Taxi Drivers Do You Switch Off Car Inbetween Jobs?

[nsr]

Hi i have had my prius for a couple of weeks now and as I am a taxi driver I was wondering if it is safe to leave the prius running on idle inbetween jobs sometimes this could be between 1 to 2hrs or does it need to be switched off??

[Jan&tone]

Hi i have had my prius for a couple of weeks now and as I am a taxi driver I was wondering if it is safe to leave the prius running on idle inbetween jobs sometimes this could be between 1 to 2hrs or does it need to be switched off??

The Prius does not 'idle'.

If you leave the power button on so the car is 'live' with the dash lit up then the ICE will start occasionally and run for a few minutes to charge the HV Battery.

However, if you are going to sit stationary for any length of time why leave it switched on? You will only waste fuel, diminish the whole idea of having a Prius in the first place by poluting the atmosphere around your car unnecessarily...

After all, it's not like you need a lot of power to atart the car up when you get a fare is it!

Come the winter, when you need to keep the car warm, I could understand leaving the whole system live, but not at this time of year.

[johalareewi]

Where is grumpy cabbie when you need him

[johalareewi]

However, if you are going to sit stationary for any length of time why leave it switched on?

Being a taxi driver I would imagine he has radios and other stuff to keep powered up.

[Ancient Nerd]

Where is grumpy cabbie when you need him

You can still find him on PriusChat.

I think he got fed up with some of the sniping that goes on here. See his profile for details.

[Jan&tone]

Where is grumpy cabbie when you need him

I had a conversation with him the other day. Apparently he is totally p...d off with some of the opinionated abuse he and others receive on here from some members. He is therefore not active on this forum at present.

Sad init. He is missed.

[Jan&tone]

However, if you are going to sit stationary for any length of time why leave it switched on?

Being a taxi driver I would imagine he has radios and other stuff to keep powered up.

You can do that without having everything running. Just push the power button once without your foot on the brake.

What does annoy me sometimes, and it's the only gripe I now have, you cannot simply go from full running mode to accessories only. You have to switch off and then push the power button again to switch on accessories unlike 'keyed' cars where you just turn the key half way to switch the engine off...

Probably a good reason for it, but annoying nevertheless.

[nsr]

Yes I do have the radio and data unit and am a bit worried I might kill the so called dreaded 12v Battery that the prius has why use such a small Battery in a prius

[balli hi]

Where is grumpy cabbie when you need him

I had a conversation with him the other day. Apparently he is totally p...d off with some of the opinionated abuse he and others receive on here from some members. He is therefore not active on this forum at present.

Sad init. He is missed.

Its a shame, although i do not own a Prius i do occasionally look in on various threads in the forum and quite enjoyed reading Grumpy's threads and responses, he came across as an intelligent likable and knowledgable guy, but being a cabby i would have thought that he would have developed Rhino hide by now, so surprised he is not active at present, hope its not too long before he's back.

[johalareewi]

Yes I do have the radio and data unit and am a bit worried I might kill the so called dreaded 12v battery that the prius has why use such a small battery in a prius

The 12v Battery is small because it doesn't have a starter motor to turn over when you fire the car up. So no need for massive 12v Battery. During normal use, the 12v Battery is kept topped up by the big HV battery so as long as the prius is on, you won't kill the 12v battery. Not sure if being in accessory only mode does this too. There is a thread somewhere in which grumpy cabbie discussed this.

Edit: here it is...

http://www.toyotaownersclub.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=108059

and another one...

http://www.toyotaownersclub.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=122847

[Seamaster73]

Very disappointed to hear Grumpy Cabbie has left us. Don't know what happened, but then I only read the Prius forum on here. Hope he comes back, he is a valuable contributor.

[Jan&tone]

Very disappointed to hear Grumpy Cabbie has left us. Don't know what happened, but then I only read the Prius forum on here. Hope he comes back, he is a valuable contributor.

As I said above, he was rather p...d off with certain people being obnoxious and ?Superior? If that is the right word. Some of the discussions were getting rather deep and he felt it was time to go. Whether he will be back or not I don't know, I hope so, his contributions were worth 10 of some that have been put on here.

[Jan&tone]

Back to the topic....

I once got stuck on the M20 for 2 hours in my Gen2 when plod shut the motorway due to an accident. i left the car switched on accessories with the cd player going. No problems at all with the Battery.

[cbcdesign]

Very disappointed to hear Grumpy Cabbie has left us. Don't know what happened, but then I only read the Prius forum on here. Hope he comes back, he is a valuable contributor.

As I said above, he was rather p...d off with certain people being obnoxious and ?Superior? If that is the right word. Some of the discussions were getting rather deep and he felt it was time to go. Whether he will be back or not I don't know, I hope so, his contributions were worth 10 of some that have been put on here.

It's the nature of forums that sometimes conversations get a bit deep and heated. It's just the same on Priuschat to be honest. You should read the thread on the Prius Sound System!

[Chris Dance]

Grumpy Cabbie was a very good contributor. I miss his input to the forum. I hope he will return, his input helped me at times. I hope he logs in and reads how much he was appreciated.

[r04drunner1]

+1.

Hope he comes back. Decent bloke.

[Thrawn60]

For the Prius 12V Battery, I do not hope that your radio and other systems are connected to that one, since it's not very good in handling stress, normally it's only used to power two computers in the prius so it can start from the HV Battery, i think that if you look in the car all your equipment should be connected to an additional Battery? I know that is was we used in Denmark, we have a spare 12V sitting in the back (spare wheel, or side storage compartment) to power all those gadgets, didn't make it more easy when they also added GPS, tracking, multi function taximeter, including games, so we could make our own tournament between the cars hehe

[acetip]

+1.

Hope he comes back. Decent bloke.

Although i dont own a Prius, i always check out this forum.

It does not have been as interesting lately as it use to.Now i know why,its cos there is no Grumpy giving sound advice and making comments.Thats a shame he no longer posts on here as he had more every day experiance of a working Prius than most and was the quick to pass on that experiance to others.

A shame he has gone,i hope not for good.

[dwilson]

+1.

Hope he comes back. Decent bloke.

Agreed - I valued his comments and good sense

David