Hello, I was going to buy a Prime but my townhouse garage has no plugs and the HOA probably won't accommodate me as they don't want to pay for my vehicle electricity bill. The park down the street I go to has type 2 charging port and I could use that maybe once per week when I'm riding my bike there. Is there any detriment to the battery by only charging once per week and spending the rest of the time in hybrid mode? For example would it hurt the charge capacity (depth of discharge), where I would only end up getting a fraction of the EV miles that were originally available when the car was new? Thanks A Fez
Thanks Lee. I was originally going to buy a Volt and when i was doing research on that, Chevy said it recommended plugging in at least every 6 weeks or something around that figure (can't remember). I figured the Prime would be similar but didn't know. I know the Teslas will brick if left unplugged for a few weeks.
Well, yeah, a Tesla doesn't have another power source. If you're worried, you can always used Hv and Charge mode to keep the battery towards the middle.
You could run a heavy gauge extension cord out your window. Or wait for the solar panel roof. Leaving a PHEV's battery state of charge in the hybrid mode only range all the time isn't good for the pack's long term health, but I suspect it's something that will only be an issue of concern for the Prime for those keeping the car until the wheels fall off. Once a week charging should be plenty to avoid any issues. A level 2 one will get the charge to full in about 2.5hrs. A Volt that is never plugged in would have its pack kept at a lower SOC percentage than a Prime, so it makes sense GM calls for occasional charging.
I became a Prius Prime Premium owner on Sat 12/9. The dealer service manager told me that the vehicle will not start in any mode if it has not been plugged in and charged after 3 days. I don't see anything about this in the manuals. Does this dealer lack knowledge?
welcome! does the dealer lack knowledge? that's the understatement of the year. to be fair, the manual is a tome, and we're still trying to figure things out after a year+ of owners experiences.
I bought a Prime while living in a condo where I couldn't plug in in my garage. We also have a fiscally conservative board. After 3 months of driving almost exclusively with gas (plus an occasional opportunistic charge), I got the board's permission to install a dedicated circuit to my parking space, at my expense. I added a pass-through kWh meter to document how much electricity I'm using for car charging, and I'm reimbursing the HOA for my portion. If you're curious, we have a very helpful website dedicated to finding plug-in solutions in multi-family housing. Reading the case studies helped me formulate a proposal. It has definitely been worth it! Website: Home
Andrewfez, take MNdriver's advice. Progress takes those who are willing to take the steps to make things happen. Good luck if you join the Prime family.
Well I guess that proves the service manager wrong who said " The dealer service manager told me that the vehicle will not start in any mode if it has not been plugged in and charged after 3 days."
You can never plug in and it'll be fine. You'll still get slightly better mpg than a regular hybrid. Still, I'm wondering: why would you still prefer Prime over regular Prius? Incentives?
One thing I have found is that the traction battery will not lose its charge if the car is not driven for a long period. In October I took a 40 day trip out of the country. I charged the battery before I left, parked it in my garage, and checked the miles available on the HUD (26.3). I connected a trickle charger to the 12V battery. When I returned, the available miles (26.3) had not changed on the HUD, leading me to believe that the SOC of the traction battery had not decreased in those 40 days. I suspect that this may be different when the car has a few years or tens of thousands of miles on it.
For a car a lot of dealerships don't even want to acknowledge exist, why would they do the work to know about how it works?
