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Hybrid Vehicles Toyota Prius Toyota Prius Climate Control Problems
16 messages, Last post on Apr 12, 2009 at 8:42 AM
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This initially was a minor irritation. But it is increasingly beginning to get more on my nerves. The Climate control constantly decides when the air should be from the outside or recirculate. Even when I turn off Auto and do manual it changes back to outside air seemingly arbitrarily. Darn it, I want it to stay inside except when I want the air to come from the outside. I change it to inside and I will be driving along and suddenly I will smell the road exhaust o the truck just ahead! I change it back to inside and a little while later I smell the skunk that was killed along the country road near my subdivision! - It changed yet again! ARRG! Does anyone have a way to stop this darn thing from doing this? I now miss the old manual inside/outside air lever from my 1990 Corolla. |
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I read a review of the Prius in the New York Times that claimed the Prius' battery will fail if it is driven at highway speeds for long distances -- because it needs to decelerate or brake to charge the hybrid battery. Has anyone experienced this or is it hockum?
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Replying to: curtler (Dec 09, 2007 7:23 pm) The "traction battery" is used by the system constantly while on the highway. It is charged and discharged cyclically as needed to operate the vehicle. When on the highway or at any other time, the engine charges the battery. Braking "regeneration" can occur at any speed, but it's primary function is not to charge the battery or keep the battery charged, it is to recover energy that would normally be lost. This energy is stored in the battery, but it's not the main source of battery charging. Hockum! I guess the days of the New York Times being a reputable newspaper are numbered!
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Replying to: curtler (Dec 09, 2007 7:23 pm) "Hybrid-Related Component Coverage: Hybrid-related components, including the HV battery, battery control module, hybrid control module and inverter with converter, are covered for 8 years/100,000 miles. The HV battery may have longer coverage under emissions warranty. Refer to applicable Owner’s Warranty Information booklet for details." - I doubt that Toyota would provide this long of a warranty if they believed that battery failure was a problem. Back on TOPIC - Does anyone have any suggestions or comments on the actual topic of this post? I would really like some input. Thank you! 
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Replying to: pathstar1 (Dec 09, 2007 8:04 pm)
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Replying to: clarkkent (Dec 17, 2007 8:10 pm) Consumer Reports (www.consumerreports.org/) says the average life expectancy of a new vehicle these days is around 8 years or 150,000 miles. Of course, some well-built vehicles can go 15 years and 300,000, if properly maintained. Since Prius owners have reported that they have supposed 150,000 miles and consumer reports gives it excellent reliability ratings I would believe the battery thing to be a moot point.
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Replying to: foxwalker (Dec 19, 2007 8:44 am) Sorry to hear about new vehicles. I'm still driving a 1987 Corolla daily. Turned 20 this past April.
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Replying to: stevedebi (Dec 21, 2007 4:12 pm) |
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Replying to: foxwalker (Dec 06, 2007 6:20 pm) Some climate control systems only allow recirculating the air for a limited time if you are on any other vent position besides defrost-only. Try running recirculate on defrost-only mode and see if it remains on. If so, experiment again by trying recirculate on floor, upper vent, or any combination mode and see if it flips back to fresh-air mode after a certain amount of time. That would explain it. My vehicle does this (though it's not a hybrid and is not a toyota). Let us know what you find out.
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Replying to: chadx (Feb 20, 2008 8:43 am) 
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