Is there a definitive power down/power up routine?

You can power it down even without putting it in park since it will put itself in park when shutting down. It’s good (with every car) to turn the AC off before you reach the destination since that will dry the evaporator. Stereo doesn’t really matter since it will only turn on once the Prius is fully powered on. But you shouldn’t power down Prius unless engine is warmed up. To make sure don’t power it down before engine has shut itself down once.

Cold climate:
You can drive immediately after it’s powered on. But if your engine is colder than 40c or 108F you should avoid fast acceleration or steep uphill’s (especially the combination of two) especially if battery is at less than 4 bars. If you have to accelerate or drive up steep hill (especially with low hv-battery) at the beginning of journey you should wait for engine to warm up a bit depending on temperature this will take 0s…60s. More than 30s only in below freezing temperatures.

Warm climate:
It will reduce the stress on engine and hv-battery if you wait for Engine to charge the battery up and AC to cool interior down (especially with low hv-battery) before you start to drive. Maybe also something like 0s…60s is good time.

 

it's a good idea to lock the car on the way out. it won't let you lock the doors if you forgot to power down. if you just shut the door with the power on, it will only beep 3 times and stop. i have no other rules.

 

some peeps hit the park button, then the power. you can do either, it accomplishes the same thing.

 

Not powering down with the system cold has got me thinking. I often power up, drive it out of the garage and then power down before the engine starts while I get out and close the garage door. I wonder if there's harm in that. I only take it out of the garage once or twice a week, so I figure I still have fewer on/off cycles than many. I've been getting a bit self conscious about it though, and have started just leaving it on while I'm out closing the garage door.

For those who share the car with another driver, I believe the proper power-down procedure is to leave the audio volume high, the fan blower on high, power down the car and then put the wipers on high and the turn signal on.

 

if you don't get the combustion boogaloo upon startup, powering down cold isn't a problem.

 

Good to know. That made me look up "boogaloo".

 

Yep, it's not powering down the electronics cold that matters, it's powering down the ICE after it has only run for a few seconds that can sometimes be an issue. Some cars can be hard to start next time you use them if you do that, they kind of behave like the engine is flooded. I have to admit that I've not noticed this as a particular problem with the Prius though.

BTW. That's where an EV button comes in real handy. Doing the old garage shuffle without needing to fire up the engine.

 

no need to rub it in.

 

But I would mostly need it at winter. And it even says it in user manual (European model with EV-switch), EV isn’t available if car is cold soaked in below freezing for long enough (probably if hv-battery is below freezing).

 

Things I like to shut off before turning the car off, and, this is really just common sense:

1. wipers
2. radio
3. air conditioning (Just the cooling function, not the vent/heat system. Our use of AC is very sporadic, and when used, I like to ensure the AC portion is shut down at least a few blocks before shut down, to try to dissipate humidity in the system.)

That's it. And I rarely hit the "park" button first, just hit the power button, which does the same thing.

Then, invariably, set the parking brake. Even on level ground. Not hard, but enough to lock.

 

Why? If you’re turning it back on next time you’re driving there’s really no benefit in doing so. I turn it to low volume and then off also. But I don’t really get why you say this is common sense.

 

Just habit I guess. I'm not a big radio fan, like to listen for possibly unusual start up sounds, and maybe it's early morning, for the neighbours. Yeah, just MY pref. I guess.

 

Ha, too cold is the one thing I never have to worry about. Too hot is much more a problem here.

 

I trained myself not to use the Park button. It's an invitation to leave the car on all night in the garage. It is so easy to walk away from the car in Park.

My shutdown procedure is:
1. Turn off AC, Set temp to LO, vents open, and press OFF (This only applies to the PiP, if HVAC is on higher than ambient the ICE fires up. This is one of my biggest complaints about the car) I do this as Mendel Leisk suggests a few blocks before destination to mitigate condensation and therefore mold and smells.
2. Turn off wipers, as necessary
3. Turn down or off radio, so you don't shock yourself at start up
4. Press Power
5. Always set parking brake

Start up is just power on and go. Warmup idle is an outmoded concept since before electronic ignitions and should've died after the 1980's. The ICE doesn't like to be cold and the quickest and safest way to warm up an engine is to drive it gently until it reaches temperature. I usually start it up put on my seatbelt, adjust the radio and go, about 30 seconds.

 

I always:

• Shut off the headlights - lack of trust in the auto shutoff system
• Shut off the AC compressor as I approach home so that the coils can dry a bit before shutting down the car for the night. This avoids mildew problems later.
• Like others, always check that all doors and hatch are closed to avoid a dead 12v battery.

JeffD

 

I like the way you think!

The only thing I'd add to that: tune the radio to the Death Metal station.