A/C

Anyone else noticed that the passenger a/c air randomly just became significantly colder and the drivers a/c was cool but not near as cold as the passengers side? lol. Then it like gets colder then warmer the whole time until I shut off my car.

 

Sounds like one of your actuators is going bad

 

Not everytime, but on high you can hear the blower motor. could that cause the different temps? Sorry if these are dumb questions

 

I was having a loud noise only when the fan was on high. I removed the fan (simple process) and found debris in there, cleaned it out and reinstalled the fan. No nore noise and it only took about 15 minutes.

 

It’s possible that you are low on refrigerant. Simple visual leak checks on A/C components can confirm a large leak, or you may need someone to perform an evacuation and recharge with dye. Then a black light is used over A/C fittings to look for a leak.

 

I'm having a similar issue. First, I notices the blower out through the vents seemed weak, so I changed the cabin air filter. I should have done that a while ago. it looked like it had spent a year in the bottom of a hamster cage. I tend to drive with windows down if it's below 85 or so, so I was slow to notice these issues. Then I discovered what you posted. A/C wasn't as cold as should be on either side, but there was some cold through passenger vents, driver's side was pretty much ambient temperature. I thought maybe some stuff had gotten past the CAF, but the air volume seems the same on both sides. I was planning to get the system recharged next. It definitely needs it, never been done since the car was new in 2007. But another commenter mentioned "actuator", I think I'll find out what that is about first.

 

I'm having a similar issue to the OP. Can you please explain the role of these "actuators"? Thanks.

 

The issue you're having has nothing to do with any of the actuators, the most common cause of this symptom is low refrigerant, it's very common in 4th Gens T4Rs, have the system serviced and it should be good.

The only way an actuator could cause something similar would only be on a Limited model that has the "Dual" zone HVAC system, the SR5 only has a single zone and as such only has one actuator to control the air temperature, so that can't be your issue unless it affecting both sides the same and the system is fully charged.

 

I do have dual climate zone on my limited. My symptoms were, driving home one night with the heater on, my air suddenly became cold, but my wife’s stayed hot. I knew it was my drivers side actuator as that controls the dual climate zone functionality. There are two actuators on the passenger side, maybe do a recharge first as that’s fairly cheap and if that doesn’t fix your issue you can research the actuators you do have.

@AuSeeker dont all 4Runners have two on the passenger side? I thought the dual zone is an additional one on the drivers side, which was the one I replaced.

 

All 4Runners have 3 on the passenger's side, 1 for mode/vent, 1 for air mix/temp and one for recirculation, the Limited has another on the driver's side for air mix/temp.

 

Got it. Thanks!

 

Late update, but yes the refrigerant was low. It’s held up since and hasnt shown any signs of it going low again. There weren’t any visible signs of a leakage and It’s been fine since. I have yet to take it in though to get it checked for a small leak. I’m just not home as much currently and got blessed to use a company truck. I will eventually take it in. Thanks everyone for your input and suggestions and solutions . I really appreciate it!

 

My A/C has gone to crap…..2 years ago my evaporator core leaked behind my dash since it was A/C I decided to have a shop do the replacement along with the expansion valve. My A/C is still not working right, took it to another shop and they half-assed my repair. Clearly my system has too much moisture but shops are cheap and reluctant to do the correct job and allow the vacuum pump remove all of the moisture. My A/C is cooler but the idle never goes up when then engine is warm and you select AUTO on the A/C. Sad that the manufacturers are trying to remove the repair ability from the consumer and force people to go to authorized shops when the shops do half-assed work for $140 per labor hour.

 

I hear that. My A/C works fine but i feel like it puts an above and beyond amount of load on the engine when its on. Like power seems really down when on compared to when off. I wonder if my compressor is starting to go and its taking more work to turn the pulley or something than it should.