When I drive my 2008 Prius in cold weather, after it warms up, the temp inside the car feels like 85 degrees, even if I have the temp set on 65 degrees. After 20 or 30 minutes of driving, the heat settles down, and sometimes I have to put the temp up to 68 or 69 degrees to be comfrotable. When I had the car at the dealer for routine service, I asked them to check it out. They told me there’s nothing wrong and that I should put the air on “recirculate.” That sounds like a “let’s get rid of this knucklehead” response to me. Something tells me that,if the warranty had expired, they’d find a really expensive solution to this issue. What could really be wrong?
since your car has automatic heat settings I bet it has a thermostat. If it is faulty that could cause this. Or the temp sensor that tells the thermostat when to turn on or off could be defective, or the rheostat that tells the thermostat where to set the temp. could be bad. Or, and this is an outside shot, you could have a rat living in the heater duct who moves over once he gets nice and warm. but your dealer sounds lazy to me, and knows this won’t make him any money today, and with todays market he isn’t worried about three years from now when you will be buying a new car.
Thanks, ignoramus9. I think I’ll get it checked out somewhere else. I hope that name is not intended to describe those who post questions. Reminds me of the immortal words of HL Mencken, “most people who write letters to the editor are idiots.”
It reminds me of Will Rogers who said “everone is ignorant, only on different subjects.”
Whenever a dealership is delivering less than adequate service to a customer, it is time to “kick things up a notch” by notifying the corporate folks. If you page through your Owner’s Manual, you will find contact information (toll-free telephone # + mailing address) for Toyota’s corporate customer service folks.
Be polite, but forceful, when describing both the problem and the dealership’s apparent lack of interest in really delving into a solution to the problem. They will assign a case number and a specific customer service rep to your case and you will be contacted for more information. With any luck, you can arrange for one of Toyota’s Regional Service Reps to meet with you and examine your car at the dealership.
Just be patient with a possible time lag before a service rep can meet with you and examine your car. Right now, Toyota is very busy trying to paint a good image of themselves while dealing with the bad press that results from at least 34 dead bodies in wrecked Toyota vehicles. They are also trying to deal with a large number of law suits, dwindling sales figures, and a flood of phone calls from people who are irate over trivial problems like sticking accelerator pedals and inadequate brakes. Give them some time and they will deal with your heater problem also.
I would suggest starting with your owner’s manual. See if it says anything that might fit.
I wonder if the blend door is sticking when cold or if there is something with the vacuum system.
Put a thermometer inside the car and see if it really is 85 degrees, then you will have some objective rather than subjective evidence.