Heater quit... sort of

[phanatic62]

Thanks wizzer and dfluitt! Your descriptions were just enough to allow a person with very little car experience and no soldering experience to complete this with absolutely no problems! I just took a celebratory ride while getting the first AC out of my car in 6 weeks. Goodbye to driving on the highway with my windows down!

To anyone who may be unsure of their ability to complete this project: If I could do it, anyone can! It really wasn't difficult at all, although it took me closer to 3 hours to complete it as I had to keep checking this forum to make sure I was doing it correctly

This thread has become all the proof anyone needs that the internet is an irreplaceable tool when it comes to do-it-yourself projects and not getting fleeced by car dealerships. I actually never even took my car in to get it checked out as once I started with constant heat I found this thread with its wealth of information.

Thanks again to everyone who helped to contribute!

[chrisnva]

I have an 01 Highlander Limited with the automatic climate control(not the 3 knobs) Has anyone seen this issue crop up on this type of heater controller? My wifes heat didn't come on when we tried to use it a couple weeks ago however the AC has worked fine all summer. I read this thread and saw that it was the 3 knob type control unit so I didn't think the fix would apply to mine. Mine also did not seem to be intermiddent so I thought it could be the dreaded heater core that went bad. Low and behold though this morning the heater started working so now I am back to this thread wondering if my unit could have a similar problem. There is a temp knob that changes the digital temperature setting but I would think i would have seen the same problem with the AC if that were the issue. I am going to pull the unit tonight and check wires but wanted to check if any other owners with my type heater had the issue.

[nappanutt]

Thanks All for the input >> I just saved 900.+ also $ Wisser ..your the Best ! Took me 2 hrs .. Im not a mechanic ! but to save $ I did it ! not too hard at all ! Thanks

[ksmoss]

Thanks - your solution worked perfectly. I had this fixed by the dealer 3 years ago for $900 ($300 labor supposedly to pull off dash board to get to $600 part) and it happened again. With no experience I had the part off within 15 minutes.

[shortlid]

The tempature knob on my '04 HL 4WD with 106k on the clock is still working but the knob loose, thanks for the info so I can tighten BEFORE it breaks!!

[terrapin95]

Had the same problem, nothing but heat coming out. Great posts, had it fixed in 10 minutes!