Prospective Prius Buyer Questions

[Bite]

I have decided I'm going to purchase a Prius when I'm finished with college, and I have a few questions that perhaps someone can answer here.

#1) I was looking at some videos by htmlspinnr, and it showed that the Prius has an Accesory mode and ignition mode. Does anyone know if these modes will drain the battery? Example. If you turn it on Ign mode at a Drive-in to turn on the A/C to cool your car and the mosquitoes are vicious, will it drain your battery like most conventional vehicles?

#2) How well does this vehicle handle in the snow and ice? I'm from a VERY snow area, so this is a concern for me. Even my current car (2000 Sable), is a little drifty at times.

#3) Spare Keys. I like to have a spare key to at LEAST unlock the doors. Can the key with the fob be easily dublicated to unlock the doors?

#4) Out of general curiousity, how long did it take for you to adjust to the Prius' HSD system? I gernerally drive my current vehicle.. well baby it. I usually don't go above 2000rpms on the tach wherever possible.

#5) I read that the '04 Prius has a heater/storage tank for the ICE's coolant. Does the vehicle start easily in -0 *F weather? (the temperature up here hits -30 *F often).

While this last one is not a question, but a request. Does anyone have any more videos or links of a Prius in action? John1701a used to have some, but those were for the 1st generation so I think that's why he junked them.

Thanks in advance for your answers and help.

Nate

[richard schumacher]

What conventional car lets you run the A/C with the engine off? Do you mean just running the fan to suck in outside air? In either case, the answer for the Prius is "yes"; when running the A/C or fan you have to have the Prius "ON" so that the engine will start as needed to avoid draining the traction (drive system) battery.

Getting used to the HSD: that depends on how much gas you want to save. Just drive it and you'll do fine. Many people find they can't help but baby the thing in response to the energy displays. The single best rule for saving gas is "coast as much as possible".

Several posters here have commented on how reliably Prius operates in cold and handles in snow.

[efusco]

I have decided I'm going to purchase a Prius when I'm finished with college, and I have a few questions that perhaps someone can answer here.

#1) I was looking at some videos by htmlspinnr, and it showed that the Prius has an Accesory mode and ignition mode. Does anyone know if these modes will drain the battery? Example. If you turn it on Ign mode at a Drive-in to turn on the A/C to cool your car and the mosquitoes are vicious, will it drain your battery like most conventional vehicles?

Now Nate, think about it...of course it will use battery power, the energy to run the A/C has to come from somewhere. The think you're forgetting is what was mentioned above, at least, with the Prius, you have the option of even using the A/C without the ICE running.

#2) How well does this vehicle handle in the snow and ice? I'm from a VERY snow area, so this is a concern for me. Even my current car (2000 Sable), is a little drifty at times.

Take a look at John1701a's Web Site, he lives in Minnisota and writes extensively about the Prius. It's front wheel drive so you can expect it to do OK, but it's no SUV.

#3) Spare Keys. I like to have a spare key to at LEAST unlock the doors. Can the key with the fob be easily dublicated to unlock the doors?

You get 2 fobs when you buy the car. If you need another, if you have SS/SE they're pretty expensive. I forget the exact price with programming, but it's in the $350 range. I think almost everyone finds 2 to be plenty. Also, with SS/SE, it's nearly impossible to lock the FOB in the car. It can be done but it's extremely tricky.

#4) Out of general curiousity, how long did it take for you to adjust to the Prius' HSD system? I gernerally drive my current vehicle.. well baby it. I usually don't go above 2000rpms on the tach wherever possible.

Depends what you mean by "adjust", but for the most part you'll be comfortable driving it (meaning the features seem natural, the handling is natural, etc) in a couple days. If you mean "adjust" as in getting the best possible fuel economy--that takes a few thousand miles. For the most part it drives like a regular car.

#5) I read that the '04 Prius has a heater/storage tank for the ICE's coolant. Does the vehicle start easily in -0 *F weather? (the temperature up here hits -30 *F often).

The Traction/HV battery doesn't like cold weather as much as room temp weather, but it should do just fine. If you leave it sitting outside in -30 degree temps for a LONG time you may have some serious sluggishness as far as the HV system is concerned until cabin temps are high enough to rewarm the battery. But with no "starter" per sey, if you use synthetic oil you should have no problems. I again refer you to John's web site.

--evan

[hdrygas]

Does your Sable have traction control. The Taurus that my son drives has that and the two are the same car. It goes well in the snow without snow tires with snow tires it goes very well. You probably have good snow removal if you live in a area with a lot of snow. In western Washington we use the God method of snow removal. God put it there and god will take it away. After a few days of cold weather it gets fairly bad and we had no problems. Getting to the point of all this. The Prius can come with both traction control and skid control and should do even better in the snow and this is confirmed by others reports. Don't skimp on the safety features. Get traction, skid control, side airbags. It will be a bit tough just coming out of school but it is one area you should not skimp on.

[htmlspinnr]

One of these days, I need to do more of those videos. :-)

One more thing to add on #1 - the ACC mode basically gives you radio and power ports, IG-ON gives you blower and power windows and whatnot. Only when you go to READY will you actually be able to run the A/C since READY is the only mode where the Traction battery is energized.

The other two modes would only put a drain on the 12V battery - which is pretty small, and isn't hard to drain. Draining the Traction battery is much more difficult and in 99% of cases is impossible to do since the ICE will start to recharge at about 2 bars on the display (not sure what the actual SOC is at that point). The only exceptions are if the ICE runs out of gas, or if your ICE fails to start for some reason. ICE = internal combustion engine.

HTH,
-Rick (aka HTMLSpinnr)

[daniel]

In Fargo it gets down to 40 below zero occasionally, lots of ice, but not a lot of snow. I cannot speak about deep snow because I wait for the snowplows to come through. But on ice it handles great. At 30 below zero (and with regular oil) it runs just fine. I do not notice any sluggishness at all. I park in an unheated garage, but even after being out of doors all day long in sub-zero weather it runs fine, no sluggishness.

The HSD takes no getting used to at all. You just drive it. It took me 2 or 3 days to get used to the different view. I had much better visibility out my Civic station wagon, which had lots more glass. Parallel parking took me longer to get the hang of. Several months. You cannot see the front or the back of the car. But with practice you can learn. I could have learned it more quickly had it been an issue for me, but parking is not a problem here.

I think you have to leave the car in Ready mode to use the A/C. The engine will run as needed to keep the HV battery charged.

You never need to worry about the HV battery. The engine will run as needed to charge it, and the car's electronics will protect it from over-charge or under-charge. ACC mode uses the 12-v. battery to run accessories, and you can run it down pretty fast because it is very small.

Powering on the car uses the 12-v battery to boot up the computer. The HV battery starts the ICE and keeps the 12-v. battery charged. There is no alternator or starter as such. You never start the ICE. The computer starts the ICE when conditions call for it.

[Bite]

Quick replies. Thank you!

I should been more specific about the A/C and running the car topic. I know with conventional vehicles that "running" the AC in IGN mode will only run the fan, which drains the battery. I was curious as to what battery it would drain from on the Prius if you turned it on IGN mode.
So as with a conventional car, running the A/C would be best to have it in Ready mode then? thanks (Curious question as i worked at a Drive-in a while ago)

hdrygas: no, my sable didn't come with TRAC, came with everything else but that (i think I have a kitchen sink in there somewhere).

By adjusting to the HSD system, I should've stated "to get the most MPG possible". I know for a fact that the enging shutting off will scare me when I get the Prius (had a car that loved to stall at lights...even as an automattic transmission)

The reason I requested videos is that the Toyota dealers in the area NEVER have a Prius on the lot, I visited every week for 3 months and they never had one, and I'm getting fumed about it because I'm dying to test drive one of these.

Again, Thank you so much for the quick and informative replies

[Marg]

I'll speak only to the question about adjusting to driving. Other folks have handled the other questions very well.

It took me less than 10 minutes for my driving style to begin changing as a result of the instant feedback from the energy and consumption screens. My style continues to evolve as I become more comfortable with the car.

[richard schumacher]

By adjusting to the HSD system, I should've stated "to get the most MPG possible". I know for a fact that the enging shutting off will scare me when I get the Prius (had a car that loved to stall at lights...even as an automattic transmission)

You might be surprised. The ICE is usually so quiet and smooth that if you have music or conversation you may well not be able to hear it.

[bruceha_2000]

Bite -
Read through the posts here. I was able to drive for mpg without playing the snail immediately with my (hint hint) rented '04 Prius from Enterprise. Stealth, no problem; 50 mpg, no problem. I can understand your concern about the engine shutting off at a stop given your prior experience but it is easy to get used to and you will soon wonder why regular cars don't :-) I got used to the Prius so fast that when my week was up, driving my '95 Odyssey seemed wierd and I am the original owner!

The rear view mirror "view" took some getting used to. I think in part because the section of the window below the spoiler is tinted so it doesn't visually blend with the upper window.

It's front wheel drive so you can expect it to do OK, but it's no SUV.

Right, it is less likely to roll over. :-) A lot of SUV owners get over confident with 4x4.