Gen 2 Prius HVAC issue—no airflow, buttons dead, compressor runs (intermittent, now worse)

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by stephonicle, Apr 3, 2026 at 12:56 PM.

  1. stephonicle

    stephonicle New Member

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    Hi everyone! I'm looking for some help with a weird HVAC issue on my 2007 Prius.

    It first began about a month ago when every 4-5 times I started the car, I could hear the AC compressor running but no air came out of vents, the blower was completely silent, and all climate control buttons were completely unresponsive (including steering wheel buttons). Then I'd hit a pothole or speed bump and it would kick back on and work normally.

    But now, it hardly ever comes back on, except occasionally when I start the car after it's been sitting a few days.

    Since hitting bumps would initially fix the issue, I thought maybe it was a loose connection somewhere. But now that it's become progressively worse, I'm not sure what could be going on.

    Would greatly appreciate any insight! I do most of the basic mechanical work myself, so hoping this is a DIY fix within my skill set ;)
    Thanks!
     
  2. Tombukt2

    Tombukt2 Senior Member

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    Do buttons not work on steer wheel? If no clock spring .I run my air from mfd screen not buttons on wheel.thsy only does Auto mode never use it .AC on it's on lon9y a temp setting . That means can add hot . Bad
     
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  3. stephonicle

    stephonicle New Member

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    Hitting all the climate control touch screen buttons and steering wheel buttons has no effect, except the AC button will turn compressor on and off.
     
  4. Tombukt2

    Tombukt2 Senior Member

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    Can you work air from mfd screen ? And it works?
     
  5. stephonicle

    stephonicle New Member

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    No, the buttons on the mfd screen do nothing. No air comes out of vents no matter which buttons I press. The only thing that changes is that I can hear the AC compressor turn on and off, but still no air comes out of vents.
     
  6. Tombukt2

    Tombukt2 Senior Member

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    Observe sight glass at compressor start up . Bubbles to clear almost immediately.? Good luck heats a comin
     
  7. Tombukt2

    Tombukt2 Senior Member

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    No matter what's going on under hood . You should have fan at speeds...