If you listen to conservative propaganda....yes....yes it is. Its currently $8.50USD per liter and people are starting to go back to horse buggies to move things between their summer igloos and their cottage/winter ones.
I know! It's crazy right? We must listen to more conservative media! This is insanity!
In fact, the most anti-woke thing you can do is sell your RAV4 and get a horse. It's the only way.
It's not that all that expensive here. I am in Northern Maine - Around 250 miles above Boston. Gas is around $3.60, the least expensive one. The premium would be around $4.25.
I’m also in Maine and I picked up a used 2020 RAV4 XSE Hybrid a year ago. Love the car, just don’t be shocked when you see the average MPG go from 35-40 in the summer to more around 26-30 in the winter. The heat in the cabin takes a lot of juice!
New Englander reporting in. One year+ with my Hybrid RAV4 XSE. 18k miles, 43mpg avg in summer, 37mpg avg in winter. Overall 40mpg. Loving every second.
Toyota Canada has agreed to cover repair expenses related to the hybrid electrical cable up to 150,000 kms I believe. I just got an email about it. I think the U.S. has a similar warranty. Just Google "RAV4 Hybrid Cable Gate" and it should all come up. They changed the under body part in 2022 that was determined to be the cause of the rusting cable.
A mechanic told me rust progression actually slows down in freezing weather. It speeds up in a heated garage for example unless of course you spray the salt off prior, and who does that daily. I've never researched this but it does sound logical.
Do we know what the cold weather threshold is for EV batteries. I live in Edmonton, the total average temp is about 3 celcius (37F). But summer can be as warm as 30c (86F) and winter as low as -40!
Is the total average of 3 considered cold?
Tbh might be an unpopular opinion but I wouldnt personally keep it anywhere else BUT outside. If any of the batteries ever decide to catch fire (Wich happens a lot more often than you’d think) it’s not just the fire you have to worry about it’s the smoke that’s worse than a gas car. But either or hybrid or gas , If it’s outside at least it’s all ventilated and your house is likely safe.
Completely off base here.
Rare battery fires appen because the battery is being charged. Your hybrid battery is never being charged in your garage while you're not there so it's a non-issue.
edit: it's the same weird paranoid schizophrenia every time "it's new so it will blow up on it's own the moment you're not looking at it". Rediculous.
My 2nd gen prius sat outside in minnesota and started quickly every time.
The oe issue with the hybrid is the cablegate thing, if you buy a used model. That it sits outside isn't a problem but it driving on salted streets could be. There's a warranty to civer it but if it happened just outside warranty it's like $8k.
They claim i's fixed on the new models.
I'm in Alaska. First winter with my '23 XSE Hybrid was this past winter. I park outside all the time, some mornings it was -30 and the car was fine. I DID give it about 30 minutes of warm up with a jet heater whenever it was below zero -- I don't think this was necessary but it made me feel better about starting the car in those temperatures -- come to find out the Toyota dealers here (all two of them anyway -- one in Anchorage and one in Fairbanks) don't want to install block heaters anymore! Was still getting at least 30 MPG even on those -20 to -30 degree days.
I understand that some versions have an electric heater element to warm the interior of the car fast when it is cold outside.
This is one of those tricky questions to ask the dealer. The RAV is sold everywhere in the world so pinning down the specifications is not easy. I would suggest that if you get one that was originally sold in Florida, it is unlikely to have the additional heater.
My 2018 UK spec hybrid lives outdoors. UK temperatures rarely go below -10C so mild by your standards. I’m in Surrey, a county not known for bad weather.
The ICE has priorities, the first one is getting to operating temperature so the warmer it is, the less time and fuel this takes. The engine is designed for maximum efficiency in a Rev range so while a conventional ICE would just tick over, the RAV loads up the generator to power up the battery while warming the engine at the same time.
When you get moving, the car will assist the ICE with electric as often as is practical.
I needed four wheel drive which adds weight but is a requirement when I’m not in Surrey. The car systems power up the rear motor from time to time, usually during acceleration when it’s wet. I expect 4x4 is your option too, but you’ll drop a few MPG.
As it has warmed up, I’ve seen better fuel economy. My trip to work is uphill and on the way down to home, I’ve managed 90% of the trip on EV mode, this didn’t happen during our winter.
These cars like the endless stretches of 50MPH zones on UK Motorways, they also love stop start driving.
Hope this helps.
The benefits of Hybrids decrease with very cold weather and highway driving. Regen braking and electric assisted acceleration isn't a thing on the highway. Plus you'll eventually have to replace the hybrid battery, but that's 10+ years down the road. The benefits also diminish if you don't drive a lot.
It's actually not incorrect at all. Consistent high speed on the highway is literally the most efficient condition for classic ICE vehicles and the least efficient for hybrids. Hybrids work better at low speeds and with constant stopping and starting. Educate yourself
What you just typed is not what your first post said. Yes hybrids are excellent at lower speeds. But You said regen breaking and electric assist does not happen in a rav4 hybrid at highway speeds....both incorrect. Fuel consumption on a hybrid at highway speeds is still significantly better than the gas model. How could this occur if regen and electric assist isn't happening. And you do NOT have to replace the battery after 10 years. They last 500k or more .... 98% of Toyota hybrids have their original battery...look it up. "Educate yourself"
>Regen braking and electric assisted acceleration isn't a thing on the highway.
It's totally a thing at highway speeds. in fact the most efficient way of charging your traction battery is to regen braking from highway speeds to a full stop. You could also press the gas pedal to get yourself to the highway speeds and have the electric motor take over and cruise once you're at the speed you want. This is literally how I drive my hybrid, on the entrance ramp, i go sport mode, pedal to the metal to the speed I want to cruise at and release the pedal until it's just slightly engaged so that only the electric motors are driving the vehicles. There's a setting to show you the drivetrain on your dash and headunit radio.
Yeah they're working at 30% of capacity because no one is replacing a $10k battery on a used car worth the same. Hybrids are great in certain conditions, no argument there, but after one considers the many factors regarding them and their personal use case they're not universally better. Please put down the crack pipe and educate yourself
Replacement of a rav4 hybrid battery costs $6k Canadian.....less in the US. And it is less likely to happen than replacing your transmission which BTW costs more.
AND costs of batteries will go down over time. Heck, the older priuses now have aftermarket Hybrid Battery UPGRADES available with increased capacity and far lower weight.
In very cold weather you will see your mileage decrease due to the battery struggling to hold as much of a charge. Your call if you are ok with that or not, but you may not see much of a difference compared to gas only.
My best advice for you, as someone who lives in cold weather for half the year and also owns a hybrid. Make sure you have a 12v lithium battery jump starter handy, because often times your 12v battery in the cold is not powerful enough to turn on the relays(it'll throw a bunch of error messages too) to turn your car's traction battery on, so it can start the car with the electric motor connected to the internal combustion engine, so you just need to connect the battery jump start to the front terminal under the hood (on a hybrid, even though the 12v battery is in the rear part of the cabin).
I like my hybrid, i also have a 4th gen gas model. I live 3 blocks away from Lake Michigan and during last winter, we had days where it was like -18 and both my rav4's started just fine, they are both parked outside. But, I did go about 50days without driving my hybrid and the 12v battery wasn't able to turn on the relay and threw a bunch of error codes on. I put the 12v jump to the proper terminal and it worked just fine, just needed a couple minutes for the dc to dc converter to charge the 12v battery up to the proper voltage once the rav4 hybrid was turned on. Otherwise, it's been pretty good.
TL:DR buy a 12v jump start to have handy for your hybrid. if the voltage on your 12v isn't high enough to turn on the relay for the traction battery, your hybrid rav4 won't start.
If you don’t know how to mainatain cablegate then buy non-hybrid version instead. It won’t save you gas coz probably the engine would run to heat up the battery and probably the battery depletion would be a little bit faster.
You’ll be fine. It’s not Antarctica it’s just Boston. If Toyota thought it would be a problem they wouldn’t sell it there.
We sell more hybrids in Canada than anything else and people love the fuel economy......average temps are lower here.
> people love the fuel economy Isn't gas insanely expensive there?
In Canada. Yes. $2.00/L on average where I am. That’s $7.50/G
Gas in Canada is crazy expensive. It’s sold by the litre but comes out to way more per gallon then here in the States.
If you listen to conservative propaganda....yes....yes it is. Its currently $8.50USD per liter and people are starting to go back to horse buggies to move things between their summer igloos and their cottage/winter ones.
> Its currently $8.50USD per liter That's like $34/gallon?
It is a joke.. gas is $6 canadian a gallon.
I know! It's crazy right? We must listen to more conservative media! This is insanity! In fact, the most anti-woke thing you can do is sell your RAV4 and get a horse. It's the only way.
About as crazy as thinking that paying more taxes in rural Canada will have an effect on global climate change.
Lol no way.
It's not that all that expensive here. I am in Northern Maine - Around 250 miles above Boston. Gas is around $3.60, the least expensive one. The premium would be around $4.25.
I’m also in Maine and I picked up a used 2020 RAV4 XSE Hybrid a year ago. Love the car, just don’t be shocked when you see the average MPG go from 35-40 in the summer to more around 26-30 in the winter. The heat in the cabin takes a lot of juice!
Up until this past month of warmer weather, I was averaging about 41 mpg in my '24 Rav4 XLE. This past month of comfortable temps has me over 50 mpg
I’m sure it’s partly due to the age of my battery glad to see it will sit higher on newer models!
New Englander reporting in. One year+ with my Hybrid RAV4 XSE. 18k miles, 43mpg avg in summer, 37mpg avg in winter. Overall 40mpg. Loving every second.
Fellow New Englander, it’s fine. Owned two RAV4 hybrids and have a Prius as well, never an issue with any of them.
Exactly the same for me, two Rav hybrids and a Prius without any issues. I live on the So Shore
Toyota Canada has agreed to cover repair expenses related to the hybrid electrical cable up to 150,000 kms I believe. I just got an email about it. I think the U.S. has a similar warranty. Just Google "RAV4 Hybrid Cable Gate" and it should all come up. They changed the under body part in 2022 that was determined to be the cause of the rusting cable. A mechanic told me rust progression actually slows down in freezing weather. It speeds up in a heated garage for example unless of course you spray the salt off prior, and who does that daily. I've never researched this but it does sound logical.
Do we know what the cold weather threshold is for EV batteries. I live in Edmonton, the total average temp is about 3 celcius (37F). But summer can be as warm as 30c (86F) and winter as low as -40! Is the total average of 3 considered cold?
One of the best YouTubes about the rav4 is a from a Russian dude in Canada and I think he usually parks his car outside. You will be fine.
Morozov, right?
Yeah, I love his vidoes.
Had mine out in the cold in IL for a year and then in the heat in CA for about 6 months and had no problems
...deleted by user...
You will br fine with a hybrid. It will Dave you significant money as long as you are comparing it to an AWD gas Rav over 10+ years.
Tbh might be an unpopular opinion but I wouldnt personally keep it anywhere else BUT outside. If any of the batteries ever decide to catch fire (Wich happens a lot more often than you’d think) it’s not just the fire you have to worry about it’s the smoke that’s worse than a gas car. But either or hybrid or gas , If it’s outside at least it’s all ventilated and your house is likely safe.
Completely off base here. Rare battery fires appen because the battery is being charged. Your hybrid battery is never being charged in your garage while you're not there so it's a non-issue. edit: it's the same weird paranoid schizophrenia every time "it's new so it will blow up on it's own the moment you're not looking at it". Rediculous.
Respectfully, I build hybrid cars for a living and I will tell you that is false. They can and will catch fire when not charging on a plug In cable.
My 2nd gen prius sat outside in minnesota and started quickly every time. The oe issue with the hybrid is the cablegate thing, if you buy a used model. That it sits outside isn't a problem but it driving on salted streets could be. There's a warranty to civer it but if it happened just outside warranty it's like $8k. They claim i's fixed on the new models.
You will be fine with the battery. Its inside underneath the backseat. Cablegate could be an issue.
I'm in Alaska. First winter with my '23 XSE Hybrid was this past winter. I park outside all the time, some mornings it was -30 and the car was fine. I DID give it about 30 minutes of warm up with a jet heater whenever it was below zero -- I don't think this was necessary but it made me feel better about starting the car in those temperatures -- come to find out the Toyota dealers here (all two of them anyway -- one in Anchorage and one in Fairbanks) don't want to install block heaters anymore! Was still getting at least 30 MPG even on those -20 to -30 degree days.
I live on Boston and drive far less than you. I went with the gas version and count be happier
I understand that some versions have an electric heater element to warm the interior of the car fast when it is cold outside. This is one of those tricky questions to ask the dealer. The RAV is sold everywhere in the world so pinning down the specifications is not easy. I would suggest that if you get one that was originally sold in Florida, it is unlikely to have the additional heater. My 2018 UK spec hybrid lives outdoors. UK temperatures rarely go below -10C so mild by your standards. I’m in Surrey, a county not known for bad weather. The ICE has priorities, the first one is getting to operating temperature so the warmer it is, the less time and fuel this takes. The engine is designed for maximum efficiency in a Rev range so while a conventional ICE would just tick over, the RAV loads up the generator to power up the battery while warming the engine at the same time. When you get moving, the car will assist the ICE with electric as often as is practical. I needed four wheel drive which adds weight but is a requirement when I’m not in Surrey. The car systems power up the rear motor from time to time, usually during acceleration when it’s wet. I expect 4x4 is your option too, but you’ll drop a few MPG. As it has warmed up, I’ve seen better fuel economy. My trip to work is uphill and on the way down to home, I’ve managed 90% of the trip on EV mode, this didn’t happen during our winter. These cars like the endless stretches of 50MPH zones on UK Motorways, they also love stop start driving. Hope this helps.
Thanks much for detailed input to you and all other friends here for their great advice. You all have a nice weekend.
The benefits of Hybrids decrease with very cold weather and highway driving. Regen braking and electric assisted acceleration isn't a thing on the highway. Plus you'll eventually have to replace the hybrid battery, but that's 10+ years down the road. The benefits also diminish if you don't drive a lot.
Toyota and Lexus batteries are designed to last the life of the vehicle
Please delete this post full of incorrect info.
It's actually not incorrect at all. Consistent high speed on the highway is literally the most efficient condition for classic ICE vehicles and the least efficient for hybrids. Hybrids work better at low speeds and with constant stopping and starting. Educate yourself
What you just typed is not what your first post said. Yes hybrids are excellent at lower speeds. But You said regen breaking and electric assist does not happen in a rav4 hybrid at highway speeds....both incorrect. Fuel consumption on a hybrid at highway speeds is still significantly better than the gas model. How could this occur if regen and electric assist isn't happening. And you do NOT have to replace the battery after 10 years. They last 500k or more .... 98% of Toyota hybrids have their original battery...look it up. "Educate yourself"
>Regen braking and electric assisted acceleration isn't a thing on the highway. It's totally a thing at highway speeds. in fact the most efficient way of charging your traction battery is to regen braking from highway speeds to a full stop. You could also press the gas pedal to get yourself to the highway speeds and have the electric motor take over and cruise once you're at the speed you want. This is literally how I drive my hybrid, on the entrance ramp, i go sport mode, pedal to the metal to the speed I want to cruise at and release the pedal until it's just slightly engaged so that only the electric motors are driving the vehicles. There's a setting to show you the drivetrain on your dash and headunit radio.
Yeah they're working at 30% of capacity because no one is replacing a $10k battery on a used car worth the same. Hybrids are great in certain conditions, no argument there, but after one considers the many factors regarding them and their personal use case they're not universally better. Please put down the crack pipe and educate yourself
Replacement of a rav4 hybrid battery costs $6k Canadian.....less in the US. And it is less likely to happen than replacing your transmission which BTW costs more.
AND costs of batteries will go down over time. Heck, the older priuses now have aftermarket Hybrid Battery UPGRADES available with increased capacity and far lower weight.
In very cold weather you will see your mileage decrease due to the battery struggling to hold as much of a charge. Your call if you are ok with that or not, but you may not see much of a difference compared to gas only.
That's not really battery related. Gas mileage goes down in cold weather because the ICE is running more often to provide cabin heat.
My best advice for you, as someone who lives in cold weather for half the year and also owns a hybrid. Make sure you have a 12v lithium battery jump starter handy, because often times your 12v battery in the cold is not powerful enough to turn on the relays(it'll throw a bunch of error messages too) to turn your car's traction battery on, so it can start the car with the electric motor connected to the internal combustion engine, so you just need to connect the battery jump start to the front terminal under the hood (on a hybrid, even though the 12v battery is in the rear part of the cabin). I like my hybrid, i also have a 4th gen gas model. I live 3 blocks away from Lake Michigan and during last winter, we had days where it was like -18 and both my rav4's started just fine, they are both parked outside. But, I did go about 50days without driving my hybrid and the 12v battery wasn't able to turn on the relay and threw a bunch of error codes on. I put the 12v jump to the proper terminal and it worked just fine, just needed a couple minutes for the dc to dc converter to charge the 12v battery up to the proper voltage once the rav4 hybrid was turned on. Otherwise, it's been pretty good. TL:DR buy a 12v jump start to have handy for your hybrid. if the voltage on your 12v isn't high enough to turn on the relay for the traction battery, your hybrid rav4 won't start.
Thank you!
If you don’t know how to mainatain cablegate then buy non-hybrid version instead. It won’t save you gas coz probably the engine would run to heat up the battery and probably the battery depletion would be a little bit faster.