Hi Prius nuts! All of my privious Toyota's {8+} have had great heaters....so why is the PRIUS so slow/poor?? Any one try changing thermostats during the winter???? It's Fartin' cold up here in the Minnesota Tundra. I can handle the MPG drop (40's) due to cold but wife would like to get another PRIUS but won't because of heater!! Any one try seat warmers? or changing thermostats? thanks! PS: how do I change my e address @ this site??
The heater in the Prius is slow but seem to get the job done (over time). I think the problem is that the gas engine runs so cold that there is not a lot of excess heat to push into the cabin. It's also a relatively small engine. I've seen a few people install seat warmers. Maybe you could also consider a block heater? That way the engine would be a lot warmer in the morning and you should get heat faster. For me the lack of heat is bearable, but then again I live in Boston and we have a record setting 63F today! /Robert
Basically, all cars get their cabin heat from the waste heat from the engine. This waste heat comes from burning gas to power the car. The Prius burns half as much gas, so it produces half as much waste heat. Ergo, less heat for the heater. Once it warms up it's able to warm the car. But this takes longer for the reason mentioned above.
I have a 2007 Prius and live in the Twin Cities. I share your cold winters! I recently installed a block heater. This helps a lot - heat is available right from the start! Also, it's a fairly easy install as it just slides into a machined hole in the block. Rudy Luther Toyota in Golden Valley carries the block heaters in stock for $39.99 + tax. Plenty of info here on doing the install. It can be tough to reach the location, but I still did it in about an hour.
I thought that the Prius used an electric assist heater to compensate for the low engine temp, just as it does with the AC because of the lack of a constant compressor. It is nice though that the air doesn't start to blow until there is some heat!
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Devil's Advocate @ Jan 5 2007, 05:11 PM) [snapback]371584[/snapback]</div> Only when the car is first started cold. It helps, but not a lot.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(berkley @ Jan 5 2007, 02:28 PM) [snapback]371391[/snapback]</div> Twin Cities or Duluth? I'm in Winnipeg Manitoba. Without a winter front to block the grille, you just won't get good heat. Especially in temps -30 C and colder, the ICE will run constantly and you will still freeze. Once I made the winter front, I had plenty of defrost. I have heated underground parking at the condo. If you can, get a block heater and plug it in. That also helps quite a bit.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(FireEngineer @ Jan 5 2007, 08:16 PM) [snapback]371586[/snapback]</div> For those wondering how to do it, my video may help. http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-4774360504510051993
Yep, thats one of our biggest issues with the Prius, it never gets warm. Even on long trips, 2, 3 hours in the car its still cold, sure heat comes from the registers but the ambient temperature never gets above "chilly" in temps lower than 35.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(SW03ES @ Jan 7 2007, 05:33 PM) [snapback]372274[/snapback]</div> I notice that those complaining about the heater do not say what settings they are using. I leave mine on Auto A/C with the temp set at 72 and have never experienced any problem with the heat even at -10F.
My wife and I live in the Seattle area and bought a 2007 Prius (Touring - package 3) less than a month ago. It's been in the 30s and 40s here and we've been getting plenty of heat within three blocks. I'm actually telling my wife to turn the heat down. She's got it set to 78 degrees. That is fine in our Jeep which has dual climate zones. But the Prius doesn't.
It's been in the 40s here most mornings and I usually end up turn the temp down to 65 or LO because its too warm for me.
We leave ours set to Auto and it heats up very quickly. Granted, we seldom get extremely low temperatures due to all of the water around us, but temps in the teens are common. My wife and I have often commented "this thing sure heats up quickly." Tom
Two tuhings: MAX HEAT and RECIRC! This seems to be pretty good. I can drive 80, with the windows down (2 windows two incehes, for Cigar ventilation) in 30 degree air and be comfortable with the vents blowing on me.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Devil's Advocate @ Jan 8 2007, 07:10 PM) [snapback]372772[/snapback]</div> I've never tried Recirc when in Defrost mode. In this climate, I'd probably ice up so fast I'd need to constantly use the ice scraper on the window to even see where I was going. Without a winter front, at temps of about -25 C and colder, Max Heat will suck the heat right out of the ICE. With the winter front covering the lower grille, and the 1/2 inch pipe insulation blocking the two upper slits, I can set Auto at just about any temp and it works fine. BTW according to my temp gauge, which has a probe to the balcony exposed to the elements, it's currently + 2 F. Now you know why I paid extra for a condo with heated underground parking. I'm too old and too cranky to put up with cold cars, scraping frost off windows, etc.
