What are your tips/experiences for prepping the car during winter?

Since you don't list your location no one can say with real precision.
Some winter places will only drop down to Frosty 60° in the morning. Then according to weather.com in a couple days we will warm up to -9° f


View attachment 250938
.

 

Lol, how in the world can we offer advice for that question when you won't even tell us what region in the USA you live in?

Maybe you've noticed that winter in Florida is much different than winter in Minnesota?

What's more, it's a brand new car and we're 1/4 of the way through the 21st century already.

Why in the world would you think you'd need to do anything special to "prepare for winter?"

 

Block heater. Grill block. Snow tires. Freeze protected windshield fluid. Warm work gloves. If it's snowing, a shovel in the hatch, some carpet scraps (for traction), and a blanket (in case you're stuck for protracted time). Best practice if it's snowing: wait till it ain't.

 

I wonder if Toyota dealer would threaten to void your warranty if you tried to DIY a $30 block heater rather than pay $2K for an identical "OEM" and "certified" block heater that they'd install?

It'd be funny if OP did everything you listed and then later we found out they lived in Florida. I mean, most people are smarter than that, but on a Prius forum of people who just bought brand new Prius that are more expensive than the cheapest Tesla ( Tesla Model 3 Is Actually Much Cheaper Than a Toyota Prius | Torque News), I'm on this Gen5 forum to not just be helpful but be amused by the nostaglic good old days a dozen years ago when Priuschat had lots of new Prius owners with crazy questions.

 

Yes, some more details about your specifics would help.

But since the game here is getting best MPG possible... Best to leave the heat OFF when you start out, then after a few minutes set it kind of low (64-66), then slowly raise it every few minutes until you get cabin to comfortable temperature. Or if you need to defrost, keep the temp setting as low as possible before slowly raising it as you go. Maximum use of heat early in your trip kills MPG in winter. If equipped, you can use your heated seats and heated steering wheel for some warmth early in the trip. Honestly I'd stay away from remote start because it will eat away at your MPG before you even start driving!

Otherwise there probably isn't much special about the Prius for 'cleaning up snow' that you wouldn't find in any other car. Or that won't kill your MPG.

 

The block heater install is relatively unintrusive, can't see it voiding a warranty; it clips into a pocket at the left back corner of the block, not immersed in coolant. Dealership installed is around $300~400 CDN, and the part alone around $90 CDN, that's genuine Toyota part, through the dealership.

Not sure about 5th gen install, but previous gen's are a royal pain: we had dealership install ours for $400 CDN at time of purchase, and when it fritzed out I DIY replaced it. It would be easy as pie if it was installed at the factory, engine out of the car. But doing it afterwards is very difficult because of the jungle of conduits/brackets in the vicinity.

Hmm, Toyota Canada currently says $561.09 CDN installed; that's inflation I guess. The parts likely still around $100.

 

For fuel efficiency. The engine will also warm up faster under the load of driving off than idling still.

There might be one for thawing out frozen wipers.

 

And from the battery pack's perspective, pre-heating before driving in winter is essential. Of course Toyota is politically sensitive to anything that advances the viability of EVs, so maybe that's an expectation that's not allowed even though every EV maker other than Toyota is working on that right now.

 

I looked at the Tesla before I bought my Prius Prime. Consider myself pretty smart. In fact, if you are measuring "smarts" by whether someone bought a new Prius over a "cheaper" Tesla, I would look at it the other way - people that bought the new Prius are smarter, for lots of reasons.

 

What about people that have both?

I use the Prime mainly for city driving and leave the Model 3 to long distance, like my wife currently bringing our son to the airport 200 km away using the Model 3 instead of the Prime.

 

I live in Fraser, CO where many mornings it’s -20f
I do nothing. Start, wait 10 sec and drive.
I do keep a snow brush and a sub zero sleeping bag in a stuff bag for whatever

Proper wiper fluid for zero temps and good wiper blades.

 

I live on southwest coast Canada, only get occasional below-freezing spells, use block heater virtually without fail, year ‘round, typically for a couple of hours.

not saying it’s “better”, just want to improve the engine longevity odds.

appreciate if you’re street parked (for example), it’s impractical.

 

We're currently experiencing a major snow storm. First big one this year (although the year is quite young). First time I'll need to use the defrost mode on my next drive. I'm keen to see how it handles in the snow, with snow tires, of course.

 

Yeah this week winters finally starting to get serious. Up to now it’s just been chilly and rain.

and of course I’m supposed to do an oil pan replacement next Monday, will bring out all the heaters we’ve got to garage.

 

That trip should be within the range of the Model 3, while the Prius Prime will use 3 gallons or so of gas. Go further, and it comes down to what you prefer in terms of number and length of stops.

 

We usually eat while charging so we're not losing time. No pollution and less cost. For a 1000 km round trip, it costs me $60 in electricity (home and fast charger) while it would have cost us over $90 in gas alone for the Prime, and that doesn't include the prorated cost of a $120 oil change. And like you said, Autopilot, and let's not forget fast acceleration to pass slow traffic on two-way roads.