There's a ton of this discussion & information on PriusChat.com, and I've spent years of waiting while really wanting to believe.ERD50 said this too, but I don't quite understand. My understanding is people regularly convert Prius to plug-in mode.
Although there are several conversion businesses, in general they're expensive ($10K-$30K) or they're of low quality (rows of lead-acid batteries adding hundreds of pounds for a 40-mile range and an 18-month lifecycle). In other words, no matter how cheap the electricity gets or how expensive gas prices become, it's currently unlikely that the conversion will pay itself back over a decade. And if you look at a typical DIY conversion procedure, it'd scare off all but the most intrepid mechanics. Publicity aside, I'd estimate there are fewer than a thousand plug-ins on the road. Maybe even fewer than 500.
Toyota uses a proprietary controller on their hybrid battery. Although an army of geeks & nerds have reverse-engineered a lot of the Prius, the subtleties of the controller continue to elude a foolproof method of tricking it with a different battery (or a bigger hybrid battery). Toyota doesn't share and will viciously void the vehicle warranty of the plug-in conversions. Heck, Toyota is pretty vicious with all their Prius warranty issues, but most especially the battery/inverter. Lots of complaints on PriusChat from customers, dealers, & mechanics about how to deal with corporate.
So the plug-in result is more tinkering and scared customers. Far easier (and maybe cheaper) to just go buy some other electric plug-in vehicle. I'm not going to whip up a spreadsheet and go shopping for more PV panels until there's a plug-in conversion that doesn't need frequent replacement (or maintenance), has at least a 40-mile range (on our 20x30 island), and won't cause endless arguments with mechanics every time a fuse blows.
Like another poster said, I don't think the battery has an excessive range. If the gas tank runs dry you're sternly admonished to drive no more than a mile or two before risking permanent damage. (The charge controller cycles the battery between ~40-80% and does not deep-cycle it.) Most owners will tank up when they're down to a quarter ("two bars" out of 10) on the gauge and will immediately find a gas station if for some reason they get down to one bar.That means its
batteries can support power output sufficient to drive the car (unless
the conversion actually adds batteries ?)
Foreign Priuses include an "EV" button that's intended to allow the car to be moved short distances without the gas engine kicking in-- for example around the driveway or from the repair garage to the parking lot. Toyota doesn't include an EV button on American models due to EPA & liability concerns, although of course you can install one for about $10 of parts, a soldering gun, and a few hours. It'd be perfect for our kid's one-mile school commute but again I'm not messing with Toyota's warranty.
Well, let's go with the items that I've personally had bad experiences with on other cars. For starters, I don't think our Prius has an accelerator cable. But I still need to check for that.Really, like what ?
No manual or automatic clutch. The continuously-variable transmission is simply a series of ring/planetary gears (for the MG & ICE) around a common axis. The output is transferred by a geared chain to the front axle. The "shift lever" is a little 3" electronic dashboard paddle with an LCD status display. Our kid has no idea what "four on the floor" or "three on the tree" means, anymore than she understands how to "dial" a phone or "play a record". Now that she's developing a driver's hand-eye coordination and some muscle memory, we're going to teach her how to drive a manual transmission just in case she needs to impress her grandchildren with this ancient skill.
"Putting the car in Park" involves pushing a button on the dashboard. However there still appears to be a traditional cable connecting the emergency brake to the wheels, although I haven't verified that.
The HVAC system doesn't have a single dashboard control-- it's either on the touch screen or the steering wheel. You can open/shut/redirect the vents but there are no mixing levers or temperature rheostats or fan-speed knobs.
The sound system has two knobs for tuning & volume, but they're not necessary. The radio's frequently-operated controls are all on the steering wheel and the advanced settings are handled by the touch-screen display.
There's no ignition key to twist in the cylinder lock (and yes, I've had several break off in our high-mileage vehicles). We stick a fob in the dashboard and push a "Power" button. A smart-key-system fob can even stay in the driver's pocket.
The Prius cruise control doesn't move the accelerator. (I quickly learned not to leave my foot near our Taurus' accelerator-- especially under it-- when the cruise control was engaged.) As far as I can tell the cruise control is completely digital drive-by-wire, with no hunting or seeking typical of the analog controllers. When the road goes uphill the ICE immediately revs up and keeps the speed the same. The dashboard display maintains the same reading but this constant speed has also been independently verified by separate plug-in systems.
The radiator coolant is warranted for 100,000 (one hundred thousand) miles. No changes or flushes, especially because the system is a PITA to purge.
The stock CV boots are the heaviest & thickest I've ever felt outside of an aftermarket auto-parts store.
The oil filter has the best access I've experienced outside of a submarine diesel engine-- much easier than a Ford Taurus or Nissan Altima and even easier than a Honda Civic.
I fear that I'll never again need to know how to remove the manual handcrank on a window. It appears that the motors & cables are reliable enough to mostly last for the life of the car.
The car has a number of design quirks & flaws but the maintenance has been extremely well thought out. I guess I'm finally ready to part with my tuning/timing light and my tachometer...