Caring for New Prius

congrats and welcome!
there isn't anything you can do, toyota has taken care of everything.
unfortunately, the battery likes to be used, so your average miles won't help, but it's not a huge deal.
one thing you might want to consider is a 12v battery tender, because they drain in between drives, and short drives don't recharge them much.
all the best!

 

Drive it at least once a week, no battery likes being ignored and driving even 5 miles a week will keep both the 12 volt and High Voltage battery charged some, more is better.

Do the maintenance in the manual, either your self, an independent mechanic, or the dealership.

 

Block heater would help in your situation. 2 hours plug-in before driving is enough for all but the coldest conditions. For some reason US dealerships seem to have a hard time getting them, but yeah, try them first. The part's around $80~90 USD, and installed maybe around $300?

Look into grill-blocking through winter. You want to determine where the inverter radiator is, avoid blocking that portion. For the rest a 50% block is very conservative/safe.

Assuming you have lots of road salt: consider coating the suspension components, underbody, whatever you can reach, with a semi-pliable rust protectorant. Fluid Film is a commercial product with a good name. I used boiled linseed oil, applied mostly with foam brushes, which was cheap and very effective.

 

I'd watch The Car Care Nut videos on YouTube. He actually works for a dealer in Illinois and has a wealth of knowledge on Prius models and how to make them really last.

The Car Care Nut - YouTube

 

This is really your main concern. As others already mentioned, the Prius likes to be driven. The battery has three main enemies - time, heat, and cycles. So don't leave it parked in hot sun if there is shade available. Your driving pattern will keep the charge/discharge cycles low, but the battery will still degrade with age. It should last as long as any other Prius battery, but you won't get as many miles out of it since you don't drive it much.

4th generation already has automatic grill shutters.

That will help with those areas. On the other hand, I just worked on a 2006 with over 299,999 miles that had a bracket near the 3-way coolant valve almost rusted away.

 

Strategy I’ve used is to inspect, and when I see rust developing: coat those areas. It’s maybe counterintuitive to let the rust get a head-start, but it’s actually been quite effective, at least with the boiled linseed oil I’ve used.

Here's what I saw, about 5 years in, on the rear shock absorber:



Applied boiled linseed oil, and this pic was taken maybe a couple of years further along:

 

I'm sure you've mentioned this before, but to save someone looking it up, do you spray it on or brush it on?

 

Brushed on, with foam paint brushes or an old tooth brush. Really inaccessible bits “flossed” with rag strips.

 

you'll know soon enough if you're driving enough to keep the 12v charged. it is impossible for anyone to know the correct amount. it's a combo of frequency and trip lengths

 

Looks like you have pretty good grasp of how it works.

As for not getting the hybrid battery to 100%, the car will not permit that to happen. When the display shows 100%, that's really about 83-84%. The display shows the percentage of what's available, not the percentage of what exists.

As for the 12V, I'm still on the original with about 62,000 miles so far. Still behaves normally. Never needed a jump, but that might be simply because I carry a lithium jump pack. LOL! Also never felt the need for connecting to my battery charger.

I drive almost every day. Most drives are 20-50 miles and it's about 85% EV. So, I have lots of cycles on the hybrid battery and it's just now starting to show some reduction in capacity.