Prius (2004-09) :: Defroster Not Keeping The Windshield Clear And Heat Output Is Clearly Not Normal
Jan 5, 2013
I am having heat issues with my 2004 Prius. Recently it has been difficult for the defroster to keep the windshield clear and the heat output is clearly not normal. It's chilly here in Vermont so having heater is important. I have been doing some reading in this forum and have gained some insight into how the heating system works.
One observation I notice is that the radiator does not seem to get hot at all. If I open the cap on clear overfill tank under the hood it appears to be full. In fact the coolant seems to be circulating through this tank. If I dunk my finger into the fluid it is only warm. There is a warning about not opening when hot but it is not hot so I can open it.
As I sit in the car I can hear liquid circulating through in the dash board area. When I change heater setting to enable different vents and defrost each change produces sounds that would make me believe the mechanical things are working ok. It's just not very warm.
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i have noticed that with my 08 that occasionally when driving after a rain the windshield will fog up on the inside with the defroster on and set at roughly 73 deg. I also notice that under a/c auto occasionally the window will fog up a little right around the vents, just under normal driving.
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Troubleshooting the wiper fluid spray system in my 2007 Prius. So today, after the big winter storm here in New York, I had to go out and run some errands. Everything was working fine, used the wiper fluid spray a few times during my drive to keep my windshield clear. When I was about to get home, I tried to spray the windshield one last time, but no fluid came out. Also tried the rear sprayer and no fluid came out of there either. The first thing I did when I get home is to check the wiper fluid reservoir, and there is plenty of wiper fluid in there.
I can hear the pumps whirr when I tried to activate the wiper fluid spray, (tried both front and back, both have the pump whirring sounds), but no fluids sprayed out.
I'm thinking maybe something got clogged in the wiper fluid spraying system somewhere. Is this something I can try to fix myself?
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I have the 3.5 LX AWD 2004 Santa Fe 102,000 miles purchased new. My power steering fluid reservoir was leaking from the top a lot. I read here that the screen in it could be clogged. I went to the garage the manager never heard of such a thing he said, and never heard of a PS reservoir having a screen (I gave him the TS. He said if I got the part and wanted it changed they would change it. I did that. It was done 2 weeks ago and now it all dry under there. But, now.. there is a low whine on the passenger side under the hood toward the back, but when I put the A/C on or the heater on defrost (Not when heater is on, only in defrost) there is a loud rumble/hum from the same area. Shut A/C or defroster it goes back to a low buzz/hum again.
I had the power steering pump replaced at the dealer about 2 years ago, its not old. The noise is NOT any louder when I crank the steering wheel all the way to either side. The fluid since replacing the Power steering fluid reservoir is staying at the same level, full, no leaking. When I put everything on, lights heat only (No defroster), radio, lights the noise doesn't get any louder either, I tested that. The other night after driving about a half hour to and from a place I went to u-turn in a parking lot and that whine was louder for a minute and while driving forward slowly out of the parking lot getting up to speed.
When I asked about the PS fluid reservoir, I had also, asked the repair shop manager his opinion, of that loud hum/rumble when I put the A/C on (At the time I thought it only happened with the A/C when the compress popped on). He listened said "That's the A/C compressor it's going and its going and cost more to replace it then its worth on your 2004." So, that's the background.
Questions: 1. Just wondering if you think it is the A/C compressor that is the loud noise when on, would the A/C compressor even go on when the defroster is on, the A/C is off, and the heat on and there for still make that loud rumble??? Or does that defroster fact kind of mean its not the A/C compressor??
2. What is your opinion of the low buzz/whine noise now (When heat/AC off)? I can't pin point it totally in park when listening, its very low (Except that one point where it was loud for a few minutes driving out of the parking lot.) (The motor sounds a bit louder in it in front too just side observation)
I almost worried if the low buzz was the Transmission as its fluid hasn't been changed in a few years (Because the mechanic said sometimes changing the fluid when its been a lot of miles between can actually cause problems to the transmission) It was done at the dealer around 45,000 miles and now my Santa Fe has 102,000 miles.
Could the power steering pump be going bad in only 2 years from what I've described? Or could the PS fluid reservoir having been spitting PS fluid from the top for a couple of weeks have caused damage to the PS pump now?
The fluid never got lower then full when it was coming out of the top and only when driving, I kept checking it. The mechanic who put the PS fluid reservoir in said he had no idea if it leaked from the top due to the screen as he felt the screen had only minor debris that was not blocking a lot of the screen since its a big screen (He didn't look too hard though), and it was possible even a small crack in the reservoir could cause that same fluid coming out at the top. He said it could be either he didn't notice a crack either.
Or are these two noises possibly not related even though possibly from the same area on the passenger side under hood.
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So, I noticed after the week long heatwave (using Priidash and the Prius display) that during normal driving (under 65mph and slow accel) that my prius is NOT keeping the battery at 60% SOC....It is staying in the low 50's or as low as 39.5%....If I go above 70mph, I see the battery being drained and not recharged at all....I reset the battery (twice) the first time it made no difference but the second time the car turned on and said I had 60% SOC when in reality before the ECU reset I was at 49.5%. I know my battery is good because I have stress tested it many times. Its in great shape. The only thing I've done differently these past few weeks is I left the car in Park with the AC on 75 auto for about 5hrs on 4 different days....Its a 2004 Prius.
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How come with the A/C on I can direct it to different vents but with the heat on it only comes out at the windshield ?? Whats up with that.
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Does the engine turn on and off frequently lead to a lower engine life? I have always heard that the biggest wear on an engine happens when it is turned on. If the oil is draining from the Prius engine each time stops it seems like there would be a lot of engine wear.
Does the Prius (2010) engine have some way of keeping the engine lubricated when it is turned off?
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I thought blend door only adjusted temperature. Mine is manual? System no ECM control. Need defrost....
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I have a 2005 accent (1.6) and I'm having a problem with low air flow from the windshield defroster. When I switch it to any other cycle such as the floor the air flowing out seems perfectly fine. What may be causing this problem.
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I have a 2005 Grand Prix and it seems like my windshield defroster has lost power as far as the fan. Its almost like something is either blocking the air or maybe a fan is dying?... still blows hot hair to defog my windshield but doesn't have the force it used to have. What are the things for me to check?
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I have posted separately about my 'supposed' dead HV dead battery. The charge was down to one bar and the the system didn't allow ICE to start for recharge. I finally got a reading of a about 207 volts today and when I fiddled with the start button on and off a few time today, the ICE started. After about 15 sec.
It indicated it was pumping juice into the battery. When it finally got up to about 4 bars it turned off. I had to move the car off the tow dolly (it's home for the past week) and did so in electric mode even though there was a Ready on the display the engine never came on. Before maneuvering it around much I tried to get the ICE to start again to recharge the battery, now down to 2 bars.
By pressing the gas in park and neutral, it would start and rev up but never generated any power to the battery. Fiddled around with the power button some on/off/on, etc. until I got the ready light and sometimes it would start charging but only once did it charge to 6 bars and usually stopped as soon as there were 4 bars.
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Why does my front windshield wipers come on when I turn on my rear defroster?
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I'm having with my Ex. When I have the A/C (or heat) on, it seems to only blow out the front windshield defroster. Once in a while it'll blow out where it should, but 99% of the time it only comes out the defrost. This is when I have it on face, face/feet and feet.
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My windshield and side window defroster vents have not been working but every other air feature on the air system works fine. When I switch to the defroster, air just continues to come out of the front vents and not out of the defroster vent located on the top of the dash. I plan on going to dealership to have it checked out. I have looked through my hayne's book with no luck. One of my buddies said it could be a relay or something but I have not been able to find a relay specific to the defroster. Just wanted to get this sorted out because it takes longer than usual to defog/defrost my windows now without this feature working correctly.
I have a 2003 Honda Accord EX V-6 Coupe with dual climate control.
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Now that the weather has gotten very cold, I used the rear windshield defroster a couple of times this week. The smell that it emits is absolutely disgusting, I had to turn it off. The front defroster isn't much better. What could be causing it? Also the rear defroster, when working, defrosts the window in a "V" shape, meaning the center is clear but the sides and top/bottom are still frosted. I have a 2014 GLS.
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I cant find my original post but I am reporting back on a low heat output issue. Not the climate door. It was the heater core clogging up. Instead of replacing, this is what I did. Purchased a "drill pump" and some clear hose and some CLR. Cut both the heater hoses,taking consideration of where best to install "T" connectors.
While hoses disconnected,filled heater core with CLR(as much as I could get in it). Hooked clear hose,drill pump configuration,on to the heater hoses. Ran drill pump in both directions for several minutes and stopping and letting it sit for a few minutes.
About 1 hour all together. Pieces of debris came out of the heater core and I could see it through the clear hose. Flushed the heater core out. Installed "T" connectors and it is heating very well now.
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The windshield wipers on my 2010 F-150 do not wipe a clear path. I have tried several different brands of blades without any good results. It is like the blades have to have more tension against the glass. Is there a way to increase this tension?
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2002, F250, 5.4, ZF6, 140k.
My heat only blows through the defroster. I was looking for my vacuum pump, but can't seem to find it. I find plenty of diesel threads where they show it, but mine isn't in the same location. I can actuate the diverter by hand and it will make the heat stop at the defroster and come out at your feet.
I have attached images of my rig.
Were to look for the vacuum pump? Any key spots to look for failed vacuum lines? What is this?
This is where most threads say the vacuum pump should be.
This switches from defrost to floor when operated manually.
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I got an 02 explorer xlt with the manual heater control and I've noticed now that it's getting colder it seems like my windshield and side windows are taking forever to clear up when they are foggy. When I put my hand up by the window or the vents for the driver/passenger side windows there's barely any air movement, and that is even when the blower is on the maximum level.
Another thing I've noticed is if I set it to floor only, it blows out the defrost. Same for the defrost only, I can feel some air blowing onto my feet. So what to look for when I pull this into a garage and start to looking around. I also changed the coolant and put in a new thermostat about a month ago, if that's of any importance.
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I have a factory remote start. Not sure if I have an issue or not but at what point does the fan come on automatically to clear the windshield? It was -9C this morning and when I went out after about 5 minutes there really wasn't any air coming out of the vents.
Does the truck have to warm up to a certain temperature before it starts to blow air to clear the windshield? Doesn't tell me much in the manual.
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Seems like the clear coat on both of my headlights is starting to get milky. Whatever is going on, it is happening from the outside. I buffed on them with scratch remover and put a coat of wax on them, (looks a little better now) but there is something going on.
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