I went and test drove the Prius today and really liked it, the only problem I found was that it had no rear AC vents and it felt really hot in the back seat. I was originally going to buy the Lexus hybrid till I found out that the MPG was only slightly better than the non Hybrid version....hence I looked at the Prius, convinced that I would buy it. The deal breaker is the no rear AC b/c I have a 3 yr old who is always in the back seat, and does not like the wind blowing her hair all around. A hot cranky 3 year old is not pretty. We were only able to drive for about 5 minutes because the car was sold and it wasn't that hot of a day....anyone have this problem, and or a solution?
Re: Rear AC vents in the Prius...anyone feel its HOT when in Two things I would try: first tint the windows. Dropped temps in my car pretty dramatically (except when driving toward the sun for long periods). You might also try setting the A/C to both the floor and dash vents to ensure air is passed under the seats (via the underseat ducting). I set the A/C to Auto and 75 and everyone's happy.
Re: Rear AC vents in the Prius...anyone feel its HOT when in :iagree yup tinting and having a sun shade does help a lot. though if the car was left out for some time in the sun, it would take longer to cool down. but otherwise, i'm cool. 8)
Our Prius is always cool in the back as well as the front. On super hot days you have to give time for the whole car to cool.
So far, no complaints from our 3 year old girl about any lack of a/c reaching her. I also have one of those small roll-up window blinds on her door window to help shade her from the sun. I generally just set the thermostat to 75 or so and crank the fan up depending on how hot the interior is.
My kids only complain on the hottest days - we simply have to make sure that the front vents are appropraitely aimed. Sometimes to appease them, I'll toss the A/C on floor so they can feel the A/C on their toes and not feel totally ignored. They're somewhat spoiled I guess by my In-law's Town and Country w/ Rear A/C.
I regularly drive some friends around, and only once did one of the rear seat passengers mention not feeling much benefit from the A/C. When he did, I adjusted the driver's side center vent to blow over my right shoulder, and he immediately felt cooler. No need to spend money on shades or tinting, at least, not yet.
We tinted our Pri, it made a big difference. It takes about 5 minutes for the car to freeze me out on a hot day (lately it's 110s with heat index) and I imagine if I'm freezing in the driver's seat it's fine in back.
I find the Auto setting does not run the fan high enough sometimes. Try manually increasing the fan speed to circulate more air back there.
Re: Rear AC vents in the Prius...anyone feel its HOT when in I don't like having cold air blowing on me, so I point my vents away from myself. I think that leads to others in the cabin having more cold air for themselves. I have yet to have a rear seat passenger complain. I rely on auto settings entirely. If the cabin feels too warm and the fan has slowed down, I drop the temp, and the fan goes up. Easy as pie.
The position of the vents play a crucial role. I was sweating at the back seat and asked if the A/C was on. It was and told my mum in the front seat to re-position the vents. What a difference! I actually felt cold and had them turn down the A/C. So yes, rear vents would be nice to get the air to the back much quicker but since we don't have any, just play around with the vents that we've got.
Re: Rear AC vents in the Prius...anyone feel its HOT when in 8) gbcaine, Just point both center vents up towards the ceiling and the two outboard vents towards the windows. I believe everyone will then be happy in MHO. Ben
