Hi I am a taxi driver in solihull Birmingham UK I was just thinking should I switch my prius off while waiting for fares or is it ok to leave at ready while waiting sometimes it could be an hour or two is it safe to leave in ready mode??
It is safe to leave your Prius in Ready indefinitely. It will burn some gas, but it won't hurt the car. Tom
My fear would be having it in AUX ON and draining the 12v but that's a concern with any vehicle. I know that at many Prius and Hybrid get-togethers, some owners will have their car ON for the entire day. They have converters and are powering stereos, coolers, etc. Like Tom said, it just burns a little gas but causes no harm whatsoever.
Have you measured the cars power consumption in ready with the ICE not running, lights and accessories not in use? Thanks for all the instrumentation work you are doing and sharing with us.:usa2:
I never switch mine off in a 10 hour shift - unless I am going to leave it unattended. If I'm going to be sat a while I might switch the a/c off and open a window or in winter I will turn the heating fan down to the lowest speed so as to keep the chill away without burning excess fuel. One of the benefits of leaving the car in 'Ready' is that it keeps the 12v always topped up. I have a two way radio, despatch computer (Auriga system), taxi meter and Tom Tom always running when working. Be aware the 12v on the Prius is weak and probably wouldn't last too long if you keep powering down between jobs. p.s. I'm now upto 55k miles since November 2009.
You are welcome. I enjoyed working on the custom PIDs on Torque app with very knowledgeable people here. You are asking for the minimum consumption in Ready mode right? I will try it and let you know. I think Gen3 has lower idling loss than Gen2.
Remember, don't leave it in Neutral, and don't leave it in ACC or IG-ON. Have it entirely ON and in Park, or entirely OFF. Under any other condition you'll drain one or both batteries for sure.
I agree with possibly only burning a little bit of gas. I had to go back and read again a good story, slightly different than what the OP's question, but nonetheless interesting. Power to the People: Run Your House on a Prius - New York Times http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/12/23/prius-its-not-just-a-car-its-an-emergency-generator/
