Here's what I do:
1. Hop in the car and buckle up.
2. Reset the FCD trip meter "A".
3. Start up, slowly climb a slight 350 foot dirt path to the main subdivision road.
4. The road out of the subdivision is a half mile long and a slight downhill so I pop it into neutral from the driveway, let it idle and roll down to the stop sign and get a little regen on the way.
5. My next 3 miles is almost constant gradual uphill and I keep off the Assist as much as possible and can usually manage the FCD between 40-60.
By that time 3-4 minutes have passed.

There isn't more than 5-7 seconds where my car's engine is running and not moving. (About the time for AutoStop to activate)

Efficient drivers do it better.
1003 miles a tank personal record. 74MPG calculated. HCH1 CVT

I like the no mpg vs low mpg theory.

I bought my car new with extended warranty.
I dont abuse the car, but since it is warranted
I dont worry about whether it hurts it or not to drive off on a cold start.
I suspect they are engineered for a drive from a cold start.
If I were in Arctic, I might warm it a bit.

Warmups are a loser. Just start driving and drive a little easier than usual. You get negative mpg sitting warming up. Jim

ya acelelreate slowly to your 40 to 50 miles per hour, people behind you can wait the extra 10 seconds.

i got around 20 km a liter when i drove a civic 5 spd using advanced hypermiler techniques
and now I drive a salvage nwh20 prius that gets almost to 25 km/l with 192,000 km to date.

You can get regen in N?

I warm my car up for 30 seconds or so...just enough to get the oil circulating. Then I am off--slowly....

Question. On cold startup, the engine sounds a lot louder than it otherwise does. Do other people experience this, or is it me and/or a prob?

Thanks!

don't worry, lansing

From page 135 of the 2004 HCH manual (applies to 2003 and 2005 too):

"Drive (D) - Use this position for your normal driving. The transmission automatically selects a suitable gear for your speed and acceleration. You may notice the transmission shifting up at higher speeds when the engine is cold. This helps the engine warm up faster."

From page 168 of the 2006 HCH manual:

"Drive(D) - Use this position for your normal driving. The transmission automatically adjusts to keep the engine at the best speed for driving conditions. To help the engine warm up faster, the transmission will select ratios that allow the engine to run at higher speeds when it is cold."

This is documented in the manual as normal and intended behavior. Higher engine speeds means higher RPMs, making for a louder engine. I like how they say the same exact thing two different ways in the manuals.

Thanks buddy. I feel a little better. The thing is that at cold start (idle), the car seems to be louder. Anyone else???????

TIA

both my 04 and 06 hch idle louder when cold. the tach is around 1000 RPM instead of the normal 750.

luckily for prius owners(prius II), the car stores warm car liquid and then realease them during cold starts to worm up the engine faster. Improving cold starts is one of the prius II advantage over the first one.




here are some stats to back it up. http://www.hybridexperience.ca/Toyot...erformance.htm

i got around 20 km a liter when i drove a civic 5 spd using advanced hypermiler techniques
and now I drive a salvage nwh20 prius that gets almost to 25 km/l with 192,000 km to date.