Warming up the Prius in the Winter.

The climate control in the Prius won't blow any air until the block gets warmed up enough to generate some usable heat. I'm thinking 5 minutes might just not be enough time to generate said heat to defrost your windshield.

 

Grill blocking will help.

You did not mention what setting you are using on the climate control.

I leave it on AUTO/AC set at 74 degrees and hit the front and rear defrost on the wheel. It should clear the windows and mirrrors in 5 minutes depending on how thick the ice is. There are electric resistance heaters that will produce heat until the ICE warms up.

 

The answer is to get in and drive. The car will warm up way faster with the grill blocked however. You can "trick" the car into running the ICE by putting the car in drive and drive for a few feet. The engine will start and continue to run until it is warm. If you don't move the car it may not start.

Icarus

PS Also, an engine block heater will keep the coolant warm so that it warms up that much faster. (Remember, the heater will not get warm until the engine generates enough heat to heat the coolant. If you want to get warm faster, leave the heat OFF until the engine gets warm. Turning the heat full on will only delay getting warm!)

 

Grill blocking will help only when the car is moving. If it's sitting idle in the driveway, it does almost nothing (unless it's facing into the wind).

You do need to hit the defrost button, but it should take care of it within 5 minutes. Also keep in mind, if you have the auto climate control set for defrost/feet, then turn it off and back on, it goes to the feet/face setting, which won't blow any air until the engine is warm. The defrost setting will blow air right away because it can use the A/C to dry the air which helps even before the heater is ready (at least that's my understanding of why it blows right away). Have you tried running the defroster with a lower temperature before turning off the car, to make sure the interior isn't humid as it cools off overnight?

That said, if the windows are fine, there's no reason to let the car warm up. Just get in and drive, and you'll improve the mpg considerably.

 

You are holding the brake down when you press the power button, right?

There should be no need to press the power button 2X.

If you aren't holding the brake when you press the power button, then that is your problem. The car can't start up the gas engine unless it is in "Ready" mode. If it can't start the engine, then it can't generate any heat to defrost your window.

Make sure the "Ready" light is lit on the dash, and then make sure the windshield defrost light is lit on the dash. If both those lights are lit, 5 minutes should be long enough. If it is exceptionally cold out, you might need to wait a bit longer for the window to completely defrost.

 

That is *not* the correct way to "start" the Prius! You may even end up severely discharging the battery, requiring a tow to a Toyota dealer

The correct way to "start" the Prius is to get in, step on the brake pedal, then poke the power button. The car will "boot up" and in cold temps, the gasoline motor should start

If you need to "trick" the gasoline motor to run, just floor the gas pedal and release. The gas motor will instantly start

 

A ha! That is exactly what your problem is.

If the car isn't in "ready" mode (foot on the brake when you turn it on), then the gas engine will not turn on and it won't generate any heat. Additionally, the A/C compressor won't run, so moisture won't be condensed out of the incoming air.

All you are doing is running the fan and blowing ambient air at the window. That would be the same ambient air that created the frost in the first place. At best you are changing nothing on the window, worst case you might actually be adding additional frost!

Please come back and let us know if this fixes the problem.

 

The ICE will start up almost immediately from a cold start (going into Ready) if the Front Defrost is on, as long as the temp isn't on Lo.

 

Time to re-read the owner's manual.

 

That's pretty solid mileage for being in the 'Natti in the winter. I'm up by Detroit and have been re-learning to keep the MPGs up (second Prius, sold the first and bought the second) and I've been managing only around 42-ish.

 

Keep in mind that the fastest way to warm up the Prius (just like any car) is to drive it, gently for the first minute or two. Warming it up by sitting and idling is (1) slow, and (2) kills your MPGs (you get zero MPG while idling).

If the *inside* of your windshield is chronically frosted then you should get into the habit of using defrost and external air during the last few minutes of the previous drive. That should dry out the cabin enough to prevent interior frosting. If the outside of the windshield is frosted, then you need a scraper :_>

 

I guess I would consider myself a 'newbie' - I've had my Prius for 9 months. This is my first winter with it. I was really happy to see someone asking about 'warming the Prius up' in the winter. I don't have any problem with frost on the inside of my windshield because I know how to start it up. What is an issue with me, is how long it takes for it to warm up on the inside. I have a 13 mile ride to work every morning, and last week when it was below zero degrees, I just barely felt heat from the vents when I reached my destination. Is this normal?

 

For a 13 mile drive I would say it can be normal for temps below -5F. My drive is also exactly 13 miles so I've been testing out different heating vs. MPG methods. It turns out the best way to heat the car also helps with MPG compared to "auto" or full blast. It's best to leave the heat off for the first 2-4 minutes(or miles) to allow the engine to warm up quicker. Then you can turn the heat on. If you had the heat on the first couple minutes all you would be geeting is cold air anyway. I keep the fan speed below Medium, which guarantees me hot air the rest of the ride. If using a higher fan speed, than you have the option of lowering it to get hotter air (and better mileage). Also a personal preferance is that I favor using the upper vents so the air blows on me rather than heating the whole car.

On a side note I have also tested NO heat or AC for the 13 mile drive at sub 10F temp and it consistantly increases the trip mileage by 4-5mpg. (helps the engine shut off while coasting and at lights/stop signs). I've slowly been able to increase my winter mileage from 47 to 50mpg.

Hope this helps anyone trying to stay warm.

 

How can you stay warm when it's freezy pop cold outside brrrr. I have also found once the car is warm to decrease the fan speed. This allows the car to shut off or run on electric motor only. Hard to believe small things like turning down the fan make a difference in mileage.

 

I've used a de-icer spray (alcohol) on the windshield and lowered the driver's window a bit for ventilation to keep me from fogging the inside of the windshield. With the grill blocked the ICE turns off at the second or third stop. At this point, close the window, temp set to 73, fan low, auto off. "Cold" here is usually in the 30's. It's been in the 20's a couple of times. I don't know how well this works farther north.