Coastaletech EV Switch Installed.

I know people have said that whatever you take out will eventually have to be replaced (or recharged in this case) but where I live, hills more than make up for the recharge. Plus, if I have a cold engine running, wouldn't it be better that it's using some of that fuel to charge the battery rather than having a full battery and the engine running, wasting the energy "created"?

 

I hope to get one in time. My daily commute it a little shy of an hour. My errands are all within a mile or two. On a Saturday afternoon, I feel bad hopping into Priapus and driving 3/4 of a mile in 15ºF to the gym. Or practically across the street to the grocery store. Or, more likely, driving to the gym, letting him cool down for an hour and a half, driving 1/4 mile to one grocery, letting him cool down for a half-hour, then driving to the other grovery where he cools down for another half hour then finally winding up at home. My EV will be used exclusively for the in-town errand running when it's just not practical to fire up the ICE. And for showing off.

 

Can someone give me a definitive "Yes" or "No"?

Does installing the EV switch violate the Toyota warranty?

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(TonyPSchaefer\";p=\"74474)</div>

Tony,
Quotes from folks who've attended seminars where that question was posed to Toyota officials resulted in a "Yes", it violates the warranty. But then they're going to quote the party line b/c they can not, by law most likely, go around encouraging people to install these.

By law simply adding an aftermarket product cannot be grounds for denial of warranty work.

If you do the install and have a failure of the hybrid system and Toyota decides to fight the claim for warranty work due to the fact that you have an unapproved part that alters the function of the system as it was designed and sold in the US you may have a hell of a battle on your hands to get the work done under warranty.

I have, from the start, advised that I think it is highly unlikely that your local dealer would deny warranty work even if they knew you had the EV switch. They do the work, they get paid by Toyota for doing it, they're happy. Also, something like Dave's EV solution is very easy to remove and would be nearly impossible to prove it was ever there...they would have to know exactly what to look for, and even then it's unlikely they'd know for sure.

But, ultimately, I've also always said that if you have any reservations about your warranty and do not have the funds to pay for any non-warranty covered repairs out of pocket then you probably should not install a switch.

 

Thanks, Evan.
I knew there was an explination in here somewhere but was having one heck of a time trying to find it. Note the almost-week delay in my asking the question.

Can someone who has the EV switch mod post a picture? Not an international one factory-installed. I would like to see what it looks like installed. I was also wondering if it looked so natural that perhaps the mechanic wouldn't even know it's a modification.

Also, when engaged, is there a notification anywhere reminding you that it's active? I was thinking that if I use it to run to the store and back, I might forget to turn it off and start off to work in the morning with it engaged. I know that eventually the car would override the switch, but still, I would feel silly forgetting to turn it off.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(TonyPSchaefer\";p=\"74796)</div>

I'm not clear on what you want a picture of. Have you read the articles in the Knowledge base about the EV button and looked at those pictures?



This is my EV button--not factory installed, but the OEM button. If you want a picture of the Coastal button...there isn't one. If you want a picture of the actual circuit installed I bet someone has one..but it's darned innocuous looking.

The answers to your questions are in my original write up, and then some.

But, If you engage the EV mode mod in a NA car there is no dash indicator as there would be with the factory installed buttons. If you are on any screen except the Energy screen there will be a beep and the screen will change to the Energy screen....that's your only active indicator that the EV mode is engaged.

When it disengages (unless you shut the car down) there is a triple beep. If you shut the car down it disengages.

You won't forget you're in EV mode very often...there's no significant power and if you try to accelerate it'll just triple beep and you're out. Also, you probably won't use it all the way to the grocery store unless your grocery store is only 2-3 blocks away...it just isn't good for anything over 1/2 mile away (some argue they can go farther, but I don't think it's a good idea to do that regularly).

 

That was exactly what I was looking for. Not sure why I couldn't find anything on my own. The grocery store really is literally a couple blocks away. The gym is 1.2 miles one way. I was just thinking that my MPG average takes a hit every time I drive there and back.

In the end, it's the warranty voidance that I'm most concerned about.

 

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