No takers so far

The idea Toyota watches forums for engineering change suggestions is very unrealistic.

 

This just isn’t a place where people are brilliant enough to do sophisticated electronic mods.
It’s like the people who want to add an extra battery for more range.
Anything can be done, but at what cost, risk and benefit?
The few people who have claimed to do really sophisticated mods never offer proof, or reveal sources .
Priuschat is more about advice for keeping your car running smoothly. In some cases, the answers are elusive

 

Ecomodder is more likely to cover such big changes.

 

Modifications, especially those not easily reversible, can detract from resale value. Potential buyers are maybe unimpressed to start with, and could be thinking, what else, undisclosed, may have been done.

 

The real issue is not engineering expertise, it's the fact Toyota successfully locks down its software which is where a "no parts required" solution could be created.

The lithium aftermarket battery fiasco is a relevant case in point. While the logic and hardware needed for a power lithium vehicle power source is almost in the public domain, the ability to replace existing Toyota code with anything else is not there unless Toyota wanted to do it. In the lithium case they already sold an integrated lithium solution for gen3 and newer.

Toyota prioritizes safety and reliability over "nice to have" vehicle modifications. They did provide a solution for excessive parasitic draw in their new hybrid, a fix that does not put a bloody bandaid on an open wound.

 

The 12-V-battery issue has nothing to do with the hardware. It is a standard hardware setup like in any other car.

The problem is being caused by the buggy BMS app that interfaces with the hardware. Toyota has little incentive to correct the app, as currently over-the-air (OTA) updates are not possible (except for the multimedia head unit) and very few owners are affected.

This will all be resolved when Arene is fully implemented in the future Toyota cars. The entire car will become an app at that point. Gen 6 Prius should be built mostly on Arene. Current Toyotas will become primitive cars when the Arene-equipped Toyotas arrive.

Arene debuts in Toyota’s all-new RAV4 | PriusChat

 

I am an electrical engineer and I have done modifications to some of the things I have purchased but I would never consider doing anything like this:

1) High voltage scares me.
2) It would void my new cars warranty.
3) It seems like the better solution would be to go after the source of the original problem rather than creating an exotic modification to fix the result of the problem when it happens.