Recall for Prius Plugin fuse :-)

Changing a fuse takes 10 seconds. Which fuse was changed?

 

So the 100 Amp fuse is now in the safety disconnect?

 

WOW !! i don't think the Plug In board has seen this much Fresh Hotness in ages !! (and all over a lil fuse !! It must feel so special !!)

 

Yea, just a lil ole 100 amper!

 

If he's talking about the fuse in the recall, it's buried inside the PiP traction battery. And there are two versions of the fuse, so if they don't stock it (and they probably don't) they have to take the battery apart to know which one to order.

 

To add my experience, had the recall done a few weeks back when this thread was relatively new.

Service Manager said only two techs on staff were trained for this (I'm assuming that meant trained for PIP) so it would take a while even with the appointment. When I called to set the appointment, the lady said it would first be an evaluation (based on discussion here, I'm presuming this meant determining if they had the right fuse). Service manager said they'd get it done (sounds like he knew they had both fuses on hand).

Dropped it off in the morning, was ready around 2PM or so. For those worried about data, my radio settings were all preserved, but my mileage data was gone (trip A/B). It looks like my monthly data was still there, but that's not granular enough for a full history. I think I was at about 20% EV before the service, other than that I don't recall specifics. Thankfully I'm not too worried about it, but if you are, talk with them before the service, or at least take a pic of any data you want to save.

I didn't notice a significant difference in expected EV range display one way or another. My MPG seemed to be down a bit lately anyway, but that also coincided with winter (as much as CA has winter...) and new tires (Michelin Energy Saver A/S from the Yoko Avids that came with the car). So I'll wait a few months before determining if I've got any significant mileage change from the tires. I must say however, that the Michelin's run much smoother.

 

I've been wary of this recall because of the lawsuit and Toyota changing the software. I'm glad I read this thread.
I use an ODBII bluetooth dongle and android app called Hybrid Assistant to monitor, track and save my hybrid data on my phone. This app is really great because it gets it's data directly from the ecu, so it's accurate. My speedometer is off by 3-4 miles (at 70mph) on the dashboard, same with the odometer. The app also shows inverter temp, battery temp & coolant temp Battery state of charge in percent and a bunch of other info.
It also shows that Toyota has also fudged it's software to lie about mpg, odometer reading and efficiency. Everything is off by 4-5 percent. The legal implications are huge.
This also shows that Toyota is taking a cue from Apple and programming battery loss over time.
Try it, the dongle costs $20 on Amazon and Hybrid Assistant is free.

 

actually, many auto mfg's have been doing this for a long time, and there are no legal implications. the epa testing that results in the mulroney sticker do not use toyota's gauges for measurement.

not sure what you mean by 'programming battery loss'. batteries lose capacity over time, this is a known fact.
apple programs the phone software to deal with the battery loss. not sure what toyota could do in the same vain, mpg's go down very slightly, ev range drops significantly in the first year or two, then basically levels off.
if toyota is reducing power to save the inverter, that is a different story.

 

Spot on!

 

So I live in a place where I have never seen a prius plug in, ever. I traveled a long way to buy my used 2013 pip. I'd bet $10,000 that our local dealership has done 0. Hmm.... how concerned should I be?

 

I can speak to this well. I am about as far away as you can get from where they sold them and have only seen one in the "wild" other than my own. My car was the first that this dealer took care of for this issue. Only took about 2 hours and haven't had any issues since. Just be prepared for your tripometers to be reset.
As a side note, I think dealers are much less scared to work on our cars than they once were considering the Prime is now widespread.

 

Thank you! That makes me feel much better. It doesn't seem like it would be a difficult fix, but this is good to know.

 

Got my Smog check here in CA on Friday. Paperwork from Smog shop mentioned I wouldn’t be able to register the car until the recall was performed. Went to AAA office, paid the registration fee and I was handed a new tag along with a registration card. I still need to get the recall.

 

Took mine in for the recall and annual inspection this morning. After 2+ hour wait they apologized and said they did not have the correct fuse on hand. They will call me again when it is in. I didn't lose any presets, but maybe that's because they didn't remove the fuse.

 

My biggest legal concern about the inaccuracies is the odometer that impacts the warranty, not the fuel economy. With the Hybrid Assistant & Hybrid Reporter I get accurate economy And odometer statistics.
So, if the software is not preprogrammed to reduce the charge, why does it go back up after the battery is disconnected? I understand that batteries lose capacity over time, but that is permanent, this isn't.
My inverter temperature has never gone out of the Normal range regardless of what stress I put on it. Perhaps the PHV uses a different inverter than the Hybrid.

 

the battery icon is not an accurate measurement of battery charge, it is a reasonable estimate though.the miles available are based on the charge estimate, and an average of your past ev driving, plus the ambient temp. this is less accurate, unless your drives are always similar.
when you disconnect the 12v, it simply resets to a factory default, with no driving history included

as for warranty mileage, i suppose you could sue if your battery went bad a few thousand miles after it ran out. but i'm not sure if the costs involved would be worth it.
toyota will often give goodwill help when you are closet warranty miles and years.

 

Don't feel bad, My dealer has seen non ether. I doubt their are any other PIP's in the middle TN area. If their are then I have yet to run up on one. I had mine transferred in from Memphis, but it started out in New York. I called a head and set up for it, being they had to order the parts and need an oil change anyways. After they did the Oil change, the Service department manager came out to me, which I though they were going to say can't do it we have no one trained for repairs on a PIP. To my amazement that was not the case, she told me they would like to keep it over night, to avoid having to take it apart and putting back together multiple times. Which I understood, they set me up with a rental through enterprise being all the courtesy cars where out. They also told me that the rental for this type of recall was good up to 15 days, which they assured me it would not take that long.

So after they had my car for about 2 days went down a picked it up, everything is like normal, but when I charge it now. It says 14mi when fully charged which is weird. I am sure though after normal driving\usage it will go back to normal.

 

I was back for my second fuse-update appointment today and the job was completed. The mileage stats were the only info lost as far as I can tell. The past few months a full charge has topped out right at 10 miles, plus or minus one or two tenths. I am sitting a charging at the dealer now and it is a 14.0 and still charging, but likely finished very soon.

Update: Topped out at 14.2 And now it gets interesting—
I left home fully charged this morning at 9.8 miles available. Drove gently the 8.8 miles to the dealer, all back roads, slight decrease in elevation, no wind, 30°. Arrived with 1.5 miles remaining so used 8.3 miles.
Charged fully to 14.2 miles at the dealer following the recall work. Drove same route and style (maybe a bit more conservative) home with only difference being 40° and slight increase in elevation. I had 5.5 miles remaining when I arrived home, so used 8.7 miles. The .4 increase in miles used, slight elevation gain, 10° increase in temp and slightly more conservative driving all add up to me.
Meaning that something was done to increase my EV range. Has anyone else had a similar experience?

 

Mine was the same before and after.

 

let it play out for a few drives and let us know what happens.