Rasta6629

Hi,
Today I received information from the Lexus dealership that my climate control system did not work because "vehicle needs a blower motor housing, found recirc arm broken, from improper inspection of cabin filter".
This filter apparently sits in the glove compartment.
Does anyone know what this means? Why the heck would Lexus build a car that disables the Auto settings because of an issue with the vent. Interestingly, once I turn the Air conditioner back on and set it, it works as expected. It just does not retain those settings once the car is turned off.
Why the heck would they make it turn off? Why does it "forget" the settings? Why does a mechanical arm cause a computer system to "forget" the settings?
Bottom line, the Lexus dealer said it would cost $1500.00 to fix the issue. (New motor because thats what the housing requires, plus 6 hours of Lexus price labor)
Anyone know if there is some way to override the computer and have it ignore this "issue"?

rominl

iTrader: (4)

welcome to clublexus.

let me take a guess. did you or something change the cabin ac air filter that's right behind the glove box? in the instruction it states that the system has to be put into CIR (circulation) mode before changing the filter. this has to be done so the trap door for the ac filter will be open for you to slide in and out the filter.

if the mode is not enabled (meaning you are doing fresh air), the door is closed automatically, and if you tap on the door to open it up (doesn't take much force), it will open but the side arm will be broken right the way.

that will cause the system to not able to keep the CIR mode, probably something you experiencing now. unfortunately to repair / replace that arm, a lot of components need to come out and i believe majority of the cost is on labor not parts.

a lot of gs, is, and ls owners have encountered this problems, quite a few threads around. unfortunately in some way that's because of changing air filter using incorrect method. if dealership serviced the car and changed the filter, maybe you have a case?

btw, in the gs forum i have seen ONE person repairing it by taking things apart and then glue / repair the arm. doesn't necessarily have to replace the motor, but if you go through dealership, that's probably what you get

tkbalt

Just saw that in the manual - interesting. Just bought a filter, glad this came up on the forum.

Rasta6629

Romini, I actually have my car serviced at Toyota because I don't like paying $150 for an oil change. However, I believe this is the same cabin filter as on the 2008 Land Cruiser. Good news is, I have a checked box on the inspection from my invoice showing that they inspected the cabin filter. So probably DO have a case.
Still blown away that some little plastic arm can cause the entire Climate system to not work. Sounds like Toyota better go back to the drawing board on this if there is so many postings about the same issue. I love the truck, but man what a pain.

rominl

iTrader: (4)

yes definitely make sure you follow that, a lot of people miss that step and it becomes a very expensive ac filter change...

i have worked on both the lx570 and land cruiser before (taken apart the dash), they are definitely similar, probably even share the same ac filter, but i do believe on the land cruiser, you don't have this limitation. meaning you can probably just tap open the cover like that to change the filter just fine. but on the lexus it's a big no-no.

but i think i should clarify though. it's not the system doesn't work, it's actually working very well, but it senses that with the CIR mode, it can't seem to control the open/close of the ac filter door (can't close it, basically), so the sensor kicks in and throw a code.

Rasta6629

Good to know. I will be contacting the Toyota dealer today and discussing with them the difference between the Land Cruiser and Lexus. Sad that Toyota has made a little change that costs $1500 to fix.
One further question for you, does it really take six hours to do this job (as Lexus described)? Also, will it require the entire blower motor to be removed? No way to just replace the housing?
Appreciate your responses!!

rominl

iTrader: (4)

i haven't tried to remove all the "necessary" parts in order to fix / replace the problematic part, but reading the post in the 3rd gen GS forum, the member took 2-3 hours to remove the part that he glued to fix the problem. i personally think 6 hours sound on the high side, but again, i don't know the details to say for sure

for the part, i think it goes back to toyota / lexus corp and what's the unit break down. it could be a very small thing but if there is no part number for it, then you can only go for the whole unit. just like headlights, some people broke / lost the washer cover, and i think it has to be the whole assembly