Locking and leaving Prius on with heat on?

This is actually illegal in Washington.


RCW 46.61.600: Unattended motor vehicle.

 

You know the US needs to be the unique snowflake. Who else uses US gallons??
That is a different light, apparently.

 

Don't shower. use baby wipes. get them extra wet with just a simple bottle of drinking water, or use as is.

 

I'd expected some legal disagreements, with you likely losing because the ignition is still on, and the engine eventually will fire up.

Housekeeping electrical service in an RV is very likely to pass muster under this law.

Considering that most law enforcement has vastly greater fish to fry, it does seem that you have little to worry about.

 

WOW - yes, the AUSSIE cars do the same, thanks.

 

And the Poms, tried it myself this morning!

... Oh, for non-Australians, Poms = Limeys = Brits. Your euphemism may vary!

 

I'm thinking about the original question, and wondering about:

• If you were to leave your car on for a period of days, and if everything else around is covered in snow (it snows there?), I'd assume that there would be MUCH LESS or NIL snow on your car than surrounding objects/cars - which could arouse suspicion;
• We don't really get cold here - I've never seen snow in my 63 years. But my recollection of "cold" days last winter where I ran the heater, the ICE ran much more to produce heat than it does to top-up the battery to run the A/C in summer. I'd probably do a "dry run" to check how often it runs. If this was the case, the car could need petrol (gas/fuel) more often.
• It could be worth checking what is the minimum temperature you need to set to achieve "non-freezing" in the boot (trunk) where your susceptible equipment is stored, bearing in mind that the heater "normally" only warms the front seat floor area if there are no rear passengers or if it's not set to send air to the back seat floor area.

 

Even if it is set to heat the rear seats, that does not mean the cargo area will be at the same temperature.
The best advice, based on the information from others, is "It's illegal in your state. Don't do it!"

 

The original question is from Seattle.

This doesn't happen every year in Seattle. And when it does, it most commonly lasts hours, not days. And when it does last, most likely predators (just like the non-predators) don't know how to drive in even a couple inches of that stuff, so won't be able to steal it.

An extension cord to a 120V outlet, an anti-freeze thermostat outlet, and a low powered heater in the car, would probably be better and safer.

Here is a sample thermostat outlet:
120-Volt Thermocube Thermostatically Controlled Outlet-TC3 - The Home Depot

 

The recommendation of other who have done this is the inverter size must be 1kw or smaller. I do not know how that would change ICE running,

 

I'd ask advice before doing that - the 12V, as far as I recollect, will just go flat - won't start the ICE from time to time to re-charge like the Hybrid Battery will. Could co$t you a new battery quite often.

I'd do a dry run - park the car and observe how often the ICE runs to keep the internal temperature above the freezing threshold you want.

 

Yes, I can't see why that wouldn't work - didn't realise you meant still with power ON.

But instead of an inverter, why not investigate a 12V space heater like they use in caravans or motorhomes. One less thing to go wrong and less cables to overheat etc. You can get portable ones or built in ones, I believe. I had a portable one back in the '70s - was cheap and bit nasty back then, but I assume they're better now.

 

To build on what Mendel Leisk said, get a large cooler. There are super high end coolers like Yeti and Pelican that keep ice frozen for 10 days. The reverse is certainly also true. Put the water in hot and it should keep for a few days.

What the hell kind of camping do you do where it's both freezing and you feel like taking a shower?

 

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