Found in Owner's Manual

pp. 492 - "Location of air outlets" shows two under the front seats pointed at the air inlets for the traction battery. I would be much happier if the control laws would support unattended operation of these two outlets when running the A/C to cool the traction battery. This would improve the efficiency of cooling the battery without fighting that big bubble of hot air in the cabin.

Bob Wilson

 

Kind of a puzzle, I was trying to figure out the equipment on our newly bought Prius Prime:

1. PDF description from the seller
2. Toyota VIN decoder
3. Photo of Monroney sticker

The one hard requirement, the TSS-P (or whatever the latest name is for dynamic cruise control and collision avoidance.)

PDF description from the seller

So far, so good. The safety feature is there and the additional nuisance additions were acceptable, $438. Still the car met my primary requirements and I am happy. Just the "13 set. MPG-e" seemed a little low. No problem, I'll look it up in the various EPA web sites . . . Wth! Where is it?

Toyota VIN Decoder - JTDKARFP7H3001591

Ok, so this site is a front for several for-fee services. Just the data formatting seems a little ... strange. Not a whole lot of extra details. But I did find the city, 55 MPG, and highway, 53 MPG.

Monroney sticker photo


Ok, somewhat redundant, at least the equipment list and options are there.


Now why can't the EPA have this on their web site and the data too?

Now what motivated this search was the Decatur car had the navigation option which I don't see in my new car. Worse, the Owner's Manual goes to great lengths to describe the data recording capabilities but nothing about how an owner can read it out themselves. Fortunately there are solutions, a combination GPS and dash cam:

• Garmin nuviCam LMTHD 6" Touchscreen GPS with Built-in Dash Cam
• Magellan RoadMate 6230-LM Dashcam Navigator

I have experience with Garmin nuvi that allows me to read the GPS recorded XML file. But it is about $100 more expensive than the Magellan. Right now, I'm thinking of getting the Magellan and making sure I can return it with 30-60 days. If I'm able to see the GPS recorded data, problem solved. If not, return it with my thanks.

The Garmin also has lane keep assist and collision avoidance warning that may explain the higher price. But these are already provided by the TSS-P package.

Now I remember the angst folks had with the Gen-1 Prius, GPS option, and trying to get map updates ... horrible! Both the Garmin and Magellan have life-time map updates. Worse, the Prius Prime Owner's Manual does not tell us how to extract the same data I can with these after market products. So I can pay more and get less with the Toyota GPS and deal with their proprietary collision data option. <gerrrrr>

So between $200-300, I'll get a removable, GPS, dash cam, with free map updates. Now I won't have the Toyota navigation update to the car clock but I've never had that anyway. Worse, without a way to extract the data I want from the Toyota system at any time, Toyota is taunting me.

Bob Wilson