Toyota Block Heater MiHG Install Party

[bradlee]

Hello to MiHG members and friends,

The Milwaukee Hybrid Group is announcing another Group Buy on Toyota Prius Electric Block Heaters (EBH). We will be offering the new OEM combined EBH that fits all the 1st, 2nd and 3rd generation Prius as well as the Camry Hybrid. Your pickup price will be $40 if you want us to hold it for you for the Install Party or $45 to be shipped anywhere in the US. EBH’s are now in stock and available to ship immediately. Prepare and install while it’s warm…now there’s an idea.

http://priuschat.com/shop/product_in...products_id/93

The MiHG will also be having an EBH Install Party on Saturday November 6th in the Milwaukee area. This will be for all MiHG, MHG, CPG or CMPG members as well as any other interested Prius owners. A donation of $30 per install is suggested for our MiHG/CPG team of installers, Ken and Wayne. Put all these costs into the perspective though. Many Toyota dealers do not even carry the Prius EBH, if they do carry them they charge about $60 per EBH and here’s the kicker, around $200 to install. So, do the math $70 vs $260.

EBH’s, in general, are a cost effective means of mitigating the negative effects of cold starts. They can lower tailpipe emissions and raise fuel economy in the first 5 minutes from cold startup. These particular Prius EBH’s will also help speed up the 2nd and 3rd stage of warm-up by raising operating water temperatures quicker. Typical electric costs for the recommended 3 hour timing are about .30 to .40.

Ken and Wayne will be starting to install EBH’s at 9am and continue until all are installed. I’ve linked the MapQuest location to Tom’s Garage where the EBH Install Party will be held:

http://www.mapquest.com/maps?city=Mi...eocode=ADDRESS

It takes about 30 minutes to install each unit however it takes additional time to have your engine cool off so the boys can install the units, so plan at least one hour for your EBH to be installed, longer for 2010 Prius. Wayne and Ken will be doing 2 vehicles at a time while other vehicles are cooling down. These EBH’s will work with 1st, 2nd and 3rd gen Prius as well as the Camry Hybrid. We’ll be setting up a schedule so we can get your vehicle in and out and on its way. Contact us at brad@milwaukeehybridgroup.com if you want to participate with this annual event.

This is also a reminder of our next MiHG Meet on Saturday Oct 23rd. We’ll only have 1 Meet left for 2010 (Dec 18th) so if you haven’t been to a Meet all year this will be your second to the last chance. We’ll be talking about how to set up your vehicle for the colder weather as well as winter driving strategies.

We thank those in the MiHG community that have taken advantage of previous MiHG buys since a small portion of our prices supports our activities. Two of our current activities are our expanding Drive $mart America fuel efficient driver training program and our new Pump Your Ride to $avings public tire pressure checks program. As the nations largest hybrid owners group we want to continue to promote fuel efficient vehicle ownership and fuel efficient driving in any vehicle. Your support helps us to support and help others.

Thanks for all your support and we look forward to seeing you at our next MiHG Meet on 10-23-10 in Oak Creek at the Public Library.

Bradlee and Justin Fons
And the Planning Team
Milwaukee Hybrid Group

[Mendel Leisk]

There's a block heater install instruction pdf from Toyota, linked in the Prius Chat link. Is it safe to say not all the steps are necessary? Just a quick glance: it involves taking off windshield cowl, wiper arms, and so on.

I happened to be browsing Toyota Canada: they wanted somewhere around $350CAN for the EBH, as an installed option, pretty steep.

[Right Lane Cruiser]

Yes — not all those steps are necessary if you can contort enough to install from underneath the car.

I have nothing but respect for these guys — it isn't an easy install!!

[Oainac]

You don't have to take off the windshield and all that stuff you just need very durable and bendable arms.

[Mendel Leisk]

You don't have to take off the windshield

Hey, I didn't say the the winshield, LOL.

Depending on what's involved, sometimes it is worthwhile to pull out e4xtra stuff for access: the HCHII blockheater install is pretty much impossible without a similar cowl removal.

With the Toyota though, it looks like there's more than just cowl: wiper arms, wiper motor. Also, it sounds like the Toyota block heater element is not actually immersed in coolant. Makes for easier install, in that no coolant get's spilled.

[xcel]

Hi Mendel:

Ken and Wayne are darn near professionals at this and the pdf is a piece of worthless electronic paper vs. their capabilities. They install them with a protective wire loom that the OEM does not include and use a thermal contact grease in the connections that is not part of the OEM install either. Much better and they do not go through the top by any means.

Wayne

[bradlee]

Wayne is 100% correct on all counts.

He knows all about installing a EBH in a 2nd gen Prius since he did one last year, but it took him awhile. Wayne and Ken can complete the install of a 2nd gen EBH in about 20 minutes (allowing another 30 minutes for engine cool down...TOO HOT TO HANDLE).

The 2010 3rd gen, takes a little longer but can still be done in a bit over 30 minutes, so all in all, with cool down, each MiHG member is out in about 1 hour. In the past, we have already installed over 20 in 1 day.

FYI, there are dealers in the Milwaukee area that do not even stock EBH's and they don't really like doing them. Both Wayne and Ken will do private installs so if the 6th does not work out, contact me and we'll connect you with each other.

Wayne and Ken are very professional in all regards...and reasonable besides.

Bradlee

[Mendel Leisk]

FYI, there are dealers in the Milwaukee area that do not even stock EBH's and they don't really like doing them.

That's industry wide attitude: When I phoned our dealership regarding EBH for our HCHII, their first question was along the lines of: "so where are you headed this winter, the interior?". Their installed charge was around $160, but then they woke up and realized it amounted to a coolant change as well, and wheezled their intial quoted price higher. That's Westwood Honda...

The Toyota design is very interesting in that no coolant is spilled.

By comparison, Honda's approach is a pita: the block heater sub's for the engine block drain bolt. It's 'round the back of the transverse mount engine, requires a breaker bar for decent purchase, which in turn necessitates the cowl removal. At least with Honda Civic that cowl removal is relatively straightforward.

I read of one ham-fisted dealership who missed the detail of cowl removal, and resorted to removing a drive shaft in order to get a wrench on the bolt from underneath the car.

BTW, if I came across as questioning CleanMPG install technique, that's not even on my mind. You doth protest too loudly

[msirach]

I took some pics for Wayne and Hobbit at Hybridfest when they tried to install from the top per Toyota on Wayne's gen III. Even with the all the parts off, it was a major pain from the top.

[TheStepChild]

I realize this is an old thread...

Whats the going rate on the block heaters now?

Looks like my 2011 xB takes the same heater as the prius