Why so many unsold 2017 Prime models ?

Not trying to be a smart @ss: just don't consider it a problem? Something has to give in winter: if you want to stay warm.

 

Buy a BEV.

The Prime has a multi-thousand dollar engine with attending systems under the hood. In areas that don't have winter temperatures, it will fire up to burn off aging gasoline and circulate lubricants. Better that than let the engine just sit.

PHEVs don't have the drawbacks of a BEV, but they do have their own drawbacks. Engine use is one of them.

 

there are mitigations and work arounds. search through the prime threads for helpful tips.

generally, speed, acceleration, front defrost, charging outside and many other triggers can be avoided if one is so inclined.

 

I think some of the complaints are from people who are using ICE several times a week and who already go through a tank of gas every month or two, but then when they go down to the corner grocery store with a full charge ICE still comes on. Sure it's not really a huge problem, like if someone in a movie theater is talking but you can still hear the movie, it's easy for someone to say just ignore it. But it affects your enjoyment of the movie. In a similar way it seems that for many PHEV owners (not just Prime) the enjoyment of their car is affected when ICE seems to come on for no apparent reason. Yes as you mentioned there could at times be valid reasons for it to come on, in that case maybe a little message could pop up explaining why ICE is on even though you are in EV mode. If it's just about cabin heat, maybe rather than turn on ICE it should just pop up a message letting you know that if you want more heat you will need to switch to HV. Of course there will be people who will find messages annoying and are happy with whatever the car wants to do, so ideally these type of messages could be turned on or off in the settings.

 

well said

 

I'm not sure I understand the problem. I, too, am in the Boston area and drive a lot of short trips of under five or ten miles from home. The Prime did fine all last winter. I used the ICE in HV mode only on a couple of longer trips (which would have been true regardless of the season) and on a few occasions when it was bitterly cold and/or snowing and I needed to de-ice the windshield.

With three days left in this month of October, it's very likely we'll be completing the month as 100% EV only.

This winter I am planning to be less focused on EV range and more willing to run the ICE for the creature comfort of a heated cabin. Even so, based on last winter's experience, I may have no EV-only months, but I'll still be running in EV mode for the vast majority of my usual short trips.

 

don't you get a heated cabin down to 14 degrees without the ice?

 

Yes, but the heat-pump very quickly depletes the battery. This is a double-whammy because the traction battery range is already reduced because of the cold ambient temperature.

So, unless you're trip duration is brief, the ICE comes into play.

I am resigned to the fact that my ECO-dashboard sheep will be going south for the winter.

 

If you don't mind me asking, how much negative equity did you have? I'm currently about $4,000 in the hold, but my V is getting up there in miles too, lol.