2018 Prius Prime - Remote Engine Start

In my tests, it appears to mirror the Toyota default < 0.5. Leaving the remote start out of the picture, when
my traction battery drops to < 0.5 while driving in EV mode, gas engine kicks in. I'm seeing the same behavior
with the remote start.

 

The unit is in mile. I don't look at the % battery screen. I prefer to look at the 'estimated' miles 'left'.

 

Now I can't tell you what the range would be in the winter (ie < 30F). I would imagine the gas engine will kick
in even when it says 1 'mile to go' since the heat will be needed "ON" when I remote start it.

 

The remote is only for the harsh winter months. I'm still using PHEV. In addition, I don't like the OEM fob.
It's useless because of the range.

 

I didn't make myself clear. I am using the remote all year around. For the winter months, I want the gas engine
to start and don't plan to charge the car that much if at all.

 

I know it has been a while since I started this thread. My remote starter has been working great on my 2018 Prius Prime
since I had decided to get it installed in Summer/2019. During winter months, I remote start the car and let it run for
about 5-8 minutes before I drive to work; In summer months, I remote start the car to let the AC run while parked at
the train station after 8+ hours in the scorching heat. By the time I get in, it has cooled down vs. get in a 95-100F inside.

When I started this discussions, some weren't sure if remote starter would work on Prius Prime. Yes it
does work! Glad I made the $280 investment!

 

In my case, in order for the remote start to work, there's one requirement which I omitted to tell is that the battery can't be fully charged or plugged in. So during winter months, i never charge my hybrid battery. Furthermore, charging the battery isn't very efficient in cold temps. For example, the digital display tells me I'm only getting about 29 miles when fully charged. In contrast,
I get about 35+ miles in summer months. Note and as you know, the battery is never at 0% (or completely depleted). It will
always have about 15-18% by design.

My remote (Viper) does not have any wiring/connection to EV/HV switch. It just doesn't touch it. I always have Drive Mode = Power
and EV selected. I never touch these settings regardless of seasons. The rest is handled by the car.

Hope this clarifies stuff ...

 

Just for my knowledge, is that true when in low temps (ie < 20 or 15F) and you have the heat in 'ON' position and fan in 'MAX' position when you exited the car the night before?

 

Sorry for being unclear. You mentioned remote start will not work if you use full EV all year long. I was just wondering if anyone out there had remote start installed and used EV all year around and not a single user reported success. Basically that's what i was asking. I guess I could wait until the temp is < 20F in my area; charge the battery; set the inside temp to "MAX"; then try to remote start it one morning just so I could witness this. The result is either 1) gas engine running or 2) EV running.