Intermittent Front AC Issue (1 Viewer)

[orange57]

My older brother has a 2016 GX with around 70k miles. He is getting a new GX and has offered to sell me his current one.

But there is an intermittent AC issue where randomly the AC won't blow in the front. It will continue to blow in the rear. And he has noted that there are times where if it is not blowing out the ducts in the front, and he turns the passenger cooling seat on it sounds like a way higher flow out of there.

He has had it in the dealership a couple of times for this issue and they have not been able to replicate it or see anything in their diagnostics tools to indicate what the issue is.

We are in AZ, and headed into summer. While the car will be a good price, I'm also reluctant to have intermittent AC issues.

Has anyone experienced this? I don't know enough about these yet. On other cars I would have chocked this up to a blower motor or the motor resistor. The dealer says the car only has one blower motor though, so if the rear AC is blowing then the motor should be good. Or is there a blend door/shut off door that could be the issue?

Any help is greatly appreciated.

 

[r2m]

My older brother has a 2016 GX with around 70k miles. He is getting a new GX and has offered to sell me his current one.

But there is an intermittent AC issue where randomly the AC won't blow in the front. It will continue to blow in the rear. And he has noted that there are times where if it is not blowing out the ducts in the front, and he turns the passenger cooling seat on it sounds like a way higher flow out of there.

He has had it in the dealership a couple of times for this issue and they have not been able to replicate it or see anything in their diagnostics tools to indicate what the issue is.

We are in AZ, and headed into summer. While the car will be a good price, I'm also reluctant to have intermittent AC issues.

Has anyone experienced this? I don't know enough about these yet. On other cars I would have chocked this up to a blower motor or the motor resistor. The dealer says the car only has one blower motor though, so if the rear AC is blowing then the motor should be good. Or is there a blend door/shut off door that could be the issue?

Any help is greatly appreciated.

Has he tried blowing compressed air down, back into the vents on the dash? It may be something, e.g. leaf, what got swept in the ducting and blocking something. Also try in sequence, switching between floor, dash and defrost vents and see which work and which don't.
Then try all combinations with and with out the rear air.

 

[orange57]

Has he tried blowing compressed air down, back into the vents on the dash? It may be something, e.g. leaf, what got swept in the ducting and blocking something. Also try in sequence, switching between floor, dash and defrost vents and see which work and which don't.
Then try all combinations with and with out the rear air.

I know he has pushed a bunch of buttons and tried to get things to work.

He has noted there have been times where he'll hit a bump and then it will come back on.

Is it true that there is only one blower motor for both the front and the rear?

 

[r2m]

I know he has pushed a bunch of buttons and tried to get things to work.

He has noted there have been times where he'll hit a bump and then it will come back on.

Is it true that there is only one blower motor for both the front and the rear?

There should be two blowers. I know this because, driving through Texas one Summer, our air conditioner was blowing ambient temp air, neither hot nor cold. Thought our AC went out. Turned out, my daughter's boyfriend, months earlier in the winter, cranked up the rear heat to about 80°F.
The front AC was fighting the rear heater. Once I set the rear AC to 73°, and the front from 64° back to 73°, we were almost too cold!
So, yes.
Also, if you want to check, here is the FMS, second post: GX 460 Manuals

 

[Acrad]

You can see if there are any codes without Techstream

1. Turn the engine switch off.
2. Turn the engine switch on (ACC) and wait at least 5 seconds.
3. Press and hold the air conditioning control "AUTO" switch and "recirculation/fresh" switch simultaneously, and turn the engine switch on (IG). Continue holding the 2 switches until panel diagnosis mode begins

HVAC-Diagnostic PDF - ClubLexus - Lexus Forum Discussion

A document that provides instructions on diagnosing an air conditioning system in a vehicle.

www.clublexus.com

Code List:

HVAC Code List PDF - ClubLexus - Lexus Forum Discussion

A documentation that details a comprehensive list of diagnostic trouble codes (DTCs) for an automotive air conditioning system.

www.clublexus.com

 

[aztoytec]

Sounds like a front blower motor. Next time it stops working smack the glove box. If it starts working you have a flat spot on the blower motor. Easy fix

 

[orange57]

Sounds like a front blower motor. Next time it stops working smack the glove box. If it starts working you have a flat spot on the blower motor. Easy fix

This is where my thought process goes. I have an old Tahoe, the blower has been intermittent as well. I smack the dash and it comes back on. But it's also the original 25 year old blower and the truck has 210k on it lol

 

[Acrad]

Blower motor is easy to R/I if you believe that is the problem.

 

[orange57]

Sounds like a front blower motor. Next time it stops working smack the glove box. If it starts working you have a flat spot on the blower motor. Easy fix

Picked up the car today. Couple of times when starting the car the AC fan didn't come on. A tap under the glove box and it started working. So time to buy a blower motor lol