Does the PIP have a pre-heater ?

i wonder why they didn't put in a 1500 watt heater that could be used to pre heat the cabin while plugged in? in the morning, after fully charged, before you leave, it wouldn't need to use the battery.

 

I wholeheartedly agree! How much money would that have cost, $200?

 

I have thought about that, too. Would I really use such a heater before short trips? Would I think an hour ahead of time to turn on the heater?

I agree that running the ICE is not an option. It would not quickly get me warm and then would not get fully warm itself which is yet another issue.

Electric heater coils get really hot. In just the wrong conditions there is a fire hazard and there will not be a person watching to quickly detect it. I suspect that Toyota engineers have given this rather careful thought, also.

If it really is a short trip, I will just wear gloves and a jacket.

 

They don't use electric heater coils.
PiP, Volt, Leaf and other EV's use PTC heaters, which is fire safe.

Ken@Japan

 

If it's sized right, 5 to 10 minutes of preconditioning should be enough to take the edge off in freezing weather. Single digits have been common here when I leave in the morning.

 

The one in the Volt isn't enough. I have seen complains about not enough heat even after preconditioning.

 

Thank you for your response Ken, but I am getting confused. I understood an earlier post by you to say that the PTC heater would not be standard in the PiP. Tideland posted that it was "just a supplemental heater for defrost and would not heat the car". Usbseawolf says that the Volt PTC heater is not adequate to warm the car.

Will my PiP (Advanced) have a PTC heater that can pre warm the car?

 

i canceled my order because of this "problem".i'm retired,just run around town,so every time i get in the car i would have to run the ICE to take the chill off,which defeats the purpose i would be buying the car for,to bad i was really looking forward to this car.how does the nissan leaf deal with problem?

 

Nissan will provide you with a voucher for some cigarette lighters, they call it, "heater on demand".

 

Couple of ways.
- You can preheat (using a smartphone app or from the web or set a timer)
- The heater generally starts being useful in about 2 minutes even after a cold start without any pre-heating

Ofcourse, you lose range if you are using the heater - but if you are using it for around the town (shorter than 60 mile trips), shouldn't be a problem.

 

it will have a ptc heater. it will not prewarm the car. you cannot turn it on until the car is made 'ready', and even if you could, it is so weak, it would not make a heck of a lot of difference. unfortunate. i'm thinking of slipping a 1500 watt ceramic heater in the drivers floor area and plugging it in an hour or so before leaving for the day.

 

I went back and reread the thread including Erica's comment. What you say seems to bundle it all up together.

The fact that the ICE provides heat from the exhaust, not the coolant, means quicker heat when it is used. The heated seats will help as many have said. The PTC heater may help with defrost if that is needed.

The bother of an added heater does not appeal to me. I hope it works for you.

I will still use a jacket and gloves for short trips when it is cold.

 

yes, i will do that also. and a hat. anything to prevent the ice coming on!

 

I posted the following in another thread but it is relevant here so I am posting here as well:

PiP warm up cycle is 34% faster (42 secs instead of 64 secs) than a normal Prius while maintaining SULEV emission.

Remember, PiP has the exhaust heat recovery system. The engine is not going to run all the time just because the heater is on. There is engine coolant temp thresholds that stops and starts the gas engine.

PiP will switch between blended and EV mode, that's all. It'll get the most out of the existing hardware and keep it simple.

 

i hear ya, but i want to wring every last drap out of a gallon of gas!

 

Yep. Me too. (I may also experiment with longer trips)!

When my wife drives the car, however, I'm sure the heat will be set to 78F!

 

exactly.

 

For my passenger, read: my wife, I'll be getting a 12v heated blanket.