Does Toyota recommend "Engine block heater" on Prius ??

Just got this back from local dealership:

As it stands most block heaters are currently not available for any new Toyota. Due to complications with quality from the manufacturer that makes the block heaters for Toyota. Toyota is working hard to rectify this situation but it will take time. Hopefully by the end of the summer or if not sooner we will have block heaters available for purchase. Thank you for the inquiry and once again, any further questions you may have feel free to contact me. Have a great day Mendel!

 

Hi Leo, the cable that you see under the hood is probably the heater for the battery coolant and not a block heater

 

What car are you talking about? Certainly not any Prius that I am aware of.

The 12 volt battery under the hood is just a plain lead acid battery with no coolant. The traction battery pack is air cooled with no coolant.

 

OK, so that is a Canadian thing and a Canadian thought they may have a block heater.
Fair though. Those of us in the US get easily confused .

 

This thread?

New Prius (2017) enhanced with a hybrid battery heater? | PriusChat

The "more information on page 84" of the Owner's Manual is pretty terse:

 

Having a wife from MN and in-laws in North Dakota, an EBH is pretty common. The issue of concern I'd have if I lived there with a Prius is battery degradation. Unless someone could show me data to the contrary, as an Electrical Engineer, and someone whose read quite a few white papers on the lengths Tesla has gone to maintain optimal battery temperatures, the extreme cold temperatures will likely impact the life and effectiveness of your battery far more than the start up viscosity of your zero weight oil. A Tesla will actually heat its batteries, taking tons of energy, when its cold outside, and cool when hot. I'd love to see a table of data of the MPG and car longevity of Prius owners from Northern states and High heat states vs more temperate climate states. Batteries ideal temp is roughly 75 F

 

anecdotally, we have seen many more failures in the south than in the north.

 

Nissan Leaf battery deterioration was happening more in Southern States? The displayed state-of-charge was "absolute", and as the batteries peak charge started dropping, the display would no longer light the the top "pip" after the battery was charged.

 

Focus should be on stress, not ideal.

For cold, that begins at temps below freezing. It's only mild compared to getting cooked in heat through and the battery-warning system takes care of that but is only beneficial for high draw.

 

An engine block heater is typically recommended at 5°F (-15°C).

 

I can't recall it ever getting that cold here. FWIW, we use ours year 'round, winter and summer. Where's this typical recommendation, a manufacturer, or?

 

Mendel, sorry for the slow reply. "Typically recommended" isn't based on a single authority, it's what I commonly found in Google searches (see below). Personally, I think the recommended 5°F (-15°C) is too low, so use your own best judgment.

When Should You Plug in Your Car’s Block Heater? - BEMAC

How To Use A Block Heater To Survive The Winter

Why Use A Block Heater? Learn the benefits from Kal Tire

To plug in or not plug in?

 

Can someone tell me what is the wattage for the block heater and for the battery coolant heater? Just had the block heater installed at the dealer and they had it installed on the same plug with the heater for the battery coolant. I would like to know the Amps that these combine will draw

 

The engine coolant block heater is 400 watts I think. That's the case for 3rd gen, anyways.

I'm confused by "battery coolant heater": there's two coolant circuits under the hood, one for engine and one for inverter. Is the Prime hybrid battery also liquid cooled??

 

I tried to get a EBH for my Gen 2 but had to order it from Canada. I never installed it and gave it away. The heater in my Gen 2 wasn't one of its strong points. Lol

 

Colder temperatures degrade currently available capacity of the high voltage battery. But they they also improve the overall life span of the battery.

The main killer of Prius's high voltage batteries is heat.

Preheating batteries during winter allows them to accept higher charging currents (quicker charging) and increases the current capacity of the battery. That's why all better electric cars have thermal management of their batteries which includes heating during winter. But beware, heat also reduces the lifespan measured in years.

As the Prius is a hybrid, there is less pressure to precondition the battery with heating during winter, as the energy cost of doing so would be greater then the benefits of the battery getting maybe 100 Wh more available capacity.
The main priority of Prius's battery heat management is to prevent overheating.

 

@Timi lists a Gen 4, not a Prime.
For a Gen 4, a "battery coolant heater" would be a cabin heater, possibly located close to the battery.

The Prime is air cooled. I know i offers to run the heat pump to keep the battery cool while charging. It may offer to run the heat pump for heat while charging if it is too cold.