A/C Cooling in Ignition ON Mode

I have tried dozens of times to get the 'Hold A/C' button on the fob to do something. So far, I have not had any positive results.

 

not sure what you mean by running the hybrid system, but if you charge the car up and make it ready, you can run the a/c without the engine coming on until the hybrid battery is depleted to hybrid mode.

 

Not sure about the Prime, but the Prius Hybrid AC runs when the car is in Ready mode (on and in Park), with the engine starting to charge the battery, as needed. Nice for camping the Southwest. Climate controlled sleeping pod for about $2 a night.

 

Yes.

 

yes, is it a problem?

 

In any other mode other than “ready” you use the 12v.

Ready mode puts the hv battery online.

Good luck with the learning curve on your new Prime .

 

One point to remember: the 12 volt batteries in the Prii are small and do not need the cranking amps like a normal 12 volt battery.

So they are usually smaller and drain faster. Some nice they are an odd ball size, they are more expensive to replace.

Good luck and keep us posted .

 

good point, and you have no choice with either model. but a full prime battery will give you a long time to learn your new car with no engine, and then take a break while plugging in again.

i bet the new heat pump a/c unit is more efficient than the regular electric a/c as well.

 

In my opinion, there is no danger running the ICE in an enclosed garage from the Ready mode. The amount of CO expelled by the Prius is very small when compared to the volume of a garage. It would never reach dangerous levels unless the garage were completely sealed, and even then the car would need to be left in the Ready mode for many days with all accesories on and the AC on max.

You say, NO!!!? Please show your calculations. I know from experience that a Prius Two (2016) like I own will consume about 1 gallon of gas in 10 hours sitting in the 100-degree-plus Mojave Desert (cooling me as I sleep after a day of weekend warfare on a motor cycle). The EPA has rated the CO emissions of the car. It's simple volumetric math. And the safety factor is in the porous nature of garage construction.

Keep in mind that CO accumulates near the ceiling.

 

The electric AC in the Prius is amazingly efficient and powerful. My sense is that it doesn't run off of the 12 volt, but the energy required is supplied by the traction battery THROUGH the 12 volt battery (mine is over 30 amp hours, if I remember), which acts as an accumulator. When the traction battery is depleted, the ICE starts to charge it. Of course, my sense may be wrong.

At least one Prius owner assembled an auxiliary battery in parallel with the 12 volt and also hooked to a solar panel. His observation was that this arrangement resulted in actual charging of the traction battery. Interesting stuff. I think his YouTube channel is something like, "Prius Stealth Camping." I lost interest after he ditched his hybrid and moved into a van.

 

remember that there's a (5 min? might be 10?) window that Toyota imposes on activation of the remote AC after the car has been turned off. It's meant to prepare the car, not to maintain it after shut off. As well it will only run for 10 minutes before shutting itself down.

I've had nothing but success running it from both the remote app (I have an advanced) as well as from the key-fob. If it's not working for you just take it back to the dealer and demand that they prove to you that it works (and consequently show you how) or fix it.

 

I have advocated, in other threads, that Toyota include a "pet mode" for the Prius. That mode would keep the AC running (maybe for a fixed maximum period, of say, one or two hours), but disable the car from movement. That way you could leave your "pet" (dog, cat, small child, alpaca, ex-spouse) in the car while you shop without worry. Signage on all sides would flash that the occupant inside was safe due to the energized state of the, "pet mode." An alternating message with a phone number would also flash on the sign, offering a discount if the buyer used the offer code, "pet mode." Sales to Millennials, older single women, and Subie owners of all ages would sky rocket!

 

Of course.
Ex-spouse, not so much.

 

prius a/c compressor is high voltage, and runs off of the hybrid battery. the 12v would be kept charged by the hv battery while in ready as it is being drained by a myriad of low voltage items.
in a lift back, the engine would keep a minimum charge in the hybrid battery while in park.

 

From the 2013 PiP owner's manual:

■ Auto power off function

If the vehicle is left in ACCESSORY mode for more than 20 minutes or ON mode (the hybrid system is not operating) for more than an hour with the shift position in P, the “POWER” switch will automatically turn off. However, this function cannot entirely prevent the 12-volt battery from discharging. Do not leave the vehicle with the “POWER” switch in ACCESSORY or ON mode for long periods of time when the hybrid system is not operating.

Edit to add:
I got interrupted and had to post before I was done. This clearly indicates that, for the PiP, the A/C will not run unless the car is in ready mode since it's powered by the high voltage side of things. I'm pretty sure all Prii are the same in that regard.