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2010 Are my vents working correctly? Compare to mine.

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Care, Maintenance & Troubleshooting' started by Higgins909, Aug 31, 2020.

  1. Higgins909

    Higgins909 Member

    Joined:
    Apr 15, 2018
    252
    57
    2
    Location:
    Texas
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    III
    I've wondered if my vents are working properly. I've done some testing and hope someone can help compare. I have a 2010 Prius III, 180k~.

    I've been trying to figure out why my car is so hot. This is one of my last checks. I'm starting to think that the car is just heat soaked that bad. I'm wondering if Windshield and Feet and Dash only are working properly... I might double check Windshield and Feet.

    It does not matter if it's on recirculate or fresh air, this is how the vents behave. Also when I go to Windshield/Feet, it auto goes to fresh air but I can go back to recirculate. I forgot to try the Windshield only button.

    There are the Windshield vents, 4 Dash Vents, 2 Feet Vents, being for the front people, 2 Seat Vents, being the vents under the seats for the back passengers.

    This will look better on a desktop, a phone might not be able to understand.
    I will code them like this:
    O = OFF
    Y = ON
    L = Low
    M = Minimal

    Dash Vent Mode
    O Windshield
    Y Y Y Y Dash
    L L Feet
    M M Seat The inside of the vent felt cold, maybe a very little flow.

    Dash and Floor Mode
    O Windshield
    Y Y Y Y Dash
    Y Y Feet
    L Lower Seat

    Feet Only Mode
    Y Windshield
    L/M O O L/M Dash center no work, little out side dash vents.
    Y Y Feet
    Y L Seat Vent under right seat seems to have less power in all modes?

    Windshield and Feet
    Y Windshield
    Y O O Y Dash center no work again, outside dash vents only
    O O Feet
    M M Seat
     
    #1 Higgins909, Aug 31, 2020
    bisco likes this.
  2. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

    Joined:
    May 11, 2005
    107,755
    48,969
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    Location:
    boston
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius Plug-in
    Model:
    Plug-in Base
    without physically running through my system, that sounds about right from memory, and if you fan works properly, i don't see how it can affect cooling
     
    #2 bisco, Sep 2, 2020
  3. ASRDogman

    ASRDogman Senior Member

    Joined:
    May 29, 2018
    5,903
    3,167
    0
    Location:
    Florida
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    Two
    I have no idea what you are trying to get across with all the lettering in the different modes???
    But, If you go to "defrost", which blows air on the windshield, it will go to fresh air.
    It is trying to get the fog off the glass so it uses the outside air to try to equalize the temperature of the
    inside and outside of the glass. I'm sure someone will have better explanation of it than that. But
    more or less that's what it's doing.

    In the morning, before the car has sat in the hot sun all day, put the fan about 1/2 way, temp to the
    lowest temp, make sure it is NOT on AUTO. Does the a/c blow COLD air, out the center vents?
    It should start getting cold in 5 second or so. And it should cool the car pretty fast.

    If NOT, then the problem could be a leak in the system so there's not enough freon to cool the car.
    The compressor, expansion valve, or sensor could be bad. Have you check the condenser for any
    blockage? Are the fans blowing?

    When you get to the HOT car in the after, or whenever, I am going to "assume", you open the windows,
    set the temp to the lowest setting, fan on high setting, recirc/fresh air set to fresh? And if you are driving, it should
    start to cool off in less than a minute so you can start closing windows and lower the fan speed.

    If you've done all that, and it still doesn't cool, then I would suggest taking it to a competent Prius Air Conditioning tech.


     
    #3 ASRDogman, Sep 2, 2020
    Last edited: Sep 2, 2020
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