Overlooked Features

Thanks, I missed that feature!

 

A new surprise every day. What a great car.

(Got to say...I never thought I would want or use heated seats and steering wheel...I love both.)

 

When I owned my Gen 3 Prius, I kept the rear headrests folded forward most of the time. But I had to either catch it and adjust it, before family and friends got in the back. Otherwise, I got disgruntled looks and comments.

Hard for me to give too much credit to Toyota for this being a good "feature".
My Honda Fit has headrests in the rear that can be pushed down even with the seatback when not used and then allow for a clear path of vision out of the back.
I always felt that UP...the Prius headrests were horrible vision blockers. You are almost forced to keep them folded forward.
I think Toyota should look in the future to a design similar to The Honda Fit's rear headrests. The Toyota headrests are just so big, that you really NEED to keep them folded forward if you don't want some significant blind spots.

 

If your passenger turns on their heated seat, you have an indicator light to tell you about it right next to your heated seat switch. This is nice since you can't see the position of their switch and you don't want them to forget to turn it off.

 

I've had my Prime since October, had no idea the rear headrests folded down like that. Lol

 

Right...the light will tell you. But I also think the seat does not heat if no one is sitting in it.

 

so if you have a sack of potatoes in the passenger seat you'll end up with baked potatoes?

 

more likely, half-baked.

 

when i get pizza from my local pizza joint or from little Caesars, i use the passenger heated seat to keep it warm

 

Good to know. I forgot about the weight sensor.

 

Yes, but don't leave popcorn in the seat. I don't want to even tell you about that one.

 

Worse, a large package of your favorite, Super Bowl, beverage(s).

Bob Wilson

 

That would be a nice feature. I don't see any mention of it in the owner's manual in the section on seat/steering wheel heaters, does anyone know for sure if it works like that?

 

When I get out of the car and leave it running and get back in the seat is cold then warms back up. That is all I know.

 

I was curious about the heated seat also. I turned it on for my wife but didn't know if it would heat without weight int the seat.
I think I own a car that is smarter than me. lol

 

OK, I took my infrared thermometer to the garage. My car was COLD. I got in, did NOT start it. Passenger seat measured in several places was 39°. I turned on "both" seat heaters with nothing in the passenger seat and started the vehicle in EV mode. As I started to feel my seat warm, I checked the temp on the passenger and it was 69°. The bolsters on the passenger seat were still ~41°.

The passenger seat heater appears to operate when not occupied.

I did not do this test on the driver seat.

I welcome anyone else confirming my test. The seat heater is subtle and you may not notice unless you really sit on it to get to the heat source, IE light hand pressure alone may not feel much initial heat.

 

Damn, am I going to have to catch a crow to eat?