New to me 2017 Prius Prime

Discussion in 'Prime Main Forum (2017-2022)' started by PHEVisthefuture, Apr 26, 2026 at 8:02 AM.

  1. PHEVisthefuture

    PHEVisthefuture New Member

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    2017 Prius Prime
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    Prime Plus
    Just purchased a new (to me) 2017 Prius Prime and loving it so far! Even with a 1 hour commute to work and 1 hour back, with no charging, I’m averaging 80.5 MPG!

    This car is fun to drive (and I’ve had some fun cars and trucks) and perfect for a long distance road trip for 4.

    Since I’m new to Toyota’s design philosophy - Previous PHEV was a 2012 Volt Premium - does the Prime charge the 12V battery from the HV battery when parked and ignition on?

    Reason being, my old Volt was great for live sound, power for your booth at an art fair, or DJing for up to 5-6 hours with an inverter. Just hook it up to the 12V, leave the car in “Ready” with all accessories (radio, fan, and headlights) off, and it would power a decent sized booth or DJ set for hours.

    Would doing the same on the Prius Prime leave me with a dead 12V battery? Or do I have to have the wheels moving for the HV battery to charge the 12V battery?

    Below is a pic of my Prius charging, what a great car!

    Alex
     

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  2. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    congrats and welcome!

    yes, as long as the car is 'ready', it's charging the 12 volt from the hybrid battery through the inverter.
    when the hybrid battery gets too low, the engine will come on and off to keep it at a minimal state of charge.

    all the best!
     
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  3. PHEVisthefuture

    PHEVisthefuture New Member

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    Awesome bisco, and thanks for the quick reply!

    That is great to hear and I'm so glad I can drive around in HV mode, keeping the hybrid battery at a full SoC, and run a movie night or art fair booth without any issues.

    Attached is a picture of the biggest PA I've run off my Volt - driven off a 2,000W DeWalt inverter. Didn't have a single issue, although I had to keep levels down to avoid drawing more than the Volt's DC to DC converter could supply.

    I do concert promotion on the side, and it's kind of funny seeing a big stage & music thumping for hours and it's being powered by a hybrid battery... definitely gets a lot of people going "I couldn't believe THAT sound came from THAT little car!"
     

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  4. PriusCamper

    PriusCamper Senior Member

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    Welcome to PriusChat... Congrats on a great purchase! How much is a 2017 Plugin usually selling for in your region these days and did you have to pay more or less that that? Am thinking with gas prices so high, the value of used Prius will likely go up.
     
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  5. PHEVisthefuture

    PHEVisthefuture New Member

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    I paid approx. $16,000 but after taxes, title, paperwork, etc. it was closer to $17,500. A lot more than my 2012 Volt with similar mileage; however, that Volt required a $10k battery pack right after the 8/100 warranty expired (literally shortly after I bought it) so this time, I was willing to pay a little more for a Prius with a HV battery in good condition.

    I too think the prices of these things are going up - prior to the gas shortage, these were a few grand cheaper in my area (Illinois).