Question about plug-in

The Plug-In engine only starts for 5reasons.
1. If you drive too far and deplete the charge.
2. If you call for too much power from the pedal.
3. If you are getting into an over-charge condition, such as too much regenerative braking on a full battery. (This happens more easily when the temperature is below 45F / 7C)
4. Every 125 km / 78 miles (Yes, that sounds odd, but that's the way it is).
5. If you operate the heater or defroster. (The seat heater is OK and the front defroster is OK as long as the temp has been set to LO).
Once the engine starts, it will remain running until it reaches normal operating temperature.

 

welcome!
is that campina brazil? what are your annual temperature fluctuations?

this being the gen 3 forum, i will assume you are talking about the 2012-2015 prius plug in.

the 'thermal engine does not start by default, if you have wall charge left in the battery.

if you want heat, you would need a 2017 or later prius prime plug in, which has a larger battery for more ev miles, and an electric heat pump which operates down to 14f.

 

2013 plug-in user here, fuel economy decreases, fuel consumption goes up on colder temps (not sure how much mpg), more engine use for heat production and heat maintainance, dependent on your cabin temperature setting, even if you don't use the heater, with all the variables given above, it does automatically starts including the level of road you are in (incline), hope that helps..

SM-G950U ?

 

there's no fuel economy if the engine doesn't start, unless you mean kwh/mile

 

With my 2010 the engine does start by default, and definitely runs for the majority of time, for the first 5 to 10 minutes. Once the engine is more or less warmed then it will start shutting down, during low load and low speed conditions.

To hasten engine shut down, and accelerate warm up:

1. Turn the cabin heat setting down, and/or turn it right off, when you're stopping during warm up, say at red traffic lights.
2. Consider installing the block heater, using it for at least 2 hours prior to starting the car. Toyota makes a Prius specific block heater. Current North American part number is: PU140-00905

DIY install of the block heater is NOT an easy job, mainly because there are so many cables and associated brackets adjacent to the spot the block heater inserts. It is barely possible. I did it mostly from below, reaching up, with the engine under panel removed (obviously). From above I unbolted one wiring bracket, and tugged/pushed/cajoled everything barely out of the way, with skinned knuckles.

There is a heat transfer grease supplied with the block heater. I would recommend to dry fit the block heater first, then pull it out, apply grease to the tip, let it go back in slightly, then apply grease to the rest as you slide it in. The alternate, applying grease to the whole thing and then trying to get it in, can end in a mess.

More info:

Block heater failed | PriusChat

 

I think I understand your question.
I have a 2018 Prius Prime Plug-In. I charge the battery each night by plugging the vehicle in.
When I leave the house I can drive at least 25 miles without the gas engine starting.
I use the heated seats instead of using the cabin heater to conserve as much battery power as possible.
I also used to have a 2010 regular prius, non-plugin. That vehicle would start the gas engine each time in the morning regardless of how full the traction battery was. I installed a block heater as Mendel has mentioned and had it on a timer that would turn on to heat up the engine several hours before my typical departure time. With the block heater the gas engine would still start in the morning when the car was first turned on, but would then shut off within a minute or so.
Hope this helps.

 

The simple answer to this question is "Yes", a properly functioning plug-in will always consume less fuel than a regular hybrid, and this applies to any kind of weather conditions, simply because it has electric-only range that a regular hybrid doesn't.

 

I'm living in Sweden /Europe ( quite coold in the winter , about 0-7 Celsius degrees in my area) and I have an Prius Plug In 2015 (gen 1 same as 2013) and the ICE /petrol engine always kick in from start ( even though I have an block heater that I use every winer night) . The petrol enigine will run for at least the first 1-2 km ( 0.6- 1.2 miles I think) and then it will kick in every 3 rd km ( 1.86 miles) until the car gets warm in about 8 km ( 4.9 miles).
Gen 1 doesn't have any (battery driven) heat pump.

If You want to run on battery from start in coold weather conditions You have to get an Prius Plug In gen 2 2016/17 - 19.
They got "heat pump"

Plug In (even gen1) will have slightly better "average/overall" fuelconsumption than non PIP Prius 2012 though, but notr so much if You nly/mstely drive short trips

 

I've been really trying to rein in my editorial grumpiness these days, but geez louise, can we just call the thing an "engine".

As is, you're saying Internal Combustion Engine / Petrol Engine.

I know everyone here has a bad case of ICE'itis, and it's infectious, lol. Anyway:

I use block heater too. I monitored coolant temp with ScanGuage for a few years, and it would raise coolant temps around 20~25C above outside air temperature. After as little as two blocks the engine could shut down (say at red traffic lights). Especially so if you (temporarily) turned the cabin ventilation off, or at least down to lowest temp setting.