IMPORTANT: Check your HVAC recirculate door and answer Poll (5 Viewers)

[isthatalexus]

2008 here. Appears I have the floppy actuator junction/no-break issue. Just ordered @Oakleyguy bits. Three cheers for MUD (again)

Follow up: this worked on my 2008, with the added benefit of not having to remove a rain sensor wiper computer.

Of note: while the flappy damper hinge point was intact in my case, the 'axle' portion of the @Oakleyguy part was slightly too large to fit through the keyed opening on the damper. A little bit of filing, and some arm yoga, fixed this. I did give the axle a light sanding, avoiding the forward-most portion which needs to seat somewhat firmly in the interior piece of the Oakleyguyometer device, and a bit more filing of the inside surface of the keyed hinge hole of the OEM damper flapper.

Works like a charm! MUD FTW again. Thank you.

FYI: here's a better resource for understanding the terminology for these recirc door components.

 

[BVE]

Just want to thank @Oakleyguy for creating this fix. Took me 20 minutes, most of which was lining up the pieces. This saved me a ton of money and more importantly, I now have a functioning recirc door for the 1st time. Cheers!

Land Cruiser HVAC Recirculation Door Fix - Etsy

This Car Accessories item by ONEngineering has 89 favorites from Etsy shoppers. Ships from Arvada, CO. Listed on May 28, 2025

www.etsy.com

 

[Oakleyguy]

Just want to thank @Oakleyguy for creating this fix. Took me 20 minutes, most of which was lining up the pieces. This saved me a ton of money and more importantly, I now have a functioning recirc door for the 1st time. Cheers!

Land Cruiser HVAC Recirculation Door Fix - Etsy

This Car Accessories item by ONEngineering has 89 favorites from Etsy shoppers. Ships from Arvada, CO. Listed on May 28, 2025

www.etsy.com

Glad to help!

 

[Tanaman]

Finally found the thread again. I did this a week ago and couldn’t be happier. Gotta love a simple effective fix. Thanks Nate!

 

[DaveMN]

I can reconfirm for 2013 LX570, @Oakleyguy 's Cruiser HVAC Recirculation Door Fix worked perfectly on mine.
Very appreciative of this solution!

 

[Oakleyguy]

Hey gang, I'll be at LCDC in Ft. Collins this year. If anyone if has the dreaded broken HVAC recirc door and needs help installing the fix, don't hesitate to reach out to me. I'll be happy to help install it.

 

[cfsds]

Has anyone found their recirc door shut (i.e., in the outside air position)? It's not moving by hand, which makes me think that it's still (somehow) connected to the linkage.

 

[LCH21]

My LC's recirc door was broken by a shop monkey about this time last year. I was able to disassemble the dash enough to gain access and was able to use JB Plastic Weld on the broken pivot. Not very neat but it is still working.

Broken part of the door.

Broken piece.

Repair is sloppy as I caked on the plastic weld, making sure it was all over the pivot and recirc door. Not easy to keep the stuff out of the housing pivot hole, but I did. Used a long, thin flat-head screw driver to reach back there to apply the weld.

Finishing touch. Now, I lock the glove box and take the key. Should have done that from the beginning. I have to wonder how many of these get broken.

 

[linuxgod]

@Oakleyguy sells a 3-D printed fix for this. Absolutely worth the $. Mine is going on probably 4 years now

 

[LCH21]

@Oakleyguy sells a 3-D printed fix for this. Absolutely worth the $. Mine is going on probably 4 years now

I am going to get this as a back-up just in case my sloppy repair fails. I would have done that in the beginning, but was leaving on a Pacific northwest trip in a couple of days and needed a quick fix. Excellent suggestion, as I had forgotten about that. Thanks!