Bought a 2021 Pacifica PHEV today

[Hersbird]

Finally got into the game with a Pacifica today. It's the most basic hybrid Pacifica you can get, the Touring, with just one option, the cold weather package so heated seats. I really hope they up the game a bit on the tax rebates ($10,000 not limited by tax liability) but if not I should be able to get close to the $7500, I maybe need to adjust my IRA to a Roth to put it over the top. There were $5000 in Chrysler incentives as well. I paid full MSRP but they game me a little more on the trade. I traded the Touareg TDI. That was the nicest car I have ever owned but it hasn't been confidence building in it's repairs up to now. Not that a Pacifica might be any better but at least I don't have to worry about anything for the first 3 years.

I took delivery with less than 1% battery energy and 20 miles on it after a 10 mile test drive. It's really seamless, I almost wish there was more I could force like EV only or more brake regen, but it seems it's just made to operate no different than our 2011 Town and Country (which I still have also, maybe for my teenage daughter, maybe I'll sell it and use the money for something compact.) What it did do is 39 mpg on the drive home (45 max speed, stop and go) according to the computer and like I said, that was with <1% battery charge. I plugged it in to 110 when I got home and it's shows 12 hr 45 min to full charge. We have 220 in out garage so I may invest in a level 2 charger. It will be primarily my wife's car and most days if I can convince her to plug it in at home she probably won't use much gas. We can't force EV so I don't know how light we need to be on the throttle to keep the gas from kicking on. I also don't know how smart it is with the remote start at using the plug in when connected to pre condition the interior.

We shopped a 2021 Sienna as well, and even looked at the 2021 Honda for grins as well. The Honda seems to have no good reason to buy it right now IMO. It was easily the most expensive, doesn't get better mileage than our 20 year old Chrysler, and is pretty plain in the inside. The Toyota is better on the interior than all of them and at MSRP is similar cost for similar features, but they have no tax rebate, and had a $1500 rebate vs $5000 rebate. That makes the Chrysler much less. We thought we might want the AWD available on the Sienna but we have gotten by just fine without AWD for many years now on the van, so it seemed like a good idea to save the $2000 premium for AWD along with saving another $11,000 because of tax and incentives. Come on Toyota, make it a plug in like the other Prime hybrids you make and I'd have a Toyota today.

Pretty happy. Pretty shocked to spend that much on a car, but carp we were at Costco today and refrigerators seem to cost $3-4k. So a van for 10 refrigerators doesn't see out of line. I also figured out that our old T&C is about 10 years old and almost exactly 100k on it. It has gotten pretty consistently 18-20 average overall. So 100,000 miles at 19 mpg is 5263 gallons at probably an average of around $3/gallon. If that had been a 30 mph hybrid, that would have been 3,333 gallons, or a $5,800 savings. If gas goes back to $5 or more or we end up getting much better than 30 mpg by plugging it in, then that's probably worst case savings. It's not going to really be able to save us money considering that initial purchase, but it certainly make more sense than a Honda for us at least. Just wish me luck on the Chrysler being a little new at this stuff. Our T&C has been 100% flawless in it's life so I can't knock the foundation of what's in the Pacifica and the hybrid part has a longer warranty.

[freebeard]

Seems like a reasonable choice. Congrats.

What's the tow rating?

[Hersbird]

Originally Posted by freebeard

Seems like a reasonable choice. Congrats.

What's the tow rating?

There is conflicting information. The previous 2020 version it said not reccomend. This version I don't ever see not reccomend but I also never see a definitive number. Mopar makes a hitch and wiring harness for it which I just ordered and it lists 2 different ratings depending on what radiator I have. So it's either 1500 pounds or 3600 pounds. Either way my teardrop should be fine.

[Hersbird]

My morning commute worked out well. It still wasn't at 100% after charging 11 hours but it was 93% and it's now at 75% after the 4 mile commute which it did 100% ev and it was 32 degrees this morning. Extrapolating that out it's about a 22 mile range at freezing.

[redpoint5]

Check the forums to see if your stock EVSE can do 240v without modification. Often they can, but simply don't mention it. The Chevy Bolt EVSE for instance is labeled for 120v, but plenty of people use it on 240v. That will save you money on buying an aftermarket one.

[Hersbird]

Originally Posted by redpoint5

Check the forums to see if your stock EVSE can do 240v without modification. Often they can, but simply don't mention it. The Chevy Bolt EVSE for instance is labeled for 120v, but plenty of people use it on 240v. That will save you money on buying an aftermarket one.

The onboard charger is 6.6 kW so that's good apparently for a PHEV. It will go down to 2 hrs for a 0-100% charge on 240. I'll look into the ability to convert the existing box to 240. I have a feeling it will need a new one. I saw some were 32 amps and some 40 amps do you know how to do the math to see if a 32 will do it?

[redpoint5]

Originally Posted by Hersbird

The onboard charger is 6.6 kW so that's good apparently for a PHEV. It will go down to 2 hrs for a 0-100% charge on 240. I'll look into the ability to convert the existing box to 240. I have a feeling it will need a new one. I saw some were 32 amps and some 40 amps do you know how to do the math to see if a 32 will do it?

I Googled the Pacifica EVSE and it looks like it's capable of 240v without modification. You'll need an adaptor that converts from the NEMA 5-15P (standard outlet connector on your EVSE) to whatever your 240v receptacle is. It will cut your charging time in half (down to about 6hrs).

This forum thread talks about it.
https://www.pacificaforums.com/threa...e.26714/page-2

Your onboard charger is 6.6 kW. The math is;

6,600 watts (your onboard charger) \ 240v (standard 240v household service) = 27.5 amps. This is how many amps will be drawn to charge at the full 6.6 kW rate.

Electrical code states that a circuit cannot have more than 80% of the rated capacity continuously used. That means if you intend to charge at the full 27.5 amps, a 30 amp circuit is insufficient (that's 92% of rated capacity). The next standard size up is 50 amps, typically a NEMA 14-50R.

Sooo... if you want full speed charging you'll probably need a new dedicated NEMA 14-50R installed, and a new EVSE capable of at least 30 amps (might as well get one rated to 40 amps for future proofing). Alternatively, you can get a hardwired EVSE which will require a dedicated circuit to be added.

If you want to save money and 6hrs is fast enough, you can use your existing EVSE and get an adaptor that plugs into an existing 240v outlet if you've got one free.

I added my own 240v NEMA 14-50R to my garage because it was only 10ft from the breaker, and took about $75 in materials. Your EVSE doesn't require modification to work (but does require an adaptor), but the one I had did.

At my new house I intend to repurpose one of the 30 amp circuits for an outlet in the garage. I don't use the electric clothes dryer or cooking range circuits, for example.

[rmay635703]

It seems like literally every Volt and Leaf owner used their OEM L1 on 240vac

If you have it already there use it.


What isn’t clear is if your Pacifica is like the leaf and can draw up to the full 30 amps at 110vac based on the EVSE pilot signal

If it can and you have 20amp 110vac wiring (like my garage) you could buy a $99 DUOSIDA dual voltage EVSE and live with an 8 hour 110vac charge with the possibility of a 4 hour charge if you locate a 220 outlet at an RV park or similar


If you want a big boy charger, DUOSIDA and others offer dual voltage programmable EVSEs, some leaf owners get 3.3kw / 30 amp of 110volt goodness at RV parks using one of these
Having an adapter kit to fit common outlets along with an EVSE that can have preset amperage from 8-30amps is very helpful for opportunity charging.

All this said, YOU WILL NEVER SAVE ENOUGH MONEY TO PAY FOR ANOTHER EVSE!

From economics best to use your OEM on 220
For fun and convenience one of the other options is best (but even at $99 it does not make economical sense)

Wrong plug (but you get the idea, used to be a dude that sold full adapter kits to all the common outlets)

https://www.amazon.com/Couplago-Rece...31724381&psc=1

What I find very strange is that the Pacifica can take up to 14 hours to charge despite having a tiny battery, the mathematics don’t work out.

[Hersbird]

Cool thanks people! Just looking at my garage breakers, I have 2 different 40 amp 240s set up. They are actually not connected to outlets yet, the wires are just run the the boxes and blanked off. So i can buy whatever style 240 outlets and put them in. This was technically built as a shop for a cabinet guy, not necessarily a garage so it has it's own dedicated 10kA service.

[redpoint5]

Originally Posted by Hersbird

Cool thanks people! Just looking at my garage breakers, I have 2 different 40 amp 240s set up. They are actually not connected to outlets yet, the wires are just run the the boxes and blanked off. So i can buy whatever style 240 outlets and put them in. This was technically built as a shop for a cabinet guy, not necessarily a garage so it has it's own dedicated 10kA service.

That's a little bit of a conundrum because a 40 amp breaker and wires shouldn't be used with a 50 amp receptacle, and a 30 amp receptacle is not rated high enough to charge at the full 6.6 kW your Pacifica is capable of.

You could install a 30 amp receptacle and buy an adapter to use with your stock EVSE. The stock EVSE will limit itself to 12 amps, so no risk of overloading a 30 amp circuit. You'll be limited to ~2.9 kW though instead of the full 6.6 the van is capable of. The other sucky thing is that RV hookups tend to only have NEMA 14-50 receptacles for their 240v service, so your adaptor wouldn't work there.

Alternatively you could buy an EVSE and have it hardwired to your existing 40 amp electrical run. You'll get full charging power by doing so, with the expense of having to buy another EVSE and complete the connection to the existing wiring.

If it were me though... and this goes against code and would blow up 120v appliances if you connected them... I would simply wire a NEMA 5-20 receptacle to the 240v circuit and plug your EVSE into it. I'd put a red warning sign on it that says not to use the outlet because it's 240v. I'd have a fire extinguisher rated to put out electrical fires nearby in case someone still decides to disconnect your EVSE, not pay attention to the warning sign, and plug in a 120v appliance. I'd do this because it's electrically safe so long as nobody ever tries to plug a 120v device into it, and it's the cheapest since the only expense is a $3 receptacle. I'd get a single receptacle instead of dual just to minimize the temptation to plug anything else in.

NEMA 5-20 on Amazon