Some advice please: I`m currently overseas (Japan actually - seen plenty of Prius`s on the road) and my Prius is parked in a long term (outdoor) car park in London, UK. It`s pretty cold in the UK at the moment (-10 celsius on some days), and my Prius is normally parked in doors. First question - will my car survive this punishment for 3 weeks ? Second question - if the car`s still in one peice, what would be the best way to get it warmed up / ready for my journey back home? Hopefully the batteries are okay, but the engine will have been cold for 3 weeks - I was thinking of putting the A/C on full heat when I start it up for the first time - the engine should then stays on and the engine / CAT should warm up properly (whilst I check tyre pressure) and anything that`s frozen should defrost. Any views? On the subject of the A/C - does it exclusively use the batteries, or does it use engine heat aswell ? - I read somewhere that it uses engine heat mainly. Thanks
The passenger cabin of the Prius is heated from two independent sources. When the car is started cold, to minimize exhaust emissions the coolant from the warming engine is not circulated through the climate system to warm the interior. It's more important for emissions to warm the engine and catalytic converter. Knowing that people sitting in a cold cabin might not feel the same way, Toyota equipped the climate system with electric ceramic heaters. Meager output, but better than no heat. Once the ICE gets warm (and just barely warm at that) engine coolant is circulated through the climate control system heater core and the cabin warms up. The electrically powered refrigeration system, used to cool the air in the summer, probably won't run in the winter, except when it is used to dehumidify the cabin air and de-fog the windows. It doesn't add heat to the interior. Setting the climate system to full heat while you check your tyres will have little effect on heating the engine, since the ceramic heaters are the only source of cabin heat when the engine is cold. If your car starts, and it should, even after three weeks in the cold, just get in and drive it.
Um, Tideland, did you notice that brownne's " Prius is parked in a long term (outdoor) car park in London, UK"? Where do you suppose he might have plugged it in for three weeks, had he been so farsighted as to have installed an EBH before leaving (and asking his question)?
I bet it will be just fine when you get back. Kick the tires start it up and head on down the road. If the 12 Volt battery is dead you will have to get someone to jump it IAW the owners manual, be sure to get the polarity correct. Have some sushi and a Kirin for me.
I would not worry about it, the weather in Enland can be nasty and humid but it's not really that cold. Sililar to Hoshu actually.
Is that right ? - don`t we have the ceramic elements in the uk ? Why not ? I`m a bit gutted - they kept that quiet. I know the wing mirrors aren`t heated (bit pointless this feature I`ve always thought anyway - I had them on my previous Honda Jazz). I was sure we had the thermos coolant storage also - more so because I hear a whirring when the engine has been off a few seconds and I thought this was that. These lack of features in the UK (reverse parking aid/camera, smart key, the ones above etc) is a bit tight on Toyota`s part when you consider that the Prius in Japan is half the price of the UK Prius. Where`s the extra cash going - the cost of the boat ride over here ? Or the cost of removing (pointlessly) some desirable features? Just a side point - they have a Hybrid Estima over here in Japan (up to 8 seats, 4WD by virtue of the motor driving the back wheels etc, and still cheaper than the UK Prius). Very nice but no chance we`ll get it in the UK. Do you have it in the US?
No hybrid vans here yet. There's been talk of a hybrid Sienna in a couple of years, I think that may be the same vehicle as the Estima.
We're not a "cold weather region", apparently. Yet they get ceramic heaters in California and Florida. B) The whirring/clicking you're hearing occasionally is actually the brake actuator pump. It's just topping up the hydraulic pressure. The coolant storage pump runs for about 10-15 seconds, rather than the couple of seconds of the brake pump. I'd agree that Toyota GB are pretty effing tight. The one thing we do get that's unique to us is beefed up security: the Class 1 perimeter alarm + interior motion sensor and the double locking. The double locking may be the reason for the lack of smart entry - they probably didn't do the work to make them compatible. At least we get the European wheels+suspension+brakes and the EV button. And the steering wheel's on the right side. :lol: Which in turn puts the power button in a sensible place, rather than stuck in the middle of the dashboard. I am missing heated side mirrors. Not sure why though - my last car was a 1981 Ford Escort, whose most sophisticated feature was an automatic choke. Apparently the Previa/Estima, Celica and MR2 are all being withdrawn from Europe at the end of this year, because they don't meet the necessary emissions regulations...
Don't laugh, but if New York State gets their way with the new environment regs, Toyota will probably withdraw those from sale here, too. Right now the car companies (including Toyota) are suing to keep these new "California" regs from being put into law. More than likely that suit will get thrown out. We currently can't purchase diesel cars and light trucks/SUVs.
None of the above I`m glad to say. Landed back in UK on Saturday (let`s not talk about jet lag). My car was as new - the HV battery was in the same charge state as when I left it (i.e. 2 bars from the top, colour blue), the doors opened perfectly and it started fine (so Aux battery was okay I assume). Glad we don`t have smart key here. Been driving it for a few days - maybe I`m imagining it but the acclerator seems heavier than when I left for Japan, and the re-generative braking seems more effective than usual (i`m in the green, 1 bar from the top, pretty often now on my journey to work, wheras it was rare previously). It`s probably all in my head since I was driving a very small car in Japan with a light pedal. Anyway, it`s a happy end to the tail. Thanks to all, NB
