Am I missing something? Warming up the car outside while keeping it locked...

It doesn't want to be locked while it's still turned on. You could try the mechanical key I don't know if that would work or not I haven't tried it with the car on.

Best not to start it until you are ready to go, it warms up quickly and you won't waste fuel that way.

 

Try turning off the SKS feature by pushing the little black button on the lower dash then manually locking the door like you would a normal car?

 

Install the Remote Engine Starter. That's what it is for.

 

OP has a 2010 which no longer has that button, unfortunately.

 

According to the OP's profile, it is a 2010 Prius. As such it has no such button.

 

Damn.

 

The mechanical key should work. It certainly does on the Gen2.

The car will beep when you exit the car with it turned on. No problem. If it sounds a continuous beep, then you left it in gear (!!!). Just put it in Park, set the parking brake, and then use the mechanical key to lock the doors.

The engine may not need a warmup, but you certainly don't want to drive the car until the windows are clear.

 

The mechanical key will work as I have done it with my 2010.

 

Absolutely. In hot summer months I've left my dog in the car, and locked with the key leaving the a/c on -- but with the obvious risk of someone smashing the window to save the dog. In winter I see no such risk.

 

I leave a note on the dash saying "Dog is OK, Air Conditioning is ON". I've also left a 6" diameter thermometer visible from outside (but in the shade inside the car). No problems so far, outside of the dog not appreciating being left behind.

 

This will be my first winter - how long does it take to warm up, generally?

Thanks!!

 

It can take a couple minutes to warm up enough to get the windows defrosted though. I would not recommend just hopping in the car and driving with the windows covered in ice. That is just asking for an accident, especially when driving through a residential area while kids are walking to school.

 

I Don't have a miles or minutes number but both my Prius (this one and my previous Gen2) warm up and start putting out heat a lot quicker than my previous (non-hybrid) car did. If you can remember how far down the road your previous car was when the heater started working it will give some idea anyway.

As I recall the Gen2 Prius has a 1KW electric heating element to help bring cabin heat up a bit quicker and keep it warm when the engine is off, this car may have that same feature, we will find out.

 

That's for sure, good visibility is more important than other considerations,

Ken@Japan has suggested that you should let the car run without moving it for the first minute until it gets out of stage 1a. When the engine runs for that first minute when cold it provides no electrical or motive power (unless you were to push the throttle way down) so the car runs on the battery during that time. It seems to make more sense, as far as mileage is concerned, not to take that energy out of the battery and have to replace it later. Of course it you live at the top of a big hill it would be different.

So it would be more correct to say "if it's cold let it warm up for 1 minute, or longer if you need defrosters".

 

Can the remote AC on the key FOB be used for heating the car? I don't have my Prius yet (by Xmas?), but have been reading the manual and spying on the forums. Looks like the remote AC function will work as long as it isn't set to MAX HOT when you leave the car. So, does pressing the remote AC button use either heat or cooling to reach the last set internal temp?

Note, I did a quick search but didn't see anything obvious in the forum topics related to this.

 

I am getting a Prius soon and I have given it some thought. If you are worried about the car being stolen, even if you lock the door, couldn't someone with a brick drive off with it?

I think you need something like "the club."

The reason I am not considering a remote starter is that I am worried my kid would start the car in the garage when I am sleeping and kill the whole family. I know I have a CO alarm, the thought is still scary. I normally don't put the car in the garage. But if I do, or we are visiting a vacation home (just a hypo, I am not that rich) it just seems like the remote starter is a hazard.

I've never owned one so maybe it is not a concern. I am ready to be enlightened if anyone can provide me with insight.

 

The remote starter would be almost impossible to trigger by accident. To start the car you have to press the unlock button twice quickly and then press the unlock button a third time, but not quite as quickly. It actually takes some practice to get the timing down. Anyway, the car shuts off after 10 minutes and the engine only runs for brief periods of time during that 10 minutes.

 

Why do you want to warm your car by idling? It is not good for the car, your wallet, environment and it really doesn't heat up the car that much quicker.

With that in mind, you can certain lock your doors with the key while the car is running. I do that with my dog all the time in the summer (she lives a better life than i do i swear). It's partially the reason why I picked the Prius over the TDI Jetta.

 

Use the mechanical key to lock it or trick it to think you are still in the car (this will avoid using the mechanical key to lock it):

1. Start the car
2. Leave the FOB in the car, roll down the driver's window and exit the car as usual
3. From outside/through the rolled down window, press the lock all door swith
4. Take the FOB out of the car
5. Lift the driver's window auto-UP button.

As the car think you are still in the car, you then have a running locked car, without the FOB inside it (when the doors are locked and you did not open any door to exit, it assumes wrongly that you are still in. Hence, logically, you will need the mechanical key to unlock the door, as neither the SKS or FOB buttons will work to open the car.

Note that locking the car while running may be an issue as there is only one mechanical lock on the car... if it freezes, you will be stuck with a running car and no way to open it...