Improve A/C cooling in 04 Prius.

Thanks, the mpg rises to the low 50's during other seasons when the AC is not used as extensively... I live at 2,800 ft elevation and commute to Tucson which is at around 2,600 ft elevation.

When living in south OC, CA, the mpg was in the low-40s. I attribute that to CA-formulation gasoline and that the car had not been broken in yet, it was only 5 years old with ~100K miles logged, when we moved to AZ...

 

Do yourself a favor and get the 3M Crystalline low e window tint. That will the heat out and keep you much cooler.

 

does that block uv?

 

Ya 99.9% UV so also benefit extending life of the interior surfaces.

 

and your skin.

 

Aww, crap. ::facepalm::

Good news is it hasn't been in there too long. This article gives me that hope: High Voltage A/C Compressor Oil Issues | Automotive Career Development Center It will need a HECAT flush. Not sure what that is, yet, but it doesn't sound cheap. Probably cheaper than a new compressor, though.

There is another thread on PC that recommends the same refrigerant I used: Help charging AC | PriusChat

@S Keith, your thoughts about not replacing the entire system, as suggested possible in the first url I linked?

(edit: fixed quotes)

 

I just have to say this is absolutely wrong. There is NO air conditioning system that is putting out 25 degree air. Period. That would literally mean your coil is frozen. The reason you are seeing 25F on your IR temp gun is because when you blow air directly onto the sensor you get wildly inaccurate readings.

Additionally, the Prius has a variable AC compressor. It will not allow the outletbair temp to go below around 37 to 42F. If you dont believe me get a "meat thermometer" type stick and put it in the vent. Whether the fan is on high or low, the Prius will maintain roughly the same outlet air temp by varying the compressor. At max ac the whole system draws around 9 amps off the battery. At max ac with low fan setting that drops down to around 4amps (thats1,000w less) due to the compressor not needing as much power to create the outlet temp as mentioned.

I just needed to update this thread with this info.