Hi: I don't even own a Prius yet, but I'm defending it against the questioning disbelief of people I run into. I work in an engineering office and the question came up at lunch about heat. One engineer allowed as how the heaters couldn't be very effectiive since the engine is so (relatively) small compared to the interior volume of the car. I replied that the heaters were electric, to which another engineer responded by saying that electric heaters are 100% efficient. So, here in Seattle where we have long somewhat cold winters (nothing like the midwest or east coast), are we Prius owners to be going to be disappointed in the heating? I know my Escort takes about ten minutes and or several miles before anything besides cold air comes out. This means that the windows are hard to defrost as well. You cold weather owners? Bob I probably only have about five or six posts left before I use up my quota and have to register under another name.......
I live in the relatively warm area of SW Missouri, but find that the prius is plenty warm within 5 minutes of start up. John and others in the more frigid areas have previously commented on how well the heaters work. The irony, to me, is that my 5.4L V8 Expedition often took 15-20 minutes to begin spewing out warm air afte start up in very cold temps. I think warming a block of steel that big takes longer than it does to warm a smaller one.
I'll echo that sentiment with respect to my 01 Navigator (basically the same vehicle, I suppose). The thing takes an eternity before I get (anything close to) warm air out of the vents.
I am in Maryland between Baltimore and DC. With our current cold weather and snow today I can say that I can feel warm air within about a mile and a half. The defroster works even faster it seems. I have no complaints about warmth--it doesn't blow until the air is warm.
there are both electric and coolant heaters in the 2K4 Prius. I live 180 miles north of Seattle and the heater works just fine. The defroster has the windows clear of frost and ready to drive in about 3 minutes and the rear defroster about the same. Just about the length of time to scrape the side windows.
Bob, I live and drive my Prius in SE Pennsylvania where it is FREEZING! The heating system in the Prius is great. In Auto mode the cabin begins warming within about five minutes. No cold air is blown into the cabin because the blowers do not kick in until after the ICE is warmed up. (This takes only a few minutes because the Prius stores hot coolant in a thermos and pumps it back into the ICE to speed warming.) If using the front defroster instead of Auto mode the car warms up even faster because the blowers kick on immediately.
Toasty Prius Experience Bob: I live across the lake in Bellevue. Cabin heating and defrosting are just not an issue, including the recent unusual snowstroms we had. Bob
Heating the cabin is no problem The local radio said the outside temperature was 2F this morning. My Prius heats up faster than the 1998 Saturn sl2 I traded. Actually I wish there was a temp setting below 65F, because in the winter I wear a coat and 65F is too hot. Hence, I often get in the car and take off my coat, then put it back on before exiting the vehicle.
I posted this in Prius online; Posted: Mon Jan 26, 2004 10:36 am Post subject: Cabin temp in winter In auto mode any setting below 65F turns on max cool, no matter what the outside temp is. Since I like to have the car around 60-62 in winter when I am dressed warmly, and do not wish to get sleepy, when I took my 04 red9 in for it's first service I asked for a change. I had downloaded what can be done by service with a hand-held and there it was; .AMBIENT TMP SFT (Ambient Temperature Shift) To control with the shifted ambient temperature against the display ambient temperature. NORMAL +3C/+2C /+1C/ NORMAL /-1C/-2C/ -3C so now when the setting is 65F the car is actually around 61F. Now I hope I don't go crazy in the summer. _________________ Peace, Ammiel
What ever happened to "vent"? My old 1993 Subaru had that and I miss it. Do most of the newer cars not have an option for vent or is it just the Prius? In addition to vent I could also control the temperature setting by sliding the control so could mix in some heat if I needed to. Also for my wish list for the next Prius, I would like the fan controls either to be a knob or up/down buttons on the steering wheel. I would give up the defroster setting on the steering wheel for fan control. Why does one need the defroster setting on the wheel anyway?
For those quick, cat-like reflexes you'll need to defrost your windows as quickly as possible! Seriously, I don't know why it would be on the steering wheel - I've always found that kinda odd. I guess they didn't want to hide it under some climate control menu. Oh, and with Toyota, "Vent" is called "Fresh." With an automatic climate controlled system, part of the point of it is to not have fan controls so that the system can adjust itself to the desired temperature through added fan speed, lowered air temp, etc.
