Have you actually found the need to use that defroster (the dedicated physical button)? Choosing the blower option for the windshield with the electric-heat instead is all you should require with temperatures that warm. Even here in Minnesota, I don't expect to use that forced ICE option unless the car has been sitting outside in much colder conditions for hours without the ability to grid pre-condition. btw, it is interesting to see that Toyota selected an aggressive strategy with the ICE warm-up. The result is a net gain with the EV range as a result of it running to generate heat.
The other day, we had snow, rain and cold - perfect conditions for fogging the wind shield. I tried both the windshield directed electric heat and the ICE-assisted defroster option. I couldn't really tell a difference, actually.
I posted this on different thread but I am copying here to see what others think. If your daily commute is longer than EV range, is it better to use HV mode in morning commute when it is very cold and save EV for the return trip in the afternoon when temp is moderate? It seems the colder it gets, less range Prime will have for most part. For three months of driving Prime, I was never able to achieve above 34 on GOM. For last two month, I have been driving with EV mode only until it exhaust battery then recording actual EV miles driven on each charge. I was able to go above 30 miles actual EV driving only a few times. Now with temperature down in 30s, if I use AC in my morning commute, my AC ratio goes above 20% easily and EV range drops precipitously. I am not looking forward for the subzero temp in winter. For winter commuting , it probably is better to drive HV only in morning when temperature is always below freezing, and save EV mode for the drive back home in the afternoon. My question is when ICE is on with HV mode, does Prime utilize engine heat for heating cabin, or is it going to use only AC heat pump even with available engine heat?
I'd use Ev in the morning anyway for the lower-speed, lower-power portion of my trip (for me, that would be getting out of the neighborhood and onto the highway). I'd likely do the same in the afternoon. I'd also do exactly what I've been doing - pushing and holding the remote-AC button on my key fob when I get out of the shower (which is about 10 minutes before I get in the car). That warms the car on grid power and substantially reduces the load on the battery while simultaneously increasing comfort.
With Fall arriving in Dixie, 40F (4C) over night, the range shrank to 25 miles from the 30 miles I was getting under warmer weather. I'm not surprised nor disappointed: 36.9 miles, 197.5 MPG - will the horrors ever cease? <grins> I knew there would more than three stops yet still took the Prime instead of the BMW i3-REx which I knew I'd need later in the day. Never let perfect become the enemy of good enough. I am glad there was a chance to 'heat up the engine' and drive out any condensation. Bob Wilson
I'm very confident our Prime's EV range will be dropping a lot during the cooler / colder months, too... as will ALL Primes' ranges be dropping, I'm sure! BUT... apparently unlike many here, "PIPPPIN" is garaged here at the house (so defrosting won't be much of an issue), I am retired (so no daily / mandatory commute), and, in general, I drive much less in the winter as compared with the other seasons. SO... while my EV range (per full charge) will be dwindling (down to 20 or even a bit less?), I don't think my gasoline consumption (in terms of gallon/s per month) will be increasing very much. PS: I've driven about 385 miles since filling up on the 30th of Sep (about 275 of those in EV on eight "depleted-to-full" charges plus 15 miles since last charge)... the car "thinks" it's averaging about 190 mpg... and the fuel "gauge" is down about one-eighth.... First of all, regarding the "horrors"... ... and regarding "perfection" vs "good enough"... ........
I am resigned to the reality that when the temps drop to below 35 degrees F, and stay there, that I'm just going to have to live with driving in HV for the duration. And use some gasoline. That ain't all that bad, as I've been doing so for the last 9 seasons anyway. If the Prime ends up being a 9-month EV car, then that's OK with me. Hopefully, I'll still get occasional EV mileage on some days in the winter.
Yup, think of it as flushing the tank season. It's the time to use up the fuel in the tank and get a fresh batch in the spring.
EV range for me is now at 15.5 miles. Yup I use Climate (seat heaters too hard to reach) outside temperature today was 16 F so above the 14 F threshold when ICE kicks in. I am happy that ICE is staying off because I'm not using cruise.
What's "driver priority?" I had my car plugged in overnight with a departure set for 5 AM. when I got ready to go, I did a remote climate at MAX with both defrosters activated at 5:45 am. left on my journey at 5:55 am
Cool video. May I ask what kind of set up you have to take video like this. So far my EV range has been staying around 25 miles at 20s to lower 30s temp. I force my car to run HV in my morning commute when I need more heat, and save EV range for my afternoon commute back home. We are supposed to be getting arctic blast this week. I'll see how bat the EV range get.
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