bobinyelm

Our '03 RX-300 only has 46k on it, but when we bought it w/ 30K a few years back we had a dealer buyer's check, and they mentioned the climate control servo was a "bit noisy." We would hear an occasional rhythmic clicking noise from behind the glove box. No big deal.

Now, suddenly, we are hearing a LOUD buzzing type sound, but only when the Mode is selected to the dash outlets only. The air comes out of the dash, but the buzzing doesn't stop.

I did a "Search" and found a good thread on servo R+R with cleaning, but it mentioned clicking, but not a louder buzzing as we hear.

Other times it will buzz for a few seconds, then be silent, and the air is properly coming out of the dash vents as commanded.

We can select Floor and Dash (arrows) and it's quiet and works fine-never buzzes.

We are living in an urban town house while our new home is being built, so I cannot work on the car at all (I don't have access to any but the most basic tools, and our 3rd Reich HOA would send me to the Gulag if they saw me with the passenger door too long, and me with a hand in the dash anyway).

1) Is this how the servos fail? (Or is it something mechanical stuck in the blend doors I wonder*)
2) How much $$ should we expect the local Lexus dealer to whack us for repairs, or are independent shops OK for such tasks?

I don't know if the problem is common enough indy shops would have enough exposure to do a good job.

Personally, I am OK with using the Mode where no noises are made (until we get into our new place in March), but my wife is a person where everything must be perfect, or she won't even drive the car.

Back 15 years ago we had servo problems (and a bad O-Ring" in the heater core piping) with the HVAC of a BMW 7 Series we had and the dealer wanted $2500 to even get into the job (entire dash removal, etc), so call me gun shy.

Any suggestions most welcome!

Bob

*The car has always been garaged and never was out where anything could likely have been ingested into the air intake to get caught in anything.

salimshah

Yes. The motor tries and cant overcome the spring tension and it quits after a minute or so. Part alone is roughly $130 and labor of 1- 1.5hr, 2hrs tops. You can look at the DIY. Call the dealer and they will let you know how much they would charge.

With winters coming, you may need the defroster, so you would need the mode to divert the air stream to the windshield.

It certainly does not require Lexus tech.

Salim

bobinyelm

Thanks-

I did some poking around YouTube and found some good videos that show access and repairing the servo so it doesn't make noise. The worm drive gear just needs to be re-positioned on the motor shaft by about 0.060" and it quiets right down when the play is gone.

I will use it only in a mode that is quiet until I can get to where I can do the job myself. Paying shop time for what appears to be such a simple job, and buying a new servo when I might be able to repair the old one seems foolish.

I eventually found one post where the fellow says he was quoted $800 for the servo replacement by his Lexus dealer, BTW, though I am sure prices vary..

This is EXACTLY my current noise:

And this makes it obvious how to fix the problem:

God, I love YouTube!

Thanks for your reply.

Bob

jwigley

Yeah, do the work yourself. I am doing both servos. I did the air mode servo a couple weeks ago, took 5 minutes.

The air mix servo has started clicking too and I just received the replacement part the other day. This is the harder one of the two but after watching the videos online, it seems like it shouldn't be that big of a deal.

I asked my local Lexus dealership how much they would charge and the guy told me that each servo costs $500.

lol

I didn't even ask how much with labor.

bobinyelm

Thanks-

Yes after watching the videos I posted, it looks like a "piece of cake. I suspect. The mode servo appears to be the upper one, so looks the easier to change (that's the one that is now buzzing. but which started as clicks a few years ago).

Compared to the 7 Series BMW I mentioned years ago (which had about 7 servos all over the HVAC box requiring the dash to be disassembled) the Lexus is actually well designed for servicing.