Prius Plug-in 2012-15 :: Prevent Unnecessary ICE Startups In Winter And Rain
Oct 22, 2012
With colder weather upon us here in the States, many of us are experiencing ICE startup with turning the cabin heat on or trying to defrost the front windows. The seat heaters go a long way towards not having to turn on the cabin heat and triggering the ICE, but that doesn’t solve the window defrosting issue.
I was thinking today as we got the first of our seasonal rains here around the Sacramento area, and the ICE kicking in while defrosting the windows, it would be nice to have another non-ICE solution for this. I’m not sure if the technology yet exists, but if there was a defrosting system on the front and side windows similar to the defrosting grid of the rear windows, but invisible to the eye, this might do the trick.
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It gets really cold in the winter (-30 C is common). Now I'm wondering how does the A/C button on the remote work? Is it literally just for remote air conditioning or can it also be used in freezing temperatures to remotely start the car to warm it up?
Normally I don't warm up my car but when it's been sitting outside in -20C or colder I sometimes let it run a few minutes just to clear the windshield before I drive.
If the A/C button doesn't work the heat also in the freezing cold, will this kit for the regular Prius work?
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If the remote AC button is pressed in middle of winter does it turn on the heat and if yes, does it stay on long enough to actually get some heat going.
For example, if I press it while car is in the garage and it turns on (auto temp set to 70 when it's maybe only 25 in garage), if I go out in 5 or 10 minutes will it have actually heated things up a little? Hope so because that would be better than going into garage, starting it up and going back inside.
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I live in NJ and in summer I am getting a full charge of 8.1 miles. In winter i used to get almost 11 miles. I thought in summer the charge will be even more?.
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So I dont have the money to but a new intake, I am having problems with water getting into my cold air intake under the car. What i could do or something cheap to buy to prevent this problem??
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After my 25k service it seems the timer scheduler when the square button is pressed/held flashes at 7am. When i press the H button the hour advances to 12am then closes. I want to start the charge at 12am and finish at 5AM. The timer windows closes when i move the finish hour to 12am and then my regular clock hour changes. It used to be when i pressed/held the timer button the start time would show at 12 am and after setting it would go to the finish hour.
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I don't like cloudy, hazy, dull, yellow headlights so since the car like a year old, is there anyway can I prevent those headlights getting cloudy-yellow? Products that I could use? Does cook top cleaner work?
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Most of the sedans I've owned in the last 25 years had a way to prevent the trunk from being unlocked from the inside without the non-Valet key. Sometimes it would be by turning the trunk lock in a particular way, or there might be a way to disconnect the passenger compartment lever with the non Valet key.
On this base model Camry however, it seems the trunk will always unlock with the hand lever, and the valet key is only for keeping the glove box locked. Is this right?
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Currently working on a friends 2011 Prius with roughly ~340,000 miles (!!!!!) that was used as a taxi, until now, he bought it from the taxi company and converted it his own daily.
I did a regular oil change on his Prius, and decided to change the spark plugs as at the time there was some sort of occasional shaking/rattle at cold startups. The shaking was gone after changing the spark plugs. This was all done back in March. Yesterday, he was driving, and all of a sudden, the knocking came back, a check engine light, and white like cloud smoke appear. Check Engine lights were P0300, P0301, P0303 (misfire cylinder). I told him to bring it over, I took a look, and his invertor engine coolant was all the way down (he told me he filled it up to top just two weeks ago). I originally thought maybe it was the ignition coils (for shaking), but the white smoke didn't make sense. So I purposely filled the coolant above the full line, and took it out to drive for about half a mile, and just as I suspected when I opened the hood, the coolant level decreased, at least by an inch.
I did not see any oil leaks, and the oil levels were just fine. The car just seems to shake/rattle at startup and when accelerating at low speeds (roughly 8 - 15 MPH) and than goes away, and drives normally. It still does blow off that white/cloud smoke when accelerating hard on the engine though. As for the smell of the smoke, I can't really tell, it is definitely not sweet, but it kind of smells foul/bad.
At this point, I am pretty sure this engine is gone, and the gasket/seal is blown.
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I am about to finish up my graduate studies here in Ohio, after which, my wife and I will be headed back to California. We are in desperate need of a second car, but have decided to wait until we move to get one. My wonderful in laws have said that they are willing to split the cost of a new car with us. With that said, we have already decided that we want to get a Prius, but we can't decide which one. We both really like the V. We love how roomy the car is. This is very important to us because we are going to start a family soon. However, we also like the regular Prius and the PiP. I really like the PiP but am a little concerned about the new batteries, and I am not sure that I want to pay the early adapter premium assuming one is even available. But, only paying half for a PiP sounds rather tempting. Considering all that I just said, if you were in my shoes what car would you get and why?
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Just wondering, is there a recommended procedure or speed range to shift in or out of EV mode while operating, or should it be done while the car is stopped?
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New to the Prius family. Bought a 2014 PIP advanced last week strictly as an economic play. Am noob when it comes to driving techniques, currently average 72 mpg on 90 mi. trips with one charge, so doing better than I expected. I did read up on the Pulse and Glide techniques for the standard Prius and the 'verification' of the glide portion for those is the lack of any power arrows emanating from either the ICS , MG2 or battery on the MID. I have been unable to replicate this on the PIP. In other words, when I am 'gliding' on my PIP, the ICS is off but there always seems to be a green charge indicator flowing back to the batteries from the front wheels.
Keep in mind, my foot is on the accelerator slightly, there is no 'white' bar protruding into the CHG area or the ECO area and I know I am 'gliding/coasting' as no matter how long I am in this sweet spot, even though the charge arrows are active, I DO NOT top up the battery at all, which says to me the car is indeed 'gliding' without the regenerative brakes or ICS in play and it certainly FEELS like I'm gliding as with over-inflated tires (44/42) the PIP seemingly coasts forever. I'm thinking this is a different behavior from a standard Prius in this 'glide' sweet spot, as, at least on my PIP, I can never get the MID to blank out in terms of energy flow. I.E. have you managed a 'pulse and glide' in a PIP getting the all energy flow arrows to disappear .
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I am thinking of upgrading to a pip. I work in my car and was wondering if I plug it in can I still have the a/c running while it is plugged in or not? i read somewhere that if you turn the car into ready mode the systems won't allow it.
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We just picked up our PIP and are super excited......except that the GPS is locked on Kentucky? It does not locate us here in Sacramento, CA and the dealer said if we can't get it working, they obviously will be fixing it.
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New car. I think I could toggle between EV (green light) and HV (red light). Now instead of HV the car does switch between EV and EV/ECO. Am I doing something wrong. I want to avoid a trip to the dealer.
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When I get in to go somewhere in the morning sometimes the EV sign in the car is lit up and sometimes it is just the silhouette of the car on the right side. I know I am driving in Ev and it says Ev in the light on the left side but why the difference. Am I making any sense??
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This morning it was COLD !!! I had the Fan on, with No Defog (Defrost), with the Air Direction to the feet and windshield and Temp Control at 68 degF.
Before I got to work I pressed the Temp Control OFF button.
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Can you drive in EV mode with the A/C or heater running to keep you cool in summer and warm in winter? If so, how much does it change the range from the normal 13-14 miles of EV?
I'm trying to determine how short of a commute I would need to have to not use gas while still driving normally and not giving up climate control use.
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short of getting a fill-up which I don't plan on doing for 6 mos.
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Any experimentation with MPG loss for using the Air Conditioner (with a charged battery)? I've heard that the PiP isn't affected as much by using the AC due to the larger battery, but I don't have any sources for this and would like to find out if it's actually true.
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Twice I've come into the garage and (after getting over the shock of seeing a new PiP) heard a fairly faint buzz or hum seemingly coming from the car. At first I thought it was the fluorescents overheard, but after turning them off and walking around the Prius I believe it to be coming from the rear of the car. (Next time it happens I will go find my old stethoscope and better localize.) The car was off and not plugged into the mains. I got in and hit the power, and the sound quit.
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