Took in my 2006 Gen II for 110k service at dealer yesterday, and in talking about the spring arrival of the PiP, Service consultant assured me they would be ready to service it. But when i asked if they had ordered a 240v EVSE station, he paused and said "I guess we forgot about that..." How many folks know if their Toyota dealer, whether launch state or not, will install 240v station?
My dealer (Chula Vista Toyota ) told me when I was there last confirming my PIP order, that I can charge mine there at the dealership when I get it. I asked him where they are going to install it and he pointed out the window to where my 09 Prius was parked. It is going to be installed in front of the Customer parking" closest to their main front door where I was parked. I forgot to ask when they are having it installed. I was hoping it would be in a different location because they only have about 4 or 5 designated" customer parking spots out front.
I'd think it would be a little of both; in the event a charging system issue needs to be diagnosed, it sure would be nice to have a 240v evse to utilize. And for customer service, making sure a PiP customer had a full charge after service of any sort would seem to be a very cool thing to do to keep folks coming back.
They don't fill your car up with gas when you come in for service, but then again, the cost to charge up your car with electricity should be very cheap. It would definitely be a way for dealerships to earn extra points in my book! But would it be worth an additional 1.5 hour wait (after the servicing of your car is complete)?
It is good advertising for the dealership having a PIP out front getting a charge. There should not be many "demo" PIPs sitting on the lots for a long time. Alot of people don't know Toyota has a plug in being released in the spring.
I usually drop my car off at the dealership and the service rep calls me when the car is ready. It's going to be at least 1.5 hrs before I get back to the dealership to pick up the car so plenty of time for a full charge - knowing the dealership where I get my car serviced though they wouldn't even think about putting on charge until I got there. Noel
Service dealers are going to wait 'til the last minute to install a few EVSE in their properties. Basicaly, it's an expensive extra accomodation for them. And when the moment comes, be very thankfull if they will "top-it off" with some electrical juice.
Toyota Dealers that sold the RAV4 EV had chargers installed and would allow people to charge there (some even allowed non-Toyota EVs to charge). Nissan Dealers also have chargers for Leaf owners to charge. I expect some Toyota dealers to look on giving you a charge to be a good way to keep you coming back to the dealership and lets face if 4.5KwHr of juice isn't going to cost then diddly. Other dealerships will not want to be bothered. Noel
if you search around here: www.plugshare.com you may be surprised to find out that there are some Toyota dealers that have already installed 240v EVSE's. I know the Torrance CA area (corporate) already has one ... and there's a Toyota museum near by that has one also. Heck, for that matter, there's already a couple 240v EVSE's in Montana, at the Nissan dealerships - even though Montana is set to be one of the VERY last states to get the Leaf. That said, don't lump all the dealerships into the non-proactive pile. There are a few good guys out there. As for the dealerships that serve the RAV4-ev's - those legacy chargers are an entirely different animal - not usable by the J1772 plug fed models out now.
