I attended a "new owner open house" at my Toyota dealer last night, in which the service and sales people were available for questions and explanations. Here are a few things I found out (some have been mentioned elsewhere on this forum, but bear repeating): - The little whirring noise you hear coming out of the hood when you first touch the driver's door handle is the brake fluid pump. Because it's electric, it has to pressurize itself before you get in and step on the brake. - The car is virtually impossible to hot wire and steal, because there are 6 different computers (or computer checks, I forget which) that all interact with your key fob at various times during the start-up process - The car is extremely intelligent and won't let you do much that will damage it. For example, if you're driving and throw the gear shifter into "R" while you're moving forward, the car won't do it, but will only beep at you - There is no good way to tie down the hatchback if you're hauling something flat that's sticking out of the cargo compartment (dammit...) - It's not advisable to use a trickle charger on the small 12v battery in the car; use a battery tender instead - If the driver's door isn't unlocking consistently when you touch the handle, it's because the key fob battery needs to be replaced -Unless enough people complain about it, the problem of an iPod automatically starting the audio system when it's plugged in won't get fixed - To start the car if the key fob battery is dead, rest the Toyota symbol on the fob against the POWER button for a second or two; that will light the power button and allow you to start the car (this is in the manual, but the tech said it bore repeating) - The heat in the car comes from the gas engine; it's not electric heat - To convert the "v" to an all-electric car, using today's battery technology, would completely eat up all the spare tire and storage space beneath the rear compartment Fun stuff to find out!
Thanks for the facts! What's the difference between a trickle charger and a battery tender? I thought they were the same thing. I would gladly sacrifice the spare tire and under hatch storage for an all electric v!
According to the service tech, a battery tender monitors the battery charge and when it's full, it stops charging. When it drops, it starts charging again. Versus a trickle charger which constantly sends a trickle of electricity to the battery, even after it's charged -- so it can over-charge it.
... and also go into Neutral. Same if you hit the "P" button. In fact, in an emergency (such as the mythical Sudden Unintended Acceleration), these get to Neutral faster because they skip the normal one second delay imposed when pushing the stick to N. But beware that below some certain low speed, it really will go into R or P. No big deal for R in the parking lot, but it will give you quite a jolt for P. Note that I am describing standard Prius behavior, and am unaware of any ways here where the 'v' may differ from the Liftback.
another thing that's interesting to me is that the car will start with the key anywhere in the car. My old '08 wouldn't let you start when the key was in the back hatch area -- after soccer practice, I usually forget about my key in the duffle bag when I throw it back there.
If you are looking for a battery tender, get the Battery Tender brand tender. It is the standard for tenders.
Is this really necessary for the 12v battery to be charged externally? Is this for people who drive the car only like once a month or is this even for people who use it as a daily driver?
"Once a month" is exactly what the service tech said. He said that battery should be good for about 4 weeks of inactivity with the car. If you're not going to drive it for a longer period. he said to either get a Battery Tender or to disconnect it. He also laughed, "Why get such a fuel efficient car if you're only going to drive it once a month?"
Actually, the heat can come from both the hot engine coolant and the battery. There is an electric heating element attached to the heater core. This PTC electric heating element provides instant heat to the passenger compartment before the engine warms up enough to provide heat.
Thanks for the "cool" fact about PTC heaters in the Prius vehicles. I found a very detailed pdf file on the subject of PTC heaters in the Prius (http://www.autoshop101.com/forms/Hybrid06.pdf). Interesting read, with plenty of diagrams.
My wife and I have been discussing replacing our 04 Honda accord with a V. This is great info. We have the C and like it, we may just add the V, but first more research to do....
A reason to need a Battery Tender is simple ... people go on vacation, go overseas, have illness and cannot drive the car, etc, etc. Currently ours is in Indiana for 6 weeks due to having to make a trip back to Texas and could not drive it ...hope it starts...we will see.
