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Newbie question

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Main Forum' started by steve10b, Jan 21, 2006.

  1. steve10b

    steve10b New Member

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    We've had our Prius now for going on two days, and we couldn't be happier. But I have one question about the climate control. The screen for the climate control is titled "Air Conditioner". Does TOYOTA use this term for combined heater / ac operation? I'm a bit confused because when I want to set the climate control to "auto", it also automatically turns on the AC. Do I want to run the AC in the winter? Or does it not run the compressor when it's not needed. I know I read where the Prius gets it heat from the engine, but if the AC is off, does that also turn off the heat? If I turn off the fan, is that the only way to turn off the heat? A brief explanation of the Prius climate control operation would be appreciated.

    Thanks.

    PS. We are loving everything about the car. the Barcelona red is beautiful. You don't see too many Prius's (is that how you would do plural Prius?) in SE Michigan, and never red. The best thing is that my wife says I should be the primary driver of it since I have the furthest to go to work. I love being able to play my iPod directly with the sound system. The Prius is actually the best iPod accessory available. :lol:
     
    #1 steve10b, Jan 21, 2006
  2. Oxo

    Oxo New Member

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    Yes. I find that with a/c on the interior quickly reaches the set temperature. The default is 19C.
    I keep a/c on all the time except in mild weather but some on PriusChat don't agree because a/c use may reduce MPG slightly.
    If the windscreen is misted up on a cold morning the quickest way to start is by putting the from windscreen heat on. This clears the mist quicker than in any car I've ever had.
     
    #2 Oxo, Jan 21, 2006
  3. TonyPSchaefer

    TonyPSchaefer Your Friendly Moderator
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    Hy Steve.
    I suppose you can say that I work in the HVAC industry. It's common in the industry to hear people use the term "air conditioning" to mean everything from cooling, heating, de/humidification, filtering, and a slew of other possible things you can do to air prior to delivering it to the occupants. Most vehicle owners in the past got accustomed to "air conditioning" refering exclusively to the mechanical removal of heat via a compressor unit while "heating" means the process of taking heat off the engine.

    The Prius uses a very sophisticated process to determine whether the internal temperature is hotter or cooler than the outside air and then depending on your setting intelligently deciding if you need heat or cooling. In that way, "air conditioning" includes both the heating and cooling of the air.

    And no, it's not a newbie question. :)
     
    #3 TonyPSchaefer, Jan 21, 2006
  4. tumbleweed

    tumbleweed Senior Member

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    You can turn off the cooling function by pushing the AC button on the touch screen, the yellow bar will go away indicating it is off. The rest of the system will still operate normally, this works for other things as well. For example you can select a fan speed, etc. I sometimes turn AC off on nice sunny days in the winter because when I park the car it gets warmer than the set temprature, and I don't want air conditioning (cooling) to come on and cool it off because it feels good to be warm for a change. To reset everything to full auto mode just push the AC button on the steering wheel.
     
    #4 tumbleweed, Jan 21, 2006
  5. windstrings

    windstrings Certified Prius Breeder

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    Just when you think the prius can't amaze you anymore.. there you go!
     
    #5 windstrings, Jan 21, 2006
  6. Tideland Prius

    Tideland Prius Moderator of the North
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    Yep. It has a humidity sensor and a two-tierd "air conditioning" system. What it does is that on cooler mornings, if it's set in AUTO, it'll send fresh air to the upper vents to keep windows from fogging up and send recirculated air to the lower vents to help warm up the interior faster. It'll also recirculate as needed if it has to warm up. However, it will NOT recirculate if you encounter a bad smell or lots of dust.

    Leaving the A/C on during the winter is advised as it acts as a dehumidifier so your windows won't fog up if you manually select recirculate.
     
    #6 Tideland Prius, Jan 21, 2006
  7. TonyPSchaefer

    TonyPSchaefer Your Friendly Moderator
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    TP, does it matter if the "bad smell" originates from inside the car?

    He who smelt it dealt it. <_<
     
    #7 TonyPSchaefer, Jan 21, 2006
  8. windstrings

    windstrings Certified Prius Breeder

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    All right.. wait a minute.. your trippin my head... how does it know if it has a bad smell or dust?

    Is the little pointed part on the front of the hood the nose? :lol:

    No, really.... how does it know?
     
    #8 windstrings, Jan 21, 2006
  9. Tideland Prius

    Tideland Prius Moderator of the North
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    Tony,

    :lol:


    Windstrings, you know how some cars, especially the luxury cars, have Auto Recirc? it's a button on the dash that controls fresh air, recirc and AUTO. When put in AUTO, the car will automatically close the intake vent when it senses bad odour. I'm not sure what that consists of since I never had a car with AUTO recirc but I can assume it'll include soot, smoke, cow flatuence :p. It probably uses the cabin air filter as a sensor.
     
    #9 Tideland Prius, Jan 22, 2006
  10. Mystery Squid

    Mystery Squid Junior Member

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    Gee, I always chalked it up to typically bizarre Japanese to English language translations...

    Kind of like how on some video games you get strangely translated lines like, "Why should it? I go well!"


    :ph34r:
     
    #10 Mystery Squid, Jan 22, 2006
  11. benighted

    benighted New Member

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    All your base are belong to us.
     
    #11 benighted, Jan 22, 2006
  12. Tideland Prius

    Tideland Prius Moderator of the North
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    #12 Tideland Prius, Jan 22, 2006
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