I started the new year off by taking my "new-to-me" PiP on a road trip to see some folks... I'm rolling Blizzak WS80s for rubber... and the temps were between 20-30 degrees. I took small scenic back roads on the way up and averaged 53 mpg over 300 miles.... then on the way home, took the big roads, was at 80 mph, and only averaged 40 mpg. But with it being winter, and on tacky tires, I'm pretty impressed. Considering my previous car would have topped out at about 38 up, and 32-35 back... I'll take 53/40... Especially with it being so much quieter, smoother, with built-in-navigation, HD radio, XM radio (for now, at least), Pandora when I had signal, heated "leather" seats with lumbar support, and amazing LED headlights... I LOVE THIS CAR!!! And then today was able to go to Costco, gym, and grocery store using no gas at all... heckuva deal! I can't wait until it's warm again to see what it'll do then! Now if I could ease my concerns of plugging it in every time I get home... I want to do that, but I'm afraid of abusing the battery... I feel like I should only plug it in, exactly 3 hours before I KNOW i'm going to need to go somewhere, after a few things I've read on here...
I don't have a level-2 charger at home... and I don't want to set timers to remind myself to unplug it... I just want to plug it in when I park, and unplug it when I leave... Does anyone have solid evidence that this will prematurely degrade the battery? I definitely want this thing to last a long time, but I don't want to drive myself crazy over it...
no, it's mostly proprietary battery chemistry. so only the manufacturer really understands long term ramifications. toyota says don't do it, without much explanation, unfortunately. great numbers on your road trip btw, especially with those tyres.
You set the timer In the car for either start time or end time then plug in, charger wiIl start automatically. I set mine for end time 7:30 am. Then I am all ready to go at 8am.
I just leave my timer set to end charge at 8am for my commute. At work I plug in and don't set the timer so it charges while i work, and is ready by noon in case I need the car.
it's easy for a daily commute, but not for those spontaneous trips that occur several times a day for some of us. i've read about 1/2 the manual. but the faq's here are pretty helpful.
I just read a bunch of the manual... I do see that it recommends charging immediately before use. But as Bisco said, I'd like it to be at the ready for any spontaneous driving, not just my daily commute to work. I guess it'll just make me re-consider if I really need to actually go do the thing or get the stuff.... If I do, and I have time, and plan well, I can have it charged... it's only 3 hours... I wonder how much it would cost to wire a separate 240 circuit to get a level 2 put in?
varies depending on location of circuit breakers and outlet. the parts are cheap, it's mostly labor, and then there's $3-400. for the L2. try some experimentation. from an empty battery, you'll find your 80% charged in quite a short time. once you get a feel for it, you might be able to charge it for an hour or two all the time to get it around 50%, then top up another 30% in a short period of time.
Set your charger timer once and forgetaboutit !!!! The Toyota PiP first Generation is a good entry point to the lower BEV but has a very limited electric range, I got tired of it and I jumped to a better equipped vehicle for a comparable price.
Happy for ya. I paid $16,700 for my Advanced model, not sure I could have found anything similar for less money that I would have liked. The 10-12 miles will get me to most of my necessary errands and home with a couple miles to spare... but I'd like to always have it recharged to go again. Setting a timer for one time per day is great for getting to work and back (which I am doing), but random trips won't work the same. I'll survive... Someday I hope to add, or upgrade to, a Tesla Model 3... this PiP is kind of my "gateway drug..." hehehe...
Yep, I set my timer to be ready by 0500 each morning. I don't recharge at my destination as there isn't a charger nor outlet there, and it's only 3.2 miles away... and if I drive all the way to work, I'd have to pay for the juice, so it's not worth it to me (it's about 3-4 times as expensive). But hey... this is still better than my previous car... last week during the work week, I was averaging 70 mpg... I'm ok with that... hehehe... when it warms up, I should be able to use no gas at all during the work week (no warm up cycles)...
FWIW, I'm at 90k miles now and been charging almost twice everyday for the last 3 years. I charge it immediately at work and it usually sits for 8 hours until I go home. I set the timer when I charge at home. On weekends, I charge immediately because I may go out for errands at any time. Sometimes I do not and with holidays the car may sit plugged in for over 3 days. There is no noticeable degradation in battery life. I believe it's because Toyota only allows max 85% charge on the PiP which preserves battery longevity. I remember my friend's mom bought a Lexus GS while he was in college. She didn't want to risk parking it in the sketchy lot at her workplace so she told my friend to drive it instead to school. She drove his Civic on the weekdays and they swapped back during weekends. Eventually, it got too burdensome to move their stuff back and forth every weekend so my friend just drove the Lexus all the time. Occasionally, his mom will want to drive it to a wedding or some other family gathering. Basically, my friend's mom paid $40,000 to drive a Civic with manual roll up windows and no AC. I had another friend that refused to drive her pristine Acura Integra long distances to preserve mileage. She'd rent SUV's and such. She sold the Acura and bought another car after two years of ownership. I hope she got a good deal on a low mileage vehicle. Enjoy your car and abuse the battery or preserve it for it's next owner.
No need to be concerned about battery longevity. It doesn't fully charge, which goes a long way to preserving the battery. The difference between leaving it half charged and fully charged will be negligible. Not having a charge when you need it is like having a degraded battery in that you aren't utilizing EV. I paid something like $40 for 4 AWG wire, $20 for a breaker, and $20 for the NEMA 14-50r receptacle; $80 total. Wiring it in was easy as the attic above my garage has a built in ladder to access the space, and no insulation. I also paid $200 for a used Leaf EVSE and modified it for L2 charging using $20 worth of parts.
There is one important caution remark in the manual: do not leave the car fully charged under direct sun in a hot summer day ! Anyways, it's winter now...
Great feedback, folks, thank you! I'll worry less and enjoy more. Growing pains of getting to know a very unique vehicle. I really do appreciate you taking the time to share!
The PiP is not an electric car, it is an extended range hybrid. Just charge it when you may, and use it when you wish. It will always be ready to go and for most of the time it will use the electricity preferentially. The rest of the time you will be driving a wonderful economical hybrid. I try to charge 0430 - 0630 when our National Grid has least demand, just for my own peace of mind, unless I know I will need the PiP before then. U.K. National Grid status
