Hi Guys - My air conditioner is giving me problems. For some reason, when I drive around town taking short trips, my AC refuses to cool the car down. I've also noticed the "outside temperature" gauge displayed in the cluster shows the temperature about 20 degrees hotter than it actually is. I noticed today while driving on the highway, once I hit 45mph or so, the cool air really started to come through. I've looked at it with a non-Toyota tech after driving around for about an hour, and when we're sitting and idling the low pressure pipe doesn't seem to get cool. After my ride today, I popped the hood when I stopped to check, and it was cool to touch, but not cold as I've felt on other cars. We also checked the pressure within the system, and it's right on the money (so he says). Anyone have any idea what could be causing this? I know my AC has never really been as fast as other cars given I keep it in eco mode, but it literally blows warm air until I start going an an accelerated speed. All thoughts and suggestions are appreciated!!
Eco mode is your problem. Take off eco and enjoy the cool air. Use eco when the temperature gets cooler
Did you happen to notice the behavior of the electric radiator/condenser fans when you and the non-Toyota tech were poking around under the hood? Those fans are responsible for cooling the system when you're not moving fast. At speed, ram air through the grille is enough. Also, the outside air temperature sensor is behind the bumper cover, not far from the radiator/condenser. If you say it is reading 20° above ambient, that sounds a lot like hot air off the radiator/compressor stagnating in that space and not being sucked through. -Chap
ChapmanF is on the right track, I think. Those symptoms are consistent with either the cooling fans not working, or something impeding air flow through the condenser and radiator. Did the problem begin suddenly or gradually?
"HEATING / AIR CONDITIONING: AIR CONDITIONING SYSTEM: SYSTEM DESCRIPTION (2010 Prius)". Here's the section about the ECO mode and AC performance: ========== 9. ECO MODE CONTROL (a) Under the control of eco mode, the A/C amplifier restricts the air conditioning system performance under specified conditions, thus improving fuel economy. (b) Eco mode control is activated when the ECO MODE switch provided inside the integration control and panel sub-assembly is pressed, and then restricts the air conditioning system performance as described below. #1 Inside/outside Air Switch Control: Automatically switches the air inlet port to internal air circulation mode when the outside air temperature is equal to or higher than a predetermined temperature and reduces the power consumption. #2 Blower Level Control: Sets the blower level in AUTO mode lower than normal, and suppresses the power consumption. ( #3 PTC Heater Control: Stops the operation of PTC heater assembly and suppresses the power consumption. #4 Heating Restriction Control: Changes the air outlet temperature by turning the ECO MODE switch on and off during heating and increases the amount of engine-off time when the ECO MODE switch is in the on state, thus improving fuel economy. #5 Compressor Speed Restriction Control: Restricts the maximum speed during cooling and reduces the power consumption. =============
Radiator/condenser, even. Seems I can't edit old posts any more.... I missed the part about boosting the outside temp reading by 20° ... although the manual talks about reducing blower speed in ECO, that's referring to the inside, cabin blower. It would not make sense for ECO mode to deliberately inhibit the radiator/condenser fans, because that would reduce efficiency. -Chap
When you first get in the hot car, the outside temperature gauge normally would show higher than actual temperature, once you start driving, the temperature reading will come down. Either way it's going to be off a few degrees, it's not perfect. Eco mode is a pretty bad feature to enable, gas is pretty cheap to necessitate restricting your car's performance potential and cooling ability
i have run in eco mode since i bought it in 2012. yesterday was 96 degrees, and the a/c felt like the north pole. nice to know about the ptc heaters, i always wondered why i couldn't feel any warmth. thanks! when leaving the car in a hot parking lot, the temp usually reads 4-5 degrees higher than after about 10 minutes of driving.
Normally, that would happen - but I'll get in the car and the temp gauge will read 5-10deg above ambient, and then as I drive it will indeed get warmer - just the other day, I climbed in and the gauge read as 95, climbed to 110, and then came back down to the actual tempreture (87).
To be 100% honest, I live in Maine, and it doesn't get very hot up here. Maybe 2 weeks out of the year we'll get constant temps over 90 degrees - I would say it's sudden, but I haven't needed to crank the AC at all this summer until now.
I haven't visually observed it, I will try and get out today to take a look and report back. I know I "hear" the fan, or a fan, and that my gas mileage is greatly affected by this problem when it's warm, but I'll need to get some eyes on it and let you know!
I've used ECO mode since I bought the car. While there is a difference in pedal response, I haven't noticed a difference with AC. Properly working ECO mode does not do what you are describing. If it does, few would use it. I wouldn't. There's an easy to find out if ECO mode is your problem... I think you need a blower motor.
The reduced ac performance is written and developed by Toyota, it's not made up How well the ac is doing is subjective to the person using it
Just to clarify for others reading this forum, Eco mode does not restrict performance potential. Toyota claims full power available no matter what mode the vehicle is in, and it has been confirmed by independent acceleration tests performed in Eco and Power mode, and both deliver the same rate of acceleration. Eco mode will alter AC performance, but I have not noticed a deficiency in cooling, granted I have spent very little time in Normal mode to compare it.
