Ideas to prevent unnecessary ICE startups in winter and rain

i'll have to try that. can you change temp in the genII while in acc mode?

 

I bought an electric 12v blanket from Amazon. It looks and feels nice but it hasn't been cold enough for me to use it yet. I plan to use it, when necessary on rare occasions, to supplement the heated seats in my Volt.

I find that I'm completely comfortable driving in 50F+ outdoor temperatures with the heater off if I turn the fan off and direct the air flow to the windshield and floor. A small amount of air flows naturally while driving but not enough to create any noticeable wind chill factor.

A single person gives off the heat equivalent of a 50-100W lightbulb. Other heat sources include the random interior electronics and display lighting. I usually only have problems with interior window fogging in the SF Bay Area when it rains and then only when the interior of the car gets damp due to wet clothes or an umbrella.

Just googling around briefly, I found an e-commerce site that gives a good overview of the various gadgets that are available. I haven't actually bought anything from them:

Portable Car Heater World – Top Rated Portable Heaters

 

Try this pointed out the window.

 

slcMPG: me likey (as says Jon Stewart). At least until I pull up next to a "clean" diesel. (Funny how putting those two words next to each other really doesn't change much of anything.)
Being in the Northwest, I am a fan of Rain-X. But I've not yet tried the companion product Fog-X. Anyone recommend it?

 

Sorry, but it's rather amusing to read "winter" comments from those who don't experience the real thing. Try driving a Prius in Minnesota. This will be my 13th winter doing that.

With the PHV, the plan is to simply block the lower-grille when the daily temperature drops & stays below 55°F.

I have already seen the warmup process to 145°F for heater use. That results in some EV replenish, a benefit often overlooked. Then the heater continues to run until coolant temp drops below 114°F. In the meantime, you see 999 MPG. What part of that isn't necessary when it's well below freezing?

Wait for the real-world data. Results will still show a clear improvement over the regular model.

 

One big thing to do to reduce the amount of fog on the windshield is to keep the inside clean. (won't hurt to clean the outside too) I clean the inside of my windshield a few times a year and it makes a big difference. Never tried Fog-x or anything like it.

 

Yeah, so what happens when you turn on the AC in -20 weather? It's probably warmer, for all I know.

It was 54 degrees this morning and I used the AC defrosting trick. My daughter complained that the car was too cold, even with the seat heaters. So I don't know how many times I'll keep doing this, but for those who absolutely don't want the engine to start, we have a solution.

 

if you're daughter is anything like mine were, she wasn't dressed properly.

 

Did you have the seat warmers on hi or lo? I find the lo setting to be pretty useless even without AC on.

 

I'm excited about the opportunity to find out with the plug-in... especially since the 2004 did better in extremes than some vehicles at their best in ideal conditions.

 

I put them on High to warm up, and then on Low once they're warm. I don't think it would be comfortable on High for a long drive.

This car's seat heater works a lot better than the one I had in my BMW. Maybe it was the BMW's leather seats, but the Prius warms up very fast, in under a minute.

 

Agree

 

Has anyone noticed that a slip differential in the tires engages the ICE? I drove over a branch in the road and one wheel spun a little bit more than the other, and then I noticed the ICE was on. I am 99% sure I didn't throttle into power because this was at a crowded 4 way intersection. If it does cause ICE to start, make sure to go slowly when turning from a stop on wet surfaces.

 

thanks, haven't noticed anything.