Climate control settings are locked?

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by RedVulk, Nov 1, 2018.

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  1. RedVulk

    RedVulk New Member

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    Hey, first time Prius owner here, with an '05. Not really sure what to make of this.

    I cannot change any of the climate control settings. This is what they currently look like: 01.jpg

    Pressing any of the buttons turns it briefly green, like this: 02.jpg

    ...but it never actually switches away from the current settings.

    (I recall when I test drove it, I had the same problem at first, but then I pressed something - I think it was the Fan Off button, but I'm not sure - and then everything worked.)

    I figured this would be a known problem, but I've been googling for the past two days and haven't found anything. Anyone know what's up?
     
    #1 RedVulk, Nov 1, 2018
  2. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    Just a wag, try disconnecting the 12v neg for an hour. Maybe a hard reboot will reset it
     
    #2 bisco, Nov 2, 2018
  3. exstudent

    exstudent Senior Member

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    Do the climate control buttons on the steering wheel work?

    Is this a salvaged title vehicle? Lots of flood damaged cars will be making their way to unsuspecting buyers.
     
    #3 exstudent, Nov 3, 2018
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  4. RedVulk

    RedVulk New Member

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    Clean VIN, no record of it being a salvage or being in any accidents. One prior owner (not including dealership).

    I disconnected the 12v for an hour. Computer is reset. I still am unable to change any of the climate controls. They're different now, though; here's a picture of me trying (unsuccessfully) to turn the fan to HI: 03.jpg

    The climate control buttons on the steering wheel do not do anything. (Most of the buttons on the steering wheel don't seem to do anything, but a few of them do, so it does seem to be connected.) I've also tried using voice commands. I can give commands like "temperature up" and "AC on", and the computer acknowledges them, but still doesn't actually do anything.

    It's becoming a bit of an issue, as I cannot turn on the defrost, so the car is unusable on cold days.
     
    #4 RedVulk, Nov 3, 2018
  5. exstudent

    exstudent Senior Member

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    My $ is a broken clockspring. If it is, your's is the worst I have read so far. All other broken clocksprings I have read on here, people have only been inconvenienced w/ a lack of Cruise Control, or radio controls, or vent function. Yours is possibly shorted across multiple wires of the ventilation function on the clockspring, thus the inability to control any vent function from the MFD (MultiFunction Display).

    Read Cruise Control Wouldn't Turn on? | PriusChat
    Post #4- Clockspring test. Forgot the obvious of make the car READY when doing the test.
    Post #8- Link to fake and genuine OEM clockspring. Be weary of crapBay (eBay) clocksprings; don't last so you will have to do the repair repeatedly. Also, will the fakes be able to deploy the steering wheel airbag?​

    If you have dependents, avoid the fakes; unless you have a large life insurance policy.
    Toyota trying to locate “thousands” of counterfeit airbag parts that could prove deadly in a crash
    "... internal testing in Japan found there were four ways they could fail to deploy an airbag in a crash."

    “high likelihood of insufficient conductivity to support airbag deployment electrical current” and “significant risk of airbag non deployment in an accident”.

    counterfeit part does not have gold plated connectors, the crimping of the cable is not strong enough and it does not use copper wire as per the genuine article. The plastic locking tabs are also “poorly formed” or misaligned.​
     
    #5 exstudent, Nov 3, 2018
    Last edited: Nov 4, 2018
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  6. RedVulk

    RedVulk New Member

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    SOLVED! exstudent, you were right - it was a broken clockspring. I chatted with the dealer I bought the Prius from (just a few weeks ago), told him that my research suggested a broken clockspring. Took it back to him, and the next day he had it fixed, and congratulated me on my correct guess.
     
    #6 RedVulk, Nov 16, 2018
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  7. exstudent

    exstudent Senior Member

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    Great! My only concern is was a genuine Toyota OEM clocks print used? If the dealer was a Toyota dealer, they used a genuine part. If it was not, I would be concerned.

    I'm sure your life is worth more than the $10 fakeBay junk.
     
    #7 exstudent, Nov 16, 2018
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