Apologies if this is a FAQ (although I checked the FAQ thread) or something I overlooked in the manual, but... is there some trick for using the Plug-in Prius' accessories (radio, fan, etc) while the car is plugged into the EVSE and charging? It won't let me turn the fan on, and I can listen to the radio, but only for a minute or two until the car gets bored and shuts itself off.
The only way you can keep the radio on while charging is by putting the car in accessory mode, but then it uses the 12v battery and wears it down.
If you're plugged in, then it won't wear the 12v battery down because it's being charged as well as the traction battery. So you're safe to keep it in accessory mode for as long as it's being charged.
How about the fan? I was sitting in the driveway reading the other day (baby girl asleep in the back seat, decided to wait it out), and the only way I could figure out to get the fan to run was to power the car on, but the EV battery was depleted so I wanted to plug it in, which prevents you from powering it completely on. It doesn't seem like this is possible, but the limitation makes no sense to me. I gave up when I realized that in order to run a couple electric accessories, I was going to have to run an internal combustion engine while the EVSE stared at me accusingly from its little hook on the wall. Silliness.
You hit the start button once with your foot off of the brake pedal. The instrument panel won't come on, but the radio will.
