2001 with no heat

Welcome.
I wonder the same thing We need to honor those cars that have gone before the current generations. I think they lump you guys together with other miscellaneous Toyota Hybrids. Toyota Hybrids | PriusChat

My Toyota salesman is still driving a Gen 1. I could ask him for tips. I believe @bwilson4web had a Gen 1 Prius.

I really think the moderators need to consider a Gen 1 forum, possibly directly under PriusChat Forums. We honor former members that have left us, but not the car that made this possible!

 

There is one, and that's exactly where it used to be. Then several years ago the Powers that Be moved it to where it now is, a subforum of the Gen 2 forum (as if, what, a Gen 1 Prius is some kind of a Gen 2 Prius??), and that's where it has been confusing people ever since.

About the heat, as suggested in another similar thread just a few days ago, it would make sense to check the coolant temperature ... just plug in an OBD-II scanner (about any kind should do, coolant temp is a standard parameter on all cars), and watch how long it takes to hit 80 C or so from a cold start.

Also, the heater has a test mode. There are lots of threads in the Gen 1 forum about how to enter the mode (three button pushes after IG ON, then turn control knob from OFF to AUTO).

In addition to blinking any possibly relevant codes, it also goes into a mode where by turning the temp knob you can exercise all the servos under the dash and make sure they are doing what they should. Basically, it divides the temp knob into five ranges and the repair manual shows you what should happen with the servos and blower as you turn it through the ranges.

The two servos on the driver's side (output selection and air mix) are easy to see if you just stick your head down there under the dash. The fresh/recirc inlet servo is on the passenger side and harder to see, but given your symptoms, I wouldn't suspect it as strongly anyway.

-Chap

 

Thanks. It is buried under the Gen 2 Prius Main Discussion forum. That makes zero sense. That reinforces my statement about not honoring those who have gone before.
Link: Generation 1 Prius Discussion | PriusChat

 

Since you had to jump your car, you might consider replacing the 12 volt battery. A weak one can cause strange issues on the newer Prius.

 

I got a response back from my salesman. Here is his response:
I do recommend have trouble issues work with the master technicians at his local Toyota service department. And work together to clearly state the issue(s). And allow the trouble shooting and have trust in having humans fixing a machine humans created and thus coming to an understanding of whether it's worth fixing or not.

My 2003 Prius with just over 208k miles had a similar problem, and took a few times to trouble shoot and fix. It turns out to be the head gasket. But each vehicle maybe different issue(s).

I would not have thought of that issue.

 

I wasn't quite right about that. Corrected chronology in this post.

In the beginning, there were only non-generation-specific, Prius Main, Prius Technical, Prius Modifications, etc., forums. The first generation-specific one created was for Gen 1, and it was created under Prius Main.

The trouble came later when Prius Main was renamed Gen 2 Prius Main, but with the Gen 1 forum still a subforum of it. Probably the Powers that Be just haven't found a way to fix that without breaking lots of existing links.

Sorry for my earlier misstatement (it was how I remembered it, I just remembered wrong).

-Chap

 

I'd bet it's the 12v battery that's where I'd start. Check it out and go from there also, welcome to the forum!

 

@ronlewis any progress in checking the temp and the servos as suggested in post #3?

I see I overlooked a couple other problems you mentioned. You're probably not really worried about A/C this week, but when it gets hot again you might care. Your symptoms with the A/C cutting out and blinking the light are consistent with the compressor clutch needing adjustment, which is highly likely at your car's age. That takes a set of shims that's about one dollar at the dealer, and about ten minutes to do. Lots of info in the Gen 1 forum about how to do it.

Your window issue just needs to be diagnosed. The communication from the driver's window switch to the Body ECU is multiplexed; there are two ways you can dig into that. The built-in diagnostic screen in the multifunction display is, disappointingly, not useful for most problems with the car, as it has mostly to do with the MFD and audio units, but its network status page will remark on the health of the Gateway ECU. Also, a suitable scan tool plugged into the OBD-II diagnostic port can get you codes from the Body ECU and Gateway ECU that may narrow down a communication problem.

-Chap

 

If the battery goes dead after sitting a week, I believe that is a symptom it needs replacing. At least that is the case on the newer Prius.

 

I don't have a Gen 1 any more, but did for eight years. I really liked that car.

The ScanGauge II out of the box can pretty much only hear the industry-standardized chatter from the engine and brake ECUs. PriusChat member vincent1449p worked out a lot of XGAUGES that you can manually key into the ScanGauge to enable it to collect more Prius-specific information, but I don't remember that even he had found much info on querying the Body and Gateway ECUs. (Some of the Gen 1 ECUs talk different protocols and baud rates than others, and the ScanGauge just doesn't see all of them, period, even when you know they're there.)

Techstream with a Mini VCI or the like would certainly show you codes from those ECUs. If you don't have that, the Gen 1 also had nearly complete coverage of the ECUs with an alternative way of getting codes, where you short two pins at the OBD connector, and the different ECUs blink out code numbers on different dash lights. The body ECU uses the door-ajar light. If it can't communicate with the meter cluster to blink that light, it blinks the same codes on the dome light instead.

Those are two-digit codes rather than the five-character ones you'd see on a scan tool, and the repair manual has tables for matching them up. In Gen 1, the HV and traction-battery ECUs are the only ones that don't offer that alternate approach, and have to be read with a scan tool.

Even as late as Gen 3 (and it wouldn't surprise me if Gen 4 too, though I don't know), there are still some ECUs, the brake/skid control for example, that can still blink out codes on the dash in a pinch.

-Chap

 

If I may suggest, pull the battery and have it tested at your FLAPS ( friendly local auto parts store )

 

I did the heater/ A/C as described. However, no LEDs are blinking at all. Comments?
Heating works, but the air is getting lukewarm only.

 

Do any of the LEDs light up in normal operation when you push the associated buttons?

Does the fan run at different speeds when you change the fan knob position?

Does the air come out different places when you change the outlet knob position?

 

Coolant temp in my 2002 is generally in the 185-190 range, which you can read on a ScanGauge II. Have you checked the cabin air filter lately? Mine gets clogged regularly with various organic matter. You can wash it and reuse. Might improve the air flow through the vents.

 

The LEDs do light up in normal operation .
Does the fan run at different speeds when you change the fan knob position? YESDoes the air come out different places when you change the outlet knob position? YES