Twice now my heater fan has not worked in cold weather - the time when it is most critical. Anybody else having this problem. My dealer says they have had similar complaints on O4 vehicles, but this is their first for the Tundra. It seems that if it drops to -35 degrees celsius (-31 F) or colder my fan does not work and it is not a fuse. The dealer is not sure if Toyota is going to do anything about this, but this is a real safety issue in winter. The temp was -36 C on the weekend and I had to drive 3.5 hours home from the cabin with no heat. Anybody have any insight into what the problem could be, the dealer is puzzled as well.
ah someone else who knows what cold really is . i'm an alaskan...
in the -30 range, some components will simply contract to the degree that factory "room temperature" tolerances are exceeded, and things stick. i have this problem with my temperature knob when the temp drops below about 10*F.
it could be a contact, it could be a tolerance problem, honest cold (not that 30*F nonsense that people whine about here in ohio) is generally not something designed for--much below the temps you're experiencing, most cars dont even start due to frozen fluids and lost tolerances--i'm sure you're no stranger to outlets in the grocery store parking lot for block heaters .
some ideas: check the tolerances when it's bitter cold--might have to take it apart and leave it outside, then measure...-30 is no laughing matter, no time to be working outside on a truck. also check the continuity through the fan.
i'm guessing it's caused by contraction of dissimilar materials, but it could be hell to track down.
a couple things i do in winter when i know it'll be cold enough to freeze knobs and dials is leave them where i'll want them in the morning, but in the case of moving parts like a/c compressors and fans, i leave them off until the truck has warmed up. i don't know how they'll react to serious cold, i've driven through it (-20*F) in a tundra but not had to start the truck in the morning in those conditions.
I live in Edmonton, and this week we had overnight lows of minus 30C...Insulated pants, I own a set of goose down insulated pants, and several sets of insulated coveralls. Down rules Last year I got a Mustang Survival Suit
for Christmas.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Marcellus
off topic i know, but what the heck to do you wear when its -30+*F outside? yikes! being a southern californian, it rarely gets below 40*F at night.
I think you are right in that it is best not to touch anything until the truck is warm. Unfortunately that means no heat for a while because often I cannot plug in the block heater, thus I turn off anything that can be turned off including heater and fan to allow all battery power to focus on getting the truck started(anybody know if this theory is sound with this electronic ignition). Apparently Toyota has a cold weather expert engineer who is being made aware of this particular problem with the heater fan.
Thanks for your advice. I would be interested in any other cold weather issues with the Tundra if anybody else would care to respond.
Jack
PS.Maybe I should just move to California.
Quote:
Originally Posted by DeepStealth
ah someone else who knows what cold really is . i'm an alaskan...
in the -30 range, some components will simply contract to the degree that factory "room temperature" tolerances are exceeded, and things stick. i have this problem with my temperature knob when the temp drops below about 10*F.
it could be a contact, it could be a tolerance problem, honest cold (not that 30*F nonsense that people whine about here in ohio) is generally not something designed for--much below the temps you're experiencing, most cars dont even start due to frozen fluids and lost tolerances--i'm sure you're no stranger to outlets in the grocery store parking lot for block heaters .
some ideas: check the tolerances when it's bitter cold--might have to take it apart and leave it outside, then measure...-30 is no laughing matter, no time to be working outside on a truck. also check the continuity through the fan.
i'm guessing it's caused by contraction of dissimilar materials, but it could be hell to track down.
a couple things i do in winter when i know it'll be cold enough to freeze knobs and dials is leave them where i'll want them in the morning, but in the case of moving parts like a/c compressors and fans, i leave them off until the truck has warmed up. i don't know how they'll react to serious cold, i've driven through it (-20*F) in a tundra but not had to start the truck in the morning in those conditions.
I just purchased a new '04 4Runner, and after 600 miles, the heater/ac fan intermittently refuses to turn on. Although the dash indicators say the fan is on, the fan motor isn't turning, and no air is emitted from the vents. This happens whether I use Auto or Manual climate control. It typically happens when I first start the car in the morning (it's not garaged, and is only partially protected from the elements on the side that faces my house). Once I've driven the car for a while, stopped, turned off the ignition, gotten out of the car, returned to the car (after running an errand of variable length), and turned the heat back on, the fan works fine.
The past few mornings haven't even been that cold (~25 F with overnight temperatures probably in the teens), but my gut tells me that it's got something to do with engine temperature. It worked throughout the recent East-coast cold snap, so I'm surprised that it's acting up now.
Any idea when that Toyota cold-weather engineer will have a fix? Any word of a recall?
I just purchased a new '04 4Runner, and after 600 miles, the heater/ac fan intermittently refuses to turn on. Although the dash indicators say the fan is on, the fan motor isn't turning, and no air is emitted from the vents. This happens whether I use Auto or Manual climate control. It typically happens when I first start the car in the morning (it's not garaged, and is only partially protected from the elements on the side that faces my house). Once I've driven the car for a while, stopped, turned off the ignition, gotten out of the car, returned to the car (after running an errand of variable length), and turned the heat back on, the fan works fine.
The past few mornings haven't even been that cold (~25 F with overnight temperatures probably in the teens), but my gut tells me that it's got something to do with engine temperature. It worked throughout the recent East-coast cold snap, so I'm surprised that it's acting up now.
Any idea when that Toyota cold-weather engineer will have a fix? Any word of a recall?
Thanks,
Darryl R.
My dealer says Toyota is anxious to get my fan out so they can run some tests. The fan is being replaced on warrantee of course. It hasn't happened to my vehicle now for a month and the other morning, and I am not exagerating, it was -40 F and I forgot to plug in. Truck started and the fan worked no problem so I don't know what is going on with this fan, it has been working fine. I am still going to get it replaced though, I don't want to take the chance of it not working again. The phenomenon maybe to sporadic and infrequent to warrent a recall. Interesting that you have 4Runner though, apparently 4runners have been having this problem more frequently.
Took the car to the stealer today and they confirmed that this is a known problem (after a call to the factory tech line), and that the solution is the replacement of the heating/AC module. The part will be in at 2pm tomorrow. Should have the truck back by 5pm. At least it's under warranty.
I've seen posts in other forums that suggest that Toyota is trying to be proactive by contacting owners in colder climates (like Alaska) with requests to "inspect their cooling systems". IMHO, though, this is a safety issue, and should warrant a general recall.
Took the car to the stealer today and they confirmed that this is a known problem (after a call to the factory tech line), and that the solution is the replacement of the heating/AC module. The part will be in at 2pm tomorrow. Should have the truck back by 5pm. At least it's under warranty.
I've seen posts in other forums that suggest that Toyota is trying to be proactive by contacting owners in colder climates (like Alaska) with requests to "inspect their cooling systems". IMHO, though, this is a safety issue, and should warrant a general recall.
Darryl R.
I agree, this is a real safety issue in colder climates. I hope Toyota realizes that - my impression is that they do.
Please excuse the OT post here, BUT DANG! Those are some cold temperatures. I can't imagine what that would feel like. The coldest I have experienced here in LA was around +10 Deg. F. (Deer hunting that day, brrrr).
Bad fan motor. Uses a "shaded pole" design. The rotor rests on an irregularity on the motor bearing, and the motor lacks the starting torque to initiate rotor motion. Sometimes works, sometimes not. Worse in cold when the little bit of lubrication in motor bearing turns to glue. Replace the fan motor. Testing will reveal the motor is OK 9 times out of 10 because removing the motor invariably turns the shaft. Radiator electric fans can also have the same problem.
I still don't have my truck back! That will teach me to trust the stealer, uh, I mean dealer. The service rep now tells me that the part is on nationwide back order. I wonder why. Could it be that people all over the country need their heat to work reliably now that it's winter? Anyway, they've had my truck for 4 days, and they can't even give me an ETA on the part.
They provided me with a Corolla as substitute transportation. This was fine when I thought it would be a day, but now I'm going to have to insist on a comparable vehicle. And the beat goes on... :-(.
Bad fan motor. Uses a "shaded pole" design. The rotor rests on an irregularity on the motor bearing, and the motor lacks the starting torque to initiate rotor motion. Sometimes works, sometimes not. Worse in cold when the little bit of lubrication in motor bearing turns to glue. Replace the fan motor. Testing will reveal the motor is OK 9 times out of 10 because removing the motor invariably turns the shaft. Radiator electric fans can also have the same problem.
I wonder if that design leads to the infamous squealing sound that some of us have experienced?
Cold - No heater fan
someone else who knows what cold really is 
.
I can't imagine what that would feel like. The coldest I have experienced here in LA was around +10 Deg. F. (Deer hunting that day, brrrr).
Linear Mode
