[Headshot]

2015 Limited AWD / 8,600 miles. About a week ago, my Rav had a very slow crank in the morning. Caught my attention immediately. Nothing was left on (map lights/interior lights, etc.) Next morning... Slower than norm, but not as bad as the day before.) Rest of this week ... Mornings are a slow crank ... 9 hours later... Slightly better.

Today, very slow crank (engine almost stopped turning), and when I left work .. . The same thing.

Sorry for the detail, but I find it hard to believe less than 12, 000 miles ... And a bad battery maybe? Or the alternator failing? Called the dealership ... And have an appointment tomorrow.

Question ... Anyone think the evap test that runs a few hours after the engine turns off ... Have anything to do with it?? My thought .. .if the battery is bad, that compressor running prob doesn't help (although it sounds very small when it runs)

Just curious what anyone thinks. I'll report back to share the outcome.

Thanks.
Andrew

 

[FixIt]

I have seen brand new batteries fail in 6 months. If the alternator was not charging, the slow crank would turn into a no crank.

 

[Blogson]

It would seem that the problem is with the battery, although with a vehicle this new ordinarily one would not expect that the battery would be bad. A battery load test will help determine the battery's condition, but it should be done with a fully charged battery for most accurate results. Any cost should be covered by the warranty, unless if the problem is the battery Toyota has rewritten its warranty to exclude or prorate the battery. The evap. canister leak test pump running is normal and should only occur once after the vehicle is shut down electrically and it should run only for a few minutes. If the electrical system is OK the evap. test won't cause any excessive battery discharge.

 

[Headshot]

I have seen brand new batteries fail in 6 months. If the alternator was not charging, the slow crank would turn into a no crank.

Agreed!!! I manage a facility with a gen-farm (support for a data center). In-line are multiple battery strings). I've seen a bad battery or two during quarterly maintenance. I was thinking the battery was bad. A load test they will hopefully perform tomorrow ... Should tell all.

Thanks for the feedback.

 

[Headshot]

It would seem that the problem is with the battery, although with a vehicle this new ordinarily one would not expect that the battery would be bad. A battery load test will help determine the battery's condition, but it should be done with a fully charged battery for most accurate results. Any cost should be covered by the warranty, unless if the problem is the battery Toyota has rewritten its warranty to exclude or prorate the battery. The evap. canister leak test pump running is normal and should only occur once after the vehicle is shut down electrically and it should run only for a few minutes. If the electrical system is OK the evap. test won't cause any excessive battery discharge.

Agreed ... My thoughts exactly on all above.

A load test will let me know if the battery has failed.

Thank you for the info on the prorated battery warranty. I wasn't aware. Maybe the dealership will write off the balance .... Good faith. Won't hurt to ask.

Yeah ... I read up on the evap test, and know that it runs for a short period after the Rav shuts off. Actually drove me nuts looking for the noise in my garage the first time I heard it. Thought it was my g/f Odyssey (it's about 2 steps from her trans sitting in the road behind her) No such luck ... Lol.

Thanks for the info. I appreciate it.

 

[Blogson]

Agreed ... My thoughts exactly on all above.

A load test will let me know if the battery has failed.

Thank you for the info on the prorated battery warranty. I wasn't aware. Maybe the dealership will write off the balance .... Good faith. Won't hurt to ask.

Thanks for the info. I appreciate it.

Yikes! My bad typing seems to indicate that Toyota has prorated the new car battery warranty, when what I meant to say is that they possibly have rewritten the warranty to prorate the battery warranty. But I do not know that Toyota has done that - I was simply speculating about the possibility.

 

[Headshot]

Agreed ... My thoughts exactly on all above.

A load test will let me know if the battery has failed.

Thank you for the info on the prorated battery warranty. I wasn't aware. Maybe the dealership will write off the balance .... Good faith. Won't hurt to ask.

Thanks for the info. I appreciate it.

Yikes! My bad typing seems to indicate that Toyota has prorated the new car battery warranty, when what I meant to say is that they possibly have rewritten the warranty to prorate the battery warranty. But I do not know that Toyota has done that - I was simply speculating about the possibility.

We'll have to see tomorrow. My plea will be ... A $30,000 vehicle should not see a dead battery in 6 months with only 8,600 miles. I will be nice, but direct. Lol. Typically, I see 3 year on most batteries.

Thanks for the follow-up.

 

[Headshot]

Update: Battery was bad. The good news ... The battery is covered under the initial 3 yr /36,000 mile warranty 100%. They are installing it as I type.

 

[marbillw]

Update: Battery was bad. The good news ... The battery is covered under the initial 3 yr /36,000 mile warranty 100%. They are installing it as I type.

That's great, glad they took care of it.

 

[JuneBug]

Update: Battery was bad. The good news ... The battery is covered under the initial 3 yr /36,000 mile warranty 100%. They are installing it as I type.

If they replaced it with a Toyota TrueStart battery, don't be surprised when it fails after 2 years. Mine failed after 25 months, just outside of the free replacement warranty.

 

[Headshot]

Update: Battery was bad. The good news ... The battery is covered under the initial 3 yr /36,000 mile warranty 100%. They are installing it as I type.

If they replaced it with a Toyota TrueStart battery, don't be surprised when it fails after 2 years. Mine failed after 25 months, just outside of the free replacement warranty.

Junebug ... Thank you for the info. Good to know.

You are spot-on. They installed the Toyota TrueStart.

Thanks again!!

 

[Blogson]

Good news that the battery was covered under the new vehicle warranty.


Who makes TrueStart? - the OEM battery in my '11 is Johnson Controls and so far it's still working fine. But this is a mild climate area.

 

[JuneBug]

Good news that the battery was covered under the new vehicle warranty.


Who makes TrueStart? - the OEM battery in my '11 is Johnson Controls and so far it's still working fine. But this is a mild climate area.

I'm pretty sure the TrueStart I had was made by Johnson Controls. I think it said so on one of the labels.

 

[Blogson]

I'm pretty sure the TrueStart I had was made by Johnson Controls. I think it said so on one of the labels.

I did some research but haven't been able to arrive at a conclusive answer about who makes TrueStart, but most of the evidence points to Johnson Controls. Given your and RTexasF's experiences as well as others it appears that they are not suited to hot climates. I wonder who makes the batteries which are supplied OEM with Toyotas in places such as Saudi Arabia, Iraq, etc. . . .

 

[JuneBug]

I wonder who makes the batteries which are supplied OEM with Toyotas in places such as Saudi Arabia, Iraq, etc. . . .

Good question! Panasonic, maybe? The RAV4 owners I've heard from who had OEM Panasonic batteries all report long life and trouble free service. But I don't think Panasonic car batteries are available in the US any longer.

 

[RTexasF]

If they replaced it with a Toyota TrueStart battery, don't be surprised when it fails after 2 years. Mine failed after 25 months, just outside of the free replacement warranty.

As did BOTH of ours after the OEM batteries cracked open and leaked everywhere. I'm still fighting the corrosion from those incidents. The replacements are even possibly worse than the originals. Both replaced in two years after no start conditions.......total garbage. Mark your calendar for replacements from Auto Zone or elsewhere.

 

[neilaa69]

Good question! Panasonic, maybe? The RAV4 owners I've heard from who had OEM Panasonic batteries all report long life and trouble free service. But I don't think Panasonic car batteries are available in the US any longer.

I purchased my 2013 RAV4 August 2013 with Panasonic Battery and failed on Sept 2 2014, Toyota replaced it for free with the same type of Battery.

On Sept 1 2015 again battery is dead,, luckily it is still covered with 1yr warranty.

Now they installed and ACDelco( maintenance free battery). Hope it will last for more than a year.:laugh

 

[Blogson]

I purchased my 2013 RAV4 August 2013 with Panasonic Battery and failed on Sept 2 2014, Toyota replaced it for free with the same type of Battery.

On Sept 1 2015 again battery is dead,, luckily it is still covered with 1yr warranty.

Now they installed and ACDelco( maintenance free battery). Hope it will last for more than a year.:laugh

It's interesting that you have had Panasonic batteries fail that quickly and that often. In our vehicles imported from Japan with Panasonic batteries those batteries have lasted as long as we've had the vehicle, in one instance 13 years. Hopefully you will have better luck with your Delco battery than we had with our last two cars with Delcos - the OEM in my wife's Saturn failed just after the 3-year warranty expired, and in my Saturn the OEM case cracked after about 2 1/2 years and there was acid over half of the engine compartment, and it ran down onto the manual shift linkage, making gear changes nearly impossible.