How To Preheat The Engine in Cold Weather

Discussion in 'Gen 5 Prius Main Forum' started by Kretakis, May 7, 2026 at 9:15 PM.

  1. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk MMX GEN III

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    My nearby dealership always seems to be awash in the Plug-In version, and one or two Hybrids.
     
  2. PriusCamper

    PriusCamper Senior Member

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    I think he meant coldest town in Colorado... Because we all know there's lots of super cold places in the world, especially 12K years ago.
     
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  3. rjparker

    rjparker Tu Humilde Sirviente

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    Winter (Dec – Feb): Average lows range from -10C (14f) to -15C (5f) in Calgary

    The Calgary I know in winter is cold but not -30C on "most days".

    The engine will start on a hybrid pretty quickly due to quick discharging when cold.

    You bought a plug in with no place to plug it in. I would dig a trench in the current 63f weather (no freeze in sight) and call it a day.
     
  4. Blackat

    Blackat Active Member

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    Well, you know what they say about people that make assumptions. Muted for being a Canadian AH
     
  5. Gokhan

    Gokhan Senior Member

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    0W-16 oil, computer-controlled hybrid drivetrain that also uses the electric motor as the motive force—there is little need to warm up in frigid weather. Even my 1985 Corolla owner’s manual recommended only a few minutes of warm-up in frigid weather, and that was with 5W-30 or thicker (typically 10W-30 or 10W-40) and a carburetor. As long as you drive gently with a cold engine, you will be OK. Just don’t floor it. In fact, if I floor my Gen 4 Prime PHEV with a cold engine (using 0W-16 oil), it smells really bad, like some plastic is burning; so, don’t do it with a cold engine.
     
  6. douglasjre

    douglasjre Senior Member

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    Have u tried just driving it
     
  7. GeoJ

    GeoJ Active Member

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    The icebox of the country. Know it well. Worse than ridiculous, probably not good for the engine.