Open vents to outside air. . .

The Manual says it's to "... encourage better air circulation through the vehicle helping to reduce odors ...". I imagine very little air-flow would occur without a fan operating (I can't ever feel it even with a gale blowing), but open vents could reduce pressures when doors are slammed or the air expands as it heats up.

 

Does anyone have a list of the parameters that are hidden? Will the dealer make adjustments to these?

 

I'm guessing that when the car is shut off, the air exchange rate through the vents is negligible compared to the normal solar heat radiation through the windows and thermal conduction through the glass and wall and ceiling panels. The vent setting would be more for longer term moisture and odor control, maybe dust too.

Let us know if you find more detail.

 

I thought it was set to yes to let the mice in. Or is that just a Gen 2/Gen3 feature?

 

I agree with fuzzy1 and alanclarkeau that the thermal effect will be very small. The small ventilating effect would indeed cause the interior to warm slightly faster initially in those circumstances, as you assumed, but it would slightly reduce the subsequent rise above ambient temperature due to sun.

Whether that setting affects risk of mouse entry is a more interesting question.

 

Whether parked or moving, I keep my air recirc closed at all times. Just for the fact that so much more dust seems to come in the car when it's open. And in the Gen4, all those black pieces really attract dust. (Plus the AC works better.)

 

Did you use Carista to override the feature where the vents open once the Prius is turned off?

 

Most parameters are listed in the user manual. Others are visible with Carista.

Yes, Carista is one (or the) way to do it.

 

I think all the options I found in Carista are also listed in the manual starting p.752