A/c vent stopped putting out air chest level

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by Baldbubba, Jul 7, 2015.

  1. Baldbubba

    Baldbubba Member

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    My A/c vent at chest level and other levels just stopped putting out cold air, there is a small amount coming out of the vent on the driver side vent,, i have the vent knobs set to be open.. any ideas,, i have tried all settings on the MFD,,, just hoping this is something I can repair,, i am not the sharpest,, but this happened after my wife drove MY car,,,, seem to be odd,,, this is an '08 with 120k on it,, have had zero hassles for the last 36 months of ownership.. thanks in advance for any help you would be willing to share
     
    #1 Baldbubba, Jul 7, 2015
  2. andrewclaus

    andrewclaus Active Member

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    Does the vent system work otherwise, or is this only a problem with cooling? Can you get warm air to come out all vents?

    Can you hear the blend doors moving when you push the mode buttons? It looks like the blend doors are motor-actuated and there's a fuse protecting the whole system.

    This probably wouldn't cause a sudden total shutdown, but have you changed the cabin air filter?
     
    #2 andrewclaus, Jul 8, 2015
  3. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    is it set to floor only?
     
    #3 bisco, Jul 8, 2015
  4. 69shovlhed

    69shovlhed Surly tree hugger

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    does the blower motor sound like its working when set to the highest speed? does it blow hard from the defrost vents and footwell vents?
     
    #4 69shovlhed, Jul 8, 2015
  5. Baldbubba

    Baldbubba Member

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    first of all,,, when i went out this morning,, cold air was blowing out of the face vents like all is well,,,,, so rather than touch a thing i have left it alone,,,, when it was not working ,, there was no air coming out of the face vents, all was coming out on the windshield,,, it would not change no matter what combo of buttons i changed... I am in Florida for 10 days , am leery of causing a problem at this point... however i really want to make sure all is going to work in the future when I return home ..... any ideas? but for now,, all is well,, and scared to touch it.. thanks in advance for any knowledge you could share
     
    #5 Baldbubba, Jul 9, 2015
  6. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    it has to be somewhere between the button and the motor. hard to define without testing though. the motor that changes the venting is the likely suspect.
     
    #6 bisco, Jul 9, 2015
  7. Nashville Prius

    Nashville Prius New Member

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    The 06 Prius I bought last week has been weak in the a/c. The passenger side vents were cool, but not cold, and the driver side warm. It's been hot here in Nashville, in the 90's every day, and finally I popped into Wal-Mart and got a can of the R13 with the hose and gauge attached for $25. I popped the cap off the low pressure fill, attached the hose, and the gauge read low...after a few seconds of filling it showed full. Immediately, all 4 upper a/c vents were blowing out ice-cold air. I hardly used any of the refrigerant, and the can still feels full. It's one of the taller cans, not the traditional short one. I am wondering if, perhaps, something was clogged in the system, and the pressure of filling it for a few seconds dislodged something.
     
    #7 Nashville Prius, Jul 9, 2015
  8. 69shovlhed

    69shovlhed Surly tree hugger

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    it only takes a few ounces to get a weak system cold. if its not cooling at all you might need most of the can, but then it means you got a big leak and it'll be blowing warm again in a few days.
    I don't know if you can get a can of r134 with dye in it, but that would be best cause it will help you find the leak.
     
    #8 69shovlhed, Jul 9, 2015
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