rominl

iTrader: (4)

well, we agree to disagree.

Johnny

I agree with Henry. Most of the latest Gen LS buyers don't bother too much with DIY maintenance or mods. There comes a point where writing extensive technical procedures on any car becomes a redundant exercise, and doesn't add much value for the manufacturer. Lexus knows pretty who its target clients are, and if they thought that extensive technical instructions, in addition to the provision of an endless array of custom connectors for these high end vehicles would satisfy a demand for them, then I'm sure they would have done so.

winny

I also had this problem after local garage changed A/C filter. I took it back to them and they managed to remove and reset door. Didn't cost anything and they stuck a large label on the black door cover 'PUSH RECIRC BUTTON BEFORE REMOVING DOOR'. Seems like Lexus could do this and save everyone grief!

mmartin252

Well I took my car to an independent mechanic and it happened to me. They did not put AC in recirculate mode. Dealer will only sell entire blow motor assembly at ($970). Found door assembly on Sewell parts and the store ordered it and I am waiting on it to be delivered for them to fix. A pain in the butt but they did not try to deny fact they broke it.

I went to them because they did my 60k service for 700 bucs. The dealer wanted 1500. Crazy.

mtrimarc

I bought a cabin filter for my 2008 LS460 on eBay and attempted to install it myself. I apparently broke the damper/door as well, since my A/C reverts to off when the car has been parked and turned off for an extended period of time. Then, when I start the car, I have to enable the A/C via the Auto button and it starts up at 75 degrees.

I've also opened up the filter compartment and observed that the damper door no longer moves as I push the recirculation and outside air buttons.

I can push the door up to where it snaps into place in the open position, but after the car is started and turned off, the damper closes itself about a minute after the car is turned off. It will then stay closed, regardless of what is done with the climate control buttons.

I'll try to fix this myself, based on guidance from this thread. Once I open it up and find out exactly what is broken and what I had to buy to fix it, I'll post the results. I'm always trying to fix things without spending much money, so we'll see how little I can get by spending. Could be a few weeks before I start on this. I might try to take pictures as I do it, as I haven't seen any from an LS460 owner, only a GS owner.

tbilisi79

I had to fix this on my 06gs430.

I was able to get in there and screw in a screw in the center where the arm snapped off. Gluing it would not work. Cost me a few hours of my time but it worked till the day I sold the car.

I now lock the glove,box every time I bring the car to a dealer. I don't want them checking the filter and then telling me the arm is broken.

Bad design? Yes.

baam

I am really sorry to hear how many owners have been affected by such an easily avoidable problem! While I don't think the design is bad, Lexus certainly should have put a warning label (like I just did) on the plastic access door. A favorite sales pitch at any oil change shop is replacing cabin air filters so a warning label would have been prudent for that reason alone.

Thank you all, I'm sure this thread has prevented me (hopefully) from making the same mistake in the future.

hms09

Guess I am one of the 50/50 lucky ones. I have changed my filter 3 times and didn't know this but nothing happened because it just happened to be in recirc. mode at the time I changed it. I'll sure check it next time! Thanks!

AL13NV8D3R

Thats equivalent to getting 21 three times in a row in black Jack. It only takes one card to bust.

yoshirocks

I pulled this as well last month. Be sure to check it before assuming its broken, I got very lucky and mine simply popped off the track. I used this guide in the sticky for removing the glove box(by Shibumi1) its very well written

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/ls4...tment-diy.html

You'll be able to see it clearly and fix it if it popped out. Next step is making a warning label so it doesnt happen again. I put some pictures and a video on my post, if you want to check it out here. Good luck.

mtrimarc

For me, it's not so much a 50/50 chance on recirc. vs. outside air. At startup, if it's particularly hot or cold, the system will be in recirc mode for a while. By the time we park the car, it's usually in outside air mode. I suspect this is the case in most climates. So, I think there's a much greater chance of having the damper closed and in outside air mode at the time of installation.

mtrimarc

I believe I saw where you posted this earlier, TBilisi. It gives me hope that I can fix it cheaply. I've learned over time, not to ever rely on gluing plastic parts. So, screws are the way to go!
Thanks!

mtrimarc

I love these forums, and really all enthusiast forums. I've saved countless hours and dollars from reading about how to fix things.

Probably the best was last year when I had a manual steering wheel tilt lock lever break off on our Volvo. I was getting ready to sell the car (to buy the LS460 that we now have). I found the OEM part for $15 online.

In the past, I would have gotten ahold of the shop manual and tried to fix it according to the "procedure". But I found one person out of dozens of posts concerning how to fix the problem, who had success without pulling out the steering column (even partially). It took some manipulation, but I got it done.

I'm determined to fix my Lexus damper servo. I'm hoping I don't even have to buy any parts. I'm sure there's slight differences between the different Lexus models, but hopefully the servo linkage is similar to TBilisi's GS and his fix will work. Until I have a chance to attempt it, I'll quit polluting the thread...

mtrimarc

Like yoshirocks, I got lucky and my servo linkage didn't break when I replaced the cabin filter and forced the damper open, it just got "un-linked". I've posted close-ups of the linkage here:

swfla

iTrader: (1)

The above "tragedy" motivated me to print a WARNING label with instructions and paste it in the glove box in clear view. All but "idiot" proof.