hello all, had a quick question, my apologies if it should be obvious... I've been considering buying a Prius solely for the fact that I've read it is possible to sleep in the car overnight parked with the AC running, and the hybrid system will automatically switch between electric and engine power to power the AC. I live down south in Texas, and my work in the summer periodically has me wanting to sleep some nights in my car, and being able to use the AC like this would be invaluable... so... ...would a CT200h work the same in this regard? from what I understand the drivetrain is similar to a Prius, but would really like to get some confirmation before I make a purchase decision. thanks in advance for any clarification all..!
thanks, I figured as such but good to confirm. just out of curiosity, do any of the other current hybrid offerings on the market have this capability, or is it specific to the Toyota products? I know hondas use a very different hybrid setup, I'm assuming their AC's can't be run in this method... Subarus hybrids? Lastly, what about the other, larger Lexus hybrid offerings.. can they be run all night with AC on in the same fashion? I am really leaning towards the CT at this point though...
really?? I don't know a lot about hybrid cars to be honest, but I was really under the impression that the Toyota systems were the only cars that offered this functionality... so even the Honda offerings could be used in the method I described, able to run off battery power? I guess I thought that toyotas were the 'true' hybrids out of the various examples that had appeared thus far... so a Honda Fit or crZ could be used as a hot summer sleeper..?
It is possible to run the hybrid and ac while parked in Ready mode, but you would probably be awakened by the engine starting. I have waited in a parked Prius for as long as two hours with the ac cooling. In addition, when it starts to charge the battery, the car often shutters a bit. It is more noticeable when parked than while driving. Of course exhaust fumes are a concern and the ac system always pulls in some outside air, even when in full recirulate mode. My experience while parked for long periods is the engine starts but does not fully recharge the hv battery. So the run time on battery between engine runs will be shorter than the first battery discharge when initiating this mode.
The Honda hybrids using IMA are mild, or assist, hybrids. They could make use of an electric compressor, but I know early models still had a compressor that was at least driven by the engine. The first gen Escape which has a full hybrid system close to Toyota's in design, also didn't have a compressor that could fully run with the engine off. By a quick search, it appears the CR-Z doesn't have an electric compressor. I'd bet the Insight2 doesn't either. The new Accord hybrid should since it is a new, full hybrid system, but that doesn't help you in terms of sleeping spot. Unless you are short enough for the rear seat. The C-Max is an option that could work for you. Same with the new Niro and Ioniq.
Rather than dismissing that concern, I'd suggest taking it seriously and just buying a cheap CO detector to keep in the car with you. The best sort for peace of mind is the one with a ppm display on the front. The kind that just honks usually does so up around 400 ppm, so if it doesn't honk all you know is the level wasn't quite 400, but if you get one with the display you might see that your reading never rises out of the single digits, if indeed it wavers from zero at all. Assuming you're not parked in a tight room or something unusual like that. Then you'll have your level of concern matched to what the instrument can tell you. A single-digit reading is what I can get on the detector inside my house when the house across the street is having the carpets cleaned. Didn't hurt me a bit. -Chap
thank you for taking the time to explain the technical specifics of this issue to me, and that my need of AC use while parked/sleeping hinges on whether an electric a/c compressor is utilised or not... so do all Lexus hybrids use such a compressor, or only certain models? I'm trying to research all of the models on the used market that have this capability, one option I recently found was the Hyundai Sonata hybrid, found a 2011 for around $8k, and has electric a/c compressor listed specifically... so it would make a potential hot summer sleeper as well? any other (older, cheaper) Lexus hybrids models that I should be looking at, that have electric compressor as well? RX400h? HS250h?
The only Toyota company hybrid sold in the US that might not have an electric AC compressor is the gen1 Prius. All the Lexus will, and look at Highlander hybrids if you are going to look at RXs. If you think sleeping in a sedan will work for you, the Sonata should work. As will the Camry and Fusion. The HS250h might be smaller than those midsize cars.
