What every newb should know

another question...do the priuses have to be warmed up before driving, like conventional cars? in my old car, a toyota corolla, i used to turn it on and have it sit idle for about 2 min before actually driving it, because that's what everyone said to do...but do i have to do this with a hybrid? should i have done it with my gas only car?

 

I never warm up my Prius. I start and go. Because air and heat are electric assist, my heater blows warm/hot within a couple miles. I like that. MPG's will be low for the first few miles, too. You're not going to hurt anything, if you start up and go.

Happy Motoring,

Tom

 

right, i get that the controls are electric assisted...but i thought warming up the car was to help the engine heat up before driving, not just for the inside of the car to heat up/cool down...i lived in pennsylvania for most of my life, where the winters can get brutally cold, so i was always told to warm up the car first so the engine would get a min or two to adjust before i would work it by driving it...i am planning on driving through some pretty cold places, and want to know if i should be warming up the Prius, too

 

So, do the front wheels need to be raised during towing....or not? I'm a tad confused here.

And, if I can jump start a non-hybrid vehicle can I jump start a 2001 Prius?

 

Gen III owner's manual clearly states that wheels should be raised during tow. Or was it the rear wheels? Darn, I hate it when I can't remember. Oh well, it's in the owner's manual; check it out.

Happy Motoring,

Tom

 

Tom, you're not making this any easier for me old buddy.

I don't know if my granddaughter's 2001 Prius came with an Owner's Manual. I'll ask her this evening. But, she told me this morning when she called me about the starting problem that the manual didn't say anything about Jump Starting.....it's a 1st generation Prius if that matters.

What about jump starting a 2001 Prius? Can I do it..........I know how to jump start a non-hybrid vehicle. Is there something different about the 12 volt battery in the Prius?

 

Are these 12 volt battery testing procedures correct? I found them during a search of "how to test a 2001 Prius 12 volt battery". It's located at the following website: 12 Volt Toyota Prius Battery for 2001-2003 with installation kit. Note: there's a picture of the dash "display screen" of the Prius at this website. For some reason this picture didn't get inserted here. Sorry.

Could someone here please confirm if this test is indeed a way to check the 12 volt battery in the 2001 Prius? It would appear that it would help a lot of people if this is true.

Prius battery test procedure for all Prius Cars 2000 to 2008

Here is a battery test you can perform on a Prius battery that is easy to do.

However, this test requires no tools, is easy to do and will give you some idea of the state of your battery. You can also perform this test after the car has been parked for a while to see how well the battery holds up under the drain from the security system, clock, memory chips etc.


Do this test after you have driven the car for at least 30 minutes. This will give the battery a chance to be fully charged.
Put the transmission in Park.
Turn ignition switch to off.
Engage the parking break
(2000 to 2003)Turn ignition switch to Accesory. (do not start the engine)
Push Display button. (2000 to 2003)Top rocker to the right of the radio 2004+ top button to left of screen - "DISPLAY" will now appear in the upper left corner of your screen.)

Push on the upper left(1) of the display just inside the box, withdraw, push on the lower left of the display(2) and withdraw. (see picture) Do this three times. Keep trying till the screen changes. If the word "Display" in the upper left hand corner of the screen goes away hit the display switch again.
Push on Menu in upper right of display screen.
Push on Display Check
Push on Vehicle Signal Check
You will see the 12 volt voltage displayed.
With no electrical accessories on including lights the voltage should be fluctuate between 12.2 and 11.9. The lower the voltage, the less of a charge your battery currently has. If the voltage is low do not proceed as the load test might totally discharge your battery. (If you see a voltage around 13.5-13.8 you are seeing voltage from the high voltage battery being converted to around 13.5-13.8 in an attempt to recharge your battery. This normally does not occur till after you start the engine but might occur earlier if the battery is very drained.)
You can also test the battery by turning on the headlights, rear window heater and the heater fan. For a new battery the voltage would be around 11.3. If the voltage drops below 10.2 it should definitely be replaced. For voltages in between the lower the voltage, the lower current charge of your battery.
Note: If in doubt disconnect the 12 volt battery completely (start with the negative post to avoid shorting the battery) and hook it up to a battery tester.

 

I'll try to refrain from discussing the danger to yourself and others traveling 80-90...
Steady driving at any high speed is more potentially problematic than accelerating and slowing. If you're not seeing issues or burning oil now you're probably OK...and we survived...
:welcome:

 

Do the math when you fill up. My trip meter was off by 4 mpgs when I calculated it. But I its still alot better then what I was getting. I've had my 08 since Aug. 2010

 

Richard, can you elaborate on how to go about doing this?

I won't have any trouble with this part. I promise you, if I wasn't sure of what to do I wouldn't do it. I certainly don't want to mess up anything on her car.

Amen to this suggestion Richard. I've already told her to do that.

Thanks for the input. It's all good, and it all helps, trust me.

 

You can't warm up a Prius first. The engine will shut off. You need to drive it moderately to warm it up.

And it is not good to warm up a regular gas engine either. Just drive slowly for a mile.

 

Are you saying to check the voltage using a "regular volt/ohm meter" to check across the two 12 volt battery terminals? If so, I understand.

 

I've been hearing it for at least 25 years.

 

your not the only conservative Prius owner

 

Thanks for the clarification richard.

 

Re: PriusTips v2

This is incorrect. There is transmission fluid. It is a special long life fluid available from Toyota and if you want to get trouble free high miles from your Prius you should change it at intervals.

Toyota has no recommended change interval under normal conditions. They do recommend changing at 60K intervals if you are towing. You have to realize though that Toyota wants you to trade in at around 100K so they don't care as much about problems after that. All their service recommendations end at 120K. Like all the other manufactures they are also driven by marketing to lower the costs of maintainance, hence less recommended fluid changes.

Trans fluid change intervals have gone from 15K to no recommended change in the last 25 years. The fluid has improved but in my estimation no fluid is "lifetime". These transaxles rarely have problems. The only problems they do have are from accident damage and worn out fluid. I recommend a 60K change interval under easy/moderate conditions and a 30K interval under hard/extreme conditions.