I just purchased a 09TCH. I have a few questions.

Does running the heated seats, rear defrost, or heater affect fuel economy? Does it run off the 12volt battery or the hybrid battery?

What is the trick to keeping the car in EV mode?

Can I import my iPhones contacts into the nav?

I have 25000 miles on the car and only 20 days remaining on the warranty.... should I purchase the extended plan thru Toyota?

 

1- not enough to worry about or inconvenience yourself trying to save a few dollars, if that
2- see my signature
3- I don't believe so
4- I wouldn't. Some do. The rule of thumb is, if you can afford to repair the car, forget the warranty. If you can't, get the warranty. These cars (Camry, in general) are very reliable and you might not end up saving the cost of the warranty. YMMV, however.

Been driving for 35 years, never had an extended warranty. When I look back, in every car's case, the cost of the warranty would have been significantly more than my repair costs.

 

The extended warranty buys peace of mind. I have it and hope to never use it. It adds up to 5 years of worry free driving for me. I hope I never have to use it and would be thrilled if I have thrown my money out because the car never breaks down, but for about $16 a month, its worth it to me. One minor repair can be costly on these vehicle and easily exceed the minimal cost of the warranty, let alone a major one. Plus, you get car rental and other benefits. If you purchase the warranty prior to 3 years/36,000 miles, you basically extend the new car warranty if you buy Toyota's warranty.

While Toyota vehicles are generally very reliable, and certainly more reliable than most other brands, I have noticed that for the few occasions I have taken my vehicle in to our local Toyota dealer, the service department is full of Toyotas that need service.

 

I don't buy extended warranties on anything. A warranty is just an insurance policy. Extended warranties are about 90% profit. The expected value of claims is much less than 10% of the premium. If you can self-insure, you can keep that profit for yourself.

Of course, you have to be willing to self-insure, and there is a chance that your particular vehicle will have a claim. A major repair can cost several thousand bucks. If you cannot absorb a loss of, say, $5000, then you might consider spending a $1500 premium. But, there is better than 90% probability that you will never have a claim, and the entire $1500 will be just profit for the agent and underwriter. And, if you do have a claim, the value of that claim is very likely to be less than $500. Your "expected value" of claims on a $1500 policy, is just about $150.

If you routinely keep $5000 in emergency money, you can save the premium.

 

Regarding using the heater, it can affect fuel economy by causing the ICE (internal combustion engine) to run to provide cabin heat while driving at low speeds or while stopped while the ICE is cold. I suggest that if the ICE is cold, not using auto and not having the heat anywhere above low w/the fan on until the ICE is warmed up unless your driving is such that the ICE has to run anyway (e.g. harder accelerations or speeds somewhere above ~42 mph).

On the 2nd gen Prius, if water temp (FWT on ScanGauge) is below 146 F and one is stopped w/the heater on HI and fan on, the ICE will run. The moment you turn the fan off, the ICE stops and vice versa. I've confirmed this behavior on the NAH, TCH and HS 250h and 3rd gen Prius. I don't know the temp cutoffs for each of the cars, only mine.

You can try the experiment yourself.

As for EV mode, trying to stay in EV or accelerate via that is not the necessarily the most efficient way to drive.