Compustar Remote Start - 2022 Prius Prime

That's with some EV range still left in the traction battery. So, I wonder what happens to the car if you try to remote starts with the charging cable plugged in. We know it would not start the engine. But Does it give any error on the car dash?

BTW, I received an email from a DEFA rep about their WarmUp kit. As I suspected, they have no US-based retailer, but there is a store in Calgary that may be able to help order the components. What the rep tells me is that only the engine heater is vehicle-specific. I would like to find out if they have a kit for the cabin heater and information on installation.

Here is a copy of the email I received.

Our WarmUp kit is a universal fitment, only the engine heater is vehicle (and engine) specific. The WarmUp kit includes our onboard battery charger, cabin heater and either a Bluetooth controller or an in-cab control unit to allow you to program your daily departure times which then turns the heater(s) on at the right time in advance, depending on the outside temperatures.

We don’t have a retail network in the United States. We do have one retailer in Calgary, Alberta that can assist, Sheni’s Auto Trend (https://shenisautotrend.com/). They have arranged shipments to a couple of US customers for us.

If you have any additional questions, please don’t hesitate to contact us.

Best regards / sincèrement vôtre / vennlig hilsen
Customer Service Canada & USA
Auto Industry
Main: +1 647-660-DEFA (3332)
​

 

Yeah, if any Canadian Toyota dealer can install it, I don't know why it can't be done at a US dealer. I guess, exporting across the border must be something more complicated for them. If not pandemic restriction, I can just drive across the border and have it installed in Canada. But, for now, I just want to find out some idea of what the cost of the kit components and installation would be.

 

do you have the heat set to 'max'?

 

it might help if the engine won't start when it's warmer out

 

For me, the only reason for using a remote engine start or remote heater of any kind is for defrosting the window in advance of getting in the car. A warm cabin is nice, but I would not use gas or electricity just for that. Chiseling thick ice off the windshield is what I want to avoid if I can.

 

Yeah, that's true here too. If the temperature stays 14F (-10C) or below all winter long, then it is easier to plaw snow since at that temperature precipitation is almost always powder snow that can be easily dusted. We just have a wide swing in temperature within a day and day to day. Temp close to freezing is more of a problem for ice or snow following by rain and re-freezing.

 

ooh, that's a nice feature. that will always kick the engine on iirc

 

Yes, ICE will start if the Defroster button is pushed ON. BUT, you can't leave the Defroster switch in ON position when you turn off the car. It defaults to OFF when the car is shut off. So there was no way to turn on the Defroster remotely. If the @eow means that they installed a special function to turn on the Defroster ON remotely, then it is a huge benefit. The Toyota App remote is supposed to have the Defroster mode, but my understanding is that remote app defroster mode is not the same as the Defroster switch ON in that it only uses the traction battery and heat pump, thus the engine never turns on, meaning it is useless in colder tempture.

 

it sounds like a very sophisticated system. i wonder why they don't bypass the evse plugged in safety mechanism?
maybe that would open them to potential lawsuits if someone drove off with the car plugged in

 

This is one of those "it's not a bug, it's a feature" situations. I keep my Prime in a closed garage and I use the Toyota app on my phone to turn on the cabin heat and the front and/or rear defoggers. (The car doors must be locked for this to work.)

If this started the gasoline engine, it would be a problem to have the garage fill up with exhaust fumes.

Because the garage never gets as cold as the outside temperature, the heat pump is sufficient for this purpose. However, I can see how what works for me would not be optimal in a different situation where the car is parked outside.

 

Yeah, my understanding is that the App operated front defoggers just send heat pump warmed air to the front window without the engine starting. As you and I know, the heat pump can not send warm air if the ambient temperature is 14F or below, making this "feature" totally useless on those colder days when I need to defrost the thick ice and snow off of the windshield. If I had a garage to keep my car inside protected from precipitation, then I would never need to use a defroster first thing before going out, so the "feature" is again totally useless for me.

 

There was a thread with someone with knowledge of remote starter who was playing with that mod. He was trying to sell the system to Compustar or Viper, I forgot, but to the remote starter company. I never heard the result of his work. The last I saw him posting on PC was in the thread he was asking basically the same basic question about Rav4Prime.

Edit: I found one of his comments in this thread: Remote Start on Prius Prime | PriusChat