PHEV

[Phil T]

Jay Camera still works in the dark, speaking of which, I have had to turn the screen brilliance as low as it will go on the head unit and turn down the contrast but the controls  on the left and right of the head unit glow like a weritzer after turning down the screen brightness.  I have also turned down the dash display but that does not change the screen radio/satnav controls, unless I have missed something.

[PeteB]

13 hours ago, altocumulus said:

It would good to get a handbook for any Toyota that is in 'proper' English!

¿Qué?     😄

[altocumulus]

I had a quick check with the rear camera this morning - but forgot I hadn't cleaned it! I'm back out again early PM, so will double check!

 

Still find it annoying that I can't de-mist the screen quickly, without the engine kicking in - and once it's fired up, it won't stop (or at least hadn't within 5 minutes!).

[Ten Ninety]

23 hours ago, Phil T said:

Jay Camera still works in the dark, speaking of which, I have had to turn the screen brilliance as low as it will go on the head unit and turn down the contrast but the controls  on the left and right of the head unit glow like a weritzer after turning down the screen brightness.  I have also turned down the dash display but that does not change the screen radio/satnav controls, unless I have missed something.

The camera does work in the dark very well but the image is always going to be fuzzy at night, so it won't be much use for a comparison of image quality! 

I don't know about the instrument lighting - I haven't changed mine other than the sensitivity of when the screen changes from night to day mode. It wouldn't surprise me that the brightness of the screen controls can't be changed, given all the other 'quirks' we know about. I have to say that I quite enjoy driving along with everything lit up like a Christmas tree these days - I find having fairly bright lights in front of me all the time makes it easier for my eyes to adjust to oncoming headlights, especially given how long it seems to take people (or their auto high beam systems) to dip.

11 hours ago, altocumulus said:

Still find it annoying that I can't de-mist the screen quickly, without the engine kicking in - and once it's fired up, it won't stop (or at least hadn't within 5 minutes!).

I still think this is a bug in the system, due to legacy code from the Prius Ordinaire (Copyright PeteB) being carried over to the PHV software. The dehumidifying aircon and heat-pump are more than capable of clearing the screen without the ICE. Have you tried manually increasing the fan speed to max and directing the air to the screen and footwell? That is unlikely to clear as quickly as the front demist button because the airflow is split, but at least it won't fire up the ICE. 

[Ten Ninety]

20 hours ago, PeteB said:

¿Qué?     😄

You're thinking of the manuel not the handbook.

[PeteB]

16 minutes ago, Ten Ninety said:

You're thinking of the manuel not the handbook.

¡Sí, señor!

[altocumulus]

11 hours ago, Ten Ninety said:

I still think this is a bug in the system, due to legacy code from the Prius Ordinaire (Copyright PeteB) being carried over to the PHV software. The dehumidifying aircon and heat-pump are more than capable of clearing the screen without the ICE. Have you tried manually increasing the fan speed to max and directing the air to the screen and footwell? That is unlikely to clear as quickly as the front demist button because the airflow is split, but at least it won't fire up the ICE. 

That's how I now tackle it. Up the A/C and use the up vents onto the screen. But yesterday morning it didn't clear the screen after 3 minutes and I was getting desperate to see out! So I had to resort to the de-mister.

[altocumulus]

23 hours ago, altocumulus said:

I had a quick check with the rear camera this morning - but forgot I hadn't cleaned it! I'm back out again early PM, so will double check!

 

 

Camera - in poor lighting, provides a grainy, but usable image. I'll report back when I have a daylight observation....

[altocumulus]

My garage quotes a winter tyre option - I had forgotten the sensors!

Riken Snow Tyres - £50 each

Tyre Pressure Monitor Sensor kit (4) - £120

Alloy wheels - £269.40

 

Total cost for all four corners would be £1397.60, the cheaper option would be to go with the tyres only and just have them swapped every year.

[Phil T]

Geoff do they store the wheels for you ‘till next spring?

Back to the dealers yesterday to check the latest phv’s camera, and just as bad. Toyota must have a new supplier! It was just as bad, the Aurus worse. I don’t know how Toyota has got away with fitting cheap rubbish, the Rav and 2 year old Gen4 were as crisp a  good photographic camera. I was reversing round a tight bend and I could not tell where the kerb was with all the leaves around it, oh for the good old days! And I had to make another appointment to get the phone charger fitted, you go in with a list of faults and they check them one day at a time, then do the work on different days. The receptionist has my coffee ready as I walk in the door now, and the salesman hides 🤬! Only good point is they are fixing them, unlike other makers service departments.

[PeteB]

1 hour ago, altocumulus said:

...cheaper option would be to go with the tyres only and just have them swapped every year.

which is what I chose to do.  Same lightweight 15" wheels with aerodynamic trims, no extra wheels to buy. My dealer nearly always does a good price on tyres (might save £10 or so going elsewhere so not worth hassle).

For a one-off £40 set-up fee, they store the tyres not being used for no further cost.  They charge £30 per time for swapping the tyres, supply new valves and balance the wheels.  Happy enough with that.  Usually arrive at 07:30, have a nice breakfast in Premier Inn next door while they do it.  Sometimes can combine with service or recall if timing is right.

[Phil T]

Good price for snow tyres and owned by Michelin. Tempting after last years skating with the Gen4. The Toyo oem tyres on the present car are very noisy and not to well rated for stopping, what you save on fuel goes on other things instead.

[altocumulus]

Thanks guys - swings and roundabouts.

I do have the space to store complete sets - probably still (just!) able enough to change the sets. I'll have to check on options.

Not too sure about the tyre choice, though - are these as good as (say) Nokian WR D4?

[altocumulus]

One advantage of having the wheels, and stored here - is I can chose my dates and, as an ex-weather chappie, I ought to be able to chose that wisely

[Phil T]

Autoexpress like them. Finnish brand Nokian has long been a top performer in our winter and all-season tyre tests, but it seems its summer line-up is still in need of work.

Tyrereviews don't like Riken, not very good results!

Latest Group Test Results

2017 50 Winter Tyre Shoot Out - 40th of 45 tyres

2013 Winter Tyre Overview - Braking - 37th of 50 tyres

2012 Auto Bild 42 Winter Tyre Braking Test - 38th of 43 tyres

What tyre, in Autoexpress Winter tyre test, did stand out though was 

 

Michelin doesn’t call the

Michelin doesn’t call the CrossClimate + an all-season tyre; it describes it as “a summer with winter capability”. Either way, it’s remarkable.

Its dry and wet superiority are favoured by our revised scoring, and would have secured it a close second behind the winter Continental.

We weren’t surprised to see it at the top in the dry, and expected it to match the best in the wet, but its snow results caught the eye. It was best of all in snow braking and across all the Finnish tests it equalled the Nokian and was only topped by the Hankook. Impressive stuff when it has a clear advantage in the dry, making a strong case for fitting it all year round. 

+ an all-season tyre; it describes it as “a summer with winter capability”. Either way, it’s remarkable.

Its dry and wet superiority are favoured by our revised scoring, and would have secured it a close second behind the winter Continental.

We weren’t surprised to see it at the top in the dry, and expected it to match the best in the wet, but its snow results caught the eye. It was best of all in snow braking and across all the Finnish tests it equalled the Nokian and was only topped by the Hankook. Impressive stuff when it has a clear advantage in the dry, making a strong case for fitting it all year round. 

[altocumulus]

Hi Phil,

 

Yes, that was the review I noticed on Riken tyres, which made me look elsewhere.

Interesting comment on the crossclimate+ especially if it does work as an all-season option; certainly a headsup against the extra set of wheels.

[Phil T]

Yes they are  up there on noise and not too bad on rolling resistance either.

 

[altocumulus]

Back to the rear camera....

 

I can see part of my own number plate 😄

I can't make out any number plate, not even at 10 feet! Part of the issue is the quality of the image, which in daylight is still grainy - but it's also a very wide angled lens. I cannot remember how it looked in previous Prius and RAVs - it wasn't something I noticed in particular.

It won't win any photography awards, but as long as it functions as an indicator on whether I'm about to bump - it'll suffice.

[FROSTYBALLS]

 

[altocumulus]

Thank you Mike....

[kithmo]

On 11/12/2018 at 8:15 PM, Ten Ninety said:

I presume the 75mph relates to the 'high speed mode', where the beam should narrow and project its furthest. AHB should operate from 9mph in its 'low speed mode' but we don't seem to have that working at all. I'll be interested to hear what your technician says, if they offer anything more than a shrug!

I might be stating the obvious here, but you do have the stalk pushed forward to the high beam position, don't you ?

[altocumulus]

chuckles !

[Mike J.]

On ‎11‎/‎14‎/‎2018 at 8:04 PM, Ten Ninety said:

Same with the missing Climate Prep feature. I doubt that will do anything, but it will make me feel better. 

Does the PHEV not have pre-conditioning? If so, that is one of my main reasons to buy such a car in the future. You will be saying next that it doesn't have the heated steering wheel that the US have ….

[altocumulus]

4 minutes ago, Mike J. said:

Does the PHEV not have pre-conditioning? If so, that is one of my main reasons to buy such a car in the future. You will be saying next that it doesn't have the heated steering wheel that the US have ….

Heated steering wheel - nope.

Pre-conditioning, that question is currently working its way through Toyota Europe and it's taken at least 6 weeks so far for me to receive a) the answer to the wrong question and b) no confirmation from Europe on the answer to the correct question. Currently the answer is no (going by experiment). I may have to think of chasing it up this coming week.

[Ten Ninety]

3 hours ago, kithmo said:

I might be stating the obvious here, but you do have the stalk pushed forward to the high beam position, don't you ?

Given what I've described, that's a fair question. However, the answer is yes, the stalk is pushed forward!

Below 40mph, with the AHB button on the dash set to on, pushing the stalk forward does absolutely nothing. Once you hit 40mph, the main beams will come on and the adaptive system will operate. Confusingly, and just to prove there is absolutely no logic to the 40mph start-up, the adaptive main beams will then continue to operate if you slow down to under 40mph, all the way down to somewhere around 27mph when you'll be thrown back into the relative darkness of dipped beam, usually at the most inopportune moment of a tricky corner.

It is immensely frustrating, as the shuttering effect of the AHB works surprisingly well and when it operates the main beam is incredibly bright, long and wide. However, in the crippled way Toyota has implemented it for UK cars, it's basically unusable unless you're driving on high speed roads. I'm back to working the stalk myself like a prole.

2 hours ago, Mike J. said:

Does the PHEV not have pre-conditioning? If so, that is one of my main reasons to buy such a car in the future. You will be saying next that it doesn't have the heated steering wheel that the US have ….

No heated wheel, no electric adjustable seats, no remote phone app... the UK PHV is depressingly stripped out compared to the US cars, although I think that's always been the case with the Prius. What's worse is that it's also crippled compared to what Toyota UK actually advertised in their brochure. Contrary to their false and misleading information, there is no Climate Prep enabled on the UK PHV. Geoff may yet get an answer from Toyota Europe telling us how to 'enable' this feature, but so far it appears that they've failed to understand what he's even asking, let alone offered a proper answer.

As it stands, pre-heating can only be done manually by pointing the remote control at the car when it's plugged in and pushing the AC button. It will then proceed to warm up the car, apparently without using the air-con dehumidifier, meaning you get a properly steamed-up car with misted windows. And a cold seat, because it's not clever enough to switch the seat heater on even if you've left it in the 'on' position. It's a long way from an automated system that actually preps the car 'ready to drive'.

Essentially, the drivetrain and fundamental engineering of this car is superb and utterly reliable, but all the extraneous technology is flaky garbage. Which is, to be fair, pretty much what one would expect from Toyota. And, for all my complaining, I'd still far rather have it that way round than the German approach where the complete reverse is true.