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Can I vent fresh air that is neither heated nor cooled?

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by raparrish, Jan 18, 2007.

  1. raparrish

    raparrish New Member

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    When I vent fresh air into my Prius, it seems to be always either heated or cooled, depending on the difference between outdoor temp and inside temperature setting. Sometimes I just want fresh air that is refreshingly cool, cooler than the 65 minimum on the A/C setting, for example. Is there any setting that lets outdoor air in without 'conditioning' it? Thanks for any advice.
     
  2. Beryl Octet

    Beryl Octet New Member

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(ambler @ Jan 18 2007, 10:00 PM) [snapback]377555[/snapback]</div>
    As close as I can come to doing this is to set the temp that low and turn off the AC button on the climate screen. Or you can open a window.
     
  3. 8AA

    8AA Active Member

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    I agree with the previous post with the addition of changing the fan setting to what you would like. Otherwise, the climate control system is likely to run the fan at a high speed while it tries to cool down the cabin.
     
  4. jmccord

    jmccord New Member

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Beryl Octet @ Jan 18 2007, 10:09 PM) [snapback]377556[/snapback]</div>
    :lol:
     
  5. Beryl Octet

    Beryl Octet New Member

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(8AA @ Jan 18 2007, 10:13 PM) [snapback]377558[/snapback]</div>
    Good point. I'm so in the habit of hitting the climate screen and setting the fan speed, especially in hot weather to avoid that initial blast, that I don't think about it. I wish the climate control software had a configuration setting for the climate control system, something like a checkbox for on/off of a "Let the passenger comfort suffer a bit but don't run the fan above medium" setting.
     
  6. darelldd

    darelldd Prius is our Gas Guzzler

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Beryl Octet @ Jan 18 2007, 07:45 PM) [snapback]377572[/snapback]</div>
    I wish it had two modes that were easy to switch between - fully auto matic and fully manual. Just when you think you have everything controlled manually, you notice that the AC button magically turned on again. Sigh. I mean, you can set it the way you want, but as soon as you change something, all bets are off, and it takes SO Many dang button presses that it makes me miss the two knobs or sliders of yester year. I'm just not a climate control kinda guy, I guess.
     
  7. Pinto Girl

    Pinto Girl New Member

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(darelldd @ Jan 19 2007, 12:36 AM) [snapback]377605[/snapback]</div>
    I agree; my Pinto has a little knob under the dash which, when pulled, opens a dash vent and admits lots of outside air from the vents at the base of the windshield...

    It would be nice to just be able to open a vent or something and have air come in...without the car second guessing what I "really" want!

    I still think that three basic controls (one for recirc/not; one for hot/cold; and one for where the air comes out of the dash) is the best setup of all.

    While I like, generally, the functionality of the Prius HVAC, (pressing the button for defog, being able to sit in the car with the HVAC going, and not necessarily have the engine running, etc.) the vent issue is, I think, not one of its best features.
     
  8. Sufferin' Prius Envy

    Sufferin' Prius Envy Platinum Member

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    My wish would be that the temperature adjust buttons – on MFD and steering wheel – would still allow you to adjust the temperature up or down while the system is off.

    It's an unnecessary pain to have to go to the MFD Climate Screen and then have to turn the system on – just to be able to adjust the “vent†temperature . . . and then you have to turn if off if you just want no-fan venting. AAArrrrghhhh! <_<

    And yes, a setting of 'no heating' as the lowest temperature would be nice too.
     
  9. donee

    donee New Member

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    Hi All,

    Yes, this is my pet pieve with the Prius too. Every car I have had since my Opel Manta has been WORSE in regards to low-temp ventilation. The Manta had those vents in the sucked in portion of the C pillar, and if you wanted it, you could have a gail of drying, refreshing air flowing through the cabin. The first generation Prius had that too, but it was a battery vent.

    The Prius seems to be well thought out for hot temperature application and cold weather road trips, but when you are waring outdoor clothing suitable for 10 degree F, 66 degrees is too warm. And that is the lowest you can set the system and have forced air defrosting of the front windows.

    It seems like they had two different control engineers working on this car. One set the P (as in PID) of the cruise control WAY high (the speed is actually underdamped - you can feel the speed ring as it overshoots the set point!), and the other set the P of the temp control way low, and compensated by not letting you set a heating mode below 66 F.

    If your going on a long trip, and everybody is going to be in shirt-sleeve clothing when outside is 10 to 25 F , and you are going to set the cabin temp at 70, the car is perfect. But for commuting, one is not going to take their coat off, and running the cabin cool with ventilation to keep humidity down is the common practice. With commuting it takes too long to heat up the windshield above freezing, people just drive with the salt coating on the window, and clean it at the end of the trip soas to be ready for the next. Its typically more dangerous to use the winshield washer on a cold morning. As the windshield washer fluid evaporates out the methanol in it, the water then freezes and obscures vision.