Plug-In Prius: real winter driving

Hah. The part with no palm trees! Try Portland Maine.

 

I am on 7th winter with Prius. Always with the all-season tires with no issue whatsoever. Highway here gets plowed fairly quick.

I remember one winter, I parked in a street and a lot of snow fell overnight. In the morning, I found out a snow plow buried my Prius (2006). There was a wall of snow almost up to the window. I dug out and Prius got out but not easily though. I had to rock it out (forward and reverse).

This is the first winter with my PiP. It drove with confident (2 hours) on unplowed snow during Nor'easter snow storm hit NYC. OEM all-weather tires with no problem.

 

Good that helps, you should update your profile.

 

I love sarcasm

 

You are so lucky, the only snow we get is in the mountains and then we must put on chains. So I never do know what the snow traction his. Great to hear the traction is so good. !!

 

I'm a natural.

 

Rain on the roadway is almost as bad as snow when it comes to mileage. I've dropped 15% in the past two days because of the rain.

 

Reading the posts on moisture or frost on the Inside of the Windshield, no one mentioned the Outside air or Recirculated air mode button. You need to select Outside Air to reduce the Humidity in the car.

Then if you don't want the ICE to start, you CAN'T use the FRONT button which is the Windshield defogger button. It WILL start the ICE. Just use the Fan, with Temp Control Setting at LO and Fan Outlet button selected for windshield and feet. (I wish the PIP Fan Outlet button had a windshield-only selection.)

If the ICE is used, like above 62 mph, then you can use the FRONT button which is the Windshield defogger button, since the ICE is already on.

 

I second need for Fan Outlet button with a windshield-only selection. I don't have any need for cold feet and thankfully a sock in drivers side floor vent achieves the same result, but it would be an easy and needed improvement if Toyota provided a windshield-only vent option for PIP.

Admittedly, problem with sock is it blocks heat as well. In my case, I'm still all EV for my commute with lowest temps so far only in 20's, so it's interim solution until it's cold enough to need heat.

 

oh man why did i have to read this.
time to find some socks with holes and plug my vents

 

I agree on all points. What is actually happening with some people is that the PIP is a very tight car, so, on days where the temps are in the 40s a larger amount of heat is stored in the car, causing a big temperature differential between the inside and the outside of the glass. This causes condensation on the inside of the windshield. If, after this phenomena , the temp continues to drop to freezing or below then ice forms. In my area the weather is too mild for ice to form, but large amounts of moisture do totally impede visibility. Many of the options that people have suggested do help, windows cracked open, allowing recirculated air. However (in my case) I must resort to using the defrost button. Since the ICE will come on anyway during my 7 minute trip, I may as well deliberately turn it on so I can see. Normally in Sacto this is not a problem, but during the months of Nov-Jan our humidity is much higher. This area is actually listed as a semi-arid desert environment. Now if I was in Johns area, because it is so cold, the air is also drier, inside and outside of the car. So we all have slightly different conditions causing confusion between us.

 

volume of moisture builds up inside the car?

 

lol, do you complete your wife's sentences too?

 

I'm also confused about what the tightness of the car has to do with any of this

 

no place for the condensation to excape

 

Not for Bostonians!

 

PiP is tight and moisture builds up inside? Not sure where this thread is going.

 

That's because your particular area is not experiencing the same weather, how is it even possible for you to understand? No less accept.

 

please read carefully, you are misquoting my posts? I never said volume of moisture builds up, that's your expression.