How do you turn the heater on? Or is it automatic when fan on and set temp is higher than outside

It is no different than having a thermostat controlled furnace. You set it for what you want the inside temperature to be, it is that simple. The car will heat and cool to make it that temperature. Much better than the stupid controls in lots of domestic cars that just have sliders for vent temperatures and will keep pumping out heat forever and you have to keep adjusting the knobs and sliders.

 

Also, unlike domestic cars, if it's really cold, and the car is cold, if you turn on the climate control to something warm, nothing will happen for a while. That seams to be the norm for Toyota, they won't blow cold air in your face, when the system gets some heat from running, it will gradually spin up the blower.

For me, coming from a Ford mustang and F150, I thought the heater in the Toyota was broken. In the fords, if you turn up the blower with a cold engine, you get the arctic blast.

 

Press the "Auto" button to turn it on and the "Off" (fan button) to turn it off.

 

You can also just push the fan speed button up and adjust the temperature to a warm number.


iPhone ?

 

I use the auto setting only in the summer. I've found using it in the winter isn't as comfortable. Just as it starts to get too warm the system will adjust the temp and it soon feels too cold so I kick the temp up a few degrees and the cycle repeats. Our 05 was exactly the same.

 

Just got my 2013 Plug-In 4 days ago. I keep seeing the AC light come on even though outside temps in the 40s and I have the temp setting at 67-70. It also keeps switching to the outside air even though I put it back to the inside circulation. Any ideas? am i missing something on how to set the climate control?

 

Maybe it'll help to see, there isn't a heater really, to be turned on. There's a fan running the air, and a couple of radiators the air runs through. One contains air conditioning fluid, the other has engine coolant. If you set the cabin temperature higher than current, a computer will open a valve allowing warm engine coolant to flow through it's radiator, warming the air. That flow is regulated, increased and decreased, as needed to maintain the set temperature.

The air conditioning is similar, except that you can shut it completely off, with the AC switch. That will keep it off, with a couple of exceptions:

1. Pushing the Front Defog button.
2. Choosing Heat/Defog mode. (the latter will sometimes activate AC, regardless of the AC button being pushed, or not.)

 

The AC stays in the state you put it when you have AUTO mode on. That is, if you have the climate in AUTO mode and press the AC button off then turn the climate off. When you turn the climate back on in AUTO mode the AC will remain off. Alternatively, if you turn the climate off whilst the AC light is on, then the next time you turn the climate on in AUTO the AC will be on.

 

That explains it. I often need to switch to either Front Defog or Heat/Defog; that must be when the AC light comes on.