Hello Guys,

Since I bought this car, the air discharge mode does not change properly.
Let me explain, when you turn on AC/ or for normal fresh air - we generally switch to front vent air only so that u get high air flow..
if i switch to foot, defrost its switching fine. Whenevr I switch to front only, it stucks in the middle of foot and front , so i dont get the full flow. This becomes irritating in the warm days when u need cold air to the full speed.

I checked and observed the the mode door motor/actuator was not moving in that position. So I ordered a new OEM part ans replaced that.. It improved a bit.earlier it used to produced some noise while switching positions..now it moves perfectly all the positions expect the front one..

Anyone faced this issue before ?

 

sorry bro, i don't understand your question.

are you having trouble turning on your air conditioning so that it blows in the top and bottom vents at the same time?

 

Hmm thats weird....in for results and enlightment.

 

I am assuming you bought this car used, correct? Ill-regardless, what does your cabin-filter look like? Have you ever changed it?

I ask these questions because it may be that, due to not changing out the cabin-filter, there has been a buildup of "gunk" in and around the mechanical aspects of the venting system. You can see the remnants of this stuff in cars where the owner has neglected to clean their vents and, or, up and in around the defrost vents. It is kind of black...like a combination of dust and moisture. If your cabin filter has been neglected by you, or by the previous owner, then this may be your issue.

This was never an issue back in the day when we changed the direction of our venting system by hand because if it was stuck, then we would just go redfox and force it. Now that cars use electronics and solenoids to change venting dynamics, we invariably have opportunities for failure of these systems because the ECU, fuse, and solenoid will only allow/generate so much electricity, i.e., force, to be applied to the solenoid. When the resistance of the gunk is greater than the force generated by the solenoid, then you have venting system failure. To counter this problem car manufactures, who use electronics rather than mechanical to change venting dynamics, have started adding cabin-filters to their vehicles.

If this is the case for you, then the only fix is to tear apart the dashboard and clean the venting. It is labor intensive. Hence, it would be quite expensive for a shop to do it for you. So, I would rule out other possibilities, solenoids or the actual buttons, by talking to the dealer and narrowing down what it could be.

 

Very interesting.

 

Thanks guys..

First of all, Yes I did change the Cabin Air Filter 4 months ago. This does not seem to be the problem with filter. The reason why I am saying it, the filter is on the passenger side glove box. But for 6th gens, the mode selector motor is just under the driver side dash board. Its accessible if you lay down near the accelerator pedal ( PITA)

So, check the image above. The problem happens when I switch to the marked mode. ( front air ). Earlier it used to produce a ticking noise as of something is stuck so the motor could not rotate the door. So I replaced the motor. Now sometimes ( if you try several times ), the switching happens smoothly.
but most of the time, it just moves a bit but not exactly 100% to fully discharge air from the front vents.

Its just a motor which moves a lever to change the air discharge direction.

Edit : forgot to mention that, when I switch to front vents only and its not totally discharging air in the front, sometimes I go under the dash and just hit the lever ( white color ) and it moves up. Then it becomes fine.
I lubed it couple of times, no help.

 

I wonder if you took a look at the electrical current being sent to the motor to make sure it is within specs. You replaced the motor, so that should be fine. Maybe the last motor was fine as well. Maybe the issue is not the motor itself, but a of lack power being sent to it. Have you check the electrical current being sent to the motor? You'll have to pull out your multi-meter, check the schematics in the service manual, and get up under that dash again.


Electrical stuff with cars is always fun. Well, actually it is the king of PITA. That being said, once you make this world part of your life you become quite good at sorting out most issues that cars have, setting aside the blatant obvious mechanical ones.

 

Agreed. I dont see the specs in FSM. I mean, how do I make sure its the required current is flowing through. But I will try to take the ratings today.
Good point

 

Okay, Section ATC in the FSM. Look at page 55 and thereafter. It deals with "power supply for inoperative door motor." What you will be looking for is 20 ohms for the door motors. Have a look at this section before you begin.

 

que?

 

Ya,,I see that. Thanks so much.
Will post the updates.

 

Also, you may have to get a positive reading, i.e., from one of the motors that is functioning properly, before you can compare it to your faulty reading. So, pic one of the other door-motors, change the venting direction to a setting that you know works, and get a reading of the voltage that is being sent to the door motor.

 

the problem is mechanical..there are 3/4 levers which operates together..
the motor is operating fine...i unhooked that piece and tested..
its very difficult to check which lever is not functioning properly..i wud have to diassemble the dash for that..so i just unplugged to connector going to the motor and parmanently switched to front air mode..its damn hot in LA now..

 

Yeah, those things are a nuisance when they don't work properly. Tear that dash apart before it gets too hot, bro. Good luck.