Car Warmer ?

Install block heater?
Build a garage?
Temporary garage? http://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/store/product/shelterlogic-autoshelter-instant-garage/128901?skuId=18043459&utm_source=shopping.com&utm_medium=cse&zmam=77312802&zmac=4&zmas=1&zmap=18043459&mcid=CSE_shopping_paid_none_
Move to Florida?

 

doubt a block heater will de-ice windows.

anyway, remote starters don't require the fob to be in the car; however, the engine will shutdown when you open the driver's door (when you're ready to head out)

 

Engine Block Heater for 2004-2009 Toyota Prius - PriusChat Shop

Car Cover for Toyota Prius 2009 at CarCover.com

Remote_Starters

 

I solved the the problem by moving to Florida, but when I lived in Buffalo I used a 1500 watt heater on a timer. Screwed it to big base board so it couldn't tip and put it in the hatch with the cord out the back. Plugged it in at night and the timer turned on about 20 minuets before I had to leave. It warmed the inside enough to just push the snow off the windows, recirculate the defroster and by the time the car cooled the engine was hot.

 

you can have a remote start installed at the dealer. leave you're heat on defrost and high fan when you get out of the car for the night. then it's just a matter of how much time you need to warm it up in the morning.

 

yes, just make sure it's a quality install. some have had wiring problems after an aftermarket installation. people who think the fob has to be in the car are unaware that the remote starter over rides the sks system.

 

Why don’t you just install interior heater and block heater? You get warm engine and interior without wasting fuel.

I have DEFA / Termina 1400S It’s bolted to side off the passenger foot well next to where cigarette lighter socket is. It connected to engine block heater so it heats the interior (if it's turned on from its own switch) when engine block heater heats the engine.

 

Toyota Canada now shows an installed price ($245) for the block heater:

TOYOTA CANADA: Prius > Options & Accessory Pricing > Accessories

When I got it installed at time of car purchase, they dinged us $400! So anyway, if you go into a dealership to get this done, you could draw their attention to the website price, if they're higher.

DIY for this is not a lotta fun, it's doable, but...

As far as clearing your windshield, number one tip: get the car under cover, if at all possible.

 

that is a nice looking unit. many of us pip owners have been looking for a way to defog the windshield without starting the engine or running cold outside air on the windscreen/foot mode. how effective is it?

 

Maybe in -15c or 5F it gets interior to above freezing in maybe an hour with smaller setting and hotter in higher setting. Heating element is PTC type so as temperature raises power degreases.

It’s hard for me to gauge the power of heater since my parking spots uses pulsed electricity. It’s stupid system that wastes electricity and wears the heaters. Idea of that system is that in temperatures above about -20c or -4F it will heat your car engine to +5c or 41F if you keep it plugged in for 3 hours. But since you can’t use clock with that most of people just keep their car plugged in all the time.

Here these heaters are sold on almost any store. Don’t you have them?

 

you can buy them online, but the ones that pip owners have tried don't make a p hole in the snow.

 

If you really need power there are something like 2000w heaters without that ptc function. They will get the interior up to (or more than) room temperature. But I think that just above freezing is enough.

 

nsprius, would you be able to get the car into a garage? Seems to me that's the simplest solution, at least for your morning startup.

I know from the occasions our car has to sit outside in sub zero: it's frustrating as hell, idling in place for upwards of 10 minutes to do a half decent clear of the (steeply raked) windshield.

I think the manufacturers tend to ignore these issues, because their mpg testing is done with warmed up cars.

 

same here. florida is an alternative.

 

@nsprius: Here's one of our ski hills, February 08, 2015:

 

just like the olympics.