I recently saw a Prius with a dog inside and it was 105 degrees heat outside. I was alarmed and thought man that owner sucks and that dog is going to die. Obviously we tried doors to see if the car would open and it was locked. People started to crowd around and I noticed the Prius was making engine noise and noticed the Prius was in ready mode with A/C blasting on. So I convinced the crowd the dog was fine since the AC is cooling the dog. A moment later the owner showed up and she slid the key from her SKS Prius fob and preceded to open the door manually. Everyone checked inside to make sure the dog was OK and it was very cold inside the Prius. I never ever thought you can lock a Prius when it's in Ready Mode. Since the remote won't activate the locks. I now lock my Prius with the AC on when my Prius is parked outside in the heat. Now I'm loving my new hack getting in my cool car on hot days. Only drawback is someone car break the window and steal the Prius because it's on. SM-A526U ?
Wow, I did not know that! Might be a useful hack! Are you sure someone can break the window then drive off? My Tundra has remote start and will shut itself off instantly if the door is even unlocked manually with the key. The only hack, so far, on our 2017 Prius was turning off that annoying, and loud, backup construction truck beep beep beep!!! (Super loud inside the garage!)
To allay fears of passerby’s: maybe a digital thermometer prominently displayed in the window? Good feedback for the owner too.
I keep thinking I would like a second hack to make the car undriveable when it's READY but I'm not there.
I do the same thing all the time when doing quick errands. I’ll just leave the car in “ready” mode and lock the doors manually with the key. I actually had a locksmith make an extra key for me that I put with my house keys (on a separate key ring), to make this process easier. Best hack ever.
Here is another hack that I use for camping. I installed a quick release button inside the trunk lid so when I go camping and I can sleep inside the trunk and I can now pop open the trunk from inside. Cost $10 parts and a great hack. Here is a write up I did if you want to know how to. https://priuschat.com/index.php?posts/3160579 SM-A526U ?
