warming engine

jayman... why do you think we act so weird when the sun shines??

its all that waiting in the rain!!

 

I have a sister and niece in Winnipeg so I've been there. 'Nuff sed. :lol:

Please don't confuse the Lower Mainland with Victoria. It does rain here but we have constant problems keeping the reservoir filled and each year have watering restrictions during the summer, so most people's lawns go brown. That and being on rock!

In Vancouver the saying goes, "if you can see the North Shore mountains it's going to rain, and if you can't see them, it is raining".

I grew up in North Vancouver and Victoria is no North Vancouver. 8)

How are you finding the Prius in the cold weather?

 

HEHE you guys are funny :lol:

Since I live in a condo with heated underground parking, and the parking area at work is also heated/underground, I really can't answer the question of how the cold affects the Prius.

I am heading out to the hobby farm for the weekend. I think I'll leave the Prius parked outside, since I'm also curious how it responds to temps below 0 F (If we have those sort of temps this weekend).

 

AH-HA so you DO have to plug your Prius in! LOL, up North

 

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I had a SAAB Turbo in the early 70's and fried the turbo before it was learned that you needed to let them warm up and more importantly down. I really loved that car. That was then this is now.

 

I have lived at 3000 meters in the Colorado Rockies with winter temperatures down to -40°C. A block heater and other heaters (gas line, battery, interior, dip stick, radiator, etc.) can be critical. Keep the gas tank topped off, lay a burning light bulb under the gas line, buy the best battery you can afford in October of each year, keep the vehicle tuned up, etc. I now live in the semiarid climate of interior central California where "cold" winter temperatures are -3 to -5°C at best, and park in an insulated garage.

Is there any advantage to having a plug-in block heater in this mediocre climate? Or would a small light bulb or other modest heat source be effective? At 2500 mi my 2005 performs very well.

 

The issue of block heaters has been covered in the post:

http://priuschat.com/forums/block-heater-r...html?highlight=

Having lived most of my life in NW Ontario and Manitoba, I would have to say that block heaters should be mandatory and are really an engine saver. Of course, the temps can crash towards -40 to -45.

If you have to pay for a block heater ($125 plus labor?) it may not make any sense in temps of -5 C or around 25 F. When I lived in Utah, I noticed a lot of folks in the mountains, especially Park City, Deer Valley, and Coalville, had block heaters and used them. The temps in the mountains were a lot colder than the valley (SLC, Provo, etc).

If you can keep the Prius in your insulated garage, that alone may be enough. With my 10-15 minute commute in city traffic, driving from one heated underground parking garage into another heated underground garage, my MFD claims 6.5 to 7 litres per 100km.

 

At 30 degrees below zero (F) there is no need to plug in the Prius.

John1701a will tell you the same. Maybe he's been out at colder temps. Not sure what the wx in Mpls was like last year. Colder than 30 below I usually stay home, regardless of the car.

On the other hand, plugging in a car when it's below zero certainly can't hurt, and you'd get warm air to the cab sooner. Though the Prius starts pumping out hot air pretty quick.