Is this normal?

1. yup

2. nope. i usually turn off my ac (if i have it on) and my radio

 

1. It is just taking up the slack in the parking pawl. Normal.
2. The Owner's Manual will tell you to put the car in Park and then hit the Power button to turn it off. You will find out that if you hit the Power button first it will put the car in Park as well. Either way works. I just prefer to hit Park first and then Power off.

As stated above it is a good idea to turn off the AC first and let it run for a few minutes to let the coil cool down to keep condensation from forming on the coil. This can lead to a musty smell coming form the vents.

 

You should be using your parking brake anyways. Always set the parking brake before you remove your foot from
the foot brake pedal. When releasing the parking brake, always apply the foot brake first. This will keep the weight of the car from resting on the parking pawl and reduce driveline loading.

 

It will save the pawl in the long run if you park on hills, thus saving you from having to rebuild your tranny too early.

 

I'm sure it got worse depending on the hills incline. Did you ever park on a steep hill without your parking brake and have to pop it out of park? That pop is the pawl being stressed.

 

I'll have to try this. I can't imagine that the car has a power operated shift lever so how does it shift the car into park by hitting the power button?

 

JD is thinking of all the other Prius models, which have an electronic shift paddle that returns to the rest position after each shift and thus does not have to be put into Park before powering down.

The C, of course, has a standard shifter whose state is not affected by hitting the power button, so you always have to shift it to Park manually.

 

Have you attempted it? I thought we had an electronic shifter as well, with the old style shift handle to make the transition to hybrids easier for noobs... I'll try this on my way home tonight, if someone doesn't beat me to it.

 

Sorry about that. I forgot that the c has a different shifter than the other Prii.

 

(EDIT: Oops... others answered this already, but with slightly less detail, so I'll just leave it here)

Not in a Prius c, which doesn't have the "joystick" style shifter, but instead has a more traditional shifter that looks a lot like those found in a regular auto. It needs to be physically pushed forward into the Park position when turning the car off.

The C1 and C2 (without SKS) will not let you remove the key from the ignition unless the shifter is in Park.

The C3 and C4 (with SKS) will not turn off unless the shifter is in Park. If you are in READY mode and press the Power button with the shifter in any position other than Park, it will show a warning message saying "SHIFT TO P POSITION", flash the warning indicator light and go from READY to Accessory mode, not actually turn off.

If you then move the shifter to P, another warning message will show saying "TURN POWER OFF" to remind you that you still need to press the Power button again.

There are other warnings for opening the driver's door without the shifter in Park or for attempting to lock the car when it's not actually off.

Basically you have to shift it to P yourself before turning off.

Good luck with that. As above, the car will school you on how to work it if you try.

 

Good to know. That's what I was wondering. I knew it had an electronic shift mechanism with a mechanical switch, so wasn't sure how that would react.

 

I know it beeps if you open the door before turning it off.

 

There are a lot of beeps it will give out... basically the car does get quite upset and make a bit of a fuss if you get out without turning the car off properly, or open the driver's door without the shifter in Park.