heater does not get hot

As I'm sure you've noticed, bwalkhouse lives in Alberta and I live in Winnipeg. Toyoprius, trust me when I say the heater in the Prius is completely inadequate for a cold climate.

I live in a high-rise condo and park in heated underground parking, so when I leave for my 10km commute, I get hot air almost immediately. At work, I'm allowed to park in heated underground parking (Can you say perks??).

When I go to a mall at -34 C, with a nasty North wind, and spend several hours gawking at things and having a cup of coffee, the d*** car gets ice cold and STAYS ice cold. It NEVER warms up in city traffic at typical speeds under 60 km/h.

My local Toyota dealer claims it is normal, as the motor is so tiny and all aluminum. I know my GMC Sierra with aluminum heads and HD cooling also ran very cool in winter, but the heater worked great.

Indeed, with the heater on full blast, if you stopped somewhere and left it idling, after 5-10 minutes the temp gauge would plummet to the bottom of the scale.

If I get on the TransCanada and set the cruise for 105 km/h, HVAC at Max Hot and high fan speed, I have to drive for +20 minutes at -30 C before the cabin gets hot enough to take my coat off.

In contrast, the best winter vehicle I ever had is my 1984 Ford F-150. I special ordered it with "Hi Output" heater. Even with a 160 thermostat that thing will roast you in no time, usually less than 5-10 minutes of town driving.

Some folks claim their Prius heats great in temps below 0 F. I don't see how.

I've learned to take along a pair of good driving gloves, and my toque (Wool hat) usually stay on as well. Looks like we have to make sacrifices for good fuel economy.

 

Jayman,
Did you read this post from john1701a:

heater discovery !!!

Could it be that the secret is to use a slower fan speed?

 

I have tried slower fan speeds but the windshield frosts up too much. What's the use of a slower fan speed if I can't see out?

With every other car and truck I have driven, in cold temps (Below -30 C or -22 F) I have had the fan on High to keep the windshield clear, with plenty of heat.

The only exception I had before the Prius was my 1992 Honda Prelude SR. It had a very anemic HVAC blower. However, it made up for it by really blasting out the heat. After 10 minutes I would always have to knock the heat slider to the halfway mark.

 

I love the Prius, but I agree with Jayman. Here in Fargo, I am cold on my 10-minute commute. If I do not pre-heat the cabin in sub-zero weather, my fingers and toes actually hurt. When I pre-heat, it is tolerable, but not acceptable.

If I have a longer drive, it does heat up eventually, and I can take off my hat and gloves. But I drove a Camry for half a day, and that thing made me realize what proper heat feels like.

Not surprising, really, considering the relative sizes of the engines, and that the camry is burning 2 or 3 times as much gas. But still, the Prius needs a hefty auxiliary electric heater, which would be easy considering the electricity available from MG1. Instead of uselessly over-charging the battery, that current could be used to heat the cab.

 

i will say reading this thread makes me glad i live in a mild climate!!

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(DaveinOlyWA\";p=\"59633)</div>

Amen in spades! I do like cold weather as apposed to hot, but some of you take cold to extremes.

 

I'd move out of Fargo in an eyeblink if I could find any place else that was as nice to live. The cold is a b*tch, but it's the only bad thing about Fargo. And it only lasts 5 months out of the year. The rest of the time it's really nice here.

 

"Slow" means not max. The middle setting will do just fine.

And if your trip is only 10 minutes, forget it. At temperatures below 0F, I wouldn't expect any real heat from any vehicle that wasn't pre-warmed. Ages ago (way before the Prius) my commute used to be that short. I literally didn't feel any life coming from the vent until right went I arrived there or at home. The entire trip was cold if I didn't let the car idle for a few minutes before leaving.

If you want more or faster, block part of the incoming air-flow on the front of the Prius.

 

That's the thing, it's very nice to live here, especially when all my relatives are also here or close nearby. I've lived in more moderate climates, and would move to St. George, Utah in a heartbeat, but that would leave the family behind. Not a move I'm willing to make at this point.

Comparing heaters in every other vehicle I have ever driven, sorry to say the Prius comes up short. With similar city commutes, other cars and pickup trucks have kept me toasty.

Even that Ford F-150 with a 160 thermostat. Hard to believe that in 1984, the "Hi Output" heater was an OPTION in Canada, but it was. Best $78 I ever spent!

In the Prius, when the temps hit -25 C, especially -35 C with a nasty wind, forget about staying warm at city speeds 60 km/h or slower. Once on the highway, after 10-15 minutes, the motor appears to warm up and you then get plenty of heat.

Without a temp gauge, I don't think I'll try a winter front. You wouldn't know if you're too hot until the idiot lights came on. Since the Prius uses electric cooling fans, at city speeds a winter front wouldn't help anyway. You're not going fast enough to get that kind of airflow through the radiators.

Oddly enough, on the TransCanada at 105 km/h, the heater warms up just fine. Looks like that little motor needs to really work to make any sort of heat.

 

Doing the math, you'll still find that even warming up Prius before a short drive uses less gas than those traditional vehicles. And the days when it actually is -25C only account for a small portion of the year. So that extra gas isn't a horrible loss. After all, you don't have to use the A/C much during the summer anyway.

And a slower fan speed is still the key. A small aftermarket fan would easily conpensate for the extra blowing you need. That way you can have both maximum heat and window clearing.

 

The secret is to lower the fan speed?! Hey, I'm gonna turn the fan off, strip down, and take a sauna.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(deh2k\";p=\"59594)</div>

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(toyoprius\";p=\"59705)</div>

[/b][/quote]

:lol:

Oh man I just about fell out of the chair when I read THAT! Too funny. It would be a great way to meet women though, right??

:lol:

Seriously, I have to make sure my toque (Wool hat) and good leather driving gloves are with me at all times. It irks me that Toyota appeared to get almost everything else right, except the bloody heater.

I'm not asking Toyota to test their new cars in a place like Siberia, just to be aware that they can expect to sell a few cars in places like Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, NW Ontario, ND, SD, etc. I'm well aware of the demands placed on a car at ambient temps of -40 or a bit colder.

 

Nono, don't turn the fan *off*. Then very little hot air would move into the cabin.

Read what he's saying again. Keep the fan speed low. There will be less air coming out of the vents, but the air will be much warmer. In total more heat will by carried into the cabin, and the interior will heat up faster.

Try it and report back what you find. If you try that trick and still have problems with the heater, you may need to see your dealer.

--Michael Spencer
(not yet a Prius owner)
(yes, I realize I'm ruining a bad joke. )

 

Preheating the car for 5 minutes makes it just barely tolerable. The simple fact is, that a 1.5 liter engine just does not burn much gas, and so does not generate much heat.

I won't go so far as Jayman, to say that Toyota got it wrong. What I do say is that they missed an opportunity to take advantage of the electrical capability of this car to install a heater that would blow away even the V-8's.

The funny thing is I've never owned a car with a decent heater, so last winter I was really happy with the heater in my Prius, because it's better than my old Civic. But after driving that Camry for half a day, and seeing what real heat feels like, well, my frame of reference has changed.

 

Well, as far as trying to keep warm at -30 C or colder, somebody dropped the ball. It sure wasn't me.

I realize that the Canadian Prius market may be quite small compared to the U.S. market, especially in areas that are rural and sparsely populated. So if Toyota figures the majority of sales will be in sunny, funny California, the may pay more attention to A/C performance than heating performance.

The electric pre-heater is a good idea in a MODERATE climate. That is, in temps around freezing, you will get heat faster. But the lack of engine heat combined with the small pre-heat system means at -30 C or colder, it's hopeless.

It seems with every other Toyota sold in Canada they go on and on about the "HD battery, starter, alternator, and heater" for severe Canadian winters. Sure wish I had at least the HD heater in my Prius.

I know my 1990 Toyota 4Runner had excellent heat, after 5 minutes you had to turn the heat way down or roast, even at -40.

So far, this is nothing more than a nagging annoyance. I'm lucky enough to have heated parking at my condo and at work, so the only time I really notice this "problem" is when I park somewhere outside for 3-5 hours.

Yes, I tried the Low fan setting. I had every interior window covered in frost within 5 minutes, so I was busy spraying that deicer (That s*** just can't be good for you) and scraping like mad. At least the electric rear defroster eventually allowed me to see behind.

Hey, that's an idea! I'll drive backwards! Seriously, didn't some GM minivans have an electrically heated windshield? It gave the windshield a cool one-way glass look. Even if you froze, at least the windshield would be clear.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(john1701a\";p=\"59700)</div>

John:

I've tried "preheating" and only froze my a** more. You can sit there 10 minutes and there is no change in heater temp. Yes, I've had the thermostat checked, the local Toyota tech also concurs with me that the Prius heater is poorly designed for Canadian winters.

Although the Twin Cities can get cold, it doesn't stay cold for long. Places like Edmonton and Calgary, Alberta, can plummet to -42 C, but then a Chinook eventually blows through and they warm up again.

Here in the Prairies, it can plummet to -35 C and just stay that way for a month or two. Our winters are brutal: long and cold. So I can only imagine a Prius owner who has to park outside, they will freeze.

Interesting observation: a coworker just picked up a Chevy Aveo, a 5 door hatchback made in South Korea. After generous rebates, they only paid $10,000 CDN plus taxes. That is CHEAP.

To be sure, it doesn't get Prius fuel economy. But it has a cushy ride over Winnipeg potholes, and that heater WORKS.

Once the weather warms up, I'll feel nice again. But in the meantime, given the number of complaints due to lack of heat, I stand by my assertion the Prius heater is completely inadequate for cold Northern climates.

 

I got my wife one of those electric seat cushions for her Camry and she is happy. In the prius (my car) we use an electric blanket with satisfaction. My wife feels cold at any temp below 70F and has the icy hands and feet to prove it.

 

We should ask Toyota to add an electric heater as a cold climate option. An efficient engine that isn't running all the time just won't put out as much heat as does the blast furnace powering a conventional car.

 

Cripes, I never even thought of a 12V electric seat cushion. Crappy Tire (What we call Canadian Tire) had them on sale too. Hmmm, better check that out.

 

http://www.sportsimportsltd.com/12voltheaters.html

a friend of mine ordered one from here because he is a "Bambi killer" he says they work very very well even in cold weather.

since i am unwilling to use a gun for any purpose, i can only take his word for it.