More News on High Tension Cable Woes for RAV4 Hybrid and Primes

8280 Views 41 Replies 24 Participants Last post by 4x4ken, 13 d ago

Raven619

Discussion Starter · 8 mo ago

My feed caught the below article which specifies how the RAV4 Prime is affected by the high tension cable issues that are plaguing the Hybrid. It says that they made changes in mid 2021... however, my car is early 2021 so I presume I have the worst version of the cable.....

www.torquenews.com

Poorly Designed Cable Costs Toyota RAV4 Owners | Torque News

The high-tension cable that powers the rear motor on RAV4 Hybrid and Prime four-wheel-drive models corrodes quickly. Out of warranty, the bill to replace it can exceed $6,000. Owners are anxiously awaiting a lasting solution from Toyota.

www.torquenews.com

Would you recommend I have the cable inspected this winter before I fall out of ToyotaCare coverage? I bought the extended platinum warranty but I have not researched whether that cable would be included in the coverage since its not included as part of the longer hybrid system warranty from Toyota.

Thoughts?

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NoelinColorado

· #2 · 8 mo ago

Raven619 said:
My feed caught the below article which specifies how the RAV4 Prime is affected by the high tension cable issues that are plaguing the Hybrid. It says that they made changes in mid 2021... however, my car is early 2021 so I presume I have the worst version of the cable.....

Poorly Designed Cable Costs Toyota RAV4 Owners | Torque News

The high-tension cable that powers the rear motor on RAV4 Hybrid and Prime four-wheel-drive models corrodes quickly. Out of warranty, the bill to replace it can exceed $6,000. Owners are anxiously awaiting a lasting solution from Toyota.

www.torquenews.com

Would you recommend I have the cable inspected this winter before I fall out of ToyotaCare coverage? I bought the extended platinum warranty but I have not researched whether that cable would be included in the coverage since its not included as part of the longer hybrid system warranty from Toyota.

Thoughts?

Terrible issue I hope our June '21 build is okay. How can one tell? Can the dealer tell if I provide a VIN?

Reactions: 1

EnjoyDriving

· #3 · 8 mo ago

This has been a widespread issue among all hybrid suvs and the new van as well.

www.rav4world.com

High Voltage Cable Big Corrosion Problem

Hi, I have a 2019 RAV4 hybrid with 80,000 miles on it! My car is 28 months old and I'm leaving cold Canada. 2 weeks ago I got a hybrid malfunction message. I did a inspection at the dealer. At the rear drive unit the wire is in really bad shape and Toyota don't want honor my hybrid 100,000...

www.rav4world.com

www.rav4world.com

Reactions: 1

jlawr1

· #4 · 8 mo ago

NoelinColorado said:
Terrible issue I hope our June '21 build is okay. How can one tell? Can the dealer tell if I provide a VIN?

See Photo below. The one on the left is original (curved). The one on the right is the newer one (angular).
Even the newer one might not prevent corrosion after many years of salt exposure. Perhaps washing the underside of the car often might be the best defense.

Gesture Thigh Thumb Wood Human leg

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crisps

· #5 · 8 mo ago

quick review:

Toyota hybrid motor connectors in rear are somewhat exposed to the elements.

if sitting out in the open, an attached EMI clamp and braid will eventually corrode
and rot away, but this does not affect the hybrid high voltage connection, it only affects
the EMI braid and looks like crap, but the braid can rot right off and all it may do is make
radio interference.

Toyota designed the latest connector to be at the bottom of the rear transaxle case, and
in that postion when water and mung get on it, it can collect and hold dirt and salt water like a cup,
and then it not only rots the braid (which always rots) but the corrosion can pack in and build up some pressure and
work it's way into the high voltage wiring itself, eventually leading to a fault

Toyota redesigned the connector covering to have one side completely open, so when it does
eventually get dirt and rot, it won't be able to put more pressure and pack in, and work it's
way to the high voltage wiring.

--------------
the braid will always rot, but if not in a closed 'cup' will rot away harmlessly

the braid will rot, and if inside the closed connector cover, this can lead to hybrid failure

------------
people are going off-reservation and applying their own anti-corrosive sprays to the
connector to mitigate the problem.

myself I am blasting my open-style 2022 connector
and braid with acf-50 and will do this a few times a year, forever I reckon

-----------
people are waiting for Toyota to do further redesign and avoid all rotting for good (if they could)

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NoelinColorado

· #6 · 8 mo ago

jlawr1 said:
See Photo below. The one on the left is original (curved). The one on the right is the newer one (angular).
Even the newer one might not prevent corrosion after many years of salt exposure. Perhaps washing the underside of the car often might be the best defense.
View attachment 187930

Thanks so much! Can this be seen w/o taking off anything, i.e., by getting under the car w/ a flashlight? It seems like it ought to be "painted", thickly coated, w/ some kind of grease!

crisps

· #7 · 8 mo ago

you can see it looking through the driver side rear wheel spokes

you can put your hands on it laying down under the driver side rear and reaching up for it

Reactions: 1

NoelinColorado

· #8 · 8 mo ago

crisps said:
you can see it looking through the driver side rear wheel spokes

you can put your hands on it laying down under the driver side rear and reaching up for it

Not visible thru the spokes but very visible from a certain angle behind the left rear bumper w/ a flashlight. We appear to have the angular newer one. It seems somewhat shielded w/ the plastic bottom piece but apparently not good enough.

14v6

· #9 · 8 mo ago

jlawr1 said:
See Photo below. The one on the left is original (curved). The one on the right is the newer one (angular).
Even the newer one might not prevent corrosion after many years of salt exposure. Perhaps washing the underside of the car often might be the best defense.
View attachment 187930

Nice catch, I thought they just cut an opening on the back side with that being the only change but it looks like a little more thought went into the newer (angular) cover. I've a few years left to decide if these hybrids are worth keeping past the 3 year mark. I just don't see why Toyota has a 5k part that is not capable of being warrantied past 3 years especially if the problem is not widespread. Just do the right thing and make it part of the Hybrid system warranty that would be fair IMO. I'm in Albany, NY and we already see forum members with the issue in Cleveland, Ohio and Syracuse, NY. I will know in a year or two if the new cover is a fix or not.

chuckles70

· #10 · 8 mo ago

14v6 said:
I will know in a year or two if the new cover is a fix or not.

Per the article it's not:

Rectangle Font Magenta Asphalt Circle

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Illinibird

· #11 · 8 mo ago

Is this design/problem still in the 2022 RAV4?

NoelinColorado

· #12 · 8 mo ago

Illinibird said:
Is this design/problem still in the 2022 RAV4?

It was redesigned in mid 2021, but there is some commentary that it is insufficient to prevent corrosion. You can actually get line of sight to it from the back of the car and this tell me it is accessible enough to create a washing solution which may help or not, not sure!

Safedad

· #13 · 8 mo ago (Edited)

chuckles70 said:
Per the article it's not:

View attachment 187943

Galvanic corrosion between aluminum and steel (and other dissimilar metals) is going to happen slowly even if it is constant high humidity and dew on a dirty surface for a prolonged period. Exposure to dirty water splashes will make it happen faster. Constant submersion in salty water considerably faster. This is why steel is often zinc plated, greatly extending the life of the part if it must be in electrical contact with a dissimilar metal. The zinc still corrodes, but much slower and less obviously than the steel would.

So, better drainage will certainly help a lot if the original shell was trapping water, especially in areas where salts are used for snow/ice. Drainage won't stop this type of corrosion, but could slow it considerably to greatly extend the life of the part. The other question is if the author's experience led him to examine and compare the old and new parts and the metals used in them. For example, the early parts may have been improperly galvanized, used a cheaper alloy or otherwise defective or not to spec. Or, they may have improved the design with a new part that may be using a superior plating or metal, in addition to better drainage. It's all speculation unless someone collects the old, newer and newest parts and compares the metals and plating as well as the physical changes.

The appearance of corrosion is not the right metric to pronounce a failure or bad design. The question is if the corrosion can be limited so the part lasts long enough in an automotive environment. How long that may be is subject to debate;-)

Also, you can get a view of the inside of the shell by sticking a camera up past the black undercarriage shield from the passenger side at the back of the vehicle. You don't get a great view this way but I have an example in this thread- When will the RAV4P owners be dealing with high voltage...

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Klamsoss

· #14 · 8 mo ago

2022 has the new connector. It is still the same "design" though in terms of it being non-stainless shielding, and oriented in such a way that it is somewhat more likely to be hit by road spray. I intend to hit it with an anti-corrosive coating before the winter. I'll see what it looks like next year. If I didn't have a day job, I'd get under there and see how it's all set up. I would imagine that with a bit of work, one could potentially paint the shielding with anti-corrosive paint (this is fairly common in other applications), then fit some adhesive shrink over the lot of it. That's pure concept, though. May not be realistic in practice, so for now I'm just going to point and spray.
I've got a lengthy warranty. This being the issue that it is, I'm fairly confident that Toyota will either tacitly acknowledge their screw up on this by replacing it under warranty, or the aftermarket will have developed a solution that isn't $5k.

Give engineers and tinkerers a problem, and a couple years. They'll get something cooked up. It's in their nature. (Trust me, I am one, though not this particular type of engineer)

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14v6

· #15 · 8 mo ago

chuckles70 said:
Per the article it's not:

View attachment 187943

Yes, I read the article but still it's an opinion, not fact that the new cover will result in failure. Time will tell.

jazhanel

· #16 · 8 mo ago

From the photos JLaw posted, the cover appears to be a separate, field replaceable piece from the rest of the cable.

Is there a reason why Toyota is not replacing them with the new PN via a TSB, at least in the salty states?

Reactions: 2

NoelinColorado

· #17 · 8 mo ago

jazhanel said:
Is there a reason why Toyota is not replacing them with the new PN via a TSB, at least in the salty states?

Yes, guaranteed there is a reason, but we don't know what it is

Reactions: 1

crisps

· #18 · 8 mo ago

jazhanel said:
From the photos JLaw posted, the cover appears to be a separate, field replaceable piece from the rest of the cable.

Is there a reason why Toyota is not replacing them with the new PN via a TSB, at least in the salty states?

it is not a recall or campaign to replace all working ones with no problems, with an updated orange cover

a TSB only works when you have an existing issue that specifically matches the TSB

jazhanel

· #19 · 8 mo ago

What is this high tension talk? I suspect it is high voltage and lost in translation?

Reactions: 1

Fauvel

· #20 · 8 mo ago

Is it covered by any extended warranty plan. I have the gold 7 years plan (2021 prime SE)
I will go under the car see which cover i have.

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