does anyone know why the inverter plug goes on and off when you put it in gear? i have a fast drone battery charger and tried to use the inverter to charge my drone batteries and the inverter is basically useless as far as i can tell,,,, what is used for it you can't use it while you are driving, which seems to be the case.

also,,my switch says 100w and also 400w,,, how do you know how many watts it is putting out?

I don't have an answer but same happened to me when I tried to charge my portable power station for a Colorado trip last month. Thought I'd be able to charge while driving but no. Works fine when in neutral or park though. I left it idling in park for about ~3 hours one day just to charge up a bit.


My power station will only let me charge at a max of 169 watts on AC outlet.
I've tested a floor fan to be working just fine while on and driving.

My guess is it won't let anything above 100 watts to be used while driving? I have no idea really.

400w is only available with ignition on and in Park or neutral. 100w only when in gear. Mine appears to work fine at 100w while driving. If I try to draw more, it shuts off. To test it plug in a household lamp, under 100w and check to see if and when the light stays on.

That is normal, put in drive, power shuts off. 100/400 W has a selector button on lower left side of your dash.

If you look in your owners manual , it explains this "feature" (shutting off). I don't find the inverter all that useful because of this. Would be nice to use while driving.

Inverter will work while driving. You just have to turn it on by pushing the button.

Thanks that is good to know. I just got a 2016 and am still trying to figure everything out.

There is an easy mod somewhere on here to keep the invertor running at 400 watts when driving...did it to mine.

dont happen to remember what you did by any chance?

Sorry about my confused post;;I was thinking the OP wanted to use the 400W while driving. Only the 100W works while the vehicle is moving. The 400W works only while the vehicle is stationary and in P or N. Copy from Owners Manual:

■ Maximum available capacity of the power outlet
● While the vehicle is being driven
The maximum capacity of the power outlet is always 120 V AC/
100 W.
● When the vehicle is stationary
The maximum capacity of the power outlet varies depending on
the position of the shift lever.
• The maximum capacity is 120 V AC/100 W when the shift
lever is in any position other than P or N.
• The maximum capacity is 120 V AC/400 W when the shift
lever is in P or N.
The maximum capacity of 400 W can only be restored by turning the
power outlet main switch off and then on again with the shift lever in
P or N.

Here’s one of the many threads that talk about the mod. Especially #26.
400W Inverter Mod?

Not exactly!
But I see @ElectroBoy posted a link.
That post #26 is exactly what I did and it worked on my 2019.