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?

I cannot think of anything else.

Maybe the guy forgot to power down the vehicle and the battery ran out of juice? As Hybrids can be silent at a dead stop (the gasoline motor turns off) and it is keyless start / stop...he might have left it powered on inadvertently.

I cannot think of anything else.

I know little to nothing

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.

I know little to nothing about hybrids. It was just a guess out of left field. I have never heard anything special about a Hybrid. The battery operates it until like 25 mph, the gasoline engine takes over. The gasoline engine keeps the battery powered.

What I don't know is if the battery can "die"...can the gasoline engine start the car up and run without battery use until the battery can function normally?

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?