Prius Remote Air Conditioning review

You have to be within range of the remote. It is effective once it's running, but limited to three minutes at a shot.

Just as worthwhile is the ventilation from the solar powered fan. If you tilt the sunroof up to vent, the combination of the three should work well for you.

 

better than nothing, i guess.

 

I have theses features and also find them useful to keeping the temperature under control a bit. Key word is a bit.....if you are looking to get into a cooler on a 100 degree day then you will want a third party remote start unit that does heating as well as cooling. Stays on longer, etc.

I also like the solar powered fan system for when the vehicle is shut off. I believe the purpose is to keep the interior no hotter than the outdoors taking the meltdown away. It also blows on your lower leg which is probably a psychosomatic cooling response that, for me, gives a cooling sensation. The key to effective fan function appears to be tied to the amt of charge available to the solar roof.....more energy, better fan function.

It's a pricy package, but I there isn't anything like having all of these options, again for the way I drive. So buy it if you like it, but don't buy it if you think it's going to save you a bunch of money.

 

I really liked the solar roof on my old Prius. It did a great job of keeping temps down during those 100F days. In conjunction with a quality sunshade, window tint and smart parking you may not need to use the remote AC often. When it's really hot outside, all of the above mentioned items will help you cool the car down faster when AC is needed. I wish my PIPhad the solar roof.

 

I tried to use the remote AC once. Then I got to my car and realized, what in the world can the 5-10 seconds of AC it would take for me to walk to the car do that rolling all 4 windows down, couldn't?

Seems like it would only make sense if you're within range either at home or at work. I park in the garage and my desk is far from where I park. Seems like the solar roof would work better for me.

 

if your car is parked outside your office window. my neighbor has a remote start on her suburban. she fires it up from the kitchen on cold mornings, and an hour later she goes out with no coat on.

 

If you are joking then its fine otherwise such act may cause serious heath problems.

 

In my region, having a car idling for anything more than a short time is illegal.

 

+1 even in yor drive way!

 

I have a neighbor who has a Cadillac Escalade with remote start. Every morning he fires it up about five to ten minutes before he leaves, regardless of outside temperature. IMHO, it is adding to air pollution, regardless of how clean modern engines are supposed to be, not to mention a waste of gasoline. Sorry for straying off-topic.

 

TP- You would have to have visited the PiP forum a couple of weeks ago to get the story.

 

Thanks a lot, Roger.