Hello everyone, I just bought a Silver 2013 Prius three today. I'm the kind of person to read every word of every manual, and I need to know something now before I can get into the 800 plus pages, so maybe someone can answer this for me. I'd like to go into the car and really work my way around and learn the navigation/radio system. In one of the manual pages that I am reading right now, it says "To prevent the 12 volt battery from being discharged, do not leave the audio system on longer than necessary when the engine is not running (hybrid vehicles: the hybrid system is off). Maybe I'm just not understanding the way to do this, but when you start the car, the gas engine is not running. That means at that time you are not moving, so the gas engine is not on, right? If you turn on the radio or navigation system, you are running off the battery and it is not recharging, you are running it down. Am I correct so far? If so, are you able to start the car, sit in it for a half hour while it is not moving and listen to the radio? I'd like to spend some time programming the navigation system, learning the bluetooth thing, and everything else without killing the battery. Can you get the engine to turn on while you are sitting there so you don't run down the battery? Thanks for the help. Steve
As long as the ready light is lit (car is on) the gas engine (ice) will start automatically to recharge the battery. SCH-I545 ? 4
the engine will turn on once the hybrid battery is too low. You will be ok to sit in it for 30 mins to learn how to play with your new toy. Its the same as any other car.
The hybrid battery charges the 12v battery not the engine directly. As mentioned above, it just needs to be in the "Ready" mode (brake + on button). Enjoy the read!
As you can see, I bought the same car. The battery gauge will get down to 2 bars and then kick the engine on as long as you have the car in ready mode. The book is talking about when you turn the radio, AC, etc. on and you are not in the ready mode, ie, ACC mode.
Thanks everybody for the replies. I've been reading the manuals since my first post and just watched the quick reference guide DVD. Love the car. Why did I wait this long to buy one?
Once again, thanks for the helpful answers. I just finished reading the 600+ page manual so I'm good to go. Replaced the carpet floor mats and rear carpet cargo mat with the all weather Prius rubber versions today. The only thing left to decide if if I want to keep SiriusXM past the 3 month trial period, and if I want to buy and put the mudflaps on. All is well. Time to just enjoy!
Speaking of the SiriusXm radio feature, I find the navigation of that really bad. There are so many channels and it's difficult to find what you want or even type in one if you know the number.
MPGnutcase, I agree with you here. I've liked using Pandora for years. I like SiriusXM somewhat, but I don't like it enough to keep it at that cost. I've been thinking that I'd rather add to my data plan and use some of the other radio options available.
I did recieve a 6mo trial offer for $25 from XM, but my Pri 4 came with 3yrs of XM data, Pandora, I-Heart radio still think the $25 is a waste...........
