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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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Discussion starter · #41 ·
jimbo69ny said:
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
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Jimbo, I think it’s even more hilarious when people make comments like yours, criticizing a comment without even reading the whole comment they are criticizing and also not reading the comment that it is addressing (which is in quotes). (I am just now seeing your comment from a month ago about my post).
If you read my whole comment, including the quote of what he was asking, you’d see he lives in Hawaii and my comment didn’t generalize at all, but was directed at him specially by saying, “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. “. I also live in Hawaii and pay around 35 cents per KWh. In my comment you’ll see I even mention the Hawaiian electric calculator that compares electric cars to gas. Using that calculator I compared a RAV4 prime to RAV4 hybrid and it said the premium price for the prime, less the $7,500, would never be recovered bc gas was cheaper per mile. That’s why I said for him (no generalization) Prime didn’t make sense unless he has solar, and not the solar water heaters we all have here.
I bought a Prime anyway. Just picked up my brand new Prime XSE yesterday, that I special ordered back in October.
I love your posts and videos Jimbo but your response was incorrect. I’m still waiting for for YouTube video on likes and dislikes of the RAV4 prime that you mentioned was in the works like 4 months ago.
 
#42 ·
Good point Wstt. It came off a bit strong. Just remember you are telling somebody what does/doesn’t make sense for “you”/them without knowing that persons full situation. You know more than most living in Hawaii with poster, but you don’t know what makes sense for THEM without walking in their shoes for a mile. How much do they value Pure EV miles. What are their views on the Oil industry and purchasing gas for the car. Is it a midlife crisis car, like mine !!!
 
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#44 ·
mililani said:
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.
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Lucky with tax Incentive it’s cheaper to buy the prime than a hybrid.
 
#45 ·
jimbo69ny said:
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.
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(y) Yes probably too much unless you can find a salvage from Canada. I have made a lot of upgrade to previous cars with parts from salvage yards.
 
#46 ·
Automender said:
Even if you have a solar panel it may be cheaper to feed the energy into the grid than use it for the Prime. Just think of the cost of the panels, they weren't free.
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If you sized your pannels correctly, you should have excess capacity. If you didn't you'll probably have to add a pannel or two.

However, reality wise, most people will probably be doing the majority of their charging at night, when the solar panels aren't producing electricity. Also, many electric providers have cheaper rates at night. Some electric providers allow you to get a dedicated EV meter and rock bottom kW rates.
 
#47 ·
jimbo69ny said:
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.
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Sorry to hear that.

jimbo69ny said:
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.
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Please ask your inside connection to keep asking someone who knows or can find out.

I would totally love to upgrade the SE I am scheduled to get, with the correct parts from a wrecked XSE RAV4 Prime. Only a matter of time before these show-up at junk/salvage yards.
 
#49 ·
JohannesB said:
Hmm, the wiring harness is different and needs to be replaced at least.
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Folks are interested in this, and other aftermarket mods as well. There are definitely unused sockets in the wiring harness in the car. I did the wiring for trailer lights, and I found a few back there. So that's a positive sign. However- If you look in the fuse box, you will see that there are no terminals for fuses for anything not in use. So for the invertor, there is a fuse position for it. (the fan maybe?) But the position is not wired. This seems to be true for all the labeled, but empty positions. This would suggest that there are a LOT of wires missing for aftermarket mods.
 
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#50 ·
rsl360 said:
Folks are interested in this, and other aftermarket mods as well. There are definitely unused sockets in the wiring harness in the car. I did the wiring for trailer lights, and I found a few back there. So that's a positive sign. However- If you look in the fuse box, you will see that there are no terminals for fuses for anything not in use. So for the invertor, there is a fuse position for it. (the fan maybe?) But the position is not wired. This seems to be true for all the labeled, but empty positions. This would suggest that there are a LOT of wires missing for aftermarket mods.
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Here are some of the wiring shown (N-harness in yellow color) At the bottom left, the 6.6kW charger is shown with the three yellow connectors N60, N61, N62. At bottom right, the 3.3kW charger is shown with the same connectors.

167011
 
#51 ·
JohannesB said:
Here are some of the wiring shown (N-harness in yellow color) At the bottom left, the 6.6kW charger is shown with the three yellow connectors N60, N61, N62. At bottom right, the 3.3kW charger is shown with the same connectors.

View attachment 167011
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Maybe you could re-upload individual pictures showing N60, N61, N62 ? Thanx.
 
#52 ·
Yes, we cannot see the whole picture, but I'll take your word for it. Not to be a downer, but here are few more things to ponder. When I last looked up the part for the 6.6 charger, it was combined with the 120 vac inverter. That would be awesome if both could work. But this leads me to wonder a number of things. Do the Canadian cars all have the inverter? Or do they have a different charger? Is the wiring harness missing some wires in some setups. Yes, three plugs for all the versions. But it's likely one of those is a many position plug. So it might have 6 wires, or 20, depending on which charger is expected. And of course, the computer that drives the dashboard has to recognize it, otherwise you cannot set the charge rate. (although maybe you could live without that.)
 
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#53 ·
Having owned an SE for over a month, I've come to the conclusion the 3.3 kw charger is only good for overnight charging at home. Let's say it's the middle of day, you are out and about, and you have an hour to add some ev range to the car. You drive only 5 miles out of your way to a charging station. You charge for one hour, and then drive back to your intended destination. You spent 10 miles of EV to add 10 miles of range. I've come to really dislike the 3.3 kw charger.
 
#54 ·
I don't mind having the 3.3 kW charger. I'm a believer in trickle charge. We drive mostly around town, less than forty miles a day. I like having the ICE for long trips. I like having the ICE for highway driving. I like using the ICE periodically to maintain the ICE engine and prolonging battery life. I like the ICE for the added acceleration. I like the size and cargo capacity. I want a car that I think will last ten years. For us, this is the perfect car.
If I wanted a purely electric car, I wouldn't have bought a RAV4 Prime.
If I want a BEV that charges quickly, I'm gonna wait for car with a solid state battery and longer range, and tons of electric charging stations infrastructure.
But that's just me.
 
#56 ·
alexcue said:
Just wondering, how much is your gas and how much is your electricity. I bet the gas still works out cheaper right now.

Here in CA, I'm still saving money by using EV, but only at home. Once out and about, I'm going to be paying more than just using the ICE.
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Cheapest regular gas here in Sacramento is $3.90 at Costco and Sam's Club, and I've seen it at $4.80 at the name-brand stations like Chevron, Shell, and Union 76. Some analysts are predicting $5.00/gal by Labor Day weekend. I'm driving a 2019 Prius Prime, and hoping to get a Rav4 Prime SE next week (keep fingers crossed). My real-life experience with the Prius Prime is that it gets 60 mpg on long road trips when I can't get external battery charges and have to run it on the ICE. At the current price of gas, that's 6.33 ¢/mile. The Rav4 Prime supposedly gets 40 mpg on the ICE, that's 9.75¢/mile. In EV mode, using external battery charging, the Prius Prime (in flat terrain at 35 mph average), can go about 4.5 miles on a kilowatt-hour of battery charge. The Rav4 Prime, with it's larger MG2 motor and much heavier weight, can go about 3.5 miles/kilowatt-hour. If you charge at home between midnight and 6:00am, electricity costs 9.5¢/kw-hr, and the Toyota 3 kw on-board charger is about 90% efficient if fed 240 volts from an L2 charger. So it takes 9 kw-hr of charge, costing 86¢, to drive the Prius 35 miles in EV mode, or 2.45¢/mile. The Rav4 Prime can supposedly go 43 miles on 19 kw-hrs of charge, that would cost $1.80, or 4.2¢/mile. I have heard of people getting 50 miles on a battery charge in a Rav4 Prime if they are careful to optimise their driving habits to utilize regen braking as much as possible. So, if you live somewhere where electricity is cheap between midnight and 6:00am, and gas is $3.90/gallon, driving the Prius Prime in EV mode costs 61% less than it does on gas. The Rav4 Prime, under the same cost conditions for electricity vs. gas, costs (about) 57% less to drive on electricity than it does on gas. If you can utilize free public L2 chargers occasionally, that's a bonus you get with a PHEV. There ain't no such thing as "free public gasoline". I just wish the 6 kw charger was available in the SE. The XSE is too expensive and too loaded with frivolous, non-functional options that I don't want to have to pay for, just to get the 6 kw charger.
 
#58 ·
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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Here's how to do the math: First, calculate the cost per mile to drive the R4P on gasoline. I checked Gas Buddy: your post says you live "on the most populated island", so I assume you mean Oahu, and regular in Honolulu is $3.50/gallon today. The R4P gets 40 mpg in Hybrid mode. So that's 350¢ ÷ 40 = 8.75¢/mile. For electricity: the R4P battery, if completely flat, takes about 17 kilowatt-hours to charge, and you get 43 miles of driving range in EV mode. 17 kw-hr at 32¢/kw-hr=544¢ ($5.44). 544÷43=12.65¢/mile. So, the R4P is cheaper to drive on gas than it is on electricity, IN HAWAII. In Sacramento, California, where our electricity is 9.5¢/kw-hr and gas is $4.00/gallon, the R4P costs 3.76¢/mile on electricity, and 10¢/mile on gasoline. In Hawaii, you would be better off with a regular Rav4 Hybrid than you would be with the Rav4 Prime. HOWEVER: If you already have a home solar panel array on your roof that can put out at least 8 kilowatts, you could re-charge the R4P battery essentially "for free". But don't rush out and buy a $25,000 solar system just to charge a plug-in hybrid car: you would never recover that $25,000 just in fuel savings on a car, although you might eventually recover it in air conditioning and all the other costs of running electric appliances in the home.
 
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