[georgia]

I am expecting my first prius any day now. (seaside pearl, package #1) I am extremely excited!! My sister has one and I loved it, so I talked my husband into getting one. I have some questions though that maybe someone can help me with...Living in Minnesota, it gets pretty darned cold. How is the performance in the -20 to +20 range and is there any particular care I need to take when it is that cold? engine block warmer or anything like that? Also, how is it on ice or snow--I've heard mixed things. Also, I have never used online forums before, so be kind if i do something wrong. :wink:

 

[hyperion]

HEP will be kind. He lives right down the street!

 

[DanMan32]

You might need to change the prius's shoes to ones appropriate for the weather, but the car otherwise has excellent torque. As with any vehicle, it's wheel slippage that hinders travel.

Starting the car (more accurately, turning it on) is not a problem in any weather. The ICE is started when needed using a 10KW motor, spinning the ICE at almost 1000RPM before feeding fuel and spark. Even before that happens, hot coolant stored in a thermos bottle is pumped into the ICE.

A block heater may shorten the warmup period, thus making the car more efficient and helping to provide cabin heat quicker but is otherwise not needed.

 

[Hep]

I am expecting my first prius any day now. (seaside pearl, package #1) I am extremely excited!! My sister has one and I loved it, so I talked my husband into getting one. I have some questions though that maybe someone can help me with....Living in Minnesota, it gets pretty darned cold. How is the performance in the -20 to +20 range and is there any particular care I need to take when it is that cold? engine block warmer or anything like that? Also, how is it on ice or snow--I've heard mixed things. Also, I have never used online forums before, so be kind if i do something wrong. :wink:

You absolutely don't need a block heater. You will have the most reliable start in the parking lot! It doesn't seem to give me warm air any quicker than my Camry, so dress warm. The traction control and VSC handle like a dream on snowy roads, and as you know the snow is off the roads pretty quickly here in the metro, so I haven't felt the need to use snow tires. Just avoid 169 at rush hour!

 

[john1701a]

This year is my SIXTH! winter with a Prius in Minnesota.

There are a tons of photos on my website to prove it too. Like this one...

You have nothing to worry about. In fact, by the end of the season you'll be bragging to people about how much better Prius deals with the extreme cold than a traditional vehicle.

 

[efusco]

While I haven't had my Prius in Minnisota or Alaska cold I have had it through two winters.

The Engine block heater is not a necessity as start up is a breeze. That said, I just ordered an OEM Engine Block heater for my Prius. Cold weather gives a fairly dramatic hit to fuel economy and I'm hoping that I can make a little dent in that by having the block 'pre-heated' at start up.

I couldn't find the block heater at my local dealer (he said it isn't available), but ended up ordering it from a Canadian dealer I'd used in the past:

http://www.toyotadepot.com/product_info ... cts_id/144

$CN 68 + ~$CN10 shipping--they shipped the next day after online order, you can pay with credit card or pay pal.

 

[Hep]

This year is my SIXTH! winter with a Prius in Minnesota.

There are a tons of photos on my website to prove it too. Like this one...

You have nothing to worry about. In fact, by the end of the season you'll be bragging to people about how much better Prius deals with the extreme cold than a traditional vehicle.

Do note the drop in mileage with extreme cold as indicated in John's picture. I had one tank last winter under 30 mpg.

 

[georgia]

forgive my inexperience, but what is "ICE" and VSC?
BTW--Just got the call, my baby has arrived!!! We will be picking it up tomorrow!!!

 

[Hep]

forgive my inexperience, but what is "ICE" and VSC?
BTW--Just got the call, my baby has arrived!!! We will be picking it up tomorrow!!!

ICE is the internal combustion engine... the regular gas engine as opposed to the electric motors. VSC is "anti-skid" vehicle stability control. It self-corrects the aiming of the car in a skid.

 

[Isabelle]

Congratulations! The blue will match the water in your Minnesota lakes.

....note that with a package #1 you might not have VSC.

(but you will have traction control).

Have fun with a great car!

 

[C.Rickey Hirose]

Congratulations! The blue will match the water in your Minnesota lakes.

....note that with a package #1 you might not have VSC.

(but you will have traction control).

Have fun with a great car!

Hello Isabelle aka Richard. I reckon studying the Prius the package #1
is base pkg and does not comes with neither a VSC nor TRAC. vehicle stability control & traction control is all together as VSC option ? It does have the ABS brake as standard tough ? So may be traction control is not in the package #1 ? Perhaps Prius offered in non CA state has different
contents in its package ?

 

[Isabelle]

C Rickey (and Georgia).

Oh dear Rickey....Traction is standard on all and everywhere...every Prius has it.

Unless I'm mistaken, link below explains that VSC is available on package 4 and 6 only.

Who knows about 06 models:

http://www.priusonline.com/viewtopic.php?t=4307

Happy to be corrected by better informed than me.

 

[efusco]

Congratulations! The blue will match the water in your Minnesota lakes.

....note that with a package #1 you might not have VSC.

(but you will have traction control).

Have fun with a great car!

Hello Isabelle aka Richard. I reckon studying the Prius the package #1
is base pkg and does not comes with neither a VSC nor TRAC. vehicle stability control & traction control is all together as VSC option ? It does have the ABS brake as standard tough ? So may be traction control is not in the package #1 ? Perhaps Prius offered in non CA state has different
contents in its package ?

Traction control is on every 2G Prius--it's necessary to prevent damage to the PSD and the HSD itself.

 

[ehurtley]

While I haven't had my Prius in Minnisota or Alaska cold I have had it through two winters.

The Engine block heater is not a necessity as start up is a breeze. That said, I just ordered an OEM Engine Block heater for my Prius. Cold weather gives a fairly dramatic hit to fuel economy and I'm hoping that I can make a little dent in that by having the block 'pre-heated' at start up.

I couldn't find the block heater at my local dealer (he said it isn't available), but ended up ordering it from a Canadian dealer I'd used in the past:

http://www.toyotadepot.com/product_info ... cts_id/144

$CN 68 + ~$CN10 shipping--they shipped the next day after online order, you can pay with credit card or pay pal.

I kind of wonder how much it would help. While part of the Prius' drop in mileage during cold weather is due to keeping the engine warm, I imagine that keeping the catalytic converter warm is more of it. (Since the coolant with thermos works pretty well at keeping the engine warm, and there is no equivalent for the cat.) I wonder if you were to rig up an electric cat heater if it would make an even more noticeable improvement?

Of course, the way to improve 'warm-up' mileage the best is to park it in a garage that is heated to at least above freezing.