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A/C blows warm air on drivers side

Tiny
SARAH HEINRICH
  • MEMBER
  • 2010 TOYOTA HARRIER
  • 4 CYL
  • 2WD
  • AUTOMATIC
  • 118,000 MILES
Hello,
Vehicle listed above is a Venza (Harrier).I have taken my vehicle in for A/C service 3 times due to the A/C blowing warm on the drivers side but cold on the passenger side. During this service, they proceed to check the system and call to tell me that they don't find any major issues today. They refill the Freon and add dye. Make another appointment for a month later to check for leaks. When I return, no leaks are found. After this last service, they said the next step is to replace the evaporator by taking our the dash to the tune of $2,500.00. At this point I've put in almost half that cost in Freon refills. Before this last service I told them I had it serviced twice before for the same issues with the latest being just 6 months prior.

Currently it's back to warm on driver's side and it hasn't even been a full 2 months since it was refilled.
I'm wondering is it safe to say they checked they actuator? Also, is there anything else it could be before I spend the $2,500.00 for the evaporator replacement.

Thanks.
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Friday, July 24th, 2020 AT 8:47 AM

7 Replies

Tiny
KASEKENNY
  • MECHANIC
  • 18,907 POSTS
Just to clarify, do you have dual temperature zone? Meaning you can adjust the driver side to a different temperature then the passenger side? If so, then yes I would hope they checked the actuator as that is the first thing that popped into my head.

However, if you don't have dual temperature zones, it can still be the actuator or the door itself. But if this is the case, many people would not think of it because they think it only has one zone so it is not that.

Many times on these types of vehicles that have an option for dual temperature zones but only have a single, still have the dual temperature doors but they are connected by a rod and run off of one actuator.

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/replace-blend-door-motor

Let us know if you have a single or dual zone and we can go from there because I attached the location for the Venza driver side blend door actuator. Thanks
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Friday, July 24th, 2020 AT 12:35 PM
Tiny
SARAH HEINRICH
  • MEMBER
  • 3 POSTS
Hello,

Yes, it is dual zone climate control. I did read the article on replacing the actuator a d think I could do it myself. Is there any way to tell if that's my issue before I replace it?
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Friday, July 24th, 2020 AT 4:36 PM
Tiny
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  • MECHANIC
  • 18,907 POSTS
Unfortunately the way to test it is to access it and remove it from the box then plug it back in and operate the air temperature control and see if it moves. If it moves, bolt it back on and operate the temperature and see if it was out of alignment.

If it were me, and you are going to the trouble of accessing it, I would just replace it because they are not that expensive and very commonly the issue. Worst case scenario it was not the issue and now you have a spare that will most likely fit in any location as they are normally the same for each door.

Unfortunately our manuals do not give step by step instructions for this actuator but they are pretty obvious once you see them. I attached the location above so there are probably 3 screws and it comes out.

The way I would install it though is to plug it in before installing it and turn the air on to max hot or cold and then manually move the door to that position so you can feel that air coming out. Then install the actuator. This way you have them matched in position. There is an actuator calibration but if you do it this way, that is not needed.
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Friday, July 24th, 2020 AT 6:08 PM
Tiny
SARAH HEINRICH
  • MEMBER
  • 3 POSTS
Thank you for your help. I truly appreciate the advice. I just don't want to dump $2,500.00 into it if it's actually a simple fix. I'll give it a try!
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Friday, July 24th, 2020 AT 8:20 PM
Tiny
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  • MECHANIC
  • 18,907 POSTS
Totally understand. From my experience this is the common cause of this issue and hopefully this situation will prove that out as well. Let us know what you find. Thanks
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Saturday, July 25th, 2020 AT 5:22 PM
Tiny
WINYUV
  • MEMBER
  • 1 POST
Hello Sara,

Did you replace the actuator? Did it fix the problem? I have the exact same issue. Just replaced the servo which I told the mechanic that the chance for the servo to be bad (and we were able to reset) is very slim. However, he insisted that it was the root cause so I replaced it following his expert advice. As expected, it did not fix the problem! Still have an issue as of today.
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Sunday, November 8th, 2020 AT 6:02 PM
Tiny
KASEKENNY
  • MECHANIC
  • 18,907 POSTS
This post was from just a few months ago so they may respond. We can wait for them to respond or if you want us to try to figure something out for you we can get anew post started with your vehicle specifics and as many details as possible of what you are experiencing. Clearly you have heat on one side and cold on the other but let's get the vehicle details on a new post and we can figure out what to do next. Thanks

https://www.2carpros.com/questions/new
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Sunday, November 8th, 2020 AT 6:39 PM

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