Doesn’t hurt to try it. Metallic silver sharpie fine point might do the trick.
IMPORTANT: Check your HVAC recirculate door and answer Poll
- Thread starter John E Davies
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Truck is in my possession and I only drove it for 15 min yesterday. It’s my wife’s daily so she’ll have a better idea at this point. I did go over the dash, seats and headliner (they always get s*** on the headliner somehow) and everything seemed to be in good shape. No additional rattles or squeaks on the way home but time will tell.
It was a full day job at the dealer that led into part of the morning of day 2.
OA
I wish I had more opportunity to try other dealers but we have one in my area and the rest are minimum 2.5 hours away (and subject to the passes being open to traffic this time of year). I was somewhat shocked at the advisor’s “decision” but knowing that it was getting paid for one way or another, it wasn’t a hill I wanted to die on that day.
OA
Toyota refused to pay for the repairs to mine under warranty because it was damage and not a defect. That of course left me at the mercy of the dealer that did the damage and it was no problem for them to deny everything. When I purchase vehicles now one of my top criteria is the quality and reputation of the local dealership. For me that eliminates future Toyotas.
2008, 181k miles - broken, doesn't move, and I don't hear any buzzing.
Checked mine swapping out Cabin filter last weekend. Yep, *sigh*, of course it's broken. Interestingly for me - I gently opened it and it had little to no resistance. When I pulled the cover the flap door was in the down position. It moved - ONCE - on it's own in probably 15-20 button presses, I can't recall now if it closed itself or opened itself, doesn't matter. Probably most of the teeth on the plastic gear are worn off, so I don't know if mine is just worn out from age, or it was broken by force in the past (most likely, this was serviced by a local service station and they did other, less than perfect work on it over the years I've been correcting over time).
I'll be schooling up on all the dash out threads, my fan also needs replacing as it squeaks/squeals when really cold, so I've got one on the shelf. Figure while I'm in there that deep would be a great time to add any electronic upgrades, permanent bluetooth upgrade, maybe replace some speakers, what else is good to do w/ the dash out? I'd do the screen thing if I thought it was 100% solution at this point, doesn't look fully baked to me.
Checked mine swapping out Cabin filter last weekend. Yep, *sigh*, of course it's broken. Interestingly for me - I gently opened it and it had little to no resistance. When I pulled the cover the flap door was in the down position. It moved - ONCE - on it's own in probably 15-20 button presses, I can't recall now if it closed itself or opened itself, doesn't matter. Probably most of the teeth on the plastic gear are worn off, so I don't know if mine is just worn out from age, or it was broken by force in the past (most likely, this was serviced by a local service station and they did other, less than perfect work on it over the years I've been correcting over time).
I'll be schooling up on all the dash out threads, my fan also needs replacing as it squeaks/squeals when really cold, so I've got one on the shelf. Figure while I'm in there that deep would be a great time to add any electronic upgrades, permanent bluetooth upgrade, maybe replace some speakers, what else is good to do w/ the dash out? I'd do the screen thing if I thought it was 100% solution at this point, doesn't look fully baked to me.
2008, 176k. The door had come off the actuator, and trying to put it back on just pushed the actuator pin further outboard. I was able to pop the bottom dash cover off, loosen the small fusebox holder to get some space, and get a hand up where the actuator was to push it inboard while using my other hand to pop the door back on. Works fine now; my cover door had no warning label or anything.
CharlieS
GOLD Star
Factory warning labels didn’t arrive until much later. My ‘13 didn’t have one and my ‘16 did. The factory label is useless, with so many languages and unclear directions no way a tech is going to pay any attention. @Hoosier Daddy makes a nice label, but I always lock my glovebox if it is (rarely) at a shop and never leave a physical key (remove the emergency key before handing the fob over).
I'll try this first, the fact it moved, once, for me indicates there's a chance.
The place where it seems to break commonly is at the bottom, which is where the two pieces meet. It could very well be a dumb tech, but I wouldn’t be surprised if the plastic just fatigues from the door being opened and closed regularly, or some other binding perhaps that happens if the door alignment shifts. all the leverage for the door is being applied to the very end (bottom) of the arm.
Wanted to post an update that I fixed my door today with nothing other than JB Weld Plastic Epoxy.
My door was fractured into 3 pieces around the slotted cog that changes its position. Luckily, one of the fractures could be realigned since it was still attached to the weatherstripping.
I mixed the 2 part epoxy and applied it with the tip of a medium sized zip tie. This worked perfectly as it allowed me to coat the cog and then slather a thick layer of nearly-set epoxy on the inner face of the door and contact interface. 15 minutes later into the 1 hour cure time and I have a perfectly functioning door.
I did not remove any supplemental panels or use any special tools. I think the key to my success was using the zip ties to apply the epoxy like a brush. I couldn’t get 11” needle nose pliers or anything rigid to the exact location I needed.
Good luck!
My door was fractured into 3 pieces around the slotted cog that changes its position. Luckily, one of the fractures could be realigned since it was still attached to the weatherstripping.
I mixed the 2 part epoxy and applied it with the tip of a medium sized zip tie. This worked perfectly as it allowed me to coat the cog and then slather a thick layer of nearly-set epoxy on the inner face of the door and contact interface. 15 minutes later into the 1 hour cure time and I have a perfectly functioning door.
I did not remove any supplemental panels or use any special tools. I think the key to my success was using the zip ties to apply the epoxy like a brush. I couldn’t get 11” needle nose pliers or anything rigid to the exact location I needed.
Good luck!
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I've added my own "DO NOT SERVICE AIR FILTER" label. I hadn't thought about locking the glove box. That's the ultimate way to keep dealers from getting in over their heads by servicing a cabin filter XD
2018 CPO, owned for ~7 months, 64xxx miles. Bought the extended Toyota warranty as well, which may become relevant. Cabin air access cover has the three-languages white sticker with black lettering.
My dash button was stuck in the recirc position from when I first picked up the LC in May, but mysteriously I noticed it had been stuck in the fresh air position for the past 2+ months. I don't ever use this feature, on any vehicle, but then again I've never had a problem with fogging or trying to keep out bad outside smells in the past.
Last time I checked during the spring / summer (thanks to this and the other threads), I was firmly in the "recirc button does nothing" camp, with the bellows / flap / whatever stuck in the "up" position = recirc = free access to the cabin air filter. No buzzing, no whirring, no clicking, no movement, no change in the status light on the button itself. I assumed it was broken, and "explained away" the fresh air side of the dash button being lit more recently as either (1) the flap had fallen down, (2) the system had spontaneously fixed itself somehow, (3) servo motor mis-calibration, or (4) the lights on the button are designed to maximize confusion rather than indicate the actual position of the flap.
Anyway, I drove last night to and from the big family holiday party - 37 degrees, rain / a little sheen of slush for about an hour each way, with four mouth breathers and one dog inside. The front and side windows fogged up the whole way, both ways, with only the front defrost setting for 20-40 seconds clearing it off each time. On and off every minute or three - very annoying. It seemed as though the system was stuck in "recirc", despite the annunciation of "fresh air" according to the button light.
So, this morning I cleared out the glove box and checked in the driveway...flap was in the "down" position = fresh air. Eventually, after much button pressing, got it to retract to the "up" position, but it then remained stuck there. I was able to pull it down to the "down position" with a gentle fingertip pull, but the gasket wasn't level / flush in the front - the back right corner of the flap was somehow disconnected or otherwise out of its slot. With a very light push, the flap popped into place - the down position.
Repeated this whole cycle one more time: repeated button pushing, eventual flap retraction to the "up" position, then dead button, much frustrated button pushing, changing of climate settings through all of the defrost settings, etc. I manually pulled the flap down again (straight to the correct position this time) and left it there. I couldn't see anything obviously broken on the flap, so maybe this is an intermittent problem with the part that gets moved by the servo motor and it's interface to the right side of the flap? But if it was stuck in down / fresh air last night, then why was I getting consistently, repeatedly fogged windows?
I guess it's off to the local Toyota dealership to see what they propose. I've already been down the road once with Toyota dealers with this vehicle, including getting Toyota corporate involved over the BS from the selling dealership. If I hear any of this "sorry, not a warranty-able claim" stuff I'm not sure how I'm going to respond.
My dash button was stuck in the recirc position from when I first picked up the LC in May, but mysteriously I noticed it had been stuck in the fresh air position for the past 2+ months. I don't ever use this feature, on any vehicle, but then again I've never had a problem with fogging or trying to keep out bad outside smells in the past.
Last time I checked during the spring / summer (thanks to this and the other threads), I was firmly in the "recirc button does nothing" camp, with the bellows / flap / whatever stuck in the "up" position = recirc = free access to the cabin air filter. No buzzing, no whirring, no clicking, no movement, no change in the status light on the button itself. I assumed it was broken, and "explained away" the fresh air side of the dash button being lit more recently as either (1) the flap had fallen down, (2) the system had spontaneously fixed itself somehow, (3) servo motor mis-calibration, or (4) the lights on the button are designed to maximize confusion rather than indicate the actual position of the flap.
Anyway, I drove last night to and from the big family holiday party - 37 degrees, rain / a little sheen of slush for about an hour each way, with four mouth breathers and one dog inside. The front and side windows fogged up the whole way, both ways, with only the front defrost setting for 20-40 seconds clearing it off each time. On and off every minute or three - very annoying. It seemed as though the system was stuck in "recirc", despite the annunciation of "fresh air" according to the button light.
So, this morning I cleared out the glove box and checked in the driveway...flap was in the "down" position = fresh air. Eventually, after much button pressing, got it to retract to the "up" position, but it then remained stuck there. I was able to pull it down to the "down position" with a gentle fingertip pull, but the gasket wasn't level / flush in the front - the back right corner of the flap was somehow disconnected or otherwise out of its slot. With a very light push, the flap popped into place - the down position.
Repeated this whole cycle one more time: repeated button pushing, eventual flap retraction to the "up" position, then dead button, much frustrated button pushing, changing of climate settings through all of the defrost settings, etc. I manually pulled the flap down again (straight to the correct position this time) and left it there. I couldn't see anything obviously broken on the flap, so maybe this is an intermittent problem with the part that gets moved by the servo motor and it's interface to the right side of the flap? But if it was stuck in down / fresh air last night, then why was I getting consistently, repeatedly fogged windows?
I guess it's off to the local Toyota dealership to see what they propose. I've already been down the road once with Toyota dealers with this vehicle, including getting Toyota corporate involved over the BS from the selling dealership. If I hear any of this "sorry, not a warranty-able claim" stuff I'm not sure how I'm going to respond.
Your description of the action is that of a broken connection between the plastic drive on the servo and the moveable door. It’s apparently not completely cracked off, but it will be. I cant explain the fogged windows other than the weather and humidity. But it’s broken. Post back if the dealer/Toyota will warranty the damage. Those of us who have been denied coverage will be interested.
Got it - v. helpful remote diagnosis - thanks very much. Will definitely follow through and report back here.
Well looks like I'm a member of the broken damper club. From what I could see, the hole on the outboard side of the damper hinge has broken and dislodged from the pin that turns. I bought this CPO from out of state dealer a couple weeks ago, so will take to local dealer tomorrow to see what they say. Hoping it's covered. Thanks to this forum, I caught it sooner than later. Anybody else get it covered by warranty from recent purchase?
I bought a 2018 LC Dec 2019 and had the same issue and with the broken damper. I was able to narrow down per the maintenance records where it was most likely broken. It was around 12k miles at the dealer when the cabin air filter was replaced. I used this when talking with my local dealer in Denver and they were helpful and ultimately fixed it under warranty after I had multiple conversations with Toyota corporate. After complete replacement it has been working great and have had no issues. I bought one of the warning stickers and I basically lock the glovebox anytime I drop the LC off for service at any dealer. Thanks to this forum I had the knowledge to know what caused the issue. Hope that helps.
Longer than I would have liked. About 5 days going from memory. Job itself shouldn’t have taken as long but ya know the VID can cause issues these days.
I'm working to find out if the local Lexus dealer will handle the repair before I try Toyota.
