Heat and its effects on electrical equip - GreenHybrid

GalacticFattPatt · #1 (**permalink**) 06-16-2006, 05:57 AM

Good day to you all,
My wife and I have been waiting 4 years now, and are finally going to make the step into a new Prius soon. I have one concern after all my research. We live in Florida, and the heat can get pretty bad here at times. I currently drive a Nissan Sentra and the heat has effected the electrical equipment in the A/C fan unit and dash lighting issues. I have found that Nissan is not good with the electrical, but I would like to know if similar problems have come up with the Prius. THere are many more wires in this car and will the heat do that much more damage, or am I over thinking this. I am sure they test for such things, but I have not been able to find a heat tolerance on the wiring on any site or datasheets. Can anyone help out in there experience or in pointing me towards some data.
Thanks,
GFP

phoebeisis · #2 (**permalink**) 06-16-2006, 07:51 AM

Galactic-Don't worry about the heat; your Nissan parts didn't fail because Fla is so hot-that is just the BS the Nissan folks will tell you to explain why their POS failed so early.There are much hotter places in the USA than FLA-(maybe not as humid, of course, but electronics don't sweat, so just the heat matters).
Any decent modern vehicle will be able to take what south Fla has to dish out.
Now, AC's will be used more in hot climates, so they will wear out sooner(year wise), but not much you can do about that but use your AC less if it is a big concern.
Don't worry about it. The engineers who design these vehicles are aware that the USA has some warm areas.Luck,Charlie

bwilson4web · #3 (**permalink**) 06-16-2006, 08:05 AM

Hi,

Quote:

Originally Posted by GalacticFattPatt

. . .THere are many more wires in this car and will the heat do that much more damage, or am I over thinking this. I am sure they test for such things, but I have not been able to find a heat tolerance on the wiring on any site or datasheets. Can anyone help out in there experience or in pointing me towards some data.

The Dept. of Energy did a fleet study of hybrid electrics . . . in Arizona. I don't have the links handy but there was a thread in "Model Comparisions" where I listed the URLs to the fleet studies.

IMHO, you have nothing to worry about in Florida other than rusting brakes. It seems our Prius brake shoes last about 2-3 times longer. If you are in a damp, salty climate, you need to have the rotors and drums checked for rust . . . the regenerative braking is that good.

GOOD LUCK!

Bob Wilson

JeromeP · #4 (**permalink**) 06-22-2006, 11:59 AM

When cars do things that dealer service departments don't understand, instead of saying they don't understand, or that there is an issue with an older vehicle which has become apparent in real life driving conditions, they make excuses, which are really nothing short of lies. The Nissan folks you are talking to are doing just that. I have my doubts that any of the electrical issues you have with your current vehicle are related to the Florida weather at all, but are related to the quality of the vehicle in question.

rimrocker · #5 (**permalink**) 07-23-2006, 10:37 PM

OK, we're about to take the plunge and get a Prius for commuting between Kingman and Bullhead City, AZ. Temps in Bullhead can reach 116-118 and between our destinations lies a mountain pass of about 2500 feet. Obviously, it is a few degrees cooler up top, but still hot and often in triple digits. How well will a 2006 Prius handle this daily chore? Will I have any problems with this kind of heat?

Thanks.

bwilson4web · #6 (**permalink**) 07-24-2006, 05:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rimrocker

OK, we're about to take the plunge and get a Prius for commuting between Kingman and Bullhead City, AZ. Temps in Bullhead can reach 116-118 and between our destinations lies a mountain pass of about 2500 feet. Obviously, it is a few degrees cooler up top, but still hot and often in triple digits. How well will a 2006 Prius handle this daily chore? Will I have any problems with this kind of heat?

You might check with the dealers to see if you can rent a Prius. When we were shopping, we were able to rent one for a couple of days and that was very useful. The lessons learned were later applied to testing a Ford Escape.

Bob Wilson

kamsmart · #7 (**permalink**) 07-24-2006, 07:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bwilson4web

You might check with the dealers to see if you can rent a Prius. When we were shopping, we were able to rent one for a couple of days and that was very useful. The lessons learned were later applied to testing a Ford Escape.

Bob Wilson

I did not know that one could rent a vehicle from the dealers ..!!!

bwilson4web · #8 (**permalink**) 07-24-2006, 08:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kamsmart

I did not know that one could rent a vehicle from the dealers ..!!!

It is handled out of their service departments usually and the vehicles are hit-or-miss. We were lucky and rented a 2001 Prius with 16 miles on the odometer.

Bob Wilson

abowles · #9 (**permalink**) 07-24-2006, 10:15 AM

While the temp was not in the 110-115 range here in Dallas last week it did reach 104 for 3 or 4 days in a row. No adverse affects I can tell, except to my MPG with the higher AC use of course.

bar10dah · #10 (**permalink**) 07-24-2006, 05:54 PM

I too, live in extreme heat. It's been 113+ locally for five days now. You think FL is hot?!

I've had my HAH for nearly a year and no problems whatsoever. Although, I'm thinking of getting some driving gloves. Not because they look cool, but because I can barely touch the steering wheel when I first get in the car!