Getting ready to move from my Gen 2 to a new Gen 3. I'm surprised to not see much talk of using a block heater in the gen 3 Prius; it's very popular among gen 2 drivers, and can make a significant improvement in mileage (especially for short or medium length trips). I see that gen 3 has a system for heating the coolant with exhaust gas - does this happen quickly enough to render an EBH less useful?
It doesn't appear that those who have installed are getting a large benefit. I decided to forgo the unit seeing that there wasn't much advantage. For those that park outside in cold climates, I could see a real benefit just to reduce wear.
One thing to keep in mind is Gen III owners are a different breed than Gen II owners, now that Toyota has made the Prius much more mainstreamed.
I just bought my G3 less than a year ago, and waited to see what the winter performance was w/o the EBH, compared to before/after with the Gen2. My conclusion is that I WILL install the EBH. While winter performance is improved with the G3, there is still a big jump in MPG between summer & winter, when the winter temp is extremely cold. I want to do a clean install instead of a dangling cable, and have an internal plug going through the firewall for a 500w electric heater mounted inside the car to defrost from the inside. Or the wheel well with a back bumper install, then I still have to connect the EBH somehow. With my G2 I basically had two dangling wires. With the G3 I want a bumper plug with a quick disconnect (like if I drive away forgetting to unplug the wire). No wires, using induction, would be even better. However how to get 120vac @5amps with induction outdoor in all weather, that won't get destroyed by the contract snow removal company. He's already chewed up one of my extensions I forgot to hang properly.
I got the Block Heater installed at purchase, and we use it pretty much without expection, for first start of the day. Typically run it for mininum 2 hours per start-up. Weekday use is made a lot easier with a programable timer. It gets the block temperature significantly higher, warm to the touch. We're in temperate climate, but use it thus year 'round. What "breed" does that make me?
