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Poor Heat...Inspection Mode?

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by ChrisinVermont, Oct 31, 2020.

  1. ChrisinVermont

    ChrisinVermont Junior Member

    Joined:
    Jun 10, 2018
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    Location:
    Vermont
    Vehicle:
    2009 Prius
    Model:
    ----USA----
    Very slow to warm up here in Vermont...Shuts off when trying to defrost the windshield even in Auto with the temp up and A/C on...stays on for a while, but not long enough to clear things up fully.

    Is it a bad idea to put it into 'Inspection Mode' to warm it up and defrost the windshield?

    I'd like to be able to go out...start the car...have the engine come on...stay on (10 minutes or so), warm the car up and defrost the car fully.

    Once warmed up and cleared up, I would shut it off and restart as normal and head to work.

    Thoughts? Concerns?

    -Chris
     
  2. pasadena_commut

    pasadena_commut Senior Member

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    Vehicle:
    2007 Prius
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    N/A
    What shuts off? The A/C, the heat, the fan, the whole car??? This likely will not tell you much, but hold down the "recirc" and "defrost" buttons on the steering wheel then start the car. That will run the ventilation diagnostics, which will make a lot of noise and blow air out the various outlet vents. If there is a problem codes will flash on the MFD. Do it in the sun with no snow on the car so you don't get the code for the sunlight sensor. That is I think "21". It is harmless, but it is a code.

    If the inverter pump fails it will cause the A/C to shut off. However, I wouldn't expect that to happen very quickly in cold weather . When ours failed it was only evident when driving on the freeway on a hot day. In any case, if you take the top off the inverter coolant tank (just to the side of the big metal heat thing in front of the driver in the engine compartment) and turn the car on you should see the liquid moving. If the pump is out it will be still.

    I wouldn't defrost in Inspection mode. All the power comes from the traction battery and if it or the little 12V are at all iffy it will only make them more so.
     
  3. ChrisinVermont

    ChrisinVermont Junior Member

    Joined:
    Jun 10, 2018
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    Location:
    Vermont
    Vehicle:
    2009 Prius
    Model:
    ----USA----
    What shuts off is the Engine...The blower fan (which is blowing cold are because the car is not warmed up enough to make heat), etc all keep running but the Engine shuts off.

    -Chris

    What shuts off is the Engine...The blower fan (which is blowing cold are because the car is not warmed up enough to make heat), etc all keep running but the Engine shuts off.

    -Chris
     
  4. pasadena_commut

    pasadena_commut Senior Member

    Joined:
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    Location:
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    Vehicle:
    2007 Prius
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    N/A
    Sounds like maybe the car thinks it has reached the correct inside temperature. This most likely won't help, but just in case, run the ventilation diagnostics after this happens. First set the cabin temperature to 75 (or something like that), put the car in the sun (so the sun sensor does not throw a code), wait for the motor to turn off as you describe above, then shut the car off by pressing the power button. Hold down the "recirc" and "defrost" buttons on the steering wheel with one hand, foot on the brake, then press the power button on the dash to start the car with the other hand. The car will run through the various ventilation modes and if it sees a problem it will start flashing one or more codes on the MFD.
     
    fotomoto likes this.