Air Conditioning / Heating Unit , no air coming throught the vents (2007 Toyota Prius)

I am having the same problem with my 2008.

I found a blower motor assembly for $34 ($50 with shipping)
here autopartsfair .com

And I found out how to fix it here
selidori.com/tech/prius/DOC/Tech2006/AC%20-%20Air%20Conditioning.pdf

Wish me luck!

~Michelle

 

Oh, and BTW I'm at 37,500 miles. Just 1,500 past my warranty.

 

The cheapest way to fix this problem, as was stated earlier in this thread:

A medium sized kick to the underside of the glovebox, way down by the firewall (that's where the motor is mounted), just an upward kick to that plastic panel does it every time. Old school style.

I think the fan motor just needs a little jolt to get it going, sometimes driving over a pot hole will do it.

 

Thank you for the post regarding the Prius blower unit replacement pictures. I contorted myself into a pretzel under my passenger-side dash to perform this. Upon close inspection of my failed blower (on y 2008 model), I noticed a rust on the top of the motor shaft. The removeable bottom 'pan' of the blower housing has a WATER DRAIN in the LF corner! So, it was designed to carry WATER out and away from this pan! The design engineers KNEW this - hence the drain hole, that must exit under the vehicle someplace. The cabin air filter is of marginal quality and design - very thin and seemingly fragile. I could see that it did not do a very good job of filtering, due to the internal carbon-looking dust layer that resided on all surfaces of the bottom 'pan.' After I removed the 'pan', I took it to the sink for a quick wash and dry.

I would recommend inspecting and replacing the cabin air filter often (every 6-months in a smoggy city driving environment like I drive in each day). As for water invading the blower housing and fan assembly - its designed such that water is able to enter directly over the blower unit, collect at the bottom of the pan, and drain out of the vehicle via this drain at the LF corner of the pan.

Re-installing the blower and the pan is a pain-in-the-tail. Get help from your favorite contortion artist to perform this task. It took me over an hour, with a few breaks in between. Marginally designed for serviceability, the pan and blower assembly are quite hidden under the dash. If it weren't for your detailed pictures, a casual mechanic might be hard-pressed to see how to remove the bottom 'pan' to discover the blower mounted within. This is R/R is not a fun task, but is rewarding when you get your blower working again!

 

Yeah, I smacked the dash for awhile too. It worked for me too, but ultimately had to replace the blower unit.

 

The "black stuff" in the bottom of the motor is carbon from the worn brushes. This is normal for a brushed DC motor, is it not something that somehow got through the cabin filter.

Eventually we will probably see these motors move to a BLDC design that has no brushes, then the only wear component will be the bearings. Until then, they all have a limited life, this is just a limitation of the design.

Once the brushes are nearing the end of their life, this is when you will start to see intermittent behavior and the "kick to restart" fix will work for a bit.

It may be possible to take the motor apart and find some new brushes, but with a whole new assembly not being that expensive, it's probably not worth doing.

 

Just found this thread...our heater isn't blowing.
2007, 63k on it. Have performed all suggested maint at dealer.

My control panel is working & I can feel the faintest of heat coming from vents but no blowing at all. When I needed defrost & hit the button, no air or sound but eventually windshield cleared. When heat/ac is turned on, I am hearing a very low, constant hum type sound.

Not sure what to try 1st & if someone as car "un-savy" as myself should try & figure this out.

 

Set the blower on high, and then try the "kick" method described above. If this works, then it is indeed your blower motor.

 

I had the same problem with my blower. Whenever it happens I would open the glove box (pull off the tabs so it swings down), pull out the filter for the a/c, turn off the a/c, spin the blower a good spin by hand, and then quickly turn on the a/c again. Worked ever time. Eventually I sprayed WD40 in the blower with the filter out and let it sit overnight. It has not done it since.

 

BTW kicking the dash is not a good idea. Your going to break something else.

 

Probably your foot if you kick that hard!

 

I just did this tonight and wanted to add a couple things.
First, this is easy. I looked over the thread, looked at the pictures in here, and went at it. 45 minutes, and a Philips and a flat head screwdriver... done. If you've changed your own oil, you can do this.
Second, I found the blower motor on rockauto for $45 shipped. It works fine.
Last, thanks for help. This forum is great.

 

THANKS SEAWATER!! Worked like a charm!

 

I had to replace the blower motor in our '06 2 years ago. It would run intermittently and then stop. A little bang on the glovebox (not recommended) started it back up. I ordered a new blower motor from Rockauto it's only $36.89 today! I got the TYC put it in and it has worked fine for 2 years. The installation was rather easy, it took me 30 min from start to finish.

 

This maybe is a design defect. The brush from the assembly housing is not exerting enough tension to the commutator in oder to have a good connection to cause the electric motor to turn.
Is it possible to bend the tensioner in the brush so it will have more tension.
Also, check the brush to see it is not warned, replaced with new brush if warned.

 

This thread saved us a lot of worry and a bunch of money. Thanks to all who contribute. My daughter has a 2005, one of our 4 Prius ('01, '05, '06 and '12 PIP) in Florida, a long way from Wisconsin. Two nights ago, the AC stopped, the engine stopped, and she was on battery only for a few miles. She was ready to call for a tow truck, but called me and I hopped on to Prius Chat. I think what happened is the fan stopped, so the computer shut off the AC, and for reasons we cant explain, the car went to stealth mode. I had her tap the fan with her foot (actually she kicked it) and sure enough it started running. Off to Advance Auto parts for a replacement, but driving in comfort instead of 95 degree heat. The sum of the knowledge of Prius owners is incredible. Thanks!!

 

Frustrated as hell with the AC not working all the time, I decided to try the kick idea.

I took an empty 2 liter soda bottle, and one whack later, I had AC.

I felt like a real mechanic after that.

 

hm

 

The fan motor ends up with sticky or worn brushes. It is possible to free them up, replace the brushes, or replace the motor entirely. Definitely better alternatives than whacking.

 

Mine is doing the exact same thing. I have 2008 Prius w/ 80,000 miles. Everything works but fan is not blowing. I discovered this while driving on a trip & air went out. Removed the filter & saw fan dead stopped. I was able to actually flick the fan & jump start it on then & for awhile after that to get it to work again but now that trick isn't working lol I'm trying to find out now if I need to buy a new blower motor or not! How did you fix yours?