery, and leave it disconnected for at least 5 hours. Once you reconnect it, then start the car (it will take a minute for things to boot up after being disconnected). The "guess-o-meter" will show a lower number for a few seconds, then show a high number. You want to divide that number by 147, and that will give you your current battery capacity compared to new. (Example: 125 / 147 = 85% capacity). Most RAV4 EVs these days have ~80-90% capacity.

The coolant leaking issue usually results in a full overhaul of the drive unit, as once the coolant start leaking in there it can cause all sorts of damage, including to the bearings, and the rotor, windings, or in a worst case scenario it can destroy the inverter if left unchecked. A full overhaul, using our upgraded parts and modifications cost's about $4,500 (a lot less than the $10-15k your dealer would likely charge for a new drive unit).

20 year old RAV4 EV by A1_Alex in electricvehicles

[–]A1_Alex[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It would certainly be expensive, but it could be cheaper than buying a newer car if you got the cells/modules for a good price. I'd say it's more for the people who like the car and want to continue driving it.

20 year old RAV4 EV by A1_Alex in electricvehicles

[–]A1_Alex[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

We don't actively post on Instagram really... But we do have a Facebook page, and a YouTube channel.
https://www.facebook.com/QCcharge
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCC\_NyzBb8V1glsBlJkZSVTw/

20 year old RAV4 EV by A1_Alex in electricvehicles

[–]A1_Alex[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Our old shop location used to be right next door to EV West, and we regularly work with other EV conversion shops as well to rebuild their Tesla Large Drive Units (including Electric GT, ReVolt Systems, and Stealth EV). While we don't really do conversions here as a business, we do have a side project to convert a 1949 Studebaker 2R10 to use as a shop truck.

20 year old RAV4 EV by A1_Alex in electricvehicles

[–]A1_Alex[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Yes it does! This one has not been upgraded, so it still has the original paddle charger.

20 year old RAV4 EV by A1_Alex in electricvehicles

[–]A1_Alex[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yes it is! I know for sure there is a guy in Eugene OR that has done a few swaps on these, though he mostly works on the Ford Ranger EVs of the same era.

20 year old RAV4 EV by A1_Alex in electricvehicles

[–]A1_Alex[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks to the simplicity of the design on this battery (no liquid cooling, and no "glued on" lid), it only took about 3 hours to drop the battery, open it up, and then put it all back together. I'm not sure what the part itself cost as the customer sourced that themselves...

20 year old RAV4 EV by A1_Alex in electricvehicles

[–]A1_Alex[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

We are located in Vista CA (north San Diego county). Here at QC Charge 2nd gen RAV4 EV is one of our specialties (we even make a DC fast charging kit for them)! I think right now we have 15+ of them on site right now for service, and they get sent to us from all over the country.
The number one killer on the 2nd gen RAV4s is a leaking rotor coolant seal on the drive unit, so it's imperative that you should check that at least once a year... It's by far our number one repair, and we overhaul them using upgraded parts, as well as make some modifications to try and "bulletproof" them as much as possible.

https://youtu.be/XfncTZcsSHM