Toyota Highlander A/C Heater blows hot air, DIY repair.
Toyota Highlander 2001 – 07 Climate Control Repair Part 3
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Toyota Highlander A/C Heater blows hot air, DIY repair.
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LOL… I’m sure you did a better job than I did on the repair and I’m glad it helped.
Rick, Thanks a lot for the video. I’m a EE and feel very comfortable with the soldering portion of the job but I’m always scared about disassembling parts from cars specially related to the dashboard. Everything went smoothly for me and my son is now super happy specially given how hot this summer has been. Thanks again.
I’m glad it all worked out for you. The work that the EE did for is the best way to fix the problem. However, for those people out there with little to no knowledge of soldering it come cause bigger problems. So this is way I demonstrated the bridge…
Went just as described. Only problem I had was one of the small screws fastening the 2 halves of the climate control spun, and I had to drill the head off. Could see that 2 wires in the ribbon at the knob were broken; explains why it sometimes worked if I jammed the stem in the right direction. I asked an EE at work to bridge them as described, but he removed the ribbon, cleaned the holes, and soldered 3 wires thru the 6 holes. Now I have AC, heat, a happy wife, and some new tools! Thanks, Rick!
Also, I ended up just soldering new wires to the 2 outer connectors. However, I noticed that there was resistance from the middle and right wires.. that’s odd.. I couldn’t “see” any issues with my soldering (would be the blue/red wires shown in your video).
But I ended up taking my chances.. and everything seems to work great.. great A/C.. great heat. This winter should be great.. last winter, it blew cold air most of the time in winter…burrr!
1st of all, thanks a bunch! Took a bit longer for me just because I wanted to be more careful.. however, I don’t recall you going into more detail about the root of the continuity problem.. but if you look under that smaller switch board, at least on mine, the ribbon points were broken/disconnected from the small board. The center wire was fine. I think with the moving back and forth of the knob and loosening of the nut forced the outer 2 connectors on the ribbon to break off..cont..
It worked! Got it fixed, thanks to you! Thanks Rick for posting these 3 videos. It was extremely helpful! Great step by step guide. You were right on point with the time frame estimated to fix this. Total cost for soldering gun and some wire: $9.73. I soldered the ends that broke off. It was tricky, but I did it. You saved me tons of money. Thank you so much Rick. You’re a pro!
Hi Rick,
thank you SOOOOOOOOO much for the video! extremely well presented (I also liked your humor). I followed your instructions with no issues and I was able to fix the temp control issue that I’ve been having for the last 6 months. again, thanks a million!!!
LOL GREAT!!!
Rick, you sent me a message asking if I was in Michagan. Actually, no. I’m in TN. Anyway, I ended up fixing (serendipitously) the air using the “tighten the bolt on the temperature dial” from your first video. It worked. My girlfriend has air consistently again and is very happy. Again thanks for the video.
RickM1953, you are AWESOME! I been having this problem for a couple of years! I did the tighten the nut thing for awhile but today it finally just quit for good. I followed your directions step by step including the three wires soldering deal. It worked great! Now my AC is working good & my “climate control” is back to being like new!
Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!
Thanks so much for posting this!
I just did the repair on my 2002 4cyl, which has 225K+ miles, in about 90 mins.
Works like new.
Rick, first, thanks for the great video. I feel confident I can get the unit out of car, but I am not the least bit confident about the soldering (I shake). What do I need to do to get your info so I could overnight the unit to you?
Rick could u please email me with you’re email and contact info so I can possibly send you mine and I will pay you for you’re services. Thanks. Mario email: clmbn08@aol.com. Thank you so much!
This is a really good video. It makes it easy to understand. I made this same repair several years ago and it worked great until recently and thats what led me back to searching for information. Mine is not this same problem this time around unfortunately. Toyota should have recalled this series once they became aware of the problem. They will sell you this climate control unit though…for $950.00. That is just crazy.
Been with semi-working air conditioning for 4 years. Fixed it in 1.5 hours for nothing, thank you so much!
thank you rick just took my 2002 in today to see what was wrong. they told me it was the switch 847 dollars and they could fix it. I am going to try your fix i am so happy you took the time to make this video.
Congratulation, you are the first women to do this repair.
Hi Rick, thank you so much for the video. It took me longer to to find 3 pieces of wires than disassemble the unit :-). Thank so much
Rick thanks for the great video. I took my car the dealership before watching this video, they told me the unit was too damaged to be repaired. I followed your instructions, when I pulled the unit out, it look like it was burnt, I cleaned it up a bit, and connected the wires as you described. Unfortunately it did not work, How can I get in touch with you, I can send you some pic, and you can give me your thoughts.
You are more than welcome. And I wish you the best.
PS. You are the first to reply in all three segments.
This BSEE thanks you. I could not figure out how to remove the trim and didn’t want to damage the wife’s car/
Rick – thanks for showing and explaining things in layman’s terms. I used this repair as an excuse to get myself a nice digital multimeter, otherwise the entire repair just cost me my time!
Rick,
Thank you for this video. My girlfriends car is now working perfectly!
I had no temp control, that’s exactly what it was, one of the wires (or connections) was bad. Switch was fine. Took less than 2 hours total including trip to radio shack for a $19.00 soldering gun kit. Toyota quoted me $930 for the climate control unit plus labor to install. Brilliant, Thank You!
Thanks SO much! I just did mine for less than $25. I used some cheap putty knives from the Home Depot and they popped the bezel right off without issue.
Great, let us know how it turns out..
Rick, Excellent videos! I have the same issue with intermittent heat and bet this will fix it on my 2005. Thanks.
Rick, I have a 2006 Toyota Highlander. When I turn the temperature knob up or down, the digital temperature digits doesn’t change. Is this the same problem? Possibility the wire in the back connected to the knob is broken?
Good Job! I have heard of the other issue but have not investigated it. When I do I’ll do a video.
Got the wires connected and soldered and reinstalled the console. Looks like a success. I got full control of the temp. I think I have a second issue though. The A/C doesn’t get cold on the drivers side and is cold on the passenger side but only about 80% as cold as it could be. Driver’s side blows a little colder than the non-A/C vent. Heat works fine everywhere. Thanks for your help Rick!
Great!
Just finished the videos Rick. Thanks! I got an 01′ and will give it a try now. I’ll update you later.
Hi guys i need help as i am facing the same problem with my Toyota Highlander 2005 Climate control Knob. Is anyone intrested to help me to solder the connections. i will be glad to pay them since i dont want it to be taken to toyota dealer and pay a huge amout to replace the whole unit. I dont have any tools for this job so any help will be appreciated in this regard. if you would like to contact me you can # 501-951-3528. My name is Shaw. I live in Downers Grove Ilinois.
thanks
Thank you Rick. Found a video and plan on relay replacement plus your temp fix. Will let you know how it goes.
NICE JOB PAUL! Total cost of your repair – your time and less than $30.00. Congratulations
After having to re-solder one of the wires, I now have a working temp control!
Thanks Rick! I had been fumbling with the thing for about a year getting cool easily but having to work hard to get heat. This is NICE.
KEY STEP IN YOUR VIDEO – CHECK CONTINUITY POST TO POST!
It is worth it to go and get a simple meter to do this.
Also; I put a 5/8 lock washer under the nut to the switch so it would no longer work its way loose – the root cause of the problem I think.
Thanks and happy sailing!
Sent an email also – do you think 22ga will work fine instead of 24?
Getting into this thing is absolutely as easy as the video shows. Good advise on the magnet wand!
The fan is an easy fix too. You have a bad relay. This relay is under the dash. I believe there are videos out there already.
I have a 2001 Highlander and both the temp control and the fan are having issues. The fan only works on high. I can follow your fix easily for the temp but what should I do for the fan? I see you ask to check the A/C blower resistor under the dash. Where is this? and what should I do next?
Any luck yet Paul?
Good for you Paul, I sure you’ll have it repaired in no time. Me a sailor… I wish I had taken this sport up long ago. I love it!
Thanks! I will get to it this week. Looks simple enough to get into but the soldering work looks awful small. I will poke around for someone who is good at soldering.
So, you must also be a sailor?
I love working with wood too… Once you start you’ll see it really isn’t all that bad. If you have any buddy’s that are into amateur radio they can do it in a snap. If not I’ll have you ups it to me in Michigan. Or do what MHMencken did. check with a local electronics guy, that will save you two shipping cost. Let me know. Rick
Great video set! I might see what I can do with this. I have an 04. Once I get it open if I don’t think I can get the soldering done right ( I am a woodworker more than an electronics guy), how could I get it to you? I live in NC.
Glad to hear it!!! And you’re very welcome.
This video was a great help. I diagnosed this problem as per your instructions and paid a local electronics guy $50 for a repair. Thank you.
Kaye, you might just replace the unit completely. Here is a website that sells rebuilt units for $189.00. Automotive Scientific Inc. Just type in HIGHLANDER in their search box.
2006 Highlander
What year is your car?