HElP! no idea how to work heat! my babies are cold!

Sounds like the a.c. is switched off. I don't have a "C" but usually you can set it to Auto on the steering wheel. NOTE A.c. means cooling AND heating for these cars.

Can the seller or dealer help? Should be still some after sales service if you only bought it yesterday!

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Welcome to Prius Chat Ashley. Like GT4PRIUS, I don't know much about the C, but in mine I can have AC off and still get heat. The Auto selector switch is cyclic and changes from ECO to Normal then Fast before back to ECO again. When it's on ECO, heat is very slow, so if you have a similar set up in your car, that's what you should try. In the Gen 4 hatchback, there is briefly a small indication on the screen whenever you change from one seeing to another. Hope this helps a little bit, but keep coming back. There will be someone who can give you your answer.

 

I don't know, but my assumption was that the C is more like my Gen2, and that the Auto button, if on the steering wheel, worked as I described.

On the Gen2 if you turn a.c. Auto on the steering wheel off then the whole climate system will be off.

I think it may cause confusion to say that you can have a.c. off and still have Heat. It has been said many times, correctly, on PC that Toyota uses the term generically to mean the whole Climate Control system, not just cooling.

What the OP reports sounds like either the system is off, or possibly not operating due to being faulty.

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Welcome! If you don't have a manual for your car, you can download a copy at 2012 Toyota Prius C Owners Manual and Warranty - Toyota Owners

Good advice above. I'm wondering if the cabin air filter is clogged. It is located behind the glove box (instructions on how to change it are in the manual) - it that is gummed up, you won't get much airflow so heating, cooling and defog/defrost all will be compromised.

If that is clear, next I'd head to the fuse boxes and make sure things are in good shape there. Let us know what you find!

Any warranty on the vehicle?

 

Welcome. From what I've seen on PC, the c is rather different from the hatchbacks. Perhaps a moderator could move this to a c forum to get the attention of people who are more familiar with its controls.

Meanwhile, if it's on auto and set to 85 and blowing cold after the engine warms up, it sounds like a problem in the heat exchanger. That would be the case with any car. Or, the engine thermostat is stuck. Either way, it would need mechanical intervention.

 

sounds like it's broken. where did you buy it? can you take it back?

 

Good point re moving the post.

Note that OP also says ". it doesnt blow out the bottom even if i change it to face or defrost".

So perhaps not just the heat exchanger at fault.

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Not on the C it doesn't.
And not on any of the "older" Prius models either I think.
The heater is a conventional one; it uses heat from the engine coolant.

I agree that he probably needs to visit a dealers shop. Hopefully it is something simple.

P.S. On my first C I think there was an OFF/ON button for the climate control that had a tendency to stick down. When that happened, all kinds of strange things would happen with the climate control.

 

I respectfully disagree.

The source of heat is irrelevantbro what I am saying.. I am aware that only the Prime has heating that is not dependent on the engine coolant.

The point is one of terminology not engineering.

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I believe the heater element on the Prime behaves the way you suggest but in the Prius hatch has an ICE heated heater element. Perhaps @Tideland Prius can join in with constructive advice for OP.

 

Well you can disagree all you want but the fact IS that turning the A/C off on a C will NOT impact it's ability to deliver heat.
Or at least it should not.

 

toyota calls all the hvac components ac in the owners manuals.

 

The Air Conditioning button on the C just changes the fan speed and how much is "forced" into the cabin, just like if you have the thermostat to cold... It doesn't change anything based on the temperature.

Normally the car can have this off and still have heat.

Can this be an issue with one of the buttons sticking? I would press all of the buttons a few times to make sure one of them isn't stuck in. I had that happen and couldn't do a darn thing with any of the buttons until I figured it out.

 

Yeah, ICE heat. ...

As mentioned above, sounds like coolant thermostat problem (which would affect engine performance as well), and/or malfunctioning doors within the heating/ventilating system.

 

judging by the o/p's response, the babies aren't that cold. it is georgia after all. not soviet georgia.

or else her fingers are frozen, and she can no longer type.

 

Not helpful. And not applicable either.
Two days ago they had accumulating snow in Atlanta.

 

Crazy. Nothing here.

 

I live in Georgia and we got 8.5 inches of snow on Friday... My Uncle in Maryland said they hadn't gotten snow yet... neither had my Grandfather in Ohio... so yes.. Georgia gets cold.