Another Air Conditioning Question(S)

[ToyotaTrk]

1) How do you tell if the compressor is off? When I hit the off button, the one w/ the fan on it, I still feel cool air coming from the vent. Air volume seems to increase and decrease slightly with the speed of the car.

2) Does the Recirc and Fresh Air light always stay on - even when the system is off?

 

[Taco2Cruiser]

On the screen, under climate, toggle the “A/C” digital button to off. That keeps the compressor off, but still let’s you control fan speed and unconditioned temperature.

The mechanical “off” button turns off the fan, but if you are driving (or even parked into a head wind), air can still easily come through the vents, especially with recirculate off.

For question 2. Unrelated to if the fan is on/off, and if the compressor can engage or not. The direction of air flow from sucking in from the cabin or from the outside air is it’s own option.

Maybe you want to turn off you fan and close your recirculate for a water crossing. Or you’re in a sand storm. Stuff like that.

I’ve been around a lot of Toyota’s for years, the 200 has the same setup as long back as Toyota has had A/C in their trucks. It’s just the screen makes it seem to break up the options a bit more, and can be a bit confusing to some.

But hey, that why we have this forum.

 

[ToyotaTrk]

Great. Tks much. I’m just use to turning off the ac before shutting down the car. Guessing now there’s no reason to -not sure that there was before though. Habit I guess. Appreciate the help.

 

[ToyotaTrk]

On the screen, under climate, toggle the “A/C” digital button to off. That keeps the compressor off, but still let’s you control fan speed and unconditioned temperature.

The mechanical “off” button turns off the fan, but if you are driving (or even parked into a head wind), air can still easily come through the vents, especially with recirculate off.

For question 2. Unrelated to if the fan is on/off, and if the compressor can engage or not. The direction of air flow from sucking in from the cabin or from the outside air is it’s own option.

Maybe you want to turn off you fan and close your recirculate for a water crossing. Or you’re in a sand storm. Stuff like that.

I’ve been around a lot of Toyota’s for years, the 200 has the same setup as long back as Toyota has had A/C in their trucks. It’s just the screen makes it seem to break up the options a bit more, and can be a bit confusing to some.

But hey, that why we have this forum.

Just curious - do you leave it on all the time?

 

[chilibit]

I never touch my cabin climate control. The programming done by Toyota is very logical and it monitors its sensors and adjusts quite nicely.

 

[ToyotaTrk]

I never touch my cabin climate control. The programming done by Toyota is very logical and it monitors its sensors and adjusts quite nicely.

tks. just curious as to what others do as im new to Toyota. guessing they want you to leave it on all the time as you have to actually go into the screen to turn off the compressor.

 

[chilibit]

Many marques prefer you to run it year round. If it is not cooling it may be dehumidifying. Some allow you to direct cooled air to you face while sending warm to your feet. Keeps you awake sometimes. I personally think the system will last longer if you let it run. No substantiation for that claim though.

 

[ToyotaTrk]

Many marques prefer you to run it year round. If it is not cooling it may be dehumidifying. Some allow you to direct cooled air to you face while sending warm to your feet. Keeps you awake sometimes. I personally think the system will last longer if you let it run. No substantiation for that claim though.

I guess bc you don't have to choose between heat or cool, just adjust temp, they prefer you to just let it run / stay on. tks

 

[NYC570]

I turn mine off before I turn off the car

 

[chilibit]

The compressor clutch cycles on and off in response to system need. So just leaving the "auto" button engaged does not necessarily mean the compressor is spinning. I have not double checked this but I believe the clutch is also momentarily disengaged during a motor start to reduce the load. This is all in the background when the console switch is left in "auto." My wife, FWIW, subscribes to none of this and stabs at buttons constantly. I have concluded that for her this is the most appropriate pattern. I am not immune to Maslow's hierarchy.

 

[Taco2Cruiser]

^^^ yep!

In the past, when cold out, I do ensure the compressor is always off. A very few times, I've needed to let the compressor run because of window fogging. But I've always had Toyota 4x4s, and have enjoyed having a warm cab with even the fan off when on the highway, so I like to replicate that as much as possible.

That said, I've worked on a lot of toyota's over they years, from early on as Toyota tech to many friends and my personal Toyota's, and I've found that it doesn't matter if you run Toyota HVAC all the time, or try and save it from work. When they go, they go. Some last forever, some only last to 100k.

I'll never forget an old girlfriend who had a '98 4runner and turned off her compressor 2 minutes before engine shut down, religiously. Her compressor failed at 96k. I ran mine very little ('96 Tacoma), and it never failed. My friends '99 Tacoma had his run all the time, even when muddin', in Florida. Like... super dumb, deep boggin', never failed until he threw a rod (because of water) at 210k.

I'm of the adage to save the most expensive item. From aftermarket bumpers that will fail before the frame does, to working an easily replaceable a/c compressor instead of more button presses on the head unit that will cost me $9000 to replace. So i've been slowly changing my habits when it comes to ensuring the a/c compressor turns off. Now, I only really go out of my way, when cold weather offroading. Where I need to run the fan, but the less stuff spinning on the front of the motor when water and mud is getting splashed around is best.

Another example, when Expeditions 7 traveled around the world in 70 series Land Cruisers. Only one truck, when in South America at the end of the trip, had the A/C go out, and it was because the system was low in 134R. Kurt, @cruiseroutfit, fixed it by disconnecting the pressure switch until they could charge the HVAC back up. That it. Not actually broken.

Now that’s global driven LCs, and still, a compressor never when out. My recommendation, (and I’m not a “don’t worry about it guy”) don’t worry about it. Nothing we are doing is going to let the HVAC work for longer, or reduce its life. Stay cool, till it breaks. Whenever that may be.