Posted on 11/03/2023 5:36:51 AM PDT by Red Badger
Carmaker Toyota on Wednesday announced a safety recall covering more than 1.8 million RAV4 vehicles in the U.S. due to a potential fire risk.
The recall involves some 2013 to 2018 model year RAV4s. According to Toyota, some replacement 12-volt batteries of the size specified for the affected vehicles have different dimensions than others.
“If a small-top battery is used for replacement and the hold-down clamp is not tightened correctly, the battery could move when the vehicle is driven with forceful turns,” according to Toyota. “The movement could cause the positive battery terminal to contact the hold-down clamp and short circuit, increasing the risk of a fire.”
Toyota said Wednesday that it is working on a remedy for the issue. Dealers will replace the battery hold-down clamp, battery tray and positive terminal cover at no cost to owners.
Affected RAV4 owners will be notified by late December.
For more information, RAV4 owners can enter their Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) or license plate information on Toyota.com/recall or nhtsa.gov/recalls. People can also contact Toyota at 800-331-4331.
https://www.toyota.com/recall
http://nhtsa.gov/recalls
Printed out and will be given to 2 neighbors in condo complex, who have RAVs. Thanks.
BKMRK.
Sounds like a costly but clear solution. Hope no one lost a car or was injured. Good on Toyota for owning up to it I guess.
They deserve that, buy a car with a battery.
Doesn’t even sound costly. If that takes 15m to fix I’d be surprised.
I really hope you’re joking.
“I really hope you’re joking.”
I’m no fan of EVs, but couldn’t resist having some fun here. In fact, I’ve had similar problems with batteries, in one case I made a plywood platform to raise its height. There is no way I would ever install one loose and any idiot that does that needs to be jailed.
I wouldn’t. Trust me, Toyota will send them a letter. Any action on your part could be taken very badly.
It seems to me the culture has changed from when I was growing up and people are spring-loaded in the defensive pissed-off configuration. People get shot just for asking someone to turn down their music. A few years ago, I discovered my neighbor’s teenage boys, and their friends were all carrying revolvers. The friends stopped by to collect on a drug debt and the debtor said, “f-you.” The leader pulled out a gun and shot him dead. All three boys went to prison as Florida has a law about being along for the ride. It was just accidental my neighbor’s boys were not along that day. But the reason given in court was, “he dissed me. I had to kill him.” When I asked the neighbor’s boys, who are white, they nodded and agreed. “Yep. He had to do it.” It isn’t 1970 anymore.
All its saying is that your battery needs to be secure or it "could" cause a fire. What a concept.
Good advice. Even though I CCW and they’re nice neighbors, I’ll just hold the article back, and just ask if they’ve gotten a notice from the mfgr/dealer. Thanks.
Replacement batteries... Like getting one at AutoZone? If Toyota is putting in these replacements, says a lot for their overpriced service.
People don’t have to wait for a notice.
They can go onto NHTSA’s website to look for recalls and TSBs. :-)
We have often give our dealers a heads up.
This is NOT an EV.
There are no RAV4 EVs.
They all have four cylinder Internal Combustion Engines.
Just recently(2020 I believe) they started making Plug In Hybrids.
The issue is with the same 12 volt battery that every ICE vehicle has had since they added a starter and got rid of the crank on the front back in the 1930s
Exactly, replacement is smaller, strap doesn't fit as well.
I believe that there are only three manufacturers of 12 volt batteries.
So, whether it says AutoZone or Diehard they all come from one of three places.
It sounds like one of the replacements doesn’t fit correctly in the original spot.
Kind of like the fact that my John Deere LX 255 lawn tractor apparently takes the same 12 volt battery as a Honda Civic according to the guy at the auto parts store where I bought the last replacement.
Thanks, I was thinking of the days when we had to crank our engines.
That sounds about right. East Penn Manufacturing, Johnson Controls, maybe one other.
I found the big battery distributor in the north Atlanta suburbs 15-20 years ago, and have bought all my car and UPS batteries there since. It was called DEKA, they got bought out and became East Penn, same facility. Big metal building warehouse with heavy duty shelving, some offices up front, counter sales in back.
In the counter sales area there’s a big wooden cabinet with rolls and stacks of labels to brand the batteries when they’re sold. DieHard, BMW, AAA, etc. It was a bit of a revelation when I first saw it and realized what I was looking at.
I believe you. When I worked for Control Data, we sold a lot of workstations. They were Silicon Graphics workstations with Control Data skins.
I know, when I get replacement parts for something around my house. I have to look real closely to see that it’s the exact same part.
Like I say, you would think Toyota shops would know if the replacement batteries actually fit.
Thanks for the link; I’ll send it to them.
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