1. Attachments are working again! Check out this thread for more details and to report any other bugs.

After 10 yrs... upgrade from 2004 to 2013 Prius Plug in

Discussion in 'Gen 1 Prius Plug-in 2012-2015' started by Swampthing, Dec 5, 2013.

  1. Swampthing

    Swampthing Junior Member

    Joined:
    Nov 29, 2003
    78
    12
    0
    Location:
    Manassas, VA
    Vehicle:
    2017 Prius Prime
    Model:
    Plug-in Advanced
    My Millennium silver 2004 Prius lasted through 207,000 miles without requiring any major work. However, electrical problems began showing up with my backlights out intermittently. Also needed some work on the emissions sensor and would never have passed they say (course I never had to pass in 10 years.)

    So I decided to upgrade, and settled on a 2013 Toyota Prius Plug-in Advanced from Koons Toyota in Tyson's Corner, VA. Barrod was a fantastic salesman, and has owned the car himself for over a year. They had exactly this model in clearwater blue and it runs just like a dream. Much quieter than my earlier Prius as well. Feels larger inside overall, but more cramped around the driver's side due to the raising of the center console.

    Had it since 27 November and been quite please. The Plug-in seems more like a gimmick at this point, since I really can only drive 13.9 miles on electric during the winter, but I guess it will shoot back up when the summer weather arrives next year.

    Right now I charge it each overnight using the charge timer, so the juice stops flowing after 4 hours. And finally synced up all my ENTUNE apps today.

    Any easter eggs with this car? I thought there was a 3D nav mode but can't figure out how to enable it. Has anyone tried plugging in around town?
     
  2. jfschultz

    jfschultz Active Member

    Joined:
    Mar 15, 2004
    635
    114
    0
    Location:
    Germantown, TN
    Vehicle:
    2013 Prius Plug-in
    Model:
    Plug-in Base
    I did the same about 6 months ago "smugeling" a base PiP into Tennessee from Carson Toyota in California. Same years and colors but with only 108,000 miles on the 2004. (I did check Richmond, VA dealers, but CA beat them by more than the shipping cost.)

    Though I miss some of the lost stoarage spaces, the Gen III's are an overall improvement.

    The navigation provides three view options, 2D heading up, 2D North up, and 3D. Instead of looking straing down, the 3D view is looking at an angle from above and behind the "car." Check your manual on how to enable it. It might be different on the Advanced than the base.
     
  3. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

    Joined:
    May 11, 2005
    107,571
    48,861
    0
    Location:
    boston
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius Plug-in
    Model:
    Plug-in Base
    congrats! cb is the best color.:) all the best!(y)
     
  4. markabele

    markabele owner of PiP, then Leaf, then Model 3

    Joined:
    Mar 27, 2012
    5,084
    1,782
    1
    Location:
    Nebraska
    Vehicle:
    2018 Tesla Model 3
    Model:
    N/A
    Welcome to the site! ;)


    Kidding of course. You've been around here longer than I've known what a Prius is.
     
  5. Swampthing

    Swampthing Junior Member

    Joined:
    Nov 29, 2003
    78
    12
    0
    Location:
    Manassas, VA
    Vehicle:
    2017 Prius Prime
    Model:
    Plug-in Advanced
    Yeah.... I just haven't posted in awhile. The whole structure of the board looks a lot different than when it first started.. lol.
     
  6. ny_rob

    ny_rob Senior Member

    Joined:
    Feb 28, 2012
    1,968
    813
    0
    Location:
    L.I.- NY
    Vehicle:
    Other Hybrid
    Model:
    N/A
    Trust me- the plug-in isn't a gimmick!
    I traded in my 2012 Prius Five for a 2012 PIP in Oct of 2012.
    I owned the Five for 8 months- my lifetime mpg was 50.3mpg.
    Driving the same route, and the same work schedule with the PIP, my lowest monthly mpg has been 84mpg (Feb 2013) , my highest was 117mpg (for August 2013).
    We're talking serious mpg improvement over the standard Prius... :)
     
    retired4999 and usbseawolf2000 like this.
  7. Mark__

    Mark__ New Member

    Joined:
    Dec 7, 2013
    5
    9
    0
    Location:
    Texas
    Vehicle:
    2013 Prius c
    Model:
    Two
    >I owned the Five for 8 months- my lifetime mpg was 50.3mpg.
    How many miles between charging?
     
  8. Michael33

    Michael33 Member

    Joined:
    Sep 7, 2010
    372
    62
    0
    Location:
    Upstate NY
    Vehicle:
    2013 Prius Plug-in
    Model:
    Plug-in Base
    The car is designed to use both stored (electrical) energy and gasoline to get high MPG, not to function as an EV beyond short trips. You can get the high MPG two ways: just recharge it and then drive it in Hybrid Mode; the car will use the extra energy as needed to boost economy. Recharge again as needed. You can also manually select EV mode when in cities and other low-speed, level-road situations, and the average between the EV and hybrid driving will be surprisingly high. To get the best MPG (and more heat inside) in Winter, block just the lower section of the grille with pipe wrap, leaving the upper section open to cool the inverter. The engine will run less often and your economy will improve.

    One more tip: when on a long downhill stretch of road, switch to EV mode, and the energy recovered will be allocated to EV range, boosting that range.


     
  9. JMD

    JMD 2012 Prius 4 Solar Roof

    Joined:
    Oct 11, 2012
    3,779
    1,282
    0
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius
    Model:
    Four
    Congrats !

    Amazing testimonial on the Prius 10 years over 200,000 miles and no major problems. Bought another.
     
  10. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

    Joined:
    May 11, 2005
    107,571
    48,861
    0
    Location:
    boston
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius Plug-in
    Model:
    Plug-in Base
    as do i.:cool:
     
  11. usbseawolf2000

    usbseawolf2000 HSD PhD

    Joined:
    Sep 22, 2004
    14,487
    2,994
    0
    Location:
    Fort Lee, NJ
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius Plug-in
    Model:
    Plug-in Base
    Plugin is no gimmick.

    From my full year of data, my EV efficiency beat Leaf and HV efficiency beat a regular Prius, for my driving condition.

    132 MPGe electric fuel economy.
    56 MPG gas fuel economy.

    PiP cut down my gas consumption by nearly half. I also reduced my carbon footprint.
     
  12. CharlesH

    CharlesH CA HOV Decal #5 on former PiP

    Joined:
    Nov 27, 2005
    2,783
    1,151
    0
    Location:
    Roseville, CA
    Vehicle:
    2017 Prius Prime
    Model:
    Prime Advanced
    This technique is a gimmick to get big EV numbers on the display, but doesn't do anything for fuel economy. It essentially causes the energy produced by the ICE to climb the hill to be allocated to EV when regeneration recovers it on the way down.
     
  13. markabele

    markabele owner of PiP, then Leaf, then Model 3

    Joined:
    Mar 27, 2012
    5,084
    1,782
    1
    Location:
    Nebraska
    Vehicle:
    2018 Tesla Model 3
    Model:
    N/A
    That technique can be useful at time and is definitely not a gimmick. It allows for higher speed gliding than you could get in HV. It also allows the skillful hypermiler to choose when he or she think the EV is used best. In most scenarios you are right though.
     
  14. CharlesH

    CharlesH CA HOV Decal #5 on former PiP

    Joined:
    Nov 27, 2005
    2,783
    1,151
    0
    Location:
    Roseville, CA
    Vehicle:
    2017 Prius Prime
    Model:
    Prime Advanced
    You are quite right that you want to be in EV mode so you can go faster without the ICE kicking in. I think the maximum speed in HV mode is around 32MPH, but 62MPH in EV mode. And wanting to control better when the battery vs the ICE is used to use the optimal power source in a given situation. What I was thinking of as a "gimmick" is using this technique to game the EV miles display.
     
  15. Michael33

    Michael33 Member

    Joined:
    Sep 7, 2010
    372
    62
    0
    Location:
    Upstate NY
    Vehicle:
    2013 Prius Plug-in
    Model:
    Plug-in Base
    That would be an accurate description if you didn't actually get more EV range by using downhills to add miles. Since you do in fact get more EV range, then it still isn't a "gimmick." Give up, already! ;-)
     
  16. ny_rob

    ny_rob Senior Member

    Joined:
    Feb 28, 2012
    1,968
    813
    0
    Location:
    L.I.- NY
    Vehicle:
    Other Hybrid
    Model:
    N/A
    The "Five" is a regular (non-plug-in) Prius. No plug-in charging capability.
     
  17. CharlesH

    CharlesH CA HOV Decal #5 on former PiP

    Joined:
    Nov 27, 2005
    2,783
    1,151
    0
    Location:
    Roseville, CA
    Vehicle:
    2017 Prius Prime
    Model:
    Prime Advanced
    I'm not ready to give up. If you are using energy from the ICE to climb a hill, and then on the downhill converting the potential energy to electric charge in the battery, and then using that charge in EV mode, in my opinion it's dishonest to say you have extended your EV range. All you have done is charge the battery with the ICE in a roundabout way and gotten a bigger EV number on the display.
     
  18. usbseawolf2000

    usbseawolf2000 HSD PhD

    Joined:
    Sep 22, 2004
    14,487
    2,994
    0
    Location:
    Fort Lee, NJ
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius Plug-in
    Model:
    Plug-in Base
    PiP regen brakes are superior. Not only it can store more, it can also take it at a faster rate. This benefit from bigger battery isn't a gimmick.

    I think the discussion above is wether if the extra brake energy would be wasted (in pad) or spnning the ICE in a regular Prius but not in PiP.
     
  19. Swampthing

    Swampthing Junior Member

    Joined:
    Nov 29, 2003
    78
    12
    0
    Location:
    Manassas, VA
    Vehicle:
    2017 Prius Prime
    Model:
    Plug-in Advanced
    Bit of a small problem.... had a serious car crash - self not inured - due to jackass swerving on the snow in PA on the turnpike. My car rammed into a guard rail and he zipped off, recovering his slide. My car... initially the damage was $6K, but after they inspected the engine, the costs ran over $20K and GEICO totaled the car. So my short life with a 2013 Toyota Prius Plug-in Advanced Clearwater Blue is completely over...

    On the positive side, the dealership was able to secure me a new 2014 Toyota Prius Plug-in Advanced Blizzard Pearl. The new Advanced model drops several features like auto-leveling LED headlights, collision system detection, and the radar/cruise control is also completely gone. Tried to get these all added, but it isn't possible at this point. But the price point dropped a few thousand dollars as well...
     
  20. jdk2

    jdk2 Active Member

    Joined:
    Mar 6, 2010
    751
    219
    0
    Location:
    Raleigh, NC
    Vehicle:
    2013 Prius Plug-in
    Model:
    Plug-in Advanced
    Sorry to hear about the accident. It's odd no one has the advanced model with the technology package available. It's been mentioned that it will become available but I wonder what the hold up is?

    Sounds like you made out well and no injuries is always a plus. All the best going forward.