I'm trying to remember- I think this was in your other thread... I seem to recall that the dashboard was giving you a basic neport on solar charging, and also, separately, the current state-of-charge. What are you actually observing lately? If it were my car, I might try an experiment- park it in the dark for a few days. Or at least cover the solar roof with a tarp or something. See if that shows different data.
That have me thinking the dealer has confused the gen5 solar with the gen3's(US gen4 didn't get it). Did you call Toyota?
It all depends on the angle of the sun hitting the roof of your car. If the panel isn't generating enough juice to power the control electronics - it remains OFF; otherwise it would slowly drain your batteries; because you'll be running at a deficit. The power needed to run the controllers needs to come from someplace and it's programmed not to draw it from your on-board batteries. Then you would be complaining about the solar panel is draining your batteries. The engineers KNOW what they are doing! If you REALLY understood the difference between a stationary household solar unit and your mobile panel; why did you bring it up and tried to make a comparison? Just because there's enough light for your eyeballs to see, doesn't mean that there is enough direct sunlight to activate your mobile panel. The only way to tell is to place a sensor in the middle of your panel. Tilting the car so that the car roof is perpendicular to the sun would also help.
I might rather have, like, trailer jacks built into the car ... you park it, and get out, and then it tips itself up to the right angle. Of course, in winter, you might need guy wires to keep it from blowing over.
I've got the solar roof and reside at a latitude nearly the same as LA and yes, it does generate electricity in the winter. Absolutely less in the winter for all the obvious stated reasons just as is the case if the glass isn't kept optically clean and free from anything on it just like a fine pair of eyeglasses.I don't focus or even care about "miles" because that is just a vague calculation that goes into what some appropriately call the Guess-O-Meter when it comes to how the Prius calculates EV miles. I've come to realize the solar roof is first and foremost helping maintain your 12 volt battery and assists in powering the computers, communications and security systems that use that 12 volt power especially when the vehicle is off. That's a fantastic benefit which doesn't directly add miles but indirectly it does by not having it come out of your main traction battery when you do start the vehicle and it has to waste energy trying to keep your 12 volt battery maintained. And yes, electricity generated by the solar roof when the vehicle is off and under the right conditions will also go directly to the main traction battery too if conditions permit. So if I want to know if your solar roof is actually collecting and converting solar energy please simply look for the number of Energy/Watts it produces which can be done from the Multimedia display where it's an option to see that value in real-time. The most you might ever see is 185 watts and it'll be substantially less this time of year. Go try it out and see for yourself. Park in a different orientation, put a couple leafs on the roof and you'll likely see how sensitive it is to such things. It's a great a thing that Toyota software with this generation of solar roof has all that data coursing through its vehicle network and has a way to display those watts. I think you'll find you won't see zero in looking at it this way.
Most of the recent discussion here seems to be about seasons- that my solar roof is not working because it is winter? Possible, although none of the documentation nor articles (as the one I linked to at Is The Prius Prime's Solar Roof Worth The Extra Cost?) say that. And it stopped working well before winter, in September or October, here in sunny southern california. (Where it can be sunnier in Fall than in Summer)Not working at all, as far as not adding any EV miles from being parked multiple days in the bright sun. But I won't deny that that seasonal hypothesis could be correct? (One other solar charging roof owner has said that his also has not worked lately. Would be good to hear from others as well? Any other solar roof owners here?) However, that is not what I heard from the dealership. I was told that their test shows it worked fine. And that it is not supposed to add EV miles, but only trickle charge accessories, etc. I know that not to be true, because it used to add EV miles for me, and that is even stated in the manual (as I quoted somewhere above). (Not to mention the article above.) No matter how many times I told the rep that, she did not listen to me. She wrote that they could not duplicate my concern. (Of course they duplicated it, as they had it parked in the sun, and the EV miles did not increase.) (BTW, nothing was mentioned about winter.) So my question is where to go from here? I am unhappy that my concerns and info were ignored. I understand that most service departments will not be familiar with the solar charging roof. (A concern I expressed in my original post to his discussion.) Yet since the car is covered by warranty, it is their obligation to research it to find out what is going on, not just dismiss my concern. Any suggestions on what to do now, who to appeal to, etc.? Thank you in advance.
I find it quite plausible that the solar roof is contributing power, but outside of full summer it's only just enough to backfill the 12v system against standby losses while parked. It could still be contributing a little to the traction pack, but knowing how vague the EV range readout is it might be that it's never crossing the threshold of incrementing to another mile or percentage point added. I'm in agreement with LRO that it would be best to check the multimedia display to see the actual generation results, and then possibly attempt to influence them by covering the roof or changing the parking position just to get a feel for sensitivity.
What does the BM2 battery monitor show if you park the car on a slope with the roof facing the sun around noon? That will tell you if the solar charger is active.
Yes, I have seen that multimedia display that says it is charging. But what use is that if it does not add any charge? So question to you. You say it does generate electricity in the winter. Do you actually see an increase in the amount of EV miles left? (Or percentage of charge, if you have it set to show charge in percentage rather than miles?) Or only show charge on that multimedia display? As I am not able to plug the car in where I live now, but my parking space is outside in the sun, that roof was important to me to increase drivable electric miles, (besides sometimes charging at a charging station.) To me, seeing something on a display showing something about charging is meaningless if it does not actually add to the drivable miles. (Which it certainly did for the first couple months of ownership, then stopped.) So question to you once again- now, in the winter, do you see an increase in EV miles or percentage left? Or only that listing on the multimedia display? Thank you.
Yep, wash the car and park it so that the front of the vehicle, where the solar roof is pointed, faces south. I asked the OP to report the voltage on the BM2 battery monitor under the sun, but he never replied. Here is a cool video of a silver Gen 5 Prius PHEV with the solar roof. If I had money, I would get one. LOL
So the short answer is no I don't see the miles increase these winter months when looking at the right bottom corner of the MID display which I can only guess is where you are looking for the miles to go up when you say "main display". All your solar panel can do is convert sunlight to electricity and electrically that's expressed in watts so that's what I look at if I want to know if the solar panel is working and at what level it is. Beyond that it's Toyota's mysterious software and some other components that directs where that energy is best used. It doesn't just go to making "miles". Sounds like your panel is working too but not like it did when solar energy was so much more powerful some months ago. But to me that's completely normal this time of year. I'm sure your local news/weather doesn't issue warnings this time of year either to avoid the sun and it's UV radiation like it surely would from say MAY-SEP when those that might get sunburn would care to know. It may be sunny in California but that's not enough this time of year when the sun is always at such a low angle and glances off the panel. For that solar panel to really generate substantial power it pretty much requires a direct overhead hit on the solar panel for electricity to be really taken in and charge the traction battery too. If you've never had any 12 volt battery issues you should perhaps thank your solar roof for making that happen because with as few miles as you've travelled I think it's saved you many frustrations. Please consider the fact that when your car is using its solar generated power to help power your vehicles 12 volt electronics that run 24x7 and keep that little 12 volt battery charged that it is doing so using what you call "miles" to get done.
In the YouTube video I posted above, at the 8:38 time mark, you can see that both the watt–hours and miles can be displayed for every day. I wonder if the OP isn't looking at this but at the BEV-range guess-o-meter instead, which wouldn’t be reliable.
I know you would as it's a nice feature to have given all I've seen you comment on related to 12 volt issues. And, like I said kudo's to Toyoto for offering the real-time stats which isn't shrouded in any mystery to me. There's even another graphic display on this model that shows the familiar to every Prius engine/battery/wheel regen activity which also includes the solar panel too. I'm happy to have it primarily as I like the look of it and the fact that it gives me a nice clean insulated headliner with a bit more headroom by not having the sliding shade the glass roof has. But I'll accept the free miles when the earth and sun cooperate and the 12 volt system BMS is first on the list of priorities.
