Put Car 3 in the shop to have the AC flushed and charged. The guy tells me its heater doesn't work. I know no history, maybe it did work and quit while sitting in my driveway? Maybe there's something unique about this car's heater that this guy doesn't know about? Obviously not an urgent issue; I don't need a heater anytime soon. Any known issues with our cars' heaters? I guess it uses hot water from the radiator, like most cars
It uses hot water, like most cars, and can also use about 700 watts of electricity temporarily while the water's getting hot, like most Prii. "Heater doesn't work" is an awfully vague thing for some guy to say. Maybe just pick the car back up and try out the heater and see what happens.
thx. now I'm thinking he's talking about the left most button of the 4 temp control buttons. I recall that it doesn't work on one of the cars, pretty sure it's that one. But that's the recirculate button - I assume from the symbol - however, the symbol is worn off, so maybe the tech thinks it's a heat button. On the other hand, this car also has a Max AC button, which is the same as recirculate in my truck, so I'm not sure what that button does.
Left button oval - above the rotary mode switch: left is recirculate, right is rear window defogger (the wires in the glass). Right button oval - above the rotary blower switch: left is A/C, right is Max A/C. The recirculate button lets you close off the outside air when it's real dusty, or you're driving past a feedlot, or something. Tip: you can download the owner's manual as a PDF, for free, on techinfo.toyota.com .
I forgot about this after getting the car running. I'll check the heater tomorrow. I replaced the inverter pump if that could have caused it.
The inverter coolant pump is a separate system - it has that small electric pump, the inverter, the transaxle, and its own little radiator. The heater inside the car is just like the one on your father's Oldsmobile... there's an extra loop in the engine cooling circuit that goes to a heater core inside the dash. Canadian models and "USA cold area models" also have some electric resistance heaters under the dash, too.
