TMac2

sounds like the oil changer spot broke your ac regulator motor when they took out the cabin air filter i would go back to them and make them pay for that!

Road Rage

This is common. Part of the dealer's inspection checklist is to check the cabin filter (even if you didn't ask for it to be done) next time lock your glovebox and they'll skip right over it.

Now, the good news, Lexus makes a replacement door kit for the fan box now for less than $100 whereas the old option was a full replacement of the entire fan box which was a $900 part. Still takes a couple hours to replace because you have to remove the fan box to do it. So add that to whatever your dealer charges for labor and the hit to the wallet is MUCH less than it once was.

I don't have the part number on me right now. I've done about 6 of them.

If the problem is the actuator motor the cost for that hasn't changed. Basically a phillips screwdriver, pliers and a 10mm socket and a WHOLE LOT OF PATIENCE will do the job.

yanefski

Wow, thanks teckie, TMac2 and Road Rage for your replies. I appreciate the advice. I didn't have my IS350 at a Lexus dealer for the oil change. Took it to a local shop. Painful lesson. I am hopeful they can see the correlation and take care of the repair. I'm guessing it will be obvious once someone is in there to see whether the unit has been broken vs. just worn out? If so, I think I will have a better plan B if they won't take responsibility; namely taking it to Lexus and asking them to save the part as evidence of improper service. Plan C at $100 beats the $900 option too! Thanks Road Rage for that info - and a part number if you have it handy

Again - thanks all for the timely and useful information. Much appreciated!

John

Valley101

I do not know about your model, but on most lexus' you must have the fan in the recirculation mode when you change or inspect the filter. This prevents the damage. If the tech did this while inspecting or replacing then I would be getting in touch with the service manager. They may say they did not do it, but I would press them pretty hard about it and state you will be talking to the general manager next and if no satisfaction take it to Toyota Corporate level. They want to keep you as a customer and may very well take care of it under customer goodwill. Sure does not cost any thing to try.

Road Rage

off the top of my head the part # is 87020-30020 called the recirculation door repair kit. About $45 as I recall. Confirm with your local parts dept. as it's not available for all model years.

yanefski

Thanks everyone. Good news here in that the service shop took responsibility for the breakage and repaired it free of charge. Being armed with the knowledge you provided in both identifying the source of the noise and likely cause of the breakage helped to seal the deal for me, so a big thank you to everyone!

And in reply to Shytown (sp?) user - I think the answer is Yes as this part is also referred to as a "blend door", meaning it is blending the intake of inside and outside air. It makes sense that a broken one would not be able to blend and would either always push air from the outside (or inside) without regard to the temperature setting you are requesting. But the pros on this thread are best for an official reply

Thank you again everyone!

John

shytown350

Thanks, John. Glad to hear you got it fix

KRN

I ran into the same problem. I took my car in for the 30k service at a local shop. The tech changed my air filter without placing the switch in the correct position. About 2 days later I noticed the jack hammer sound coming from my glove compartment. I went back to the shop and was told sometimes a leaf gets into the air system and causes that sound until it dissipates. Needless to say the sound never went away. I finally decided to do research where I figured out they messed up my car.

Hopefully the guide for the recirculator just came off track and they can easily fix it. My car is a 2008 IS 350.

Robertcave

I too had this same problem here in the UK and after and after seeing the reply from Road Rage by googling the problem i went armed with this info to my DealerShip in Sheffield UK about 2 month ago its now working perfectly and they said it was the first one they had done with the repair kit
Here is the post on The UK Forum

Thanks Road Rage you are a Gent

Hi All
Ref my air con Recirc mode i took my Lexus to Sheffield to have the Fresh/Air recirc checked they found that the shaft on the door that the lever connects to was broken common problem said he will cost upwards of a grand to repair.
I had been on the American LexusOwners site where these cars are more plentiful and there was loads of posts to repair it with a bolt through door and lever and held on with glue but i didnt want to go Bodge route as i did suspect that was what was up with mine.
But i found one post the that said a repair kit was available to repair it as a lot have had to be changed under warranty even dealerships was breaking this flap by not following instructions in the manual, vis air con must be in recirc mode before you open the flap in the glove compartment to change pollen filter ITS A MUST if you dont its a £1000 repair as they have to replace the whole blower.
I did a lot of research on this anyway i said to the parts man at Sheffield " you can get a repair kit" "no you cant said he you have to order complete blower" i said "i beg to differ my friend you can " anyway i came out Man said " you dont really need recirc mode in uk tho " i said thats not the point i wanted it to work but im not paying a grand.
At that the parts man came running out said "you are right there is a kit its not been out long its 25 pound shall i order you one"

Yes said I they fitted it for me yesterday in SITU in an hour, charged me 1 hour labour less than 100 pound for whole job well pleased
and the service manager Gary is a very pleasant man cant do enough to help you a pleasure to deal with a credit to his Bosses
they did have to take pass glove box etc out i did ask if they did it with out taking blower out he wasnt sure but he said "probably not as the kit is a repair kit"
Kit consisted of
1 door
1 Lever
1 Long bar type part
and a couple of foot of foam tape
thats it
But well pleased now as i do need it as wife as a bit of Asthma so the auto recirc is a boon to me

Robert

burny

What was the part number for that kit? The one listed a few post up is not correct

Robertcave

The Part No here in Uk is L87020 30010 i would think its only the L prefix thats different price of part is £22.18 i suppose $35 in your money and it was fitted in less than an hour

bryold

I am having the same sound issue with my GS300 (2006). Is this fairly common?

The sound happens with the climat controll turned off or on. Initially, the sound started with climate control off.

I describe the sound like a home air compressor that you may use in the garage.

bryold

I read all the post and determined that my recirculation door was not working properly. After reading the post, I used the "hit recirculation button" trick and that did work. I decided to look at the door and see if I could see the broken part.

When I looked at the cabin air / filter area, I noticed the door was trying to go down but was getting stopped. I removed the air filter, and the door shut properly. I reseated the cabin air filter and lo and behold, the door shut just fine.

Seems like the dealer forgot to reseat the cabin air filter fully when they checked it out.

Worth at least checking before you tear your dash apart or go spend $1500.

07GS350awd

Hey Buddy, I have a GS350 and its making that noise and I was told that the recirc door was broken and needed to be replaced. Do you have instructions on how to check this?

yanefski

I don't have instructions on how to check it except that if the recirc door is broken, then changing your circulation options from inside recirc to "outside" should have no effect. I guess this would be easiest to test if there is a significant difference in outside air temp. I think they make a repair part now that is a little less expensive. The shop that did the damage took responsibility and did the repair too, so I'm not sure what normal costs would be. Hope that helps.