Cabin Filter Change and the Recirculation Flap Issues FIXED (4 Viewers)

[Sandroad]

Being a relatively new owner to the 200, I was ignorant enough to think 'it's just a filter, what can go wrong?' and forced the door open thinking it was just flap to house the cabin filter.

Took car to Toyota for ac issue who diagnosed this issue which is unrelated.

Took glove box out last night and discovered I wasn't as lucky as some and the whole bottom part of my door is broken off and missing.

Thinking I could maybe 3d print a new door, I gave up on that idea as I don't have a 3d printer.
I used the next thing I could think of. Being a sparky, I have plenty laying around.

Single strand on 10mm2 copper molded to shape and reinforce the broken insert.
Seems to be working. Gave additional support with silicone.

Hopefully it holds. Should have read the warning sticker on the first flappy bit

View attachment 2537651

View attachment 2537652

Interesting solution. But that break appears to be on the opposite side of where most doors give out. Does the door function correctly now?

 

[Txr05]

Interesting solution. But that break appears to be on the opposite side of where most doors give out. Does the door function correctly now?

Yeah door works good now. So far at least. This is the side where the actuator moves the door.
Not the side you have to cut to remove the door.

This is a rhd vehicle, unsure if this is a US forum or not. Decided to share my. Experience lol.

 

[Sandroad]

Yeah door works good now. So far at least. This is the side where the actuator moves the door.
Not the side you have to cut to remove the door.

This is a rhd vehicle, unsure if this is a US forum or not. Decided to share my. Experience lol.

Ahh,,,I see I missed your location. Of course it's on the "other" side. Good idea on the wire. I bet that holds it fine. There is not much torque on that door.

 

[disco0699]

Ahh,,,I see I missed your location. Of course it's on the "other" side. Good idea on the wire. I bet that holds it fine. There is not much torque on that door.

 

[disco0699]

Found this repair video on YouTube. No narrative, but looks like he has found a way to get the flapper door in and out. And the repair is ingenious!

 

[bronc076]

Wow he just popped that right out of there.

 

[04UZJ100]

That’s how mine broke. Plastic epoxy and good as new.

 

[CharlieS]

Interesting and clever. I didn’t find it as easy to get apart. I find the sewing thing odd. If you’re going to do that drilling thing, why not use wire? Also, at least on the us version, you do not need to remove the wood trim strip. And, she/he puts in a lot more screws in during reassembly than she/he takes out during disassembly (on camera). The ones from below, maybe attaching the upper shroud to the body of the assembly? I wonder if taking those mounting screws out allows for more movement in the upper shroud, making it easier to remove the flap?

 

[AnyMal]

Thanks for this post, really. I have massive dealership anxiety as it is but I hope my next 2 years of service are trouble free. Seems like I’m gonna have to inspect every maintenance item they do from fluids to cabin filter to alignment and the list goes on….

 

[disco0699]

Interesting and clever. I didn’t find it as easy to get apart. I find the sewing thing odd. If you’re going to do that drilling thing, why not use wire? Also, at least on the us version, you do not need to remove the wood trim strip. And, she/he puts in a lot more screws in during reassembly than she/he takes out during disassembly (on camera). The ones from below, maybe attaching the upper shroud to the body of the assembly? I wonder if taking those mounting screws out allows for more movement in the upper shroud, making it easier to remove the flap?

Yes you can see around the 6:55 mark that he pushes the lower shroud up into the upper half. That must provide the extra space to get the flap out? Then later he installs those shroud bolts that we didn’t see come out. I wish he had documented that a little better. Btw It’s a RH drive model obviously. He must be in Japan.
I have to attempt this a little later as some dickhead has broken my flap door. I don’t think I have the surgeon-like precision skills to attempt the thread repair. I will probably glue and just use some fine wire on the outside for extra strength.

 

[disco0699]

Thanks for this post, really. I have massive dealership anxiety as it is but I hope my next 2 years of service are trouble free. Seems like I’m gonna have to inspect every maintenance item they do from fluids to cabin filter to alignment and the list goes on….

Like has been said before. Lock the glovebox, take the metal key out of the fob. That way they can’t acces the cabin filter. I fee for you though. I have an ‘extended warranty’ which means I have to have the 200 serviced only by the Toyota dealer I bought it from. Trouble is they are absolutely useless. They scratched my roof (and denied it), they constantly stuff up the service. I’ve had fluid levels low after service. I dropped the vehicle off at 7.30am and they told they me they haven’t started the service at 3pm. Then I get a call at 3.45pm, to say I have to pay & collect the vehicle by 4pm? Otherwise (after I pay) they will leave the vehicle out front, with keys on top of the drivers wheel! I said who pays the insurance excess in the event the vehicle is stolen?? They said that’s on you. I said I don’t think so!! So yeah, I feel your anxiety. Seems though we’re on different sides of the planet, nothing much is different.

 

[Cruisin911]

Just wanted to say that I'm a few years in now with the 5min epoxy fix and everything is working perfectly. After watching that video, I am still in favor of the epoxy fix.

 

[thefourthdoctor]

Thanks to everyone who posted fixes. My repaired door is currently drying/curing before I reinstall it and put my dash back together. I was able to carefully pry the inboard hinge out with a screwdriver, a careful application of force, some swearing, and a bloody knuckle. The outboard hinge was cracked in three places and off the keyed rod.

To add insult to injury, the filter looked like it had not been changed in at least a year and it was upside down. Will definitely lock the glovebox and take the key out of the fob before taking it to any service center. Also bought the labels from another thread just to remind myself.

 

[thefourthdoctor]

Oh, this is in my 2013 that I bought last month.

 

[Sandroad]

Thanks to everyone who posted fixes. My repaired door is currently drying/curing before I reinstall it and put my dash back together. I was able to carefully pry the inboard hinge out with a screwdriver, a careful application of force, some swearing, and a bloody knuckle. The outboard hinge was cracked in three places and off the keyed rod.

To add insult to injury, the filter looked like it had not been changed in at least a year and it was upside down. Will definitely lock the glovebox and take the key out of the fob before taking it to any service center. Also bought the labels from another thread just to remind myself.

My repair involved blood loss too. Fortunately, I followed the most basic rule at my house for my kids: Don't bleed on the carpets.

 

[jivewalker]

Found this repair video on YouTube. No narrative, but looks like he has found a way to get the flapper door in and out. And the repair is ingenious!

Amazing video.

 

[Txanm]

I just fixed mine yesterday. I ended up using a soldering iron to melt the plastic air filter housing on the pin side of the flap. I was then able to pop it out easily and use epoxy and a zip tie to bind everything back together. If you want you could hot glue the melted piece back in place too.

Worked great and I now won’t die going to the ski slopes with foggy windows!

I have attached a picture of the melting part of my cabin air filter. A soldering iron with a longer tip makes this a 1 banana job.

 

[bistvanHU]

Thanks for the great instructions! It turns out the little piece that connects the servo to the flap was just dislocated (thank god it wasn't broken).

I found it easiest to remove the Automatic Windshield Wiper Computer (Red circles) and the Navigation DVD player (Purple circles showing the connectors) .

The Land Cruiser I worked on is the EU Spec (I am located in Hungary). 2008 Land Cruiser 200 series 4.5 diesel

 

[doru]

Thanks for this thread I replace the air filter with Kootek Premium Cabin Air Filter KCF005 from amazon (includes 2 filters).
The quality is very good and the fit is much better than the OEM filter that it replaces.
I also added the necessary warning label using a Brother label machine:

 

[bistvanHU]

Thanks for this thread I replace the air filter with Kootek Premium Cabin Air Filter KCF005 from amazon (includes 2 filters).
The quality is very good and the fit is much better than the OEM filter that it replaces.
I also added the necessary warning label using a Brother label machine:
View attachment 3012302

I did something very similar, but I also added stickers onto the inside area of the glove box door. I did this because a mechanic might not even look inside to open the flap, so they will miss the sign.

Also, a good way to avoid a mechanic messing around with it is to just lock the glove box and remove the physical key from the keyfob before handing off the car.