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Toasty car while plugged in?

Discussion in 'Prime Main Forum (2017-2022)' started by John roden, Nov 26, 2021.

  1. John roden

    John roden Member

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    I sort of asked this the other day but I still have not figured out an approach yet. My question is if the car is parked and plugged in is there any way to allow it to defrost and warm up for a while? Seems like I have to unplug. I have not had any success using the app.
     
  2. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    you have to unplug, a major complaint which many thought would be fixed in the prime from the pip.
     
  3. John roden

    John roden Member

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    Thanks, sometimes I go to a local park and do stuff and it would be nice to have it plugged in to the free charger and staying warm
     
  4. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    see if the manual says anything about electric pre heating while plugged in. it might allow the battery and heat pump to run if it isn't too cold.
     
  5. John roden

    John roden Member

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    I wonder if I can put it into ready mode unplugged, lock the doors and walk away with the key in my pocket? I have not tried that yet
     
  6. GSK

    GSK Active Member

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    I don't understand the issue. Can't you just either use the key fob or better than that, the app? With the app you can turn on the heat and both defrosters for up to 20 min.
     
  7. MalachyNG

    MalachyNG Active Member

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    The heat pump is only so good down to about 32f/0c, then it isn't able to keep up very well and won't heat if it's below 14f/-10c. It also only runs the vents and defrost so you can't preheat the seat heaters or steering wheel heater either.

    I understand the reasoning, if the car is plugged in you don't want the engine running to potentially go into gear with the cord connected, or to fill an attached garage with exhaust that could escape into a house and poison the owners. But plenty of folks use remote start without poisoning themselves all the time.

    You can buy a remote start for the prime but the car will not go into ready mode if the charging cord is still attached. It will only turn on in an acc type mode for something like 60 seconds then shut off again. So the only way to use a traditional remote start system is to unplug the car. Surely Toyota could engineer a way to run a preheat cycle in winter similar to a remote start system with fail-safes so the car can't go into gear with the charger attached. If I remember my last remote start the car shut off when I opened the door or pressed the brake.
     
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  8. Salamander_King

    Salamander_King Senior Member

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    In a milder climate where winter temp stays above 32F, the climate conditioning will take care of the warm cabin. And I suppose if you really need to defrost at that temp, it will blow warmed air to the windshield. But it is not possible to start the engine while the car is plugged in. You can install an aftermarket engine starter, and if the car is not plugged in and if there is no traction battery charge left, then the engine can be started remotely.

    You can, but do it at your own risk. Anyone can break the window and steal your car. If it is left in READY mode, then the car can be driven without a key fob. Of course, as soon as someone without a key fob stops the car, then it will not start again.
     
  9. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    I suppose 20 minutes of something is better than nothing
     
  10. Salamander_King

    Salamander_King Senior Member

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    The climate pre-condiotninig either by APP or by the fob will only use traction battery and heat pump to heat. This is not enough heat to melt thick ice on the windshield at a temperature well below 32F. Without being able to start the engine, heat pump only climate pre-conditioning was never enough heat in my climate where winter temp does not usually get above 32F. If the temp is above 32F, then I rarely need heat or defrost. That's why I have given up on the use of climate pre-conditioning and remote app.
     
  11. John roden

    John roden Member

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    I just want it for real cold days. I like warming the car while I run the snow thrower then it's nice and cozy.

    I have had zero luck with the app. My son got it going with his iphone, we are both on Verizon but the signal is weak
     
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  12. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    is the car parked outside?
     
  13. John roden

    John roden Member

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    Yes
     
  14. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    why not unplug and start it?
     
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  15. John roden

    John roden Member

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    That's what I figured I'd do. I just was smitten with the idea of a free warmup using shore power.

    Thanks for the info, I'm learning lots on this forum.
     
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  16. eow

    eow Member

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    I will be experiencing extreme cold later in the winter so I have been experimenting with start up routines since buying our 2022. What seems to work best for my situation is the following.
    I setup a charge cycle based on departure but do not schedule preconditioning since it is not effective at the my temperatures and I am not consistent in my departure time.
    My routine when departing is unplugging, start the vehicle and once in ready mode, I select the front windshield defrost. At temperatures below 0 C, the ICE comes on as does the blower on high. If the exterior of the windows are frosted, I scrape them off.
    I start my drive with the defrost / ICE running and continue for the 1 km on residential streets and then 3 km on a 80 km/hr roadway. By this time the cabin is toasty and I am back onto 60 and 50 km/hr roadways. I turn off the front windshield defrost by selecting auto and if the temperature is warm enough, it will go into EV mode. If not warm enough, it will stay in hybrid mode longer. The transition seems to be between -10 and -20C. Colder than -20C and it will stay in hybrid mode.
    I found that by running the ICE while cold and on the 80km/hr roadway, not only is the cabin warmer, but I am not depleting the traction battery at a high rate. I then have enough battery charge available to make it the rest of the way to work and all the way back in the afternoon on EV only. I travel 18km each way to and from work. And the worst fuel consumption rate has been 1.8 l/100 km on a round trip so far. But will get worse as temps fall. At -30C the ICE may keep running the entire time.

    iPhone ?
     
    #16 eow, Nov 27, 2021
    Last edited: Nov 27, 2021
  17. Salamander_King

    Salamander_King Senior Member

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    We just had our first snow. Not much accumulation but overnight temp dropped just below 32F (0C) and rain changed to light snow in the morning. I had my PP parked outside. It was covered with rain turned to ice then light snow. The car was plugged in to charge, but the HVAC was set to off position. This morning, after unplugging the car, I turned it on and set the HVAC to MAX fan speed 70F, AC ON (not AUTO), then turned off the car. The auto-wiper came on but ice and frozen snow could not be removed by the wiper alone.

    upload_2021-11-27_13-19-23.png

    Using the fob remote AC, I turned on the HVAC at the above setting. 10 min was not enough, I did another 10 min. Some snow and ice were left on the windshield but it was soft enough that I could use the wiper to remove most chunks. I did not have to use an ice-scraper.

    upload_2021-11-27_13-22-8.png

    At 32F (0C), light ice and snow can be defrosted with 2 cycles of heat pump only HVAC set to max fan speed at 70F. 2 full cycles of remote AC used 8% of SoC. I was left with 92% traction battery SoC for my morning drive. During my total ~30miles of drive, the engine did not come on until I run out of the EV range after ~18 miles with HVAC set to the lowest fan speed at 70F. Extrapolated EV range for 100% SoC would be ~21 miles which is what I expect in wintertime, but a huge drop from 35 miles EV range I was getting just a few months ago.

    This was just an experiment to see how effective the heat pump is at 32F (0C). I know as a fact when the temp drops well below 32F (0C) which is most of the winter in our region, the heat pump alone is just not effective to defrost thick ice and snow and keep the inside cabin toasty.
     
    #17 Salamander_King, Nov 27, 2021
    Last edited: Nov 27, 2021