Went out to dinner Saturday night, and valet parking is the only option for this place. Not a big deal, as it only costs $5.

After dinner, I was waiting at the valet stand when this Prius comes up, belonging to the couple in front of me. A heated discussion breaks out, but I couldn't pick up everything that was being said. The gist, however, centered on something she told the valet who took her car and him doing or not doing something to her hybrid when he was bringing it back after dinner. She claimed that whatever he did or didn't do was something that affects the car for a week afterward, which is why she asked him to do/not do whatever it was she pointed out.

My question for the car guys here: is there anything special that needs to be done when starting a hybrid?

Not to my knowledge. What was the temperature?

Yuup

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"Play until it hurts, then play until it hurts to not play."
http://soundcloud.com/darkside124 HOF 2013, MM Champion 2014

It operates the same as regular car. If the battery gets depleted the ICE will just stay on/running to produce the power necessary to operate the vehicle.

Maybe the owners of the car are just dumb.

Maybe the valet left some nasty BO in the car.

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Thanks, guys. Frank must be away, as I was expecting his go-to "Johnson rod" comment.

So, if the guy left it powered on for the duration of dinner, what would be the harm other than running the thing on gas, which I know defeats the purpose but doesn't seem like that big of a deal?

Yuup

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"Play until it hurts, then play until it hurts to not play."
http://soundcloud.com/darkside124 HOF 2013, MM Champion 2014

That would be my guess.

I'm pretty sure it can. During summer/winter the car will use more juice for heat/AC, add in some traffic where you are moving but not stopping (so the regenerative braking isn't used as much) a lot and you can run the battery down to where the ICE stays on most of the time. The charge/discharge mapping of the batteries is very, very conservative though so I doubt a battery for the propulsion system would ever go blew 30% or so.

I believe our hybrid charges the battery when we use the brakes, so keeping it running the whole time would first deplete the battery and then start wasting gas. There would be no benefit to leaving it running and I highly doubt a valet is ever going to leave a car running.

It could have been a plug-in hybrid and it didn't get plugged in but those are pretty rare these days.

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You do not talk to me like that! I work too hard to deal with this stuff! I work too hard! I'm an important member of the CSFMB! I drive a Dodge Stratus!

The valet must have stolen a copy of 'Rochelle, Rochelle' that was left on the front seat of the Prius.

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When my mother-in-law first got her Prius, she left it "on" a few times and needed to get it jumped to start it again. Also, there is apparently some special equipment or process involved in jump-starting those things (I don't know) as the first time a tow truck came to jump it, he had to send for someone else, as he wasn't equipped for it.

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