Repairing heater control problem
I'm a new guy here having found this after a Google to figure out how to make our '01 Highlander produce heat. Also, I came after I was told by a local dealer that the problem was due to a "worn out" control. The dealer told me the repair would cost $898!
I was able to find a fix submitted several years ago by a user name Wizzer. After assembling necessary tools, I began to remove the dash cover panel to allow access to the six retaining screws that hold the entire heater and radio assembly in place. Then, I removed four screws that held the actual heater control box. I had a little trouble prying three plugs from the back of the box, but finally was successful. I was paranoid through out this project to not damage any of the electrical connectors and wires.
Then, when I had the control box on my bench, I then needed to remove eight screws to remove the back to allow me access to the printed circuitry in the interior.
I removed the three front panel control knobs and found that they were tight. A few years ago, the A/C blew only hot air and the dealer "fixed" this by tightening the center retaining screw to the heat/cold selector knob. It was loose. Apparently this loose screw caused two of the three ribbon wires to break, thereby screwing up the heating function. The A/C still worked.
So, I found these broken wires. I had a solder gun but had never used it. I went ahead and stripped off some of the insulation from the ribbon and soldered the two outer wires back to their intended position.
After reassembly, the bloody thing worked, saving us a bunch of money. The bottom line on this project was that I feel let down by the dealership. When the A/C went haywire and they tightened that nut, they should have known the loose nut would cause the underlying wiring to wiggle and break. It somehow had a very tenuous connection to allow everything to work for a while, but after 82000 miles two of the wires broke free. Also, this is not a new problem. There are several indications here and elsewhere that many others have experienced the same issue. Toyota needs to own up to a very poorly designed system and do a recall. Or, I can foresee a class action taking place.
[IMG]file:///Users/johnrichard/Pictures/iPhoto%20Library/Originals/2008/Highlander%20heater%20control%20repair/IMG_0005.JPG[/IMG]
[IMG]file:///Users/johnrichard/Pictures/iPhoto%20Library/Originals/2008/Highlander%20heater%20control%20repair/IMG_0005.JPG[/IMG]
Last edited by John Richard; 12-28-2008 at 05:08 PM.
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