[reiderM]

Batteries from 2012 would not be in the best shape most likely.

A DIY version could very well be more capable than the RAV4 EV, that car was not far off from a DIY anyways (tesla parts cobbled together to produce a small number of units).

Cost is another story however. An EV conversion is almost never cheaper than just buying a used factory EV.

 

[reiderM]

I don't know how much NCA cells degrade from the age alone, but let's consider this. That vehicle had a range of roughly 100mi on a charge. I've recently seen a 2014 Rav4 EV with 40,000mi on it - that would be 400 full cycles. Those cells should be able to take a couple of thousand cycles pretty well. Additionally, there was no ChaDeMo adapter on most of them, so they all were charged rather slowly without stressing the cells.

Even though the drivetrain was "cobbled together", it was still properly engineered and built out of parts Tesla engineered for their other vehicles. There is no way 99% of DIYers can match that.

Fair point. Battery technology has come a long way though, and a DIYer can certainly convert a gas RAV4 with more than the 103 miles of range of the OEM (2014) variant.

Toyota also wasn't even pushing the limits at the time, as the RAV4 EV was primarily a compliance car to meet California fleet emissions standards.

 

[reiderM]

Per wikipedia, the battery pack in the RAV4 EV weighed 840lbs and had a total capacity of just 41kwh. It's a NiMH pack, less energy dense than today's (mostly) lithium packs. Production technology and scale have improved and have made lithium cells economical enough for use in EVs.

Throw in 12 Tesla modules from a recent LR model S/X and I'd expect range to be 160+ miles.

 

[reiderM]

Ah, you are right. I'll blame reading on my phone lol...

Regardless though, 840lbs for 41kwh of capacity is far worse than more recent vehicles. A model S pack weighs 45% more but has 150% more energy capacity.

12 modules shouldn't be too difficult. I have 10 in a Ford Escape, without compromising interior space. Throw a couple in the trunk and you'll have no issue with space.

 

[reiderM]

Exactly. Cells would be the same (or at least similar), but packaging is not. The crux of my argument is that final (module level) energy density has improved, even if improvements in cell capacity have been negligible.

6216 is the 14 module variant, and 7104 16 module I believe.