Battery Charging and Self Charging

What they told you is completely WRONG.
There is only one hybrid battery.

But your assumption is correct anyway.

Once you "use up" the plug in capacity of the MUCH larger than normal hybrid battery, it functions pretty much like any of the other hybrids.
Except the hybrid battery is bigger. Which you likely won't even notice unless you have occasion to go down a LONG steep mountain road.

 

This is why you mustn't put much trust or faith into salescritters. They will tell far too many falsehoods, or simply don't know what they are talking about. Their primary purpose is to shift money from your wallet into their own wallet.

Physically, it is just one large battery. The partitioning of functions is only in the software that controls the whole system, not in the actual hardware.

 

I think they think it's their job to confuse people.

Absolutely wrong.

This is true unless you press the "Charge Mode" button or go down a big mountain.

There's only one battery pack. The ICE charges it, the brakes charge it, and your wall outlet charges it.

 

Nope. When you run out of EV range you're now driving a regular hybrid. To get EV range again, you need to plug it in, or put it in charge mode (waste of gas). Normal driving will just maintain the SOC at about the level it had when the EV range ran out.

 

I sometimes wonder how those dealer type people even manage to get the car started for the test drive.

 

Only to about 80%.

 

No. It'll charge it to about 80% indicated charge in roughly 30 minutes depending on your speed and other factors. This is very rarely as efficient as just driving it, though. You lose energy to heat converting the gas to electricity and then lose more energy converting the electricity to forward motion. Unless there's a special need for having EV range, just let it do its thing or switch to HV before you run out of EV range.

 

Ironically, a motive in the not-so-obvious problem of dealing with dealers was the "self charging" campaign. Toyota is a legacy automaker faced with a lot of opposition from their own primary customers... those who order inventory to sell to consumers... their own dealers. You find out who is supportive and who will resist by testing the waters early with a passive message they must address. For the dealers who correctly inform shoppers, they will reap the benefits of this upcoming paradigm-shift. Those who do not will either have to learn quickly or suffer from holding onto a past slipping away.

For our poster who started this topic, here in the United States we are about to face an interesting transition. Mandates to end sales of vehicles with ICE (Internal Combustion Engines) will push legacy automakers in a direction most are unprepared for. Each has some type of introduction underway and has plans to ramp up component production, but that's only with select vehicles. Spread of change across the entire passenger fleet rapidly is only something Toyota has been preparing for. They can shift from hybrid to plug-in hybrid relatively easily. The technology is already in place. It's really only a matter of platform alterations for increased battery-capacity, something RAV4 Prime has demonstrated well.

See, it's not a mandate/ban for 2030 (which Washington State is currently pursuing) that's the real problem, it's the panic that leads up to it. Resale values of ICE vehicles will drop like a rock when gas demand & subsidies drop. You won't want to be stuck with something expensive to fuel and difficult to sell. A plug-in hybrid with enough capacity to cover most daily driving is entirely different beast though. People will be able to switch from one world to the next with very little risk. That's a high-desirable trait for a long-term expense, like a vehicle.

@PaulDM you think getting a test-drive is difficult now? Watch what happens when awareness of the inevitable stirs among ordinary consumers, when they come to realize the purchase of an ICE isn't such a wise idea anymore. No one wants to get stuck with long-time ownership of something about to become obsolete. Having a plug & engine will become a very good idea while we wait for battery-only vehicle prices to become affordable and public charging-stations to become common.

 

If you drive to the top of a mountain and drive down a very long downhill, the car's regenerative braking can charge the traction battery up to full. Yes, all the way back to 100% if long enough.

 

Very true. But certainly not normal. Especially, for Paul in the UK. I once went from 10% to 98% while in Colorado. That was about a 6,000 foot descent. Colorado Scenic Byway: Grand Mesa | Colorado.com


You need a drop like this!

 

Does Toyota give blessing for towing with a regular Prius in UK? In the US, Toyota does not recommend towing with any Prius. Although many still do.

 

Don’t hold back Jerry; it IS their job.

 

The comparative flatness of the UK is probably a factor in being approved for towing there. Here, anything approved for towing must be reasonably able to handle Vail Pass and similar conditions without causing warranty problems or without throwing red meat to our class action product liability lawyers.

 

NO, not unless your trip is ALL downhill and likely not even then.
The theory is that electricity from the wall is cheaper than electricity from burning fuel in the gas engine........and that is true in almost ALL the circumstances.
So it is not designed to charge the battery much by burning fuel, just like a conventional hybrid.