Prime doesn't give me opportunity to select traction cooling

The threshold is about 92F or 94F and above

 

This prompt is very likely linked to the temperature in the battery pack. I sometimes see and sometimes not. Usually only if it was hot and I just laid into the throttle in electric mode.
Nothing to worry about, as the car will always act with the traction batteries life in mind.

 

What I really dislike is that, even when offered the option, if you screw up and open your door before you select "Yes" to allow cooling, you lose your chance to allow cooling. I'm not sure why you can't choose a default setting of "Yes," or at least have the chance to turn allow cooling if you mistakenly don't choose "Yes." The only way I've found to choose "Yes" after you fail to is get back in the Prime, drive a short distance, and then park again, when you often get the prompt again.

 

I am outside of Memphis and I do get the option of using the air conditioner. I too wish their was a default on mode. Maybe I am just stupid but there is no confirmation of on when you choose it . Also, why is it that when you choose charge now you dont push the select button, you just right click to show it in the box but with the air conditioning cooler option you apparently push select. It doesn't make sense to me.

 

toyota software engineers are out of touch.

 

When Toyota makes decisions like this to limit obvious functionality, it seems it's usually for safety reasons. Like you can roll your windows down remotely with the electronic key, but you can't roll them up. When I thought it out, I realized that that is likely because rolling them could hurt someone in the car or leaning in the car. Maybe there is a potential safety risk to having the A/C on when charging?

 

they know people will forget it is default on, and that may waste energy or cause another negative when it is not needed.

 

But, even when you select yes and allow it to use cooling, it only uses it as much as it needs to, right?

 

ya got me there, do not know if that is the case, or if it is just a timer.

 

I know that it often asks permission, and I say yes, but I rarely hear the AC running while charging, and, when it does run, it only runs for a while. I charge in my garage, and the temperature in there, even on a hot day, is usually no more than 80. So I presume it monitors when it needs to run and only runs then.

 

I think I've figured out why Toyota doesn't let you choose a default option to allow the Prime to use the A/C to cool during charging of the traction battery. It was really hot here the other day, and I guess for the first time my Prime really used the A/C when it was charging. It created a veritable blast furnace in my garage. My garage is insulated, so I usually just leave the door between my house and garage open (which means I'm cooling the garage with my home's A/C). Anyway, the other day it was charging and using the A/C for quite a while during the charge, and it heated my garage and the front end of my house up very noticeably. I'm guessing the don't let you choose to use the A/C to cool the traction battery during charging as a default because they want you to think about it every time you do it. If you had a small one-car garage on a hot day and you had a dog or a child in there somehow, I think the heat could get to be enough to harm them.

 

I have a Nissan Leaf (2011), should I buy new Leaf or Prius?

 

This thread probably isn't a good place to put that question. I think you'll get more responses if you post a new thread asking that in the title in the Prius Prime main forum.

 

Buy one of each and report back.
J