I'm driving a 2018 Prius Prime (plug-in). What do you want to know about it?

[Vman455]

That's...wow--Toyota's advice is literally, "If it's too cold to start the car, wait until the weather changes"? Here's hoping they have a better solution when the RAV4 Prime shows up.

[RedDevil]

FWIW - both cold weather (below 2C/35F) and running the windshield defroster inhibits EV mode and AutoStop in my Insight.
AutoStop does not work anyhow before the engine is at 46C (the blue cold engine light dies at 53).

Well before I come to a stop I switch off the ventilation system, as when the speed drops below about 20 km/h the Insight decides how long AutoStop might last when it stops. Once stopped I switch everything back on, but AutoStop will last for as long as the brake pedal is pressed.
Without switching the vents off it would only last a couple of seconds or not at all.

Maybe the Toyota can be tricked like that too?

[MetroMPG]

-14C / 7F start today, and I switched the HVAC off before "starting" the car. [ I preheated the cabin with a hair dryer. YKYAEM when... ]

The car stayed in EV mode - no ICE at all. At around the 2/3 point of the trip, the outside temp display had climbed to -10C / 14 F, so I turned on the heat, and the ICE didn't fire. Neat-o!


---



Cold weather vs. hot weather range comparison:




Extremes:

- In hot summer conditions with HVAC off, and with the above aero-wrecking hatchback config, I was able to squeeze 54 km (34 miles) from a full charge. I babied it, cruising a bit under the speed limit on deserted country roads.

- With today's -14C start, heated seats & steering wheel on, and HVAC used only on the last 3rd of the trip, I only managed 34 km / 21 miles to empty at similar speeds.


- The car's EPA-rated EV range is 40 km / 25 miles.

One other difference today: winter tires at normie PSI on steelies; no wheelcovers at all.

[redpoint5]

People had developed a mod to spoof the ECU into thinking the engine coolant was warmer than it was on the original Prius so that it would shut the engine off at a stop rather than go through the warmup cycle. I bet similar mods are possible here.

From my casual observation, it seems a 1/3rd range loss is about normal for an EV in freezing conditions.

In my Prius plug-in, running the HVAC at all was about a 10% loss in range. Cold temps resulted in about a 1/3rd loss in range over my summer range, putting my round trip commute to work and back just outside of the battery only range. In the winter I'd often be about 1 mile short on range despite my best effort to drive conservatively.

[MetroMPG]

1 mile short...


Curious: did that motivate you to mod the car further?

[redpoint5]

Originally Posted by MetroMPG

Curious: did that motivate you to mod the car further?

I did the basic low hanging fruit things like air the tires up to ~42 PSI, removed the rear wiper, and did a 100% grill block using pipe insulation. I also set a "finish" timer for charging so that the car would begin charging just in time to give me a full charge before I left.

I don't know what else I'd have modded other than aero, or perhaps to run a heater to warm the battery prior to leaving the house.

Often I'd need defrost anyhow, which requires the engine to run. Might as well run that early on until the windows are clear and the engine is warmed up, then use EV the rest of the way home.

I was giving a half-effort to convince work to provide 120v outlets and parking for plug-ins. It would have cost my company about 5 cents in electricity per day that I charged. They had many golf carts, so that shouldn't have been a hard request to accommodate, and I often used my car for work anyhow since they didn't issue IT a golf cart to haul equipment around campus.

As an aside, they had an old beater sedan that security would drive around the perimeter of campus every few hours. Probably pretty rough on the motor to cold start that often and only operate for 10min or less. A Nissan Leaf would have been perfect.

[MetroMPG]

My time with the Prius has wrapped up again ... for now. I'm sure my frequent-flier friends will inquire about car-sitting -- I mean house & pet-sitting -- again.

I may have said this before, but I think my favourite thing about using it is the serenity of the driving experience in EV mode. My last trip was along a deserted riverside parkway in pleasant sunshine and just-above-freezing temps. Combine those ingredients with quiet, vibration-free propulsion, and it becomes nearly transcendental transportation.

I'd get a car like this if my financial goals didn't preclude tying up so much moolah in a vehicle.

[redpoint5]

I'm looking forward to when they purchase a RAV4 Prime, and you report back what you discover about it.

Start talking it up so they build up desire for it. Then see if they'd cut you a great deal on the Prius.

[MetroMPG]

5-year update!

My friends still have the Prius.

It's had a bit of a rough go in its life thus far:

• - 2 minor fender benders (neither their fault) covered by insurance;
• - hail damage all over the top surfaces (not repaired).

(Good thing we all agree that those dimples = better aero! Right??)

They're up to something like 137,000 km (85k mi.), which is high for a 5 year-old car, but it often serves as a long-distance commuter.

Its first technical glitch popped up recently:

Plug-in charging system malfunction. Visit your dealer.

That's the message's 2nd appearance. The dealer found nothing wrong, and the car still charges. Not confidence-inspiring!

[redpoint5]

Originally Posted by MetroMPG

5-year update!
That's the message's 2nd appearance. The dealer found nothing wrong, and the car still charges. Not confidence-inspiring!

12v battery? All sorts of weird problems are attributable to a weak 12v.