Remote start and charging?

Is it a Toyota remote starter? I did not know there was one for the Prime. I know Toyota offered Remote Start for prius v since my son hs one. It is not a plugin though,
If the remote start is after-market, I would ask that question to the remote start vendor.

 

Perhaps the dealer knows then.

It looks like their manuals may be online here. User Manuals | Compustar

 

At least without after-market stuff, the car won't start (go to READY mode) if it is plugged in, charging or not. Something about it being a bad thing to drive off with while plugged in.

What exactly does a remote starter do on a Prius? I know about remote climate control to turn on the cooling or heating on the Prime, but that uses the traction battery, and has nothing to with the ICE.

 

That makes sense.
My son has remote start because it lets him lock the car with it running to keep the Air Conditioning on to cool his dogs for outdoor dog Agility events.

 

run out to the car and unplug it, then run back inside where it's warm and hit the remote starter.

make sure you have the heat setting all the way up so it will start the engine, i think.

 

that was on the pip. prime has heat pump, so remote a/c will heat or cool, but not below 14 degrees.

 

By "start the car" do you mean "start the gasoline engine? With plug-in cars, you can drive off in electric mode and not start the gasoline engine, and it seems a bit weird to say that it has not been "started". Thus the reference to the Prius being in "READY" mode, which means ready to drive, whether in electric or gasoline mode.

The heat pump functionality works down to 14 F to provide heat, this being the temperature on the thermometer, not the "windchill", which is the perceived temperature taking into account things like wind. Below 14 F, the gasoline engine will come on to provide heat. In Japan, the term "a/c" refers to either heating or cooling, and the manuals seem to use the term as meaning "heat or cool" in some places, and "cool" in others.

Bisco, are you saying that if the temperature is below 14 F, the a/c function on the fob simply won't do anything, since it won't start the gasoline engine?

 

no, i was thinking the engine would start, to provide heat, because the heat pump would be ineffective, but i'm not sure of prime operation.

 

To answer your question I just tried this. It's 6F right now. I pressed remote A/C on my Prime dongle. The car sitting outside of the window, did not start ICE. It is plugged in but was finished charging. As soon as I pushed and held A/C button on the dongle, the charge indicator light in front dash came on. The weeling sound from engine component can be heard, presumably from fans. Heat pump is probably not effective heating up, but car is still trying to warm up using only traction battery and heat pump only.

 

what were the fan speed and temp set to?

 

I think it was set at 70 Auto. My wife took the car this morning, so I can't confirm it now. I will try later with setting it Hi. I will put temp sensor inside of the car to see if turning on remote A/C in below 14F ambient temp will do anything to change the cabin temp. Today's high temp is supposed to be 2F, so I don't have to wait for the night to test this.

 

i don't think you will get the engine to turn on while plugged in.

 

OK, I will test with and without plug, but I don't think ICE will turn on either plugged in or not. OP is correct that Prime's remote A/C only work to turn on heat pump using traction battery (it can heat if it is above 14F but not below), and not the ICE. If it's too cold for the heat pump to function, it probably do not warm up the cabin at all.

Manual p510 on Remote A/C has following cautionary statements.

■Conditions affecting operation The system may not start in the following situations:
●The charge level of the hybrid battery (traction battery) is low
●The outside temperature is extremely low
●When the hybrid system is cool (for example, after being left for a long time in low temperatures)​

 

sounds correct. i guess you still need the remote starter for really cold weather.

 

So, going back to OP's original question. With aftermarket ICE starter installed, will PRIME's ICE starts even if it is plugged in? We all know it will not go into "READY" even with smart key present, if it is plugged in. Does the ICE starter bypass this safety feature? I don't have the answer to this question since I don't have ICE starter installed on mine. I am very interested in to find out the answer from the OP.

 

There's probably a toyota accessory block heater for the Prime. Something to consider. I'm always a little confused has to how you would employ block heater on a plug-in though. I don't think it would be effective unless you were running the car in conventional hybrid mode? But maybe that's what you're doing with remote start?