NEW Prius 2001 Questions and Tips

okay the rear passenger door. that may be something with the wiring or a could be that the electric door lock motor is bad.

the AC could be a number of things. it could be something as simple as a fuse or relay. or just low on freon which is R 134 a and that can be purchased any Autozone or at Walmart. or it could be more complex such as the switches or the wiring itself.
or even the a/c compressor.
are you able to reach your hand down by the compressor with the car turned off and am able to spin.it

 

My passenger rear door motor is getting sluggish too. Sometimes hitting the unlock button a few times in a row will nudge it all the way unlocked.

It could be that I need to replace the motor, but I'll try cleaning off the old lube and re-lubing it first. Dozen-year-old lube can get like peanut butter and gum things up pretty well. Generally not a hard fix. Alcohol works pretty well to loosen the old stuff.

As for the A/C, I'd first check for anything the A/C computer wants to tell you about the problem. With the ignition off and the climate fan switch pointing to OFF, turn the ignition key to ON (not START, just ON), press the A/C button 3 times, then move the fan knob from OFF to AUTO. The button lights should slowly blink a few times, and then you should watch the A/C button light for codes. If it does a steady fast blink then it doesn't have anything to tell you and the trouble will have to be tracked down some other way. Otherwise, you'll see two-digit trouble codes blinked out: blink blink ... blink blink blink would be 23, for example. If there are more codes, they'll follow each other with longer pauses between complete codes. If you miss one while writing them down, just wait, the whole list will keep repeating. Turn the ignition back off to make it stop. Then you can post the codes here and we can talk about what they might mean.

Prius being a car where nearly everything is being controlled and monitored by the car's computers, step one of solving any problem is usually not to start guessing about what might be going on. Step one is usually to find out what the computers are trying to tell you about it. Then step two is some directed guesswork on what potential problems would lead to the computers telling you that.

-Chap

 

Ashuri, The door locks are operated by electric motors the people that answered your question did not mention the windows. The motors are very small and a mechanism that is getting tight through dried up grease will stall the motors so that the lock does not work.

John (Britprius)

 

A common problem for the first Gen prius is the AC compressor clutch gap gets to wide due to wear. You can try to turn on the AC and see if the compressor kicks in for a little bit ..That could be a bad clutch or low Freon ,but like they said above it could be a number of things..

 

Something told me to check this fuses while researching this issue. Could it be the simple stuff!

I’ve also checked my Prius user manual.
I’ve pulled out #36 50A and uploaded here. The fuses along side 37, 38 look similar, but it’s difficult for me to tell. I’m not getting any error codes inside the car. I’ve not hooked it up to a code reader.

Do these fuses look blown to your eyes? Am I running on blown fuses? The AC fan is working. I have not checked any AC instrument panel fuses.

I think I located the clutch and it seems to be moving just fine. No funny noises.

Thanks for all the prompt replies. This is all very interesting.... At 96,000 miles is the clutch really an issue causing my troubles? Is it possible just to check to see if it’s low on Freon with a visible check by looking for bubbles somewhere or putting a gauge on the low side to ascertain what’s in there?

I checked my Owner’s Manual and there’s nothing in there re the type of Freon required or how much it requires. Interesting.

I was thinking of ordering this product on Amazon or stopping by Walmart for a can.
Is this the correct R134a to order? I can get the gauge and kit as well.

I know this is much to ponder, however I’m gathering at 96K, and well-loved I’m hoping it just needs a recharge. I’ve located the low side port.

Many thanks everyone.

 

Welcome to the Original Vehicle Owner Club.... The actuator in the passenger door is probably failing. I’m experiencing this right now with my driver side door. It can be replaced, you can do it or take it to any repair shop. Good luck.