Finally some hot weather. My wife comes home and says the AC is not working in the Prius. So I go out to the garage and turn the car on. Push the AC button and nothing happens. I push the auto button and it turns on then off (the green lights) Then I push and hold the auto button and the AC comes on but goes off if I let go. I repeat this several times until the car gets nice and cold. Then I let go of the auto button and it stays on. I cycle through on off auto and everything appears to be working but for awhile AC did not work but auto did. Is it the control panel or a sensor? Any ideas? 2012 prius c 28k/
Hi tnt4him, Many of us have this problem too. The Fan [OFF] button gets stuck when you press it down sometimes. If you pressed the button repeatedly, it should get back to normal operation. Vincent
I just had the same thing happen to me a few days ago. You just have to push the "OFF" button while wiggling your fingertip around to free the button from being tucked under the plastic that surrounds it. A bit annoying, but trivial to fix once you figure it out.
Thanks everyone for your responses. The off button, son of a gun. Its always a relief to know why. Thanks a million.
When you push the AUTO button the green light comes on, but then it goes back out again almost immediately.
I always turn the ac off before I shut down and when I start I always hit fan up button and the ac comes on. I think that is normal.
My OFF button sticks occasionally, as well. I guess there is no fix but replace the switch? Looks like the button assembly pops off, maybe some cleaning is needed.
I had this happen too, especially on hot days. Plastic-safe lubricant will solve or at least minimze the problem. I recommend Deoxit Fader F-Series, which is specifically made for plastic-to-plastic contact surfaces. Teflon or silicone based dry lubricant will also work. Don't spray directly onto the OFF switch. Use a Q-tip or toothpick. Don't use WD-40 or anything with solvents or oils in it. That will make it worse.
It has to be a defective or poor quality switch/button combo Im sure toyota is well aware of it. On my 2012c I remember it happening and buying my 2014c I new of the problem and it pretty much happened from the start. Never got either of the switch/buttons dirty, Since I am aware I just know to look for it now.
Thanks! I haven’t had this problem yet, nor had I run across this product. I’m a big fan of Caig’s other Deoxit products, really saved my bacon a number of times. Engineering & manufacturing quality buttons that fit and work for decades in the conditions of a car cabin is difficult and expensive. This is part of why Tesla skipped it and went straight to a touchscreen.
hey all, commenting on this old thread. I have a related but different situation. Just bought a used 2010 Prius. Green AC light is always on. Doesn't matter if I press Auto, or manually adjust the fan, temperate (all the way up to max and down to lo) and mode(which vents the air blows from). If I press the AC button it doesn't respond, the light just stays on no matter what. I'm not used to Prius (it's my first) so I wasn't sure what to listen for with the compressor kicking on or off. In a regular car you can listen for the AC compressor clutch kicking on and off. I heard nothing, but it definitely blows ice cold air when I put it to the lowest temperature setting while the car is parked in a heated garage. It blew cold air without the ICE kicking on for the first 10 seconds or so, then it turned on. So the AC is working I think!? But is the compressor silent? I saw some folks talking about stuck buttons, but the button doesn't appear to feel sticky or anything. I pressed it light, pressed it hard, even banged on it a bit... nothing. Any wise advice out there? Was thinking of buying a replacement HVAC control board and switching it out to see if that will work. Cheers, Adam
The compressor doesn't have a clutch that clacks like you're used to from other cars, but it also isn't silent when it's running. Sounds a bit like a distant Cessna. It's variable-speed too, so you can hear it more easily under heavy cooling loads than under light conditions.
Hi Adam, I also bought a used 2010 Prius and have the same issue you describe. Did you figure out how to how to fix the issue. Thanks, Vijay
The AC light is always on on in Auto mode with my Prius C. But if I set the temp to 70 and it’s 30 outside, it’s going to give me heat. And it’s 90 outside, it’s going to give me AC. My light and AC can be manually switched off out of auto mode, though, so this feedback likely isn’t directly related to your issue. But yeah, the main thing to confirm is that the AC is working properly, which you should be able to feel + hear the compressor at idle in EV mode.
Agree, AC is always ON in AUTO mode. But my issue was that AC would be ON when AUTO was OFF. AC would go OFF only when I turn the FAN OFF, but I would like to run the fan without the AC ON. Anyway I went and disconnected the battery for some time and connected again and controller started functioning normally, lets see how long this will work. I am guessing the controller IC might have gone bad, one can easily replace the circuit board. I ordered for a replacement unit from ebay for $25, next time it malfunctions I will try to replace the board and see how it goes.
