Is a remote starter worth it?

In NJ winter temperature, the fob based climate pre-conditioning may be sufficient, but the heat pump alone running off of the traction battery is not effective at lower temperatures below 32F and non-functional at or below 14F. If you need to pre-heat the car at lower temperatures, then the remote engine-start maybe useful. However, one issue is that AFAIK, the remote engine-start will not work if you have the car plugged in due to the safety feature of the car. There really is no easy way to override this feature. Therefore, if you are planning to charge your car overnight, then the remote engine start will not work until you go to the car and unplug the charge cord and close the charge port. This defeats the very purpose of having a remote engine start. After long thought, I decided not to install the remote engine start in my car for that reason.

 

You'd be gambling on the quality of the install. Dealers may install the remote starter, buy another dealer may not warranty it.

If you do, make sure you keep all of the installation instructions and manuals.

 

Not sure if the remote engine start will have any effect on the traction battery, but it sure will waste gas which is the worst sin Prius owner can commit. LOL

The remote climate only turns on the HVAC system at the last setting when you turn off the car. So, if you have the car set at temp70 AUTO, that will be the setting the remote climate will use. The mirror/rear window defrost will not work with remote climate, since the rear defog switch resets to off every time you turn off the car. Also, front defrost also will not work since it requires engine starting. However, if you have set your climate control to AUTO or manually set the direction to Window before you shut down the car, Auto will direct the warm air to the window as needed, and manual setting will send the air to window 100% of time. However, as I said in my initial comment, the heat pump is not very effective below 32F and inactive at or below 14F. So, if you need to deice the front windshield, the climate preconditioning do not help much when you really need it.

 

The heat pump is effective below 32F, but for some reason pre-conditioning limits the power usage (I think to around 1-1.5kW), to the point where it is barely effective. It's a lot less effective when pre-conditioning than when driving. In one snowstorm I tested the heat pump on my commute. It was snowing and around 17F outside. I set it to the windshield plus floor setting, and the maximum temperature. Hybrid Assistant reported the cabin got up to around 85 degrees about halfway into my 30 minute drive. Of course it used 95% of the battery to go 15 miles, but I was very warm, and snow didn't freeze up the windshield.

On snowy mornings I usually run the pre-conditioning three times to get the windshield to start thawing. I just hit the button when I wake up, while I'm having breakfast, etc.

If I need to warm up the car more than pre-conditioning can do, whether it's in EV mode or with the engine on, it will usually be warm in the time it takes me to shovel the sidewalk and clear the snow off the car. So I don't see much need for remote start.

 

In the early days of automobiles, the electrical systems were analog and simple.

Today, they are many very low amperage 5 volt digital microprocessor ecu's connected by ultra thin small gauge wiring,

Adding a secondary unit, however, thoroughly tested, is asking for trouble.

Even the OEM supplied ECU's have been subjected to recall oftentimes with almost all Prius models.

 

If it's free offer from your dealer, and you think you will be needing to start the car to pre-warm the car in winter time, then engine block heater would be something you may consider negotiating to dealer for the free installation. TOYOTA has OEM engine block heater offered in Canada and Alaska, I think. It will be another plug you will need to plug in. And if you plan to plug in your traction battery charging cord during night, then you must have a circuit large enough to accommodate 12A for the battery charging and whatever the engine block heater would takes something like 3.47 amps IIRC. You will probably want to put the EBH on timer. It only need to be used 2-3 hours prior to your departure in the morning. You maybe able to get away with 15A circuit if you stagger the traction charge and EBH times, or if you have 20A circuit for both or separate circuits for each, you are OK to do the concurrent operation.

In my climate, PP's heat pump has been almost useless for winter operation. During winter, I always started the car in HV mode to keep the engine warm. I wanted to install EBH on my previous PRIME but never got to it. Now, with COVID-19 restriction I am working from home. I don't think I need to install EBH on my new 2020 PP at least not for this winter.

 

With heated seats and and heated steering wheel you will be comfortable until the auto heating gets up too temperature!

Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.

 

No heated steering wheel on OP's XLE model. In the US, only Limited model has that feature. Heated seats are standard on all three trims.

 

Ok thanks!

Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.

 

I think those EBH are the same parts for all the models listed at the PC shop. AFAIK, the PC shop has not been updated frequently, so it is not surprising to see no new models listed there. IIRC, the Canadian Toyota site lets you configure a new car purchase with optional EBH installed at the factory. For the most part, the EBH is not needed for starting today's cars, but having it may increase the efficiency of heating in a very cold climate.

 

Here is Toyota Canada site for 2020 Prius Prime options.
Build Your Toyota Prius Prime - Toyota Canada
Under Exterior Accessories (8) - Dealer Installed, there is Block Heater $402.50 CAD

 

I put a block heater in my other car (Toyota 4Runner V8), and I didn't find it to be worth the hassle. It would save a couple minutes off the warm up time, so maybe it would take 7 minutes instead of 10. I don't think it was worth the effort of plugging in or the cost of extra electricity used, unless you're somewhere colder than here (Colorado). It might be worth it to reduce wear on the engine, but that's hard to quantify.

Maybe with the much smaller engine in the Prius it would get the engine warmer in less time?

 

It's a Toyota. The engine will easily last 10 years.