TimEricson

I have a 2002 es300. The a/c blows cold on the passenger side but not the drivers side. The driver side seems to be blowing outside air temp. If anyone has any suggestions on the problems i would appreciate it.

mmatheny

Does it have dual zone climate control?

TimEricson

Yes, it does have dual zone climate control.

mmatheny

Sounds like the control for one side is out. I am not familiar how it regulates the temperature on each side, but my best guess is it mixes warm air with cold air - either the mixing valve is stuck or non-functional, or the circuit that controls it is malfunctioning. I would take a physical look at the mixing valve first.

Go to toyodiydotcom to find a parts reference and maybe some info - I couldn't see that it has dual climate control though from the diagrams.

ES3_Ray

I had this issue in my 98 ES, the solution was to add more freon. because it was low, i brought i up to spec, and it blew 38 degree air from the vents.

time to check it and charge it up again for the summer!

mmatheny

But it only blows warm from one side - low freon would cause that on both sides.

03 ES

sounds like the control for the drivers side is out...
if it wasnt working at all id suggest adding more R134a refrigerant and checking the system for leaks or replacing the magnetic clutch relay, but im not sure how only one side could stop working

wlfng2005

I am having the very same problem + symptoms on my 1997 ES300. Again, the two AC outlet on the driver side just blows air at me (I think it is outside's temp air) and the other side is a lot colder. Also, if I turn on the AC after I take the car out of the garage then it would blow icy air. However, if I start the air conditioner in the middle of the hot day, in the middle of nowhere, then the AC just blows outside temp air at me, not the icy cold kind of air I wish. This is a serious problem and any help/solution/suggestion that lead to the answer is GREATLY APPRECIATED. Thank you.

BrentGX470

Same problem I am having on my '04 GX470. driver's side is luke warm, while the passenger side is cold. I'm guessing it's the heater core door for one side is not closing all the way allowing warm air to mix with it...
I'm debating taking it to the dealer. If they've seen it enough, it could be a quick (cheap) fix.

BrentGX470

OK, got it solved.
I took the dash apart to make sure my remote start install didn't unplug anything. Also verified the heater core air control doors were working properly. Under the hood I checked the condenser fan (which wasn't working) and found no voltage going to it. Inspected all the fuses & relays. Everything checked out.

Took it to the dealer where they found a bad o-ring allowing a refrigerant leak. Replaced the $3 o-ring & charged the system. All three zones work perfectly now. $161 (including free detail) and I'm good to go now.

ES3_Ray was right. Even if one side is cold, this could still be your problem.

wlfng2005

But...was your problem about one side is AC cold and one side is fan air? If it is your problem, would you mind telling me how to fix it a little bit more in detail? I do not know that much about car, so the more detail you give the more I would appreciate. Summer is so hot now so I cannot afford to not have my AC working. PLEASE help.

ES3_Ray

im guessing that there wasnt enough freon to cool the entire grid where the air blows over and it was only cooling the part where a majority of the air went to the passenger side. cause that really seems to be the only explination. just bring it to a shop to see if they can fix it after you try checking out the freon level yourself with one of those handy little charge kits at walmart or something.

wlfng2005

Ray, is there any chance that the controller is malfunctioning? Which cause the lost of control over both side?

ES3_Ray

well you can check that, see if you can make it even hotter. if you can make it hotter than most likely the controller is still working. i have a feeling it is a very rare chance for the controller to be able to make it hotter and not cooler.

however if it is able to adjust the temperature from what it is to hotter, im going to go ahead and say it is functional and the freon is low. ALSO, lol if you have never filled your freon since the car was new in 04, remember, thats a 6 year old car. a bit of freon has probably leaked out.

oh yeah,
souce: This happened to me before lol meaning; the car would blow cold air the entire time until i eventually hit traffic. this brought the rpm below 1500-2000 rpm which is PRIME RPM-adge for the a/c to function well, then after that the a/c would only blow cool out of the passenger side. which also sucked because id have to turn the a/c down because a female would be sitting there and get cold very easily whereas i would be getting heated from the car. another thing, the defrost. it would only defrost the passenger side well in traffic, which is less than ideal because the passengerside doesnt need to see past the steamy window...I do!

wlfng2005

Ray, I did refill the Refrigerant (I used R134a) but the same thing still happens....Also, I am still having the EXACT same problem you experienced above. What did you do to fix your problem? Thank you in advance