Home made plug in?

The charger you would need is astronomically expensive. I think the US dealer network share 2 of them.

 

The gen 1 Prius (1997 - 2001) were all fitted with chargers.

 

Slightly off subject, but still related to the traction battery and it's state of charge, our 03 Civic Hybrid had a 12 volt starter, just in case the charge in the big battery was too low to start the engine. Near the end of the five years we owned it, the 12 v starter did get used a few times because the traction battery was getting a little flakey. I have always thought that it would be nice if the Prius had the same arrangement.

 

No need, the Prius battery is engineered to last the life of the car. Oh, it's a Toyota.


Anyone got some more of that coolaid?

 

I wasn't badmouthing the Prius..Notice that I have had a Prius for two years and it is far superior to the Civic. I wouldn't go back for anything. In Feb. of 07 I had my 05 Avalon in for some warranty work (replacement of the steering shaft) and they loaned me a Prius for the day. When I went back to turn in the Prius and pick up the Avalon, the rental car manager asked me how I liked the Prius compared to the Civic Hybrid. I told him that there was no comparison and if I could get a good enough deal that I would trade. To make a long story short, in less than two weeks I had a new Prius and the Civic had another owner.

 

The reason they all add batteries is because the capacity of the factory battery is actually pretty low if you want to power the car on EV. On a fully charged battery, you are probably only going to get 1 or 2 miles of range at best. I tend to think of the traction battery as a energy buffering device rather than a sole power source for the car.

The one mile range may work for your situation, but wouldn't be all that useful for most, so the PHEV conversions add battery capacity to give better range.