byroncat

My 2007 LS 460 has begun not starting the A/C when the engine is started.
Most times it will work by repeatedly pressing the Auto button and pressing the recycle button-but not always. After the engine is turned off I can hear what sound like a servo motor trying to close a door.
The dealer is not aware of the problem.
Does anyone have any thoughts on a cure?
Byroncat

lei_z_ass

The door closing might be when the system is in mix air mode. Air from the cabin and outside air. Sounds like you have a bad mode selection switch. Seems like the ac compressor is working if you are getting cold air. Was any work done around the dashboard? Maybe you have a loose connection. If not that than maybe just a bad switch since you habe to keep pushing it to turn on the ac.

sleekmr3

Are you getting a clicking sound? If so I had the same issue. Car is currently at the mechanics getting work done.

For me every time I started the car the "auto button" would be lit up and the climate controls will not respond. can't do anything. After about 30 seconds or so on the nav screen a message will pop up that says A/C off and everything will be back to normal. If I turn off the car and start it again immediately it would be fine, but if you let it sit for more than 5 minutes it will revert back again and i would have to wait the 30 seconds of reset time.

from what I have gathered so far my clicking was due to the servo blend door motor. It has been changed as of this morning and clicking is gone, but i'm still getting the initial 30 second delay on the A/C system.

sleekmr3

here is another link to someone else that has a similar issue.

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/ls4...l-problem.html

sleekmr3

also just found this link.

http://www.autoserviceprofessional.c...reinitializing

byroncat

I just did the fix suggested by Puppo420; It seemed to work. You may wish to read my reply.
Byroncat

Neek804

Was this a permanent fix for you? You did mean you fixed it by pushing the cabin air filter down all the way right ?

DavidinCT

If have the issue, odds are it's too late. Where you set your temp and auto... You shut off the car for a few hours, then when you turn on the car, the A/C does nothing for about a min or 2, then it goes "A/C OFF", when you turn the A/C on manually, it will reset to 75 degrees. Every day you turn it on, it does the same thing.

The whole problem is because someone forced the door open to change the air filter and it was not on RECULATE as it should of been.

I had this issue, I was able to fix it. It took a few hours and you have to take the glove box off (a good 2-3 hour project unless your really good with tools). Now the actual problem is a little clip popped off and with a screw driver, you can fix it in about 5 seconds, the problem is removing the whole glove box to do it.. Most cases the clip popped off but, some cases (tho rare), the clip broke and that would be very bad.

Now there is a full DIY to get the glove box off and if you do a little more research, you can see where the clip came off... others ran into this issue and fixed it

Edit: How to get the glove box off...
https://www.clublexus.com/forums/ls-...tment-diy.html

And this is what it looks like when it POPPED off...and how easy it is to fix..

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/ls-...ml#post9121656

And it looks scary but, there is enough detail to follow, it's pretty easy over all to do, just follow the directions, make small piles of screws so you know what goes where and TAKE YOUR TIME. Taking your time, it will take 2-3 hours to do. And will save you like $1000-1600 at the dealer.

Neek804

Ok thank you so much, Im definitely ready to try this myself.
I am getting error 41 when I run the climate control diagnostics(holding auto and recir button). I've read it's has something to do with the servo mix circuit. Maybe this is why my passenger side only blows cold now even when on "Hi"

Btw when I have my glove box open and the cabin filter uncovered, I can see the door that opens and closes when u press the recirc button still works. So maybe my door isn't broken but could be the air mix servo its self?!

Ok just got back from taking out glovebox, looking at servos and both arms are working fine. Nothing was broken or off track. But still not head on the passenger. I notice my driver side radiator fan isn't coming on and the passenger side seems to be running harder to compensate maybe it's a separate issue or has something to do with this you think??

DavidinCT

Sorry didn't see your reply the other day. If the door opens and closes when trying to change the air filter, this is something beyond me.

CourtneyH

I had the same issue with my GX 470 turning off the A/C and I had to repeatedly press the button again to hope it would work. I found out my Cabin filter was really dirty and needed replacing. This is most likely the car turning off the A/C to prevent over heating parts from what I'm told - Makes sense. For a new cabin filter of $25 my A/C is running like a champ again and no issues. I had it changed when my oil was being serviced. Lexus in Denver actually tried to tell me that I needed a new compressor of $3K instead of checking this at all.. I hope this helps!

Nguyenazn

Mine acting up weird too but in a different manner. Sometimes, when i start the car and the ac wouldn't want to start up. It pops up with a message that please check the connection to the air conditioner with no outside temperture display. I had to switch off the Beat Sonic DVD control bypass off and restart the car for several times and wait a bit for it to come back up with the AC.

Elycan323

yangins

This corrected my problems with the climate control not coming. On right away. My bracket popped out only. Was able to pop it back in with screw drivers. After following instructions to remove the glove box.
This saved me a lot of time and money.

DrQuality

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: My symptoms were exactly the same as described by puppo420. And his solution/approach resolved my problem. Thank you puppo420 !!

DETAILS: The problem was just as puppo420 described. At startup AUTO climate control light comes on and cannot be turned off, the RECIRC button is not lit at all, the climate system is otherwise not working, no fan, and cannot be operated in any way, no display of temperature selection on either driver or passenger side. Then, after about 1 minute, 15 seconds, the AUTO light cuts off, the NAV screen displays message that A/C is now off, all climate settings have been forgotten, the temperature selection defaults to 75° on both sides of cabin, and climate controls can now be manually operated/set. If the vehicle was only shut-off for a short period of time, the condition did NOT reoccur; if shut-off for a longer period of time, the condition DID reoccur.

When the problem first occurred it had been almost 10 months since the cabin air filter had last been changed/accessed, and the vehicle is a daily driver, so it was unlikely I had damaged the blend door system when I changed out the filter. Further, with the black access cover removed, I could observe the blend door opening and closing correctly when I operated the RECIRC button on and off. In fact, I can't see how someone could even TRY to change the air filter out with the RECIRC button off because, with the blend door closed, there would be absolutely no access to filter's frame/case or its retaining clips unless you were to SERIOUSLY pry open the blend door for access.

I found that the left-side white retaining clip (the clips face inward toward the cabin) on the white air filter frame/case was snugged/clipped-in properly, however the right-side WHITE RETAINING CLIP WAS NOT SNUGGED/CLIPPED-IN PROPERLY. It was a bit loose and so I could make the right-side of the frame/case wiggle up & down a wee bit with one finger. I pulled out the frame/case and the filter was installed in the correct up/down orientation. Though I could not detect any meaningful difference between one end of the filter and the other, I rotated it 180° anyway, ensured it was snugged and positioned well into it frame/case, and reinstalled the frame/case into its position. I ensured both white clips were properly snugged/clipped-in. After that, THE PROBLEM WAS ENTIRELY SOLVED. Just to warn any other mechanic (or such), I put a DYMO label on the black access door warning that RECIRC mode must be on before removal, else expensive repairs will be required.

CONCLUSION: I think the problem was being caused by the one white retaining clip not being fully clipped-down into place. I must have not fully-secured it during the last change and it had wiggled loose over time. There must be some kind of sensor in there that can detect when the air filter is not EXACTLY in place due to clogging or whatever. And if that sensor is 'tripped' then the AUTO button is turned ON and the climate settings are deleted - as a 'warning' that the required cabin air filter is 'missing' and/or needs replacing. And my frame/case was out-of-place just enough due to being unclipped - or was being pushed out-of-place just enough by the blend door when it closed because it was unclipped - to 'trip' the warning. (Too bad that warning isn't documented in the owner's manual.)

UPDATE: After about a week, a couple of dozen engine starts, I turned on the A/C and then THE PROBLEM STARTED RE-OCCURRING. I started the vehicle, turned off the A/C and made sure RECIRC mode was on. I then removed the white frame/case, made sure the air filter was well-seated within it, then inserted the frame case again. It took about six cycles of this before the problem stopped reoccurring. Two weeks passed and the PROBLEM STILL DID NOT REOCCUR.

When I was cycling the reseating of the white frame/case, I noticed another two possible root causes: (1) the right-side white retaining clip on the white frame/case had become very flimsy, as though the plastic was partially broken at its elbow, and (2) the aftermarket air filter I have been using had some left-to-right 'play' when installed in the white frame/case, maybe about a quarter of an inch.

So, even though the problem was NOT reoccurring, I purchased from a Lexus dealership a new white frame/case (88899-3A080, Denso, about $20) and a new OEM air filter (87139-50100, Toyota/Lexus, about $45). When I installed the new OEM white frame/case, the two white retaining clips made much louder, more audible, clicks when seating and the frame/case feels much more firmly seated. I also noticed the front of each clip had a small black vertical mark on it that, I would guess, is where the factory has assured the clips are providing the required tension. It has been a week since I swapped in the new OEM parts … and the problem has still NOT REOCCURED.

UPDATED CONCLUSION: So, again, it appears that the seating of the white frame/case and or the air filter itself CAN be the root cause of this problem. IT DOES NOT ABSOLUTELY HAVE TO BE caused by that hard-to-access servo motor/gizmo, though it apparently can be.

(Take note the OEM air filter part number I just stated above is the filter that actually shipped with the vehicle when new. There are also some less-expensive 'YZZ' Toyota/Lexus air filter part numbers now attached to the vehicle that are actually more cheaply constructed, with fewer pleats & no activated charcoal. I would guess these air filters are designed & priced so as to better compete with the less expensive aftermarket air filters and give dealerships an opportunity for a increase in profit margin.)

Happy motoring!