How to properly warm up the PIP ICE

Arghhh... where did you hear that? I also have a Gen I (2002). Back when, they said that they did not have the tools to smog the Prius, since that would require special equipment to manually control the ICE.

 

I sold my '08 Escape Hybrid to get the PIP. The new owner ask me to take it to a smog station to be sure it did not smog. The smog operator said smog will be required on it next year because of a new policy. That could be just the Escape, but I expect he meant all hybrids. The original exemption was because the existing smog test infrastructure was not capable of testing a hybrid. Maybe that infrastructure will be in place next year.

 

According to:

Smog Information

Hybrid-Electric Vehicles Exempted From Initial Smog Check
Frequently Asked Questions (Part 1)

There is no smog check requirement for hybrids and no mention of a program coming. If you have a hybrid, and you got a notice that you needed to get a smog check, you are supposed to take the car to the DMV to get the motive power designation on the registration corrected to indicate that it is a hybrid. (the letter Q).