juste wondering, when you start your car in the middle of the summer, if it is set on automatic, the A/C will automatically start and cool down the car. is the opposite SUPPOSED to happen like that also? i just noticed, it is starting to get a little colder here at night, and when i get in the car in the morning it's kinda chilly and definitely below the set temperature. however, the heater does not seem to start on its own. i was wondering if it is normal, if there is a delay before it actually starts or what's going on... can anyone shed a light on that? thx
The ICE has to warm up. The system will not turn the fan on until some heat can be delivered. You should notice the fan coming on after you drive a bit
ok, i'll try it tomorrow morning... how long does it usually take? or does it depend on outside temp?
Within a minute or so. I am sure outside temp have an effect. The system is monitoring the coolant temp. The fan will start slow and increase in speed as the ICE warms up.
hummm ok then if nothing actually starts, does that mean that i have a problem with the heater? 'cause i know for sure that i have waited longer than 1 minute and nothing happened... :-/
Um this is the same in any car you drive. Anyone who has driven a car should've figured out turning on the heater right away on a cold morning will do nothing but blow cold air. The heater will only start blowing in hot air when the engine is warm enough to start heating the air. A cold engine won't heat the car, and the heated air has to come from somewhere. In the summer, the A/C works by using the freon, which is available 24/7, regardless of engine temperature. That's what's confusing you. So its normal for the car to delay turning on the heater. It's just waiting for the heater block to warm up.
Some modern cars, mainly diesels, have a supplemental electric heater that starts warming the air from the vents within a minute or so. I suspect that the Prius has one too because slightly warmed air comes through the vents on mine after only about a minute even if the ICE has not yet run and it's in EV mode. Either that or the heat is from the inverter coolant. Perhaps someone who knows more tech about the Prius workings could confirm ? P.s. has anyone noticed that if you set the climate control to full heat (HI) and then turn it off then the heat still comes through, same with the Gen2 as well.
that's the problem with me.... it's not that i am not getting hot air, it's that i am not getting ANY air!!!
yes, it works in manual mode, but nothing in automatic mode (but works fine in automatic for the A/C)
try raising the temp more. If you got it set on 75 and it's 72 outside you wont notice much. If there is a bigger difference in the inside temp and what you have it set on it will turn the airflow to the footwells and blow hot air down there.
ok, tried it this morning, and after i cranked up the desired temperature to the max, i finally saw the car trying to heat it up... not too much success though. i wonder what it will be like in -30 Celsius temps! :-/
