I have an 18 prime. I brought my car to the dealer for regular maintenance and to help me figure out why I can't get the remote ac feature to work. Was told that the battery must have at least 1/4 for it to work. Is this right? So what they are saying is if I don't charge my car and if it is always empty this function is completely useless? I have a phev Clarity and have never charged it since it's purchase and have not had any issues w this function. They want to keep my car for further diagnosis but I am a little shocked that it requires juice.
In your use case, and mine--yes, the remote AC feature is useless. Even when it works I've found it pretty terrible.
It is an electric HVAC system. All the power for running this comes from the battery via the DC-DC converter. If the battery is empty, then the ICE would need to run and they likely didn't program that. They don't want somebody starting the remote AC and the car in an enclosed space, for example.
Why can't they use the regular battery for this or take a look at how Honda designed their clarity. No issues w this feature on the clarity. I never tried using this on my old pip that I have already sold.
I thought the Lexus remote A/C didn’t have this limitation. Although it seems like that one only runs for 10min instead of 30: Lexus Enform Remote | Lexus Drivers
This would quickly deplete the 12V battery, if that is the “regular” battery to which you refer. It has a very small capacity.
You are correct. The Lexus Enform Remote app does not have this limitation. The Toyota Entunes app remote climate for the Prime Advanced also requires some charge left in the battery. Both run for 10 min. The difference on the Lexus is you have to have your A/C preset. On the Prime Advanced I can set it via the app to max cool or max heat. Both systems require the doors to be locked. The Aux battery (12V) doesn’t have enough juice to keep the lights on for 10 minutes let alone run an HVAC system. If you are talking about using the Remote A/C function from the fob that also runs for 10 minutes as noted in the owner’s manual (pg. 510). Also that requires the HVAC system to be preset before shutting the car off. If you really want to use the remote climate you either have to plug it in for 30 minutes or use the Charge Mode while driving home or to work or school for 7 minutes (maybe 5, YMMV). Since I’ve used that exactly twice you may have to experiment. iPad ? Pro
How Honda and Lexus remote AC work when the traction battery is depleted? Do they start ICE remotely to replenish the battery charge?
Oh yeah. Since my wife’s NXh is a hybrid the ICE starts up after the usual 8 seconds. If she leaves the front defroster on the ICE kicks on immediately. She’s never used the Remote Start for summer and A/C, just winter and heat. It does work reliably and because it’s a hybrid once the ICE hits operating temperature, it shuts off. iPhone ? Pro
So, it is basically a remote engine starter for the hybrid Lexus. For PRIME, you can not get the ICE to start while plugged-in, by remote or in a car. That is another limitation. I wonder how Clarity works when the car is plugged-in?
Yep that way Lexus can keep the same remote function whether it’s a straight ICE or a hybrid. Probably why they are so reluctant to go to plug-ins. The Entunes app for the Highlander Hybrid can also do remote starts as well but it may be limited to the Limited Platinum version. IMO the Entunes app for Prime may be designed this way on purpose. I’m betting they are going to a full EV in the future. Took them 5 years to double the battery on the Prime and redesign it. By 2022 we’ll get a BEV Prime, but it may not look the way people think. iPhone ? Pro
I read in other thread, that for 2020 PRIME, addition of CarPlay resulted in omission of Remote App on Entune.
Yeah you are correct, not listed anymore. One of the big reasons I won’t be getting a new one anytime soon. Nice you can remotely check on how much time is remaining on charge, initiate a charge, start remote climate with max heat or max cool, etc.. Weird because my wife’s NXh has Apple CarPlay and Enform Remote so you know it can be done. Maybe they pulled it to redesign it as strictly a remote app ala Enform Remote. iPhone ? Pro
This seems to be just asking for a lawsuit when someone remotely starts the ICE in an enclosed area and someone dies from CO poisoning. Unless they are counting on newer cars producing so little CO that it is not a danger anymore. But usually the Toyota lawyers force pretty conservative policies (like the idiotic locking out of most of the NAV functionality when moving, even when there is a passenger to operate it).
Remote engine starter is quite popular in colder climate to pre-warm the cabin. It is not an option for PRIME, but doesn't Toyota offer that option on other cars? I never owned a car with a remote engine starter until recently purchased Pathfinder. It came with a manufacture-installed remote engine starter.
