Locking Doors while Prius is on?

Everybody will tell you NOT to warm up the Prius. It stores hot coolant in a tank to aid in warm up so you only need to drive a short time and youll have heat. Warming it up wastes gas and creates unnecessary emissions.

BUT its our money and our cars and if we wish to create emissions and burn .00000001 gallon of gas by warming it up, I suppose the best way would be to remove the actual metal key from the key fob, insert the key fob into the dash, start the car, turn the heat on and lock the doors, and then when its time to get back in the car use the metal key to unlock the door.

Personally, I havent found a need to warm up the car yet. I do have an engine block heater I have on timer that runs for 3.5 hours every morning before I leave for work. That helps warm things up a little. But even when I forget to plug in the block heater the night before, my Prius starts blowing heat in record time. Its amazingly quick to warm up with a little driving.

 

And some info you might not have known, Toyota puts electric cabin heaters so that when you request max heat "HI" or 85 degrees plus, the electric cabin heaters come on. Its not enough heat to scramble eggs on a frying pan held over the vent, but its enough to slightly keep the windows defogged for the few minutes it takes to get hot, hot heat.

 

There is a button under the steering column to turn off the SKS system. Start the car normally, turn the button off. Get out of the car and ensure you have your keys then lock the doors. Use the key stored inside the fob to open the door manually when you return.