Plug-In battery life?

I have never used L2 or any other EVSE outside of the one that came with the car. Unless Kill-a-Watt meter reading is off, my nightly charge, almost always from zero EV left to full charge, has been 6.4-6.8 kWh with average ~6.6kWh. Almost all of them are without using any climate prep. That's about 10% efficiency loss compared to your L2. The picture shown was from Kill-a-Watt meter after overnight charging 2 days ago. The meter was reset to zero before charging. I usually keep it as cumulative kWh for the entire refuel cycle to add the cost of electricity used for the miles driven during that cycle.

 

You know that's not the case based on the dozens of videos I've published all starting at 100% usable.

 

My prime is about 28kmi /1.6y From no ev left to fully charged, depending how low i can get the battery discharged in hv before plugging at 6A/240vac, the openevse reads 6.0 to 6.3 kWh. This high discharge is rare though. I recall i have always had values in this range after the battery was 1 month old ish. I keep the charging option to 8 amp max in the settings most of the time (unless i need the charge quicker) and always park in a shaded garage at home/work in Tennessee. I get 32 mi on the guessometer these spring days. With 19 mi of trip each way at 62 mph max. Not sure it cab actually do the 32 mi but pretty close.

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Yes, I have read in many other threads here reporting the full charge by L2 EVSE is 6.1-6.3kWh. While it is possible my Kill-A-Watt meter is off, there are some others who use L1 EVSE and reported ~6.5kWh for a full charge. I discussed this difference between L2 and L1 in this thread too. How Much Does it Cost to Charge? | PriusChat I believe ~10% more kWh is needed to fully charge by L1 EVSE compared to L2 EVSE.

 

As others of us in cold climates have noted, this is normal. I see no more than about 20 miles EV in winter, and about 35 in summer. 2018 Prime with 4K on the odometer.

 

Yap. Average winter EV range for me is also ~20 miles. In Jan and Feb, I am lucky if I can get 18 miles. The heater kills EV range. But even without a heat, which I tried several times during winter, the EV range still suffers a major loss during cold days. My summertime average EV range is probably slightly less than 30 miles. My longest EV range has been 36.7 miles, did twice in the past. Here is my data from the last Oct. The first 4 columns are from the Eco Log. "Ave EV Range" is the GOM display (without AC). The "Actual EV Range" is the empirical measurements of the actual distance run on EV mode (mostly to depletion, but a few days with a partial EV use) and the actual reading off a wall Kill-A-Watt meter for kWh used for charging to full.

 

another one hit wonder?

 

Apparently

 

Here is a chart, from when I used to commute, showing EV miles achieved by temperature.

Edit: This was when I used up all EV on the AM commute then used HV for the ride home. Commute was 36 miles each way. Made it to work a few times on EV only.

 

just wondering if during your winter testing you had the battery heater activated in the prime pc menu. I have tried with/without it at 32-35 F outside temp and had ~20 % more range with it on. Cheers

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The battery heater is only in use when the battery is charging.

 

Great linear distribution. Are they all without heat/AC? Also, are they real EV range you recorded or reading from GOM? Extrapolating the line, @10F you are still getting ~22 miles, but at that temp ICE will come on even with full charge if the heat is on. In fact, at lower in single digit and sub-zero temp, my experience has been the ICE come on even if heat is set to OFF.

I never changed or checked the setting for the "battery heater". I always thought the default is ON unless customized, unlike the "battery cooler" which default is "OFF" unless you check yes when the pop-up shows up. Humm, I have to check the setting. I am pretty sure it is set to "ON", but thanks for reminding me. As suggested above, the "traction battery heater" function works automatically when the car is plugged-in and only applies during charging. If you saw 20% reduction in EV range with heater off, I wonder it is because the charging does not get completely???



Edit: I just checked my car setting on the "Traction battery heater". It was set to "ON". I never changed this setting, so it has been always set to ON all the time since I got the car. So, my reduction of EV range during colder months is with this "Traction battery heater" enabled.

 

All data points are without heat/AC and they are all recorded, no GOM. The ICE never came on for me until EV was depleted. I don't use heat in the winter and the morning commute didn't require AC as it never was above 80°. That line you are referring to was 15° and I got 24.6 miles EV that day.

 

I was extrapolating the line (i.e. extending the linear line beyond your data set to the y-axis crossing point). Your data is very solid for showing the effect of ambient temperature on EV ranges.


I wish we have those 70 and 80-degree morning temperatures here. Then again, I can't stand being hot, so if it gets that warm, I would be blasting the AC. My commute is 18 miles one way, and since I have no charging at work if EV range gets longer than 18 miles it has to be continued to afternoon return home. Our morning and afternoon temperature difference can be >20F easily making my results not as good as your morning commuting data.

 

Oh, ok, gotcha.

During the warm spring days you can almost make the whole commute. With just a few miles of ICE.

 

Yes, I have had twice and only twice in the last 21 months of my PRIME ownership, I did complete commute of 37 miles by EV only. Even during warmer months, often the EV range runs out a few miles short of getting home. During those days, the distance I have to run on HV is so short every day (1-5 miles top), I am wondering if that is bad for the ICE and exhaust system rusting for the long term. It is akin to having an ICE car and driving it only 1-5 miles a day, sometimes not having enough miles to even complete the warm-up cycle. Of course, during my colder months and when I take my car for long drives, I burn enough gas. So, it is not like I am doing this a year around. At most 3-4 months out of the year, but I still wonder if it is better to burn gas to complete at least the warm-up cycle.

 

When the ICE kicks on, so you notice any start up knock or rough transition?

I’m considering an OCC on our Prime for that reason.

But I’ll know more of location once I have the Prime up on the lift and the splash shield “Tupperware” removed.

 

What is "OCC"?
Yeah, EV to HV transition sometimes feel rough. But for my driving, it often happens at ~30 mph, so its not so bad.

 

Oil Catch Can.

It’s currently a Gen3 thing, but could be a Gen4 thing.

Once up on the lift, I’ll take a look and probably buy one and install it.

 

Humm, I've seen many "oil catch can" threads in Gen3 forum, but never spent much time reading them. What does it do to a car or more specifically to the startup knock or rough transition for HV drive?

Edit: I searched PC. This thread seems to be the one I should read: Oil Catch Can, Eliminate that knock! | PriusChat
Also pertaining to Gen4 and OCC, I will follow this thread: Oil Catch Can (aka Air-Oil Separator)? | PriusChat