how to start prius in cold weather?

The Prius is smart. It knows what it wants, and it will do what is best for it. Just drive and be happy.

We are beginning to see cooler weather [negative F temps] which is perfectly normal, and our Prius is handling it perfectly.

 

I have found that if I leave the prius in the driveway to warm up a bit my mileage doesn't suffer near as much as if I just get in it and go.

 

Interesting, I'm very interested if there is any facts or logic to this post. I'll be paying attention to hear from the experts!

 

All I know is, if I just get in it and go, by the time I have made it a few blocks my battery is in the purple zone or almost and I drop a few mpgs. When I let it sit and warn up a few minutes neither of those two things happens nearly as much (i.e. battery drain and mpg hit.)

 

+1

 

The Prius runs it's best at a certain temp.
It will get to that temp asap.
It will run longer (ICE) if there is a demand for cabin heat to help satisfy that temp request.
That's why people use pre-heat devices in winter.
But basically it's like beekeeper said, just drive it and be happy.
The Prius will take care of itself, it knows what it's doing.

 

Same here with the car adjusting to whatever I throw at her - but a slight warm up in temps got me back into the MPG ranges I try to find during today's errands....

 

Tried the "warm up" sequence and the ICE runs for a bit and goes to electric mode and mine is garaged with an interior temp ranging from 46 F to 50 F. Definitely a car with a mind of its own...

 

AFAIK reverse is always electric.
Maybe the ICE is running to warm up the cabin, and more important: get the catalyst to operating temps.

 

Yep on both of the above.

One doesn't need to wait for the engine to start to back up.

 

I've noticed that if I start the car with a full battery and the engine starts up to warm the cabin or because I've accelerated hard, mileage will be quite low, even though it's just caused by the engine idling to provide warmth. Because I drive about 80 miles a day, if I need morning cabin warmth, I switch out of EV and use my EV battery later.

 

I have found that if I start the car and drive that the sooner I get the car up to temperature and start gliding that I can make up any mpg loss quicker than idling until warm. I have a 3 block drive through a residential neighborhood before hitting a 45 mph thoroughfare. By the time I accelerate up to 45 the engine is usually warm and I can start gliding or at least run in EV.

 

interesting. My mpg loss on 1/2 tank of fuel is almost 1 1/2 mpg when I jump in and drive and only about 1/2 mpg when doing warm up. Must just depend on the topography etc of where each person is located. I have a slight hill to climb within 1/8 mile.

But bottom line is like has been said before...just drive the darn thing..it's a car.