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Comments
Yes, that could be done, and
Yes, it could be more serious than a simple recharge
That AC freon system is a closed system, so if it is low on freon then it leaked out somewhere....and will leak out again if you fill it up with a recharge.
The question always is, how long will it take to leak out if I just refill it, and nobody can tell you that without looking at the vehicle and doing a freon leak test on it. But if you go to that trouble to identify the failing component, then you should go ahead and fix it.
I have noticed that in the 2009, when it is a hot day, and I turn the center dial to MAX A/C that the left dial indicator light turns on and is set for RECIRCULATION. I know that this is a normal function but I noticed that it takes up to 2 minutes with Hot Air blowing before Cold Air is actually blowing out of the vents. After that, the A/C works fine.
In my 2005, with the same type of settings, Cold Air was blowing in less than a minute.
Has anyone experienced the same thing, and does anyone know why? I spoke to three different dealers including the one I leased from, and received three different answers: it's normal, it's not normal and needs service, it is the computer sensors controlling the A/C temperature. Fyi, I have the Manual A/C version.
I am taking the car back to the originating dealer to check out the A/C but I want more info and did not like the three different answers that I received.
Any info would be appreciated. Thanks.
To me, it seems other factors would be more important, such as the outside air temperature and if the car is parked in direct sun or in the shade. Plus it's possible some A/C design changes were made when the car itself was redesigned for the 2007 model year.
Most manual systems will turn on the blower instantly and until a few minutes have elapsed for the refrigerant to be compressed, cooled to a liquid, and then converted back into a gas in the process of cooling the evaporator, you will always get relative warm system airflow.
In any case it might be a good idea to have the dealer modify the default factory settings such that the system does not go into recirculate mode automatically when you first start the A/C cooling system on a HOT sunshiny day or when you use max cooling mode.
At time when you enter the car on a hot day and the interior atmosphere is HOTTER then the outside it is a good idea to have the system in FRESH airflow mode, turn the system to max cooling and the blower full up. After a few moments when the HOTTER atmosphere has mostly been exhausted from the cabin then switch to recirculate for substantially improved cooling capacity/efficiency.
I then went to a dealership sales manager who was involved in my sale, and he stated that he noticed something like that in his 2010 demo but that is as far as he could tell me, either.
You would think that he or the service people would know a definitive answer but the best I have received so far is your suggestion that maybe there was an A/C design change.
I guess I will have to investigate further. If anyone else knows the definitive answer, I would definitely appreciate it.
Thanks again 210delray for pointing me in a direction.
As I mentioned, I just came back from the dealer, and they responded there was nothing wrong but obviously did not or could not respond in the detailed manner that you undertook.
That being said, the manual suggests for MAX A/C turn the center dial to MAX A/C and then the left dial to HI. Recirc mode will automatically activate in this mode.
If I understand you, your suggestion in my case would be to try and move the center dial up one knotch from MAX, and put the fan at MAX while leaving the windows open for awhile to expel the hot air.
Again thanks to all of you so far for the suggestions and help. I do appreciate it,
I haven't noticed the delay you refer to, nor have I taken it to the dealer. (I don't think they could diagnose a flat tire, much less an AC problem). I checked the cabin air filter, was OK. It seems strange that there would be that much difference between these model years.
To get maximum, QUICK, cabin cooldown if you have the automatic system the best procedure is to turn the system to the lowest temperatrue setting, the blower should automatically go to MAX speed, over-ride or leave the airflow mode in FRESH for long enough to EXHAUST the HOT cabin atmosphere and then switch the system to recirculate to increase the AC efficiency.
Once the cabin atmosphere and surfaces are cooled down then lower the blower speed to a more comfortable sound level.
If you want to REALLY improve AC efficiency then go to Home Depot and buy/install a water flow shutoff valve to insert in the hose to the heater core. The A/C can then be left to its own "devices" since the reheat/remix mode is now non-functional.
FE will also improve a bit if you use these procedures.
There are no controls for separate right and left passenger temperature and there are no separate air temperature and fan speed control knobs. You set the desired cabin temperature with a climate control thermostat (like a home thermostat). The climate control seems to be working okay with regard to the air blowing out of the left-center and right side vents.
Any ideas on what the problem may be and how to fix it, short of taking the car to the dealer? Thanks.
There are quite a bit of pieces to this control. There is a computer that manages this, which is also connected to the main engine computer. There are sensors like: thermister, room temp sensor, solar sensor, and outside ambient temp sensor. There are also a number of servo motors (think of an automated electrical door), controlled by the computer, to adjust air inlet, air mix, air vent,etc.
I might originally suspect the air vent servo (air vent opened when it shouldn't have), but with only one failing condition at this point....I'd suggest monitoring it closely to see if you can identify different symptoms.
Good luck.
Oh, you might try covering the solar radiation sensors with some object to see if that's what's modifying the right/left cooling. The fact that you cannot select separate right/left cooling effects does not mean the system cannot do it automatically.
When I turn the thermostat up (higher temp.), all vents open and close correctly and the warmed air temp. from all vents is 130 degrees--which is right on the mark. So it looks more like an AC problem. One of the first things I plan on checking is the refrigerant level.
My friend said that he has seen the same left vent hot air--right vent cool air problem on 2 BMW's, 1 Toyota, and 1 Bronco this year-and all were low on refrigerant. Intuitively, one would think it's a vent damper problem if 2 of 6 vents are blowing ice cold air and the other 4 vents are blowing warm air. Interesting, isn't it?
It is leaking on the floor underneath the passenger side glove compartment. At first it was a drop or two. Now more.
Any thoughts/help?'
Thanks.
Also check that the area under the windshield is free of debris and drains properly.
Taking it into the dealer this morning and will post what the outcome is.
Foul dirty gym socks odor due to mould/mildew formation within the A/C plenum would justify the dealer's statement.
If the “A/C” button indicator flashes, there
is a problem in the air conditioning system
and the air conditioning automatically
shuts off. If this happens, take your vehicle
to a Toyota dealer for service.
You may want to try a more experienced garage...........
Compressor clutch relay failed, failing, belt or compressor clutch slipping...
Drove through puddles/rain...??
Could this be as simple as needing a fan blower resistor? Or does the motor also need to be replaced? Or any other ideas?
There's a 4 prong connector, pull that apart and measure the resistance between pins on the resistor.
This will be a little hard to explain, but the plug is oblong. Holding it so that the length is horizontal, on one side you'll have pins 1 and 3, and on the other side you'll have pins 2 and 4.
measuring the resistance from 1 to 3, it should be 1.74 ohms.
measuring the resistance from 2 to 4, it should be .38 ohms
and if you are able to figure out which pins are 2 and 3 (cadicorner diagonal pins), it should be 1.12 ohms.
If you don't get those resistances, replace the blower resistor.
2003 XLE V6 with 94K. Over a couple of years the auto A/C had not been switching correctly between air and heat during the transition period to spring in March (we live in SC). It just would not heat when the outside temp. was in the 60's (yes the wife requires it). The first time we asked at the dealers they said something like it was designed like that (as if the car decided when we needed heat). Anyway this spring, it just would not heat, even when set on max heat, this time we were told it was due to a 'thermo regulator valve' or the mechanism that operated the valve that let the heat in. The advisor said it would cost $290 and also 'aren't you glad it's not the whole unit which costs $820.
When I took it in today I'm told it is the $820 part, he descibed it as the heater head. I have a feeling it encompasses the cheaper part that was first recommended. The advisor today tells me they were 'either wrong in the spring, or wrong now (can't believe he'd say that). Advice anyone, thanks..
(The unit was set permanently on A/C this spring and cools fine.)
For the symptom Temp Contol - no warm air.....
The sequence of items to check/repair/replace are:
- Engine coolant volume (ie...is there hot water that is flowing thru the system)
- Air mix damper servo assembly (this is a doorman who moves a damper door. Like there is a refrigerator on one side, oven on the other. It moves the damper from one side to the other to choose how much hot or cold gets mixed together)
- Cooler Thermistor #1 (monitors the temperature, sends info back to control assembly)
- A/C control assembly (the brains, and the damper)
- Heater radiation sub-assembly (a little radiator, which takes the hot water and heats the air)
- wiring harness
This has been giving intermittent trouble long before, but it was never written up or correctly diagnosed then.
Repair shops don't have the time, and you wouldn't want to pay their hourly rate either for them to do that. So they end up swapping out major FRU's (as we call them in the computer business - field replaceable units). You have a problem with your printer, you just swap the whole thing out, no matter how small the problem might have been.
So they get your heating/ac diagnostics down to 4,5,6 major pieces that the techs can replace, and unfortunately those parts are larger conglomerates of many parts, so they can cost quite a bit. It also means less parts to handle, store, and inventory in the parts distribution channels.
Dealerships/Repair shops have a tough job. Customers are sitting there waiting for the cars, mad that they are inconvenienced and have to even be there in the first place, and mad that they are going to pay what they feel are outrageous prices for labor and parts.
So yes the parts are costly, but if they didn't fix it this way you'd have hours of labor instead that you'd have to pay for.
I was told it only have one heat exchange so if driver side have cold air then pump and others are working. My garage take it apart and cannot find what is wrong. Any suggestions?
Last year, it would blow hot intermittently; now, it only blows cold for a minute or two after I start the cold engine, and blows hot the rest of the day while I keep driving around. It appears that if I let the engine cool down enough, then it will blow cold for a minute, then hot. It's only been hot outside the last couple of days, though.
I have fixed a lot of things on cars, but know nothing at all about A/C...
any ideas for me?
thanks
i need all the information i can get i leave in a remote area where the service personnel dont really know a lot about the 07 camry if i can get any advice i could supervise in fixing the problem
First, DO NOT allow the A/C compressor to run unless actual cooling, initial cool down, is REQUIRED. A/C dehumidification of the cabin airflow results in the evaporator, think SPONGE, being left saturated with moisture once the A/C is switched off.
Dark, moist, dank A/C plenum, perfect breeding area for the microbes whose "leavings" produce that rather horrid mould and mildew odor.
In the mean time it helps, really helps, if you can leave the windows lowered, even slightly during times the car is parked under shelter. That allows the accumulated moisture to evaporate and be flushed out of the cabin.
Many upscale vehicles now have a UV light mounted within the A/C plenum to combat the microbe breeding. Toyota has experimented over the years, since '91, with several anti-microbe, fungicide, coating on the ~10,000 sq. inches of evaporator surface area. These have either been found to be detrimental to human health or wash away too quickly.
Local shop says compressor, probaby the bearings, is going bad and quotes me roughly $900 to replace compressor and drier, and maybe an expansion valve.
Questions: does this diagnosis sound correct and does the rough estimate seem appropriate? Since we are going into fall and I've dropped about $2,350 into this car in the past year I thought I'd wait to spring. (previous work was oil pump seals, water pump, timing belt, starter, battery and new tires)
Thanks.
EliotB
Annandale, VA
Thank you.
For the former your evaporator is likely freezing over/up.