New to Prius, help

My Prius is still fairly new, so I haven't been through my first winter yet, but I can tell you that even though when you first start the car, the engine isn't started, within 30 seconds, the car goes into a warm up cycle where the ICE is turned on, even if you're currently parked, to warm itself and the cataytic converter up.

If you're parked, it does this for a minute or so, and sends the energy to the battery. After a minute at park, it shuts off. My suggestion would be to let it do this warm up thing before starting the heater.

Also, the car will keep the engine running no matter what if you use the A/C (or heater in this case) on highest setting...

Anyway, someone who has more experience in the winter can probably chime in and correct me where I'm wrong.

 

Well, you don't have to drive it to warm it up, but you certainly can, and you'll find that it warms up faster than any other car you've ever owned, most likely.

But if you absolutely must have a toasty warm interior, and you don't mind wasting all that energy <tsk, tsk> then just go outside, power it on, set the heater and then go back inside without powering it off. If nobody steals it while you're gone, it will be warm when you get back, two minutes later.

There's no secret trick. I wonder what the heck your dealer was talking about.


By the way, driving your car with six inches of snow on it is stupid, dangerous, and illegal in most states (although hardly ever enforced, more's the pity).

Once your car warms up and creates a little layer of nearly frictionless water beneath the snow, and then you step on the brakes, the heavy layer of snow will slip seamlessly down over your windshield, and unless it's very light powder, your wipers will be hopelessly overpowered. You are now traveling completely blind, at high speed. Good luck.

If you don't manage to kill yourself by the method above, you still have a chance to kill the guy in back of you when your roof-mounted lethal missile lets go at highway speeds and crashes into his windshield.

ALWAYS clean off the roof before driving, in a Prius, or any vehicle.

 

I keep a bottle of tequilla underneath the driver's seat when I want to warm up on cold mornings.

 

I get heat relatively quickly. Unlike the first few months I owned the car, it now spends nights under a carport, which eliminates most frost and dew issues. A decent jacket works until January around here, when the heavier stuff including gloves comes out of the closet. Back when I first got it, I was thawing the car out quite a while some days, including the annual ice storm. I'd watch the MPGs drop as the ice on the windshield got soft enough to chip away. I'm glad I sprung for the carported house: no chipping required.

Now, it was running a little rough yesterday morning when it was only 54 outside, sputtering a little when I came to a stop about 1/2 mile from home, so I'm thinking I may not get that $2.19 gas anymore. Or I'll have to use more of that Techron stuff than I want to.

Wait. $2.15 today? Hmmmm....

 

You're asking how to warm up the interior of the car, right? The Prius has almost instant heat. The A/C and heater are electric, so you don't need to "warm up" the engine before you get heat. You'll have heat as soon as you power on the car and set your climate control.

 

mikepaul,

Mine does that, too, usually when the outside temp is low and the car is cold. Others have complained about it in other posts. Senior members on this board say it's normal, though. So it's probably not your gas.

It is a little disconcerting when it happens, though.

 

No problem. I thought I understood your question right away, but then, I just switched from "all gas" a couple of weeks ago. One of the first things I noticed was the instant heat. (Mind you, it was only 55-deg outside, so it didn't take long to get nice and toasty in the car.)

Congratulations! I'm sure you're anxious to get your new car. If you haven't done so already, read the Knowledge Base articles for some really great tips. You'll get the best out of your car from the beginning. I'm glad I did.....

 

This morning, I had to shut off the front defroster to let the ICE stop, and the temp was only set for 70. I was trying to counteract the fog's attempts to white-out my windshield, and then when I hit stop-and-go traffic I noticed the ICE kept going.

"Just drive it" doesn't quite cut it sometimes until all the switches are set right...

 

In a car as low as the Prius, there is no excuse for not cleaning it off fully!