Your secret to get heater warmth fast?

You could do all your button pressing from the climate screen, so you could select that first. You don't need to turn off the AC compressor, it won't run if you're calling for heat. There are electric coils that provide a small amount of heat without cooling the engine when you first start. The Prius tries to get the engine and cat. converter warm first, to lower emissions. Recirc air can keep cold air out, but it keeps the moisture in your breath in, so your windows will fog sooner, particularly if you've turned off the compressor.

 

Just leave it set to auto. Why do you think that its default behaviour won't be to warm the car up to your target temperature as fast as possible?

I never normally touch the climate controls, except for demisting/deicing, and maybe bumping the temperature up or down a degree© or two.

 

When at home I use a block heater. The heater is on as I back out of the garage.

- Tom

 

I leave it on AUTO, and set the temperature on 70 or 72 depending on how sunny it is in the morning, and our Prius heats up way faster than our regular car. Defrost does seem to run the A/C compressor, as it does in most cars these days, and that will sometimes result in a cold air blast to the face, but better that than to hit a telephone pole because you can't see out.

 

I leave mine set exactly the way you are setting yours. The automatic system will switch between recirculation and outside air if you don't override it.

Tom

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(fphinney @ Jan 3 2007, 01:51 AM) [snapback]369926[/snapback]</div>

I think setting the climate control to "HI" is counterproductive, since this essentially tells the car to blow "heat" regardless - even if the car is not warmed up, which will give a blast of cool air. <_<

I think the most efficient way to heat the car is just press the Auto button on the steering wheel, set the temperature you want, and let the car do it's thing. It's quite smart that way.

With respect to recirc vs. fresh air, recirc tends to heat/cool quicker, but fresh air will usually be more dry, which translates to clearer windows. So it depends on your priorities.

With cold ambient temperatures, a cold engine and the thermostat set to a higher temperature, the car will not blow any significant air until it is able to provide reasonable warmth. As qbee42 already mentioned, the car will automatically cycle between air modes; generally uses recirc if there is a wide temperature gap to adjust, then switch to fresh air for "cruising". B)

That's the way I see it, anyway.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(fphinney @ Jan 4 2007, 07:30 AM) [snapback]370613[/snapback]</div>

Those devices are there (at least on US models), and they're used when extra heat is needed. The repair manual states they should come on if you set "MAX HOT". Many people have wrongly interpreted that to mean they only come on when MAX HOT is set.

Yes, and that's a good thing. It will let the heater core warm up faster, and it will stop cold air from being pushed into the car. Think of it as the car precharging the system before starting air flow. You're not losing any heat energy because of this.

 

I leave it on A/C Auto, too, but the fan turns on as soon as I turn on the engine. I turn it off the first few minutes so it isn't blowing cold air on me, but as soon as I can cruise at 99 MPG, I turn it on.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Stev0 @ Jan 4 2007, 01:52 PM) [snapback]370806[/snapback]</div>

If you set the climate control to blow on the windshield (either by MFD or steering wheel button) it skips the wait and blows air immediately, presumably for safety reasons. After all, it's better to have cool air clearing the windshield than no air at all if you can't see.

Also, the ICE starts up immediately when you start the car if the windshield is selected, skipping the ~7 second delay.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Sarge @ Jan 5 2007, 09:49 AM) [snapback]371213[/snapback]</div>

On the rare occasion when the windshield was fogged, I do that. But if it's clear, I just do without heat for five minutes or so until the engine is warm.

 

With global warming, who needs a heater?

 

I know it burns a little gas, but couldn't you just press on the go pedal (don't know if you can call it a gas pedal) and let the ICE rev up to warm the engine quicker?

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(fphinney @ Jan 3 2007, 01:51 AM) [snapback]369926[/snapback]</div>

Cripes, if you think the heater is weak in San Francisco, you can only imagine what I went through up here in Winnipeg my first winter at -40 C. The pointy bits almost fell off.

Since I started using a winter front to block the grille, I've had good heat output. Even at -28 C, the motor will briefly shut off at red lights.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(RBW111 @ Jan 5 2007, 04:23 PM) [snapback]371493[/snapback]</div>

The Prius by design produces very little "waste" heat. That's good for fuel economy and emissions, bad though if you live in a cold climate.

My first winter at -40, the ICE ran constantly and I still just about froze solid. As stated above, the winter front makes a big difference.

 

i am in fairbanks, alaska, and i have had my 07 prius for just over a week. last week the temps were hovering around zero all week. i don't have a garage, but my prius has a block heater, oil pan heater and battery blanket (it is winterized). when i would turn on the car, i could start the interior heater fan by putting the climate controls in manual and selecting an appropriate setting.

this week the temps have been dropping down below -20 at night. i didn't drive the prius at all monday. tuesday afternoon, after having the heaters plugged in for several hours, i started the car and let it run for 20ish minutes. when i came out, the heater fan was not blowing and i could not get it to blow. i drove it down the street and filled the tank. i drove it around the block a minute. but i was freezing, so i went home and left it running and called the dealer. when the service dept returned my call 15 minutes later, i went out to check on the status of the heater fan and found it running. this was approximately an hour after starting the car.

is there an interlock that prevents the fan from running even in manual settings if the engine is too cold??
if so, is there any way to override this?

 

The system in the anti-Prius works the same as the Prius system. Just so you know how I know the following.

It's counterproductive to have the fan run when there's no heat in the heater core. It makes the car feel even colder than it is.

You can get the fan to blow right away by using "defrost". The windshield symbol button is "defrost", not the hot wire type used on the hatch glass, the dried air blowing on the inside of the windshield (dried with the A/C system) type. I've found this setting will warm up a little faster than just leaving the system on "Auto". But you do feel a little colder from the cold air blowing on you. At least you can see out.

Jayman has given good advice - block the front either with a winter front (best), or with pipe insulation filling the air slots in the front of the car. But of course only if you live in a cold climate of 20F and below. BTW, what does -0 deg mean anyway - I see it from time to time on the temp display. If you get a Scangauge you can watch the coolant temp. to make sure you will not overheat the engine, though I doubt covering the front would actually do that in winter.

One thing I've found on the anti-Prius, the seat heat makes it a little easier to stand a cold car. You can add seat heaters to the Prius for not a lot of money. Search on the internet. You have to remove the seat cover and put them on the foam, then replace the seat covering. Maybe also a good time to add leather, if you want that. Katzkin sells leather seat covers. If you don't want to do it yourself, an auto upholstery shop can do it for you.

Oh, there is one difference between the anti-Prius and the Prius HVAC system - the anti-Prius warms up quite fast. Of course it should, burning 3X as much fuel as the Prius!