Today, it is around 25 degrees F here, and I drove my prius C for 5 minutes or so before turning on the heater. To my surprise, the heater had already "warmed up" and the air coming from the vents was warm. Does the electric heater element warm up when it is cold outside even when the heater isn't turned on? Don't know if it matters, but I was in Eco mode at the time.
What was the last temperature setting you had the climate control set at? The car remembers which setting you had last and maintains that temperature when you turn it on. For example, you set it to 80. Turn it "off". The air coming through is still coming in at 80. So when you turn it back "on", it will be already set at 80 again.
I didn't know the c came with an electric heater. My full size Prius will turn the engine on if I run the heat long enough while stopped.
The C should too, just have to keep it running long enough to drain the battery and need it to recharge.
when you say 'heat wasn't turned on', do you mean the fan? after 5 minutes of driving in 25 degree weather, the ice is warm and air from it will be warm when you turn the heat on.
AFAIK, the heater in any of the Prius family gets it's heat from engine coolant (warmed by the engine). Or not? That's been the basis for heating the cabin, pretty much since the beginning. I believe it's the case for all but pure electric vehicles.
I asked a Prius Tech if it had an electric heater element, he said no...they have a coolant line that runs by the exhaust header too so it gets warmed up darn quickly! I could have sworn it was electric since it heats up so much more quickly than my other cars ever have.
The Prius C has three PTC (positive temperature coef.) electric heaters to supplement the heat generated by the engine coolant. These heaters also exist in the Liftback. There are three high current relays and three 30 amps fuses for the heaters and they are located in the under hood fuse block on the passenger side (North American layout) near the fire wall. Judging from the size of the fuses, the heaters supply roughly 1,000 watts of heating.
Interesting. US manual: Australian manual: Also Fuse 7 (HTR-IG) in the fuse box under the dash, the US manual mentions the PTC heater too - but not in ours.
