RAV4 completely dead

[Vez]

Posting on behalf of my parents so might not have full details. They have a 2021 Rav 4, self charging and had no issues until this morning. Gone to use the car and it’s completely dead. Tried charging the Battery and nothing. Toyota don’t want to know and they don’t have home start breakdown recovery. Any ideas on what could be wrong as can’t get a mobile mechanic out today? 

[forkingabout]

Check front left wheel arch area for any damage to rule out theft attempt damage.

[Vez]

There isn’t any obvious damage to the wheel arch or anywhere else on the car 

[FROSTYBALLS]

Have they left the interior light(s) on after they last used it?

[Vez]

Nothing they can think of, they used the car last in the daytime so haven’t knowingly put a light on, all doors were properly shut, headlights off and they don’t plug anything into usb chargers etc. He’s tried jump starting it and it’s not getting any power at all. He’s now going to try and call a mobile Battery replacement guy out to see if they can test the Battery as he’s just been quoted £500 to get it towed because of the awkwardness of their drive 🤦🏻‍♀️

[ColinB]

How long did you charge the 12V Battery? A booster pack will normally start the car if it a faulty Battery, not sure how long it would take a charger to bring the voltage up sufficiently. The Battery guy should be able to check whether it is faulty or just flat. 

[Vez]

I’m not sure how long he tried charging it for. He’s got a guy coming on Saturday to test and replace the Battery if needed so hopefully that’s the issue 🤞🏻 thank you everyone for your suggestions! 

[Cyker]

Is it an area known for rats, or especially squirrels...?

I semi-randomly see posts on here were one of the little buggers has chewed on a cable somewhere and caused some inexplicable/nonsensical electrical problem.

It seems about that time of year where squirrels especially are all over the place prepping for winter.

We get loads of them round here, but luckily there are also loads of cats and foxes which seems to keep them under control!

 

[ernieb]

I had a friend who had a squirrel lunch on his wiring. When he tried to start the car there was a very load bang and lots of smoke.cost over a £1000 to have it sorted - mind you  that was a few years ago I dread to think what it would cost now.

[Oscarmax]

I do recall Honda used to use a Soya based tape to wrap there wiring looms, not the best idea.

[Maxrob]

12 volt Battery dead - have they had the essential software and hardware upgrades Toyota were offering 2 years ago to solve this problem?

[Maxrob]

Also, best way to solve this is, in accordance with the Owners Manual, jumpstart from another car using the terminals under the electric cover on the right hand side under the bonnet.  Happened to me not once but twice, until those 2 upgrades mentioned above were carried out.

[ROCKETRON]

I think the software update only applied to the plug in and he has self charging model

[philip42h]

20 hours ago, Vez said:

Toyota don’t want to know and they don’t have home start breakdown recovery.

Toyota Roadside Assistance would have been pretty good value in this case. The cost is reasonable and includes home start ...

As for the rest, it is rather difficult to say without further details. It does sound like a 12V auxiliary Battery issue and you should have been able to get going again with a 'jump start' (as per the procedure in the manual) or by recharging the Battery (which might not work if it has died completely).

It might be worth checking with the dealer to see whether there are any TSBs applicable to their car, but I don't believe that there will be. The DCM issue was specific to the PHEV - the HEV doesn't 'phone home while it is 'off'. There was also a DC-DC converter issue requiring replacement of suspect / faulty hardware, but this affected only a 'small' number of vehicles (i.e. not mine) and again, IIRC, mostly PHEVs.

[Cyker]

4 hours ago, Oscarmax said:

I do recall Honda used to use a Soya based tape to wrap there wiring looms, not the best idea.

Ironically they also sell capsaicin-infused tape to wrap round such cables to discourage squirrels from eating them  

It can backfire though - I vaguely remember a story where Alabama university had a massive problem with squirrels digging up electrical cables and chewing through them, so they started using cables with capsaicin-infused insulation. That put them off for a while, but after a while the squirrels apparently gained a taste for the chilli cabling and the problem got even worse as they actively sought them out!  

 

[GBgraham]

Just a pointer guys. Be careful when charging (or even jump starting) a modern car because they can be extremely prone to damaging voltage surges to electronic circuits if the boost charger or jump pack hasn't got surge protection and the Battery is suspected to be fully discharged. If in doubt, disconnect the Battery to charge and try to slow charge as much as possible.

[Vez]

23 hours ago, Cyker said:

Is it an area known for rats, or especially squirrels...?

I semi-randomly see posts on here were one of the little buggers has chewed on a cable somewhere and caused some inexplicable/nonsensical electrical problem.

It seems about that time of year where squirrels especially are all over the place prepping for winter.

We get loads of them round here, but luckily there are also loads of cats and foxes which seems to keep them under control!

 

They do have squirrels but their dogs are pretty good at chasing them off so not really seen any lingering but they can be heard so will mention it! 

[Vez]

9 hours ago, Maxrob said:

12 volt battery dead - have they had the essential software and hardware upgrades Toyota were offering 2 years ago to solve this problem?

I asked him yesterday if there has been any software updates and he said there was one done at the year 1 service but when he asked Toyota yesterday about any further updates, he was told it would have been for plug in 

[Vez]

8 hours ago, philip42h said:

Toyota Roadside Assistance would have been pretty good value in this case. The cost is reasonable and includes home start ...

As for the rest, it is rather difficult to say without further details. It does sound like a 12V auxiliary battery issue and you should have been able to get going again with a 'jump start' (as per the procedure in the manual) or by recharging the battery (which might not work if it has died completely).

It might be worth checking with the dealer to see whether there are any TSBs applicable to their car, but I don't believe that there will be. The DCM issue was specific to the PHEV - the HEV doesn't 'phone home while it is 'off'. There was also a DC-DC converter issue requiring replacement of suspect / faulty hardware, but this affected only a 'small' number of vehicles (i.e. not mine) and again, IIRC, mostly PHEVs.

He had breakdown through his insurance which didn’t come with home start but I think he’ll be changing now! He tried charging from a Battery and jump starting and nothing worked so he’s very much hoping it’s a dead Battery 🤞🏻hopefully the Battery guy tomorrow will get him back on the road! 

[TonyHSD]

19 hours ago, Vez said:

He had breakdown through his insurance which didn’t come with home start but I think he’ll be changing now! He tried charging from a battery and jump starting and nothing worked so he’s very much hoping it’s a dead battery 🤞🏻hopefully the battery guy tomorrow will get him back on the road! 

Hi, 

what happened with the car? 
Has anyone tried to get it back to life? 
Thanks 
 

[Uragan]

Updates…?

[Vez]

Sorry for the delay in updating, been out all day.
 

The Battery guy came out this afternoon and tested the 12v, it was completely dead so he replaced that and the car came back to life. It instantly pinged up on the computer that the tailgate switch had malfunctioned, took a while to get the boot to open but it seems to be working normally now. He’s got it booked in to Toyota to check the tailgate switch and hopefully that’s it! 
 

Thank you everyone for your suggestions!