Does the Prius overheat in hot traffic?

nope it wont... unless your blocking your grill.

 

This is a scenario where the Prius shines. The engine should only run as needed to keep the traction battery SOC at two red bars. Hence there is little chance for the engine to overheat in traffic.

 

No, the Prius does not overheat in traffic. Not even close. Cars for decades have gone very thorough testing of nearly every conceivable type of driving condition anyone would normally put a car through. I have not heard of any modern automobile (say within the last twenty years) overheating in stop and go traffic during a very hot day with all the accessories running.

Rick
#4 2006

 

no. i just did that a half hour ago.

the engine is only cycling on and off to power the a/c compressor, not to provide forward momentum. it's not a concern.

 

$150 scan gauge will tell you. I also think there must me an overheat check engine light.

But as said before, it's not something I would worry about. A bigger problem is staying warm at 0f in stop and go traffic.

Icarus

 

I was driving here in Phoenix today and it showed 108... 106 on city streets (freeway is always a bit warmer with all the cars/asphalt). Anyway, I was on a conference call on my hand free and pulled into a car wash. I probably sat in the parking lot for 30 minutes with the A/C blasting away while I finished up the call. I was pulled into the parking slot up to a half wall so I'm sure the heat was just radiating off that wall.

 

"Summer time, and the livin' is easy.." Oh yeah, says who?

ZC1,

Yesterday, I ran a test that, until better real life experience comes along,
satisfies my only-somewhat scientific mind that the Prius will not overheat
in conditions very similar to what you have posed.

Ballamer, Merlin is suffering through an unseasonable early-summer heat
wave right now. Temps on Saturday, 100 deg. F; on Sunday, 97 deg F; and
today, 100 deg F. Same expected through this weekend. Yesterday, while we
were out doing the weekend errand drive-about, I decided to see what would
happen if I left the car in Ready-Park with the AC on for an extended period.

Temp was 97 deg F, humidity >90%, car was stationary, in the open, direct
sun, no breeze, AC set to 78 deg, second to the lowest fan setting, not Auto,
started test with 5 blue bars.

AC kept running continuously on HV battery until it was in 2 purple/pink bars
for a while, coolant temp showed 184 deg F on the --> ScanGauge. <-- Then
ICE kicked in; 1184 RPMs, IGN (ignition advance) 13, ran for 2 minutes, HV
battery built up to 3 blue bars, coolant temp rose to 196 deg F. -- MPG of
course dropped, ~1/2 MPG during the 2 minutes. AC on the whole time.

ICE then shut off, AC continued running for 3 minutes as HV battery dropped
back to 2 purple/pink bars. Coolant temps backed off to 184 deg F.

I watched as the car went through this cycle three times, with only minor
variations in the ICE on/off times and coolant high/low temps.

I've read that the radiator fans come on at ~205 deg F. I was well below
that. I feel confident that it would take conditions much hotter than I
saw for the Prius to overheat in stop and go, creeping-slowly-along driving.

Hope this helps set your mind at ease -- it did mine.

Edit: Get a ScanGuage, it's best "mod" for your money, no doubt about it.

 

I haven't been able to get the fan to start WITH the grill blocked. I lost 2 pieces from the top so that is only 75% blocked and now that it is 100F I pulled both tubes from the bottom.

 

Jim, other than the engine, you might want to watch out for inverter temp. The radiator for the inverters are on the bottom. Electronics don't like to get hot. If I were you, I would unblock the bottom of radiators FIRST.

 

Boy I hope not.... or my car would be overheating everday from early May until the end of September.

 

She does better than the old fashion cars.
The fan on the AC condenser would move warm air out of the engine bay when stationary and the AC would be the only heat source most of the time.

 

Interesting. I ran a similar test on Friday afternoon. Temp 85 F, Humidity "high", in shade, New Black 2008 Touring, parked with windows closed.

My ICE ran for about 1 minute, then rested for 4 minutes. So total cycle time of 5 minutes was same as yours, but lower temps and shade made my ICE run only 1 minute instead of your two minutes.

 

The ICE runs only to charge the battery. The AC compressor is not a belt driven device ; like in the old days, but is powered direct from the battery.

 

I think he meant the ICE is indirectly powering the A/C by charging the battery.

Anyway, the only references I've seen here to the Prius overheating is when there's something wrong -- defective fan, pump, or air not bled after a coolant change.

 

Ira Gershwin

 

The bottom was blocked 80% with the middle open. I do pull these tubes. The 8 top sections stayed blocked until I found 2 pieces missing.

 

I was thinking about this thread again today. I decided to hit Best Buy to buy a few things at lunch. I thought I was going to run right in and out so I left it running and locked up. It was 108 degrees. I then couldn't decide on which 2 cordless mouses I wanted to buy, and also were looking at a few other things. I probably ended up in there for 30 mins. I had the A/C as high as it would go the entire time. My car didn't catch fire... and everything seemed normal... and it wasn't stolen.

Mike