1. Attachments are working again! Check out this thread for more details and to report any other bugs.

MY AC quit working a couple weeks ago and my car has been overheating

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Care, Maintenance & Troubleshooting' started by Allison Meggison, Aug 1, 2020.

Tags:
  1. Allison Meggison

    Allison Meggison Junior Member

    Joined:
    Jun 9, 2019
    71
    6
    0
    Location:
    El cajon
    Vehicle:
    2013 Prius
    Model:
    Two
    My car has been overheating for a long time and I've tried so many different things. I recently had a mechanic tell me the thermostat needed to be replaced so when he allegedly did that, the AC stopped working. Now my car overheats (the little red light will flash) and the AC doesn't work. Usually my car only overheats when I'm going up steep hills at higher speeds, otherwise it doesn't usually overheat. I looked at other feeds and didn't see anything similar regarding the situation.
     
    #1 Allison Meggison, Aug 1, 2020
  2. JC91006

    JC91006 Senior Member

    Joined:
    Nov 10, 2013
    16,525
    8,428
    0
    Location:
    Los Angeles, CA
    Vehicle:
    2008 Prius
    Model:
    II
    What are the codes? You may already have a head gasket failure. It's pretty common for the Gen 3 cars to fail around 180+ thousand miles
     
    #2 JC91006, Aug 1, 2020
  3. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

    Joined:
    May 11, 2005
    110,156
    50,059
    0
    Location:
    boston
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius Plug-in
    Model:
    Plug-in Base
    is this a continuation of a previous thread?
     
    #3 bisco, Aug 1, 2020
  4. Allison Meggison

    Allison Meggison Junior Member

    Joined:
    Jun 9, 2019
    71
    6
    0
    Location:
    El cajon
    Vehicle:
    2013 Prius
    Model:
    Two
    Kind of, i mean it’s the same car. Same
    History
     
    #4 Allison Meggison, Aug 1, 2020
  5. sam spade 2

    sam spade 2 Senior Member

    Joined:
    Mar 31, 2018
    7,035
    2,790
    0
    Location:
    USA
    Vehicle:
    2017 Prius c
    Model:
    Four
    Then you should have CONTINUED that thread so we don't have to go over all of the same stuff yet again.

    Simple answer: You NEED a different mechanic.
    He was guessing......and guessed wrong.......and messed something up in the process.
     
    #5 sam spade 2, Aug 1, 2020
  6. Grit

    Grit Senior Member

    Joined:
    Aug 22, 2017
    6,174
    4,078
    1
    Location:
    Wilkes Land
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius
    Model:
    Four
    o_Oo_Oo_Oo_Oo_Oo_Oo_Oo_Oo_O
     
    #6 Grit, Aug 1, 2020
  7. Grit

    Grit Senior Member

    Joined:
    Aug 22, 2017
    6,174
    4,078
    1
    Location:
    Wilkes Land
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius
    Model:
    Four
    She had a post with robot farts also.
     
    #7 Grit, Aug 1, 2020
    bisco likes this.
  8. Allison Meggison

    Allison Meggison Junior Member

    Joined:
    Jun 9, 2019
    71
    6
    0
    Location:
    El cajon
    Vehicle:
    2013 Prius
    Model:
    Two
    I've been to at least 4 different mechanics since I've had this car. There are no codes right now. No this is not a continuation of the last thread. I would like to fix my AC
     
    #8 Allison Meggison, Aug 2, 2020
  9. lech auto air conditionin

    lech auto air conditionin Senior Member

    Joined:
    Sep 5, 2011
    830
    601
    261
    Location:
    san francisco
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius c
    Model:
    Two
    What did the last four mechanic say about your AC issue ? Look over your life for repair work orders and summit up here in a post
     
    #9 lech auto air conditionin, Aug 2, 2020
  10. sam spade 2

    sam spade 2 Senior Member

    Joined:
    Mar 31, 2018
    7,035
    2,790
    0
    Location:
    USA
    Vehicle:
    2017 Prius c
    Model:
    Four
    BUT......is the car also still overheating ??
    If so, the two might be related and getting the AC working might just make the overheating WORSE.
     
    #10 sam spade 2, Aug 2, 2020
  11. pjksr02

    pjksr02 Active Member

    Joined:
    Nov 2, 2009
    532
    225
    2
    Location:
    Connecticut
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    III
    Did we replace the engine's water pump in this car? The thermostat (it's part of the coolant inlet to the radiator) is easy to replace at the same time. You definitely don't want the engine cooking, regularly.

    Hopefully it's that simple. A clogged EGR system makes the engine run hotter too, but the overheat light is rare.

    Sounds like you need to get the a/c serviced by a specialized a/c shop.
     
    #11 pjksr02, Aug 2, 2020
    Last edited: Aug 2, 2020
  12. Higgins909

    Higgins909 Member

    Joined:
    Apr 15, 2018
    268
    59
    2
    Location:
    Texas
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    III
    Have you taken it to a Toyota Service Department? 264k miles is a lot. (Not KM right?) What do you mean by the AC is not working? Does it just blow hot air? When the engine is off but car is on, can you hear the compressor (Low tone whine sound) and the fans? Can you see the fans spinning? (Careful with hair) Earlier this year when it was time to turn the AC back on I figured out my AC button wasn't on. Don't know why it was off but it was. Are both coolant tanks inbetween the min and max (Maybe it's low and full?) markers or pretty close? It could be that coolant wasn't cycled through after the thermostat was changed out and you're low.
     
    #12 Higgins909, Aug 4, 2020
  13. Shahzad Nayyar

    Shahzad Nayyar Junior Member

    Joined:
    Aug 31, 2015
    94
    23
    0
    Location:
    Pakistan
    Vehicle:
    2015 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    Are the cooling fans working? Might be that he disconnected the circuit

    Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.
     
    #13 Shahzad Nayyar, Aug 5, 2020
  14. Allison Meggison

    Allison Meggison Junior Member

    Joined:
    Jun 9, 2019
    71
    6
    0
    Location:
    El cajon
    Vehicle:
    2013 Prius
    Model:
    Two
    I haven't had the AC looked at by anyone yet. I don't think the compressor is working because I don't hear it come on. When the AC is on it only blows hot air but I've only tried running it during the day when it's hot, not at night. The water pump and thermostat have been replaced. When I hooked up the freon tank, the gauge read that there was too much pressure in the line
     
    #14 Allison Meggison, Aug 9, 2020
    Last edited: Aug 9, 2020
  15. Allison Meggison

    Allison Meggison Junior Member

    Joined:
    Jun 9, 2019
    71
    6
    0
    Location:
    El cajon
    Vehicle:
    2013 Prius
    Model:
    Two
    My engine was replaced last year with a used one but was still overheating after being installed.
     
    #15 Allison Meggison, Aug 9, 2020
  16. Allison Meggison

    Allison Meggison Junior Member

    Joined:
    Jun 9, 2019
    71
    6
    0
    Location:
    El cajon
    Vehicle:
    2013 Prius
    Model:
    Two
    The only time I brought my car to a toyota dealership was when i had it diagnosed earlier this year and they didn't say anything about the engine or AC
     
    #16 Allison Meggison, Aug 9, 2020
  17. Leadfoot J. McCoalroller

    Leadfoot J. McCoalroller Senior Member

    Joined:
    May 12, 2018
    7,434
    6,916
    1
    Location:
    Pennsylvania
    Vehicle:
    2018 Prius c
    Model:
    Two
    Sounds like they never fixed what killed the 1st engine and it's well on its way to claiming a second.
     
    #17 Leadfoot J. McCoalroller, Aug 9, 2020
    pjksr02 likes this.
(You must log in or sign up to post here.)