New owner, a few questions

Welcome!

The Pri can have a hard time producing cabin heat, especially when outside temperatures are very cold. The power train doesn't produce much waste heat compared with a conventional, gasoline power train. Grill-blocking is sometimes used in cold climates but its recommended to use a Scangauge or similar instrument capable of reading engine temperatures.

I've found it works pretty well to drive the car for a few minutes with the climate control off to help the drive train warm up a bit before introducing the heat demand. Also, it seems to be more effective at lower fan speeds. I don't go higher than the third fan speed. I think it's too difficult to transfer enough warmth at high fan speeds.

The traction control on the Prius is very important in order to protect the electric drive from damage. There is a way to disable it via a hack, but it is strongly discouraged. A rapidly-accelerating drive wheel on a slippery surface can easily overspin one of the electric motors and permanently damage it.

When driving a Pri on slippery surfaces, I find it most effective to modulate the go pedal and keep the traction control system from activating. It takes a little practice, but it ultimately enables better propulsion on slippery surfaces. It will even let you power the tires slightly faster than the surface without traction control activating if you don't give it too much pedal.

Enjoy the Pri!

 

welcome to priuschat! search gen II grill blocking, we do it with half inch copper pipe foam insulation stuffed into the lower grill. start your car on cold mornings, turn the heat all the way up and let it sit until warm enough to drive. all the best!

 

If you set your heater temp to MAX HOT or 86°F, there is a electric heating element in the heater box that supplies heat to the cabin until the gas engine warms up. But it only works at the MAX HEAT setting. What I do if it's really cold is set the temp to MAX HOT and then set the fan to the maximum or next to max setting to get some heat quickly. It will drain the traction battery a little so be sure you start the gas engine before turning on the heater.

 

Have you installed four winter tires on the Prius? If not I suggest you do so if the car must be driven in snow.

As you've already learned, the Prius traction control will restrict wheelspin so that particular driving technique needs to be abandoned when using that car.

MG2 is directly tied to the transaxle output shaft. This is the motor that can be damaged due to excessive wheelspin and traction control will protect that MG, which is capable of producing ~300 ft.-lb torque at 0 rpm. That can do damage if its rotational speed is not controlled.

As you probably know, gasoline engines produce very little torque at idle speed (which is why they require transmissions with multiple gears.) So this is not an issue for a traditional drivetrain.

 

I've read about that electric heating element in the heater box somewhere, but I'm kinda curious - do ALL 2nd Gen Prii have this device spirited within their heaters, or is it only restricted to certain models sold in countries deemed "really cold" by Toyota?

Nexus 7 ?

 

The Toyota repair manual indicates that this is limited to "Cold Area Models". All North American Prius have the electric heater.

To check your car, open the relay box mounted on the cowl above the engine. Look for two relays: PTC Heater Relay #1 and PTC Heater Relay #2. If you do not see those relays then you definitely do not have the two PTC heaters installed.

If you see the relays then you probably have the heaters.

 

I'm afraid we do not get the PTC heaters in the UK or EU Prius. So along with Scandinavia we do not come under Toyota's definition of cold.
We also do not get heated outside rear view mirrors although they are fitted in Florida along with the PTC heaters "work that one out".
The heated mirror glasses are available "after market" and it is an easy modification. No extra switches required on the dash as the heated mirrors come on with the rear screen heater as OEM. I have done this modification so if you want details let me know.
Fitting PTC heaters would be a major job as not only are the relays missing the wiring and heaters themselves are not there. To fit them would require the removal of the heater along with disconnecting the AC lines. A major task, and I doubt you can order the parts in the UK as they are not listed in the parts manual in the UK/EU.

John (Britprius)

 

"...try to remember that this car is not AWD and carry a bucket of sand when I forget this car is not AWD."
That seems like a reasonable policy. Not many AWD cars or SUVs can claim 50 mpg fuel economy, so keep that in mind when you are lamenting that the Prius does not behave like a Jeep in the snow.

 

I agree with everything everybody has said so far.... the trifecta of winter gas mileage helpers:

1.) Grille blocking (search the site or google it)
2.) Engine block heater
3.) Tire pressures

I have my grille blocked 100% and use a block heater, on a timer. Without those two, I cant imagine what my mileage would be

I also use 0w-20 synthetic oil and have my tires inflated to 44psi in the front, 42psi in the rear.

 

On your next tire replacement, you could consider an all-season with strong winter performance, such as the Hankook Optimo H727, Pirelli P4 Four Seasons, Goodyear Assurance TripleTred or similar. We have the H727 on two Prii in the family--they never cease to amaze in winter conditions. The Trac and ABS very rarely activate any more and they just scoot around just about everywhere in the snow now, even in the mountains. One of them has a set of cable chains in the trunk for skiing trips but they've never been needed. I've been taking the insurance off the 4wd trucklet over the winter and leaving it parked.

 

Thanks! Six years that I haven't known that. I do plug the block heater in for an hour or two before I drive on cold days-- which we're having plenty of this year.
We used Nokian WR2's for a short while, good in snow but they don't last long enough. Now on our second set of Goodyear Assurance Comfortreds, an outstanding tire all around and especially in snow. We have snow events every week.