Random Questions:

I do not think the reason is security, imagine you are a teen aged joy-rider trying to get your parents to notice you, do you steal a sports car like a Porsche or Corvette, or steal a Prius? Imagine you are a chop shop, do you steal common cars you can pan off easily or some space ship with 500 Volts to hurt you if you chop it up? While I think Toyota's security is good, I also think it is rarely tested.

I lock the door as I open it, as soon as I touch it, it unlocks.

I put my coins in my right upper shirt pocket, but I do not use coins much, mostly CC. I miss no inside hatch release, but if you have 3 door SKS it is liveable. All cars use hot radiator water to heat the passenger compartment, but in a Prius that may mean the engine is running more often than when no heat is needed.

 

Nope.
Two drunk rednecks with a skid truck can steal a Prius in about 30-seconds. Most cars these days, including my dumb old pickemuptruck have the RFID technology which will not allow the engine to start without the "right" key or FOB.
Priuses aren't stolen very often because they're still a little outside the mainstream, and besides.....who wants to jack a Prius to go for a joy ride??!!

Most car thieves go for flashier sheet metal.
Sorry!

Conceal or lock? There's a difference.
If you want to conceal something, there are places in the cargo bay (beneath the hatch) and when you lock the car.....it's locked. There's also the console.
Don't be fooled by the $1.50 lock that they (more expensive OEMs) put on glove boxes. The lid is still made out of plastic and you can get into one in well under a minute....90 seconds in you don't want to break anything. A locked glove box just tells the kid that broke into your car that there's something valuable in the glove box.

Generally speaking....if nothing is visible from the outside of the car, you're a little bit less obvious a target to a thief. Nothing sucks worse than breaking into a car that doesn't have anything in it. One more thing.....if that "document" that you're interested in concealing/locking happens to be a weapon? Then you have the option of removing pieces/parts to render it non operational....or you can seperate slide from mag from receiver, etc. It varies by weapon (I carry a wheel gun mostly... BUT.....I can carry it with me.....for now )
YMMV...

1. Under the flying bridge/buttress/console. When I get a few bucks worth, I transfer them inside.
2. Lever....no. Button inside the car....no. It's an inexpensive car with an expensive drive train. That's why the carpet is felt-thin, the visors are non-extendable, there's about 1.3 pounds of sound-deadening material throughout the car.
It's good on gas and it's green.
Deal.
3. Could be, may be. The best thing to do is to put three or four tanks through the car and read through the owner's manual and this forum. There are techniques that will add to your MPG score, and that score will change from season to season.

Good Luck, and Happy New Year!

 

I have not seen someone trying to "hotwire" a Prius in the movies... just imagine!

 

1) - I had not thought about it, but it makes sense that Joy-riders would want sporty cars and chop-shops want to avoid the high voltage. My other vehicle is a pickup and I keep it's key in it.

2) - Underneath the rear deck.

Off topic
1) - When ever I am given coins I bring them home and collect them in a jar. I see no need for coins in a vehicle.

2) -no.

3) - that is discussed a lot here.

 

Had a Datsun B210GX... lived in Brooklyn with alternate side of the street parking.

There was nothing to steal... so I thought. Locked it, left the broken glove box open and other compartments open...

The spare tire was stolen. Go figure! Guess one man's trash is another man's treasure....

 

My wife users an old pill bottle (the translucent orange kind) to keep a stack of quarters, it actually works great. Just toss that in the arm rest. If you pick the right pill bottle it is almsot the exact same diameter as a quarter.

 

I put my change (for parking meters) in the drivers side door pull. I'd put papers under the lift up in the rear hatch. There is an emergency release for the rear hatch, but you'l have to look it up in the manual, it's not for casual use but can be used if necessary.
Cold weather does effect mileage no doubt about it.

 

I agree that a Prius has got to be less attractive to most car thieves than a Corvette, although it would be the better choice for a 700 mile low speed chase. After you're arrested and sent to the big house, tell your new pals that you were arrested for stealing a Corvette, not a Prius.

 

"Hotwire a Prius," OMG! With all of that stored EMF, it would be like the 'China Syndrome.'

 

Most cars that cost over $25,000 in 2013 are push to start, that is not the reason. The Prius is less desirable to steal because it is not a flashy car.

Keep it in the car and lock the car, it will be safe. Leave it out of view for people to see.

Three years ago I spent $2.00 and purchased a felt liner from a fabric shop for the coin tray in the center console. Here is a pic.

If you want that, you have to spend more money on a different car. There is an electrical switch on the trunk that unlocks it when you press it. You cannot do it inside the car.

The Prius will burn gas to keep the car warm. This is far more efficient then using the battery in the car. Another thing that effects gas usage is the additive the gas stations use to stop the gas from freezing.

 

If it is really cold and you are using the heater to keep warm, put the drive mode in ECO, climate control in auto mode to help get better MPGs. Might want to keep the temperature setting low, like 68 or 69 to help with MPGs.

If you can get by without heat, even better. Outside temperatures (cold, like 40s F or less) bring MPGs down by several clicks, like 5 or so.

 

The high voltage should not pose any risk to the chop shoppers, unless they perform their crimes while the vehicle is still in 'Ready'. But no need to clarify whatever misconceptions they have.

 

ZZZZZap!

 

I keep change in the cup holder that's under the sliding center console armrest. That way I can grab the cup and shake out the change I need. (The exposed cup holder is for my phone & work badge / parking pass).

 

There are no additives put in gasoline to avoid freezing. The butane content can be higher in winter and that will affect mileage.
You can add gasoline to diesel to prevent flaking at low temps.

 

You get the occasional teenage joyrider, but for the most part, car thieves don't really care much about flashy, it's just a value proposition - look up the most commonly stolen cars in the US and you will not see a single flashy car. What you will see is cars that were/are huge sellers, with common parts. A '94 Accord isn't flashy in any sense, but there were a lot of them and that generation sold, are still a lot on the road and getting old (so, a good market for parts)... they are worth more in pieces than they are whole.

The Prius, OTOH, has been a solid seller, but Prius parts basically only fit other Priuses and the Prius has proven pretty mechanically reliable; not a lot of demand for parts, not much money in stealing one!

As for the interior release, hatchbacks almost never have this because the hatch swings up above the roofline and/or out beyond the bumper and can hit people/objects above and behind if allowed to just swing open remotely. The only way I've ever seen it done is on power-assisted ones with a sensor that will stop it from opening if something is too close. The VW Toureg has this as a feature, for example - you can open and close the hatch from inside or from the keyfob, and it will stop moving if it detects anythign in the way. It also costs over $40k

Regarding hiding valuables in the car, having driven hatchbacks/station wagons for most of my driving life, the best bets are tinted windows and/or a cargo-area cover (can you get one of those in the regular hatchback Prius?) to hide the trunk contents from view. There's also the compartment under the trunk floor. For something you really don't want to risk being stolen, or if you're valeting the car, all you can really do is take it with you.

 

In the area where I live there have been a couple stripped Prii.
They take off the front bumper incl the headlights and the dash, steering wheel and all air bags.
It's done by Polish guys looking for work but not finding it.

 

fobber, I'll put a few dollars in/on my sticky pad on the dash for tolls. The sticky pad only moves when the dash & the pad get too dusty. Wipe down the dash & wash the pad to restore the stickiness.

Lower temperatures also reduce tire pressure. 50psi in the 73F shop (their reading. I think my reading was 1-2psi lower) became 44psi (my reading) in my driveway in subfreezing temps.

Block your grill, inflate your tires, and use the CC on lower settings.