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Fresh air mode brings hot air in

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Care, Maintenance & Troubleshooting' started by Blizzard10, Oct 20, 2010.

  1. Blizzard10

    Blizzard10 New Member

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    Its been mid 50s low 60's here past week or so.
    All climate stuff is off, fan is off, the fresh air mode is on and I have to open a window because air about 80 degrees is coming thru the vents. 99% sure none of my previous cars worked this way, they just brough in outside air near the ambient tempurature. If they did I dont remember it.
    Normal or not?

    I can close all the vents but I dont get any air flow.
     
  2. 32kcolors

    32kcolors Senior Member

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    You need to turn the A/C on, lower the temperature to whatever the ambient temperature is, then turn it off.
     
  3. Blizzard10

    Blizzard10 New Member

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    Weird, but Ill try that.
    Thanks...
     
  4. macman408

    macman408 Electron Guidance Counselor

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    Most cars I've been in, if not all, are designed so that there's a little bit of airflow even if the climate control is off. I assume it's just designed so that the air is forced through the system by the car's movement through the air. And the air travels through the system based on whatever the climate control settings are - if it's set to heat, then the air will be warmed on its way through.

    You should also be able to reduce or eliminate the hot air by switching the mode to recirculate before turning off the climate control.
     
  5. Blizzard10

    Blizzard10 New Member

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    Well this begs the question, if the climate control is off why would there be any temperature impact from the climate control on the recirculate or fresh air modes?
    After all the climate control does have an on and off position.

    Like I said, weird, but I'll give it a try.
     
  6. bedrock8x

    bedrock8x Senior Member

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    Just turn the temperature down. The climate control only controls the A/C, even if it is off, heating still works according to the temperature setting.
    I don't like this either, because if the outside air is lower than the inside, it still be heating when setting to outside air circulation if the temperature is set higher than the outside temperature.
     
  7. vday

    vday Member

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    Are you saying that if the outside temp is below 16C 61F the car will have heat on no matter what?
    Hope not!
     
  8. seasalsa

    seasalsa Active Member

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    Sounds like another good reason to use AUTO set at a comfortable temperature.
     
  9. chrisj428

    chrisj428 Active Member

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    No.

    When the climate control system is set to OFF, a minimal amount of air will come through the vents if the vehicle is in motion and a window is lowered. This is to prevent stagnation in the vehicle.

    Now, as mentioned, the air coming in will be at the ambient temperature. However, the air intake is coming from the cowl area at the base of the windshield, where it is subject to picking up warm air from the engine bay. This is why the air will feel warmer than ambient.
     
  10. ken1784

    ken1784 SuperMID designer

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    When I want fresh air mode, I turn on fan for desired speed (not AUTO), A/C off and temp setting to lowest, "LO".

    Ken@Japan
     
  11. Former Member 68813

    Former Member 68813 Senior Member

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    What is your temp setting at?
     
  12. Blizzard10

    Blizzard10 New Member

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    Everything is off including the fan, only outside temp is displayed.
     
  13. donee

    donee New Member

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    Hi Blizzard10,

    The coolant valve is at the same setting it was when you turned it off. You might not have noticed this when you turned it off, because it was keeping the interior of the car where you wanted it. Now that the sun is out, you feel the heat from it....
     
  14. hyo silver

    hyo silver Awaaaaay

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    The fan needs to be on, or it's not going to move any air. Using either the steering wheel controls or the screen buttons, set the temperature to 'max cold'. You can direct the air to feet, face, or both. You might get a bit of warm air at first, but it should clear pretty quickly and give you only outside air. Make sure it's not on 'recirc', or you'll only blow around what's already in the car.

    edit: Sorry, this works on the Gen2.