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Can 3.3kw charger be upgraded to 6.6kw on RAV4 Prime?

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6.6kw rav4 prime
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#21 ·
I had heard separately that the battery uses only 15kwh, 12 is definitely a conservative guess, even at that, owning a Prime in Hawaii is a bad idea. Unless you can find a way to get cheaper electricity, you're better off with a gas powered car there.
 
#22 ·
CyprusCorner said:
I had heard separately that the battery uses only 15kwh, 12 is definitely a conservative guess, even at that, owning a Prime in Hawaii is a bad idea. Unless you can find a way to get cheaper electricity, you're better off with a gas powered car there.
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You are probably right. I might have read 15kwh and thought 3kwh less than the full 18kwh and my "Brain" now remembers 30%... :rolleyes: . Number retention and simple math may fluctuate with caffeine levels :coffee::p

dp
 
#23 ·
PatsNotaGeek said:
Don't forget that gas with ethanol doesn't last as long as pure gas, got to use some gas. With the covid 19 restrictions I worried about the gas in my HV going bad.
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Pats,

No concerns

My full gas tank of 5 weeks is burning off and not by choice.

EV mode I am noticing more and more the ICE kicking on during my 27 mile commute.

This morning in EV mode 4% of the drive was using the ICE.

When I first filled the tank Aug 7th I could run straight EV mode but now the full tank is 5 weeks old and a couple miles are burned off during the commute daily.
 
#25 ·
Freeway driving 65 degrees 75 mph-80mph.
No different than other days. Just noticed it is kicking on more and I double checked “EV Mode” was reading on the dash not EV/HV or HV. It said EV mode and it kicked on a couple times and I did not exceed 84 limit

I know after so long it will tell you to add fresh fuel if you have not burned gas. I am beginning to think after so long without using gas it will kick on. Sure looks that way with me. Today it said I drive 4% in HV mode on my 27 mile commute.
 
#27 ·
RussC said:
Freeway driving 65 degrees 75 mph-80mph.
No different than other days. Just noticed it is kicking on more and I double checked “EV Mode” was reading on the dash not EV/HV or HV. It said EV mode and it kicked on a couple times and I did not exceed 84 limit

I know after so long it will tell you to add fresh fuel if you have not burned gas. I am beginning to think after so long without using gas it will kick on. Sure looks that way with me. Today it said I drive 4% in HV mode on my 27 mile commute.
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At those temperatures and constant speeds when the engine turns on, do you run the A/C in the car?

Why I ask: I know the battery is cooled via the A/C system, we're just not sure if it can cool the battery with the cabin A/C turned off (is it an all or nothing thing?). If that's the case, I wonder if your battery is getting too hot from driving at those high speeds for too long (maintaining 80mph on a highway is going to generate a ton of battery heat), a hot battery will start up the engine to protect it. 65 degrees ambient is usually the temp when I start leaving my A/C off.
 
#28 ·
RussC said:
Freeway driving 65 degrees 75 mph-80mph.
No different than other days. Just noticed it is kicking on more and I double checked “EV Mode” was reading on the dash not EV/HV or HV. It said EV mode and it kicked on a couple times and I did not exceed 84 limit

I know after so long it will tell you to add fresh fuel if you have not burned gas. I am beginning to think after so long without using gas it will kick on. Sure looks that way with me. Today it said I drive 4% in HV mode on my 27 mile commute.
Click to expand...
Maybe you hit 84mph for a second?
 
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#31 ·
GlitchKs said:
I live in Wichita Kansas.
Energy charge (per kWh)SummerWinter
Per first 500 kWh per month
$0.073512$0.073512
Per next 400 kWh per month
$0.073512$0.073512
Over 900 kWh per month
$0.081088$0.060089

so 15.4 Kw cost $1.24 to fill up the Rav4 Prime. That gets 40 miles.

So as long as gas is more than $1.24/gallon Electricity is cheaper here at least. Currently Gas is running on average $1.90 or if you are near a Sams and have a membership $1.72
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your not factoring in transmission charges if you have them
 
Discussion starter · #32 · (Edited)
japoki1982 said:
Just feel lucky. Out here in Hawaii average is over 30 cents/kwh (and I'm on the most populated Island. Some of the other remote islands are over 40 cents/kwh) and gas is currently around $3.15/gallon or so.

View attachment 156735

I believe Hawaii is the most saturated with residential solar....and you can see why.

Can someone explain to me if a plug in hybrid would make sense for me? I honestly don't know how to do the math. Our numbers are always so far out in left field compared to everyone else.
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Plug in doesn’t make sense for you at all unless you have rooftop solar and I don’t mean solar for water heaters that most have. Or unless you’re trying to be more green but at a cost out of your pocket. I found an amazing Hawaiian Electric ev calculator where you put in two cars and it looks at cost and yearly mileage and it calculates the time time to recover the plug in premium, and the rate of savings at which it does recover the premium. I put in a RAV4 hybrid vs RAV4 prime and it said no amount of time would recover the plug in premium bc it was more expensive for electricity. (The site does this using your daily mileage, ev range, mpg of each vehicle, marginal cost of local electricity and local gas costs. )
 
#33 ·
Wstt said:
Plug in doesn’t make sense for you at all unless you have rooftop solar and I don’t mean solar for water heaters that most have. Or unless you’re trying to be more green but at a cost out of your pocket. I found an amazing Hawaiian Electric ev calculator where you put in two cars and it looks at cost and yearly mileage and it calculates the time time to recover the plug in premium, and the rate of savings at which it does recover the premium. I put in a RAV4 hybrid vs RAV4 prime and it said no amount of time would recover the plug in premium bc it was more expensive for electricity.
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I think it’s hilarious when people say this. Speak in generalities and say what is good or not good for everybody that is. It’s laughable.
Every one is different, every family is different, everyone pays a different amount of electricity and gas. Just because (insert gas truck, diesel truck, hybrid, EV, PHEV) doesn’t make sense to you doesn’t mean it doesn’t make sense for anybody
 
#35 ·
It will be interesting when someone tries this. It makes total sense that the parts are mechanically interchangeable. Otherwise it would be like having two different models of the car.

The real question is what will the software/firmware do? On the one hand, Toyota could have made it very simple, where the "master" computer just querys for what's out there, and sets it all up. For instance, the the setting that controls the charge rate, and shows up on the dashboard, will have to be changed. On the other hand, the car might just not recognize it all, or maybe sees it at the same as before. Maybe it's a Dealer Upgrade. It's interesting that the TIS does not mention anything about the software, but maybe it's only intended to cover a 1:1 swap.

Not sure if anyone is following the John Deere saga, but they won't let anyone swap pretty much anything without a JD mechanic doing it and updating the software. Even a 1:1 swap. (anything with a plug, that is.)
 
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#36 ·
It doesnt look like I will be able to own an SE and an XSE as I previously posted. I still want to try this though.

I am trying to get a current version of Techstream. The V15 that I have does not support my Prime.

I have a friend who works inside Toyota. He has fed me some info and spec sheets. It doesnt look like it is a simple replace the charger solution. There are at least 2 other parts that are different. We cant say that it can be done without them. I really want to try this but it will cost money. My youtube channel doesnt make me enough money to do it out of pocket but I hope some day it will and I can.
 
#38 ·
I think the biggest issue with that is most public level 2 chargers I've seen only go up to around 6 to 7 kw speeds. And if you're charging at home, well, maybe the 10kw would be better for you.

But, I have to say that after comparing the cost to charge at home vs cost of gasoline and the Rav4 Prime's mpg efficiency on the HWY, we run the engine on ALL hwy driving and flip the EV mode when driving under 45 mph around town when the gas engine becomes inefficient and the EV efficiency shines. And then, we charge for free at nearby public chargers, and typically run errands while charging for free. This is where I'm glad we have the faster charger. I can fit in a jog or a bike ride while charging 2 hours. 4 would be pushing it.

The worst thing, though, about EV's is it's really not that cost competitive to drive vs gas vehicles unless you own a solar array or charge free. All of the paid level 2 chargers around me cost WAY more to charge than just getting a gallon of gas. The cheaper ones are around the cost of gas for me. California has its work cut out for the EV car mandate it has now.
 
#40 ·
japoki1982 said:
Just feel lucky. Out here in Hawaii average is over 30 cents/kwh (and I'm on the most populated Island. Some of the other remote islands are over 40 cents/kwh) and gas is currently around $3.15/gallon or so.

View attachment 156735

I believe Hawaii is the most saturated with residential solar....and you can see why.

Can someone explain to me if a plug in hybrid would make sense for me? I honestly don't know how to do the math. Our numbers are always so far out in left field compared to everyone else.
Click to expand...
Get solar. It would pay for itself so fast there.
 
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