Enabling My Room Mode on Prius Prime

I have never heard of "My Room Mode". Could someone tell us what it is or why it would be something I would want in my PP?

 

does it convert your prime to a den, study, library? bedroom?

 

even google is not clear

 

okay, i had to waste 2 1/2 minutes of my life watching a very poorly done video, for 5 seconds saying you can use the vehicle accessories while plugged in so you don't have to deplete the battery and run the engine.
no, i have not read of anyone hacking their prime to do this.

 

As I understand it from very little reading, while at a public charger you sit in the car with climate control running and wait in "My Room" for the charge to complete.

 

Hoping it isn't a bathroom.

 

it's a nice feature, and many have been surprised over the years that prime doesn't have it. toyota is probably using it as a perk for the much higher priced rav

 

May not have occurred to Toyota to have it for the Prius Prime. It came out years before the Rav4 Prime, and has CHAdeMO standard in Japan.

 

@Gerberknight it is a common annoyance of the Prime that it wants to shut down the AC while charging. I’ve collected anecdotes I have yet to try (at the moment I don’t charge my prime except in charge mode while driving).

This link should take you to one set of directions. Please let us know if it works while charging:
Can I use A/C when charging? | PriusChat

When not charging you can stay in the car, locked from the interior, and the AC will run nicely as long as you have gas. However the motor will repeatedly turn on to recharge the system. The motor turning on and off is less than ideal for those in the vehicle, and any others around them, when trying to sleep. The rate of discharge of the battery, leading to the motor running, is, of course, dependent on the load the AC puts on the battery.

I’ve seen someone recommend another option for camping but it seems like it has a number of potential problems. Others can comment. I plan to try it but haven’t yet.

If the Prime is fully charged (or 80% using charge mode) one has a lot of reserve battery. If the Prime is left in neutral, with the parking brake on, it is my understanding that energy will continue to flow from the traction battery to keep the AC running without the engine ever starting. Critically one would need to carefully monitor the traction battery so that it does not fully discharge and the vehicle is left unable to start (same would be true for the RAV4 if room mode means the engine doesn’t start). Obviously you’ve got another big problem if a camper knocks the shifter out of neutral. There may be other dangers I’m unaware of.

 

The only way to do this in a PP is to sit in it while charging ( with doors locked ) and hit the AC button on the remote every 10 minutes. You wil not be able to listen to the multimedia like the real '' my room '' mode of the RAV4 Prime. But at least you will get AC while charging.

 

oh wow, I never considered this being an issue while charging.

I mean, who, in the planning and engineering committees, said " let's turn off all the comfort/accessories while it's charging" ?

and why didn't anyone in the room say "get Charlie, I know you're the head of the charging committee, but let's think this one through ... if I'm at a charging station and it's hot/rainy, shouldn't I be able to run the defrost , radio, wipers, etc ?"

imagine someone used to watching a movie in their Tesla while charging, getting into a prime and saying "what the heck????"

 

What about anti-idling laws, or is that not a thing anymore? I really bristle, walking through mall parking lots, past idling/parked cars, mostly with single occupant, AC running, car pumping out heat, and tapping away on their phones.

Appreciate I’ve got a “tough audience” here…

 

Most of the signage I've noticed for anti-idling refers to diesels or over 5 tons(commercial trucks).

I've stopped going to restaurants that are drive through only now.

 

Yeah when we sit outside at nearby starbucks with our doge, there's a slow-motion parade: the drive-thru participants, mostly in trucks and CUV's, slowly inching forward, heads-down, basking in the cellphone glow.

One time sitting there, I started expounding to the missus, I should attend a Coquitlam open-to-public counsel meeting, propose the name of the city be changed to Drivethruville. Might help to wear a pied jester's outfit...

 

For PP, I would skip charging on the road if you have to stay inside of the car for the duration of charging ~2 hours minimum. It only gains 25 miles of EV range, and unless it is free, most likely it would cost more than buying gas. If you are parked and need to remain in the car to rest or sleep, the best bet would be to just keep the car in READY and lock the door from inside*. You can keep the AC on as long as you have gas. The engine will come on as needed.

*Locking the door from the inside is necessary for the 2021 and newer PP models in order to keep the hybrid system in READY mode for longer than ~1 hour while in PARK. This may not apply in pre-2020 PP.

 

Would a full battery in this mode last 2-3 hours without gas engine coming on with moderate A/C? Just curious for drive-in movie purposes.

 

It all depends on how hot or how cold the ambient temps are and your A/C setting. But generally speaking, with moderate setting the full battery charge should last 2-3 hours without gas coming on. I think I read on another thread some had A/C on all night without the engine coming on.