This was a helpful video. I love the fact your Prime is dirty! LOL so many things we see on RU-vid is so polished not how actual life is. Your dialog was to the point as well love that.
Very good information. Programming the charge timer is essential to protect the health and prolong the life of the battery. Lithium batteries do not like to sit at full charge for long periods of time (they last the longest when they are kept between 40 and 60 percent most of the time), so it's best to schedule it to charge so it reaches full just before you will leave for work. On a side note, a lot of people who own these Prime vehicles think it's OK to never use the gas engine, but that is not true. You MUST use the gas engine in these vehicles on a regular basis to keep it in good working condition and to keep the fuel in the tank from getting stale, which can happen in less than 3 months. If the fuel in the tank begins to gel and that gets into your fuel injection system, it is NOT covered under warranty and will cost $1000s to repair. Toyota actually warns about this in the owners manual. Just because the Prime has good EV range doesn't mean you can never use the hybrid system.
Thanks for the feedback! I would have to disagree on the usage of the hybrid mode. It's totally fine to run the whole year in EV if you wish to do so but you have to take precautions. For example, I only put gas without ethanol so it doesn't go stale and lasts longer without humidity/water getting pulled in. Ethanol is also high corossive. Toyota engineered the vehicle in such way that if the engine hasn't run for a long time, it forces it to do so. Overall, the car was well designed for us not to think about these details but I agree with your reasoning for those who use gas with ethanol that it can become an issue on the long run.
I also use non ethanol fuel to avoid the hassles of stale 10% ethanol fuel going bad after 6+ months. If you are going for records you will probably want to also use a fuel stabilizer to be safe. The charging schedule is something that many overlook on keeping good battery health. I set a daily schedule so that it only starts charging so that it will be at 100% just before my departure time. When I went on a 2 week vacation I intentionally left the battery charged to around 50% as that is where the Lithium Ion batteries are the most stabile. I would look at setting a schedule for your charging so that if you are leaving the house at 7:30 am it will start charging at around 5:00 am and not leave the car at 100% for 10+ hours. You can always override the schedule and select "charge now" from the steering wheel controls if you need to do a fast charge outside of the normal schedule to run more errands after work if needed.
I just want to point out the 60 amp breaker should be reduced to match the maximum ratings of the receptacle & Grizzl-e wall charger....just check the charger's manual or nameplate will show maximum overcurrent protection.Your 240 volt receptacle is only rated for 50 amps max....Also you can always put the 60 amp breaker back in if you choose later to to install a larger fast charger for a different car.Another point I have is to install the 240 volt wiring in an approved conduit as the type of cable used can't be installed less than 1.5m from the floor...Sorry for the critique but I'm an electrical inspector on the west coast & felt an obligation to enlighten you on some do's & don't's in the trade.
Thanks for the feedback. 😁 It was done by a master electrician here in Québec so I'm surprised this is not up to code. Im going to put a conduit because that's what I would have done and I think it's safer to avoid the cable being damaged . As for the breaker, he didn't have a 50A so he ended up putting a 60A, I'm also looking into changing it. Once again, thanks for watching and for the feedback 🙏🏽👍🏽
@@EVDudeHe's got a point. Again, I'm surprised your Master Electrician didn't use conduit. It's pretty obvious he wasn't aware of the specifications for the charger/car/battery. Yes, thicker wires and high amps will flow more electricity but it's not recommended if your EV system is rated for that. Lithium Ion batteries don't like to be super charged if they're not designed for it since its life cycles will get reduced.
I like everything you have done and I thank you for the video. My only suggestion would be to enclose the #6 wire (from the main panel to the charger) in a plastic or metal conduit. It's easy to do, inexpensive and will protect the cable in future from the inadvertent or unsafe actions of all owners.
Thanks for watching and you're absolutely right, thanks for the suggestion. I'm going to look into securing that romex cable with some metal conduit 👍🏽😁
Based off your video, I bought the Grizzl-E. I can attest the same. With the battery depleted, it will do a full charge in less than 2.5 hours. Mine has to be the XSE with 6.6kwh on-board system because that's the way it is in the U.S. Just the same, regardless of what the computer says for charge time, it will always charge full in less than 2.5hours.
Thanks for watching Erik, hope you like your charger. FYI, Grizzl-e will be offering upgrades for wifi if you bought a classic charger vs their smart one. They have an upgrade form on their website right now.
Thanks for posting this video. I ordered my Grizzl-e today. I am still miffed the same charger costs Canadians $60 (in Cdn $) more than Americans pay when the charger cost is converted to Canadian dollars. Glad you made the point about the level one charger not keeping up with the heater demand. I discovered that too.
Unfortunately yes, cheaper for US customers but still one of the cheapest, well built Canadian chargers out there. Did you get the Wi-Fi version or regular one?
@@EVDude Ordered the regular one. The upside is I am fairly confident this Canadian-made charger will meet Canadian safety standards. I was looking at the Mustart travel charger but the company confirmed in an email it doesn't have CSA approval.Given that the charger that comes with the RAV4 is capable of handling 240 volts are you conquering a video on making an adapter? Would an adapter affect Toyota's warranty? Would it meet Canadian electrical code? Would the wire and plug on the Toyota charging cable be able to handle 240 volts? As you noted in your video that end is replaced with a different end in countries with 240 volt current. There's a possibility the gauge of the wire and male plug on our chargers' can only handle 120 volts as that's the current it's meant to be plugged into. Lots to consider. When I saw a drawing of the Toyota charger before buying a Prime it looked like the end could be swapped out. I was hoping it would come with a 240 volt as well as a 120 holy, but no such luck.
Thank you, always very informative. I will probably get the Grizzle L2 charging cable too as it provides most value. Flo charger cables bit too expensive what they offer (or what I need == simple fast L2 charging).
Interesting and informative video... I have not purchase my level 2 charger yet but at the moment, this is my N#1 choice :-)... Also glad that you confirm that the R4P is compatible to 220V, could be an options with an adapter . I don't often need a fast charge often but nice to have when required. I plan my charges for when I need the car so I like the feature in the vehicle. Thanks again :-)
Thanks for watching and as usual, thanks for the great feedback. Yes the Level 1 charger is compatible with 220V as long as you have a 220V outlet. You'll need to get a proper adapter that's capable of withstanding the charger level like a NEMA 6-20 to NEMA 5-15.
Great video! I also have a RAV4 Prime . I use a Mustart Travelmaster Level 2 charger. It has interchangeable plugs, so you can charge at 15/25/32A. It also works on standard 110 voltage if you can’t find 220v power. Will you be doing a video on the ChargeHold button? I find that it’s a waste of gasoline and not useful at all.
Do you think it's worth it to buy the car if we can't charge our car in a garage? I would most likely have to public charge at a station (I live in Vancouver, BC) that charges about 30 cents a minute. Thanks!
Can you setup Amers? to 10A or 16A? for example, are you at friends and you do not know what fuse they have on sockets and want only 10A for statutory safety? I speeking on 230v Europe.
Great Videos! And Super handy location that breaker panel! I am curious, is the "level 1" charger that comes with it available to lug directly into a regular wall socket? Thanks!
Yes, the level 1 provided with the car plugs directly into the existing plug sockets. You would preferably have a dedicated 15A line for that socket. And yes, that panel is so handy being there. 😁
I bought the some chrager for good price and no fancy stuff should be arrive next week.The dip swithces pre-set as 40A. do I need to reset as 32A for the prmie ? thx
You don't need to change the dip switches as the Prime will take what it needs. Mine is set at 40A. The only time you'll have to change it is if your wiring setup couldn't handle 40A. You'll need a minimum of 8 AWG cable with a 40A breaker for the Prime. If you want to future proof your installation to maximise the Grizzl-e's potential, I'd go with a 6 AWG wiring with 50A breaker.
@@EVDude Thanks for all the detials. yes I have 50A breaker for the nema 14-50 outlet. because I was think about juicebox. but after watching your video and I give up that fancy extra features one beside they out of stock.
question, can you please measure how much current kWh is needed to full charge an from 0 to 18kwh battery, it is about the current losses during charging
Hey Nick thanks for watching. I am 100% certain it comes with a 6.6 kw onboard charger. We have many folks in our Quebec group who have the vehicle and you can check Toyota's website where they confirm it too in the specs 😉
@@EVDude Thanks for your videos! I wasn’t sure what size my onboard charger was but have checked the specs at Toyota.ca and now see that all of the Canadian Primes come with the 6.6kw onboard charger. The level 2 charger I bought is limited to 16Amps @ 240V so it takes 4.5 hours to charge my battery from Zero EV range to 100%. Not bad but 2.5 hours would be better. I’ll maybe upgrade to one like yours in the future. Anyway, keep the videos coming! They’re very informative!
Thank you so much , however , you didn't mention the installation cost for (Grizzl ) and how much is the monthly average cost for Hydro Quebec? commuting let say 60Km/day , thanks!
It'll depend on where you live and the rates charged by your utility company but for myself (in Québec, Canada) my bill has gone up by approximately 25-30$ CAD/month.
@@EVDude great... average 35 MPG, and fast acceleration, definitely not as good as Prime's MPG and 0-60 time. Paid $38K for a Limited, how much was yours?
Toyota uses the same charger and they swap the plug according to the country. Not only that, other Prius Prime and R4P owners have tried using an adapter (including myself) and it works.
Hi today I got my Rav4 Prime. I am not into electrical world understanding the Amps, braker, conduit etc. I live in US, and I have this plug-in given by toyota, can I plug-in this to my wall socket and charge my car. Its 110v here. If so could you tell me is it safe and how long it would take to charge?
Thanks for watching. Yes it's totally fine to leave it plugged in but depending on your needs for charging, you can also schedule your R4P to finish charging at a certain time. For example : Departure for 6AM and it will only start charging by 4AM for example. In that case, the battery will finish charging right on time for your departure.
I can't really answer that as that will depend on where you live and your cost of electricity. I live in Québec and it costs around 1.50$ for one full charge (roughly 15 kwh). As for public chargers, it will also depend where you live and the public charger providers, here in Québec there's 3 types of pricing for public chargers : Free, 1$/hour or 2.50$/session.
How much was approximately cost for 2 nd level charger and how much cost approximately did you pay someone to change the breaker to and install necessary electric components in your house/garage
The charger I have is 700$ CAD but since I live in Québec we get a subsidy of 600$, so the actual cost is roughly 150$. The installation will depend on the length of the wiring needed to your breaker, it varies between 500-700$ CAD.
Been watching a lot of your videos. In hindsight would say the base prime xse is still the better choice than a few thousands cheaper loaded 2021 limited rav4? Thanks
Hi thanks for watching my videos, hope you like them! As for the choice between the RAV4 Limited vs RAV4 Prime, it's not really a debate here in Quebec, here's why : RAV4 Limited costs 50,639$ vs RAV4 PRIME XSE at 49,315$ (taxes in for both). We get 13,000$ subsidy in Quebec for the purchase of the vehicle (8k from the province and 5k from federal), so I went with the R4P and also because our commute is 99% in the city so less than 70km per day. Being able to be EV all the time and using gas for long trips saves us a lot of money on the long run as well.
@@EVDude Thanks for the answer. Those limiteds are expensive there. Here it's like $38-39K for a Limited with all the packages vs the Prime XSE base is $43ish and $49 with the tech and weather packages. We get a tax credit of $7500 but that doesn't lower the purchase price (which hurts come car property tax time in Virginia). Do they just give you $13K or is it something you can apply to offset your income come tax filing season.
@@zippyeasy5808 you must in the states, ok I get it now. And yes! All these prices are in Canadian dollars. And we don't get a tax credit, the 13k subsidy is subtracted directly from the sales price, hence why it's a no brainer of a choice for us here.
Question for you, finally getting around to getting an EV Charger. I want to get the same one as yours, a Grizzle 40 amp. I already have an unused 40 amp breaker in the panel in the garage which was suppose to be for a welder but no plug installed yet. Here is my question, should I upgrade the breaker to a 50 Amp? If so, what would be the reason for it? Thanks
I'm not an electrician but this is my understanding of how things work and from readings I've done. You always want your setup to be 80% of the maximum capacity. If you're only planning for your R4P, it doesn't need 40A, it'll use around 32A. So 40A breaker is enough with 8AWG wiring. (40 x 0.8 = 32A) But if you plan on eventually using the full capability of the Grizzl-e charger which is 40A, maybe for a new EV car, you will require a 50A breaker (50 x 0.8 = 40A). Your wiring should also be done to accomodate 50A with 6AWG wiring.
You can charge the vehicle everyday at 100%, it has been designed for that. But if you prefer, you can schedule your charges to be closer to your departure times in order to keep the battery not fully charged all the time. Eg: come home with 10% battery left, plugin the charger with a charge scheduled for a departure time of 6 am. It'll maximise even more the life of the battery, not significantly though.
@@EVDude yes I already have a 240 volt outlet in the garage rated at 40A, I just need to buy the wall charger only, am I still eligible just for the product?
Thanks again for this informative video! Maybe a silly question - how do I know what the maximum amps my breaker box can handle? A 32A charger might be fine for the Prime but I was hoping to future-proof my purchase and get a 40A or 50A charger. Just want to be sure my breaker box can handle 50A. Thank you!
Either you have a 100 amp service or a 200 amp service in your home. I don't believe you can have two 50 amp outlets on the same line. For each 50 amp outlet, you will need a separate line from the electrical panel.
I think it's over 130km/h, which you will most probably never reach. Or else the gas kicks in when the weather is too cold and the heat pump cannot provide enough heat or when the battery temperature is too low due to the cold weather as well.
My Grizzl-e charger is set for 40 amps but the car draws 32 amps. Do I need to change the charger to 32 amps or can I leave it at 40 amps? I presume I can leave it as the car won’t draw anymore than 32 amps.
If you have the 6.6 kw onboard charger, I suggest at least 30A. As for the model, it depends where you live and if you'll be installing it indoor or outdoor.
They come standard set at 40A. You don't need to change it unless you're limited in your electrical panel. The car will charge at the highest speed, which is 32A for 6.6 kwh onboard chargers.
These features on the app are only available on the XSE models where you have DCM connectivity. For preheating on the SE you can use the A/C button on the key fob.
My R4P barely fits on the sides hehe it's a well calculated manoeuvre when we park. I agree with you for the cable, you need to be strategic on where you will install your level 2 charger.
@@rashamrai8404 do you have the 3.3 or 6.6 onboard charger? So basically if an electrician comes and installs an outlet with 240V the regular charger will work with it?
