Hello everyone, I am so glad this forum exists as I have so much to learn about the car still. I just bought a Sea Glass Pearl 2015 Prius Two and I just love it despite negative comments I've gotten from some people. If any of you have any tips and tricks I should learn for the Prius please let me know! I have a few questions in case some of you might have answers: 1) Does the Prius automatically shut off the headlights when you forget to do it? In my last car a 2008 Nissan Sentra, every time I tried to get out of the car without shut off the lights, the car would do a very long beep until I turned it off. However in the new Prius I've found myself leaving it on by accident. 2) Where can I get the Automatic Start clicker. I live in Miami, Florida and it's seriously hot here most of the year, so I would like to be able to start the car a few minutes before entering it. 3) Anything you feel I should know/learn as a new Prius owner?
Yes, the Prius will shut off the headlights when you power down. There is a menu that allows you to select the amount of time delay before shutting them off, including no delay meaning they shut off immediately upon power down. To access this menu, you must be stopped. You have a Settings button on the center stack. Then in that menu you have a Vehicle selection. There's a list of vehicle settings mostly regarding auto locking/unlocking doors, but there is one near the bottom that mentions headlight delay. You can click this and set it to several settings, including no delay (they shut off immediately when you power down.)
To further that discussion, I am a big man who parks in a garage 99% of the time, so I want a 0 second delay. You have the picture of a young woman with a Prius parked outside. If that is you, and your headlights illuminate your walk to the door, you want enough delay to be sure you get there. I suspect 30 seconds, 60 seconds, and 90 seconds are your other choices.
Congratulations, you made a wise decision and you will love the car even more as you drive it. Negative comments from "some" people is just jealousy because they don't understand the Prius concept! Yes the headlights shut themselves off with a delay that YOU program into the car. Better yet, put your control to "auto" on the light switch stalk on the left of the steering wheel, and your headlights will automatically turn themselves on when it gets dark enough! I don't believe the level 2 Prius comes with the auto air conditioning start option.......but I could be wrong, ask your dealer about this. But don't worry, where I live, the temps are 95 to 100 right now, I never use my auto start button because the car cools down in about 30 seconds or less. Just leave the "A/C" button on, leave the "auto" button on, leave the recirculate button on. When you get in and start the car, the fan will then automatically turn on full blast until the car reaches the desired temperature you set (in our case that is 75) and then it will automatically turn to a lower speed to maintain your temperature. You can drive your new Prius like a regular car if you wish and get superior (45 - 50 mpg) gas mileage. However, if you want to get outstanding (50 - 60 mpg) gas mileage you must learn to drive somewhat differently. There are many good threads on PriusChat to give you tips on how to get the most out of your Prius. And you can always ask more questions. It is a fun and helpful group. Welcome.
Thank you so much for all your detailed responses. The auto start clicker I'm talking about is one that apparently starts the whole car up but you have to get it separately. Either way I haven't had issues with temperature yet so I'll keep it the way it is for now. As far as mileage goes if I'm looking at the right screen, I'm only getting around 34.5 mpg and it doesn't really seem to change much. I must be doing something wrong so I need to do more research. Again thank you!
I agree with you, that is the photo my salesman took of me and Larimar (my car) right before I drove off with her. I park in a garage as well but the car almost never faces the entrance and it's pretty well lit at all times. I will say it is beneficial for any other garages I might park in. 30 seconds should be more than enough. Thank you.
congrats and welcome to priuschat! you can get a remote start from the dealer, or auto audio shoppe. all the best!
