Frequently Asked Questions
You should never drive Prius Prime without gasoline in the tank. While you may drive on electricity alone, the vehicle always requires gasoline to operate properly.
No, but it is generally advantageous to keep it charged. The more often you keep Prius Prime fully charged (at home, work or anywhere with a public charging station), the greater your gasoline fuel savings will be.
Prius Prime uses a series parallel hybrid system, which means it can drive the wheels using both electric motors and/or its gas engine. If the battery is fully charged, Prius Prime runs on the electric motors only. When the battery runs out, it operates like a hybrid vehicle, using both the gas engine and electric motors to drive the car as they are needed and available.
Prius Prime's battery can be charged in approximately 11 hours by plugging the included charging cable into a standard household outlet. * When using a public charging station (240V), Prius Prime can be fully charged in approximately 4 hours.
The hybrid battery is covered for 10 years/150,000 miles, whichever comes first, and is transferable across ownership. *
A plug-in hybrid vehicle (PHEV) is similar to common hybrid vehicles, but has an all-electric driving range, larger battery and more powerful electric motors for greater horsepower than common hybrid vehicles.
Prius Prime works similarly to a standard Prius, but with an increased all-electric mode driving range, more powerful electric motors and enhanced fuel efficiency.