My air circulation switch just broke

[Kal-El]

Well, something on my Yaris was bound to break eventually. At 91,000 miles, the first issue happened today.

I went to switch the inside/outside recirculation switch and there was an unusual tension to it. Without thinking twice, I gave it a little more pressure and it just let go. The switch is just a loose piece now and I heard the directional parts within the dash make an odd noise during the time a lightly forced the rotation. Damn. So now I cannot choose between inside recirculation or outside air. I believe it is stuck on outside air.

At least it's not a critical function but still something I want fixed. With a tight budget, it won't happen soon. And I imagine this will be a costly dash removal.


This happen to anyone else? Any thoughts?

Thanks.

[CTScott]

There was a member from Canada who had his fail. I sold him Crashy's diverter assembly with the mechanical cable assembly that went to the back of the knob. To change it out requires removal of the entire dash, to get the blower stack out, which the diverter is part of. You can get at the diverter from up behind the passenger glove box to see why it won't flip positions. You can also easily remove the HVAC controls panel to see what happened on that side.

[Kal-El]

Thanks CTscott.

I probably won't want to get into taking the dash apart myself.

How much do you think a dealer would charge - 1 or 2 hours of labor?
And are we talking about replacing a fairly cheap part or simply reconnecting a cable? I appreciate it.

[auxmike]

Can you just reach in and move that piece by hand via the glovebox?
I always leave it on recirc.

[CTScott]

Thanks CTscott.

I probably won't want to get into taking the dash apart myself.

How much do you think a dealer would charge - 1 or 2 hours of labor?
And are we talking about replacing a fairly cheap part or simply reconnecting a cable? I appreciate it.

If memory serves me, the person form Canada was quoted 6 hours of labor for removing the dash and swapping the assembly.

[Kal-El]

If memory serves me, the person form Canada was quoted 6 hours of labor for removing the dash and swapping the assembly.

That's outrageous. I don't know how I'll ever get it fixed if that's the case. 6 hours x $100 just for labor to fix a minor problem? :eek:

[Manley81bass]

The same thing happened to me. I just took the panel off and found that the cable had popped off the back. I reattached it and it works fine now. Quick, easy and free. Hopefully its as easy for you.

[Kal-El]

The same thing happened to me. I just took the panel off and found that the cable had popped off the back. I reattached it and it works fine now. Quick, easy and free. Hopefully its as easy for you.

I'll definitely give it a try. Thanks

However, I've discovered worse news after going out tonight. The top left knob assembly in question doesn't light up now!! That's even more concerning and much more aggravating to go without. So if it's a mechanical cable that controls the switch, why is it affecting the backlight?

This sucks.

[CTScott]

I'll definitely give it a try. Thanks

However, I've discovered worse news after going out tonight. The top left knob assembly in question doesn't light up now!! That's even more concerning and much more aggravating to go without. So if it's a mechanical cable that controls the switch, why is it affecting the backlight?

This sucks.

There are two connections on the back of that knob assembly - The mechanical cable for the diverter and an electrical cable for the fan speed control. You definitely need to pop off the AC control panel and take a look at what came off and how.

[Kal-El]

Great news, I fixed it!!! :thumbup:

Pulled of the center panels and found that the assembly behind the switch had simply popped off. I re-attached and it's as good as new. All in 5 minutes. Wonder how much the dealer would have charged.

Thanks for your help guys. :thumbsup:

[Revsson]

I think you owe CTScott the other 5 hours and 55 minutes of labor cost! :biggrin:

Glad you got it fixed and were able to tell others. Too bad you couldn't have
taken some pics of the process.

[Hershey]

found that if you sit on the opposite side when pulling out the side panels works best . That way you're at an angle where the plastic clips ( hooks ) let loose without breaking off . Had to remove center display so the loud annoying rattle it made would stop . Used sticky back felt , no more rattle . Good to see that you got it fixed :thumbsup: .

[Kal-El]

Glad you got it fixed and were able to tell others. Too bad you couldn't have
taken some pics of the process.

:wink:

Very easy to do. It only takes minutes with no tools to take the center stack apart. Starting with pic 1 snapping off the bottom piece.

Then pic 2 shows the two vertical pieces snapped off.

Pic 3 shows the climate control panel being pulled off.

Pic 4 I'm holding the control arm assembly that connects to the back of the top left knob that controls the circulation switch. That's what popped off. I simply re-attached to the back of the the fan speed assembly shown in pic 5.

:thumbsup:

[Revsson]

I don't have a sedan, but thanks for the pics! :thumbsup:

[EastCoastCnd]

I realize this is an older thread, but I wanted to thank you for the pictures. I had the exact same problem with my Yaris but it wasn't stuck in "fresh air" mode. The windows were fogging up 20 minutes into a drive in the middle of winter (scary!).
I took it to my mechanic who fixed it and only charged me $35 for labour. Then it happened again. I don't want to be paying to have the same simple problem fixed when I feel like I can do it myself. Tomorrow morning I'm going to give this a try.

Thanks again! :thumbup:

[bronsin]

If you leave the dial on recirc in my experience you will crud up the system so it smells like old socks if you run the AC very much. Which needs to be on recirc if its really hot in summer.

So my drill is run it on fresh every day for a few minutes to keep my car smelling sweetly.

If that thing didnt toggle back and forth it would be trouble!

[Tardis]

The dash flies apart on these cars. They are like a snap tight model. There is a small peanut bulb for the back light it is a unique part and is a bit pricey. I paid 8 dollars Cdn for it. I think it tends to go because the fan and recirculate get used the most thus get jarred enough to pop the bulb. Glad you got it fixed. A word to the wise do not slam the recirc/fresh knob over quickly when the fan is full blast. The force of the air on the diverter flap probably puts a bit of stress on the cable assembly and will pop it off as it did to you ( luckily) or worse actually break something.

Cheers!

[Tardis]

If you leave the dial on recirc in my experience you will crud up the system so it smells like old socks if you run the AC very much. Which needs to be on recirc if its really hot in summer.

So my drill is run it on fresh every day for a few minutes to keep my car smelling sweetly.

If that thing didnt toggle back and forth it would be trouble!

Good plan. You don't want to run recirc too very long in cold weather either unless you like steamy windows! Hot days I run recirc with the AC to get the cabin cold fast then go to fresh.( unless there is some stinky diesel truck in front of me! LOL)

[Astroman]

Mine did this but broke something down where it pivots. Dumbass shop put my dials on in upside down order and stressed the cables. They even had the audacity to tell me I was WRONG about the order of my dials! It broke a few months later when I moved far away, and that was when I discovered the jerk had shaved the clips off the knobs to make them fit (then glued them back in when I showed him a pic of a new on the lot yaris knob location.) I now just remove the glove box and flip it manually a couple times a year, recirculate for summer, fresh air for winter. Totally sucks but I'm not tearing my dash apart to fix it. If I ever did take the dash out it's getting fixed then.

Please try to post your threads in the correct thread section. It's getting old moving all the stuff from the "general discussion" when this was service related. I've moved it to the proper sections :thumbsup:

[JoeMac]

WOW thanks a lot, I had an appt at the dealership tomorrow to fix this and decide to look real quick to see how hard it was to fix. You definitely saved me at least 60 bucks if not more.:wink:

Very easy to do. It only takes minutes with no tools to take the center stack apart. Starting with pic 1 snapping off the bottom piece.

Then pic 2 shows the two vertical pieces snapped off.

Pic 3 shows the climate control panel being pulled off.

Pic 4 I'm holding the control arm assembly that connects to the back of the top left knob that controls the circulation switch. That's what popped off. I simply re-attached to the back of the the fan speed assembly shown in pic 5.

:thumbsup:

[omertkhan]

The same thing happened to my Yaris hatchback (it's called Vitz where I live). I thought I'd search for a solution online before going to the Toyota workshop. And boy am I glad I came across this thread!

The pictures posted above really helped a lot, although, the inside of the hatchback is a bit different than that of the sedan. The whole process took about 5-7 minutes.

I certainly saved some money by fixing it myself. The guys at the workshop would have definitely charged a high amount for such a simple problem!

Thanks to all the folks here!

[white_rice]

Mine pops up quite frequently. Its easy enough to re-attach as I've done it several times now, but I will go to switch it over a few weeks later, and there is a lot of resistance -- and then you feel it pop off again. Not sure whats up.. but my inside windows are fogging up like crazy every single day lately even with it on 'fresh air' and I put the AC button down, so not sure if the 2 problems are related.

[CTScott]

Mine pops up quite frequently. Its easy enough to re-attach as I've done it several times now, but I will go to switch it over a few weeks later, and there is a lot of resistance -- and then you feel it pop off again. Not sure whats up.. but my inside windows are fogging up like crazy every single day lately even with it on 'fresh air' and I put the AC button down, so not sure if the 2 problems are related.

When the guy filed down the tabs to make then fit in the wrong order he probably damaged the clips that hold the cable end to the knob.

The fogging issue may be because the condensate drain is plugged.

[nater6969]

I had the same problem with the climate control selector knob (top right, the one with the AC button in the middle) cable slipping off. I repaired it twice myself, but the cable is fraying now. I can get the part, but does anyone have diagrams or pics of the exact location where the module plugs into the blower stack?
Thanks!

[yours_falsely]

I just had the same problem happen, can't switch from fresh air mode and the illumination seems to go in and out. So glad I found this thread

[Yoda2014]

Me too. This must be the first thing to go, but mine happened at 112,000 miles. Thanks Kal-El. This is the reason I joined this forum.

[frankinwales]

My thanks also for the advice in this thread........

My wife's 2006 Yaris diesel auto had the same problem, the mechanical cable had detached from the selector. It was easy enough to gain access ( once I had been shown how the dash came apart for access, via the photo's.)


thanks once more.


Frank

[crbennett]

Same issue with 2011 Yaris Sedan. Pics helped me disassemble and re-assemble in the stated 5 or so minutes. I am tempted to put a dab of crazy glue in a strategic place to prevent the cable/switch assembly from popping off next time. BTW - mine popped off on the first colder day here - not sure if this has anything to do with the problem.

[NEexpat]

Based on this thread and others on this topic, whenever I turn those knobs, any of them, I do so ever so slowly.

[scaninky]

I always turn the fan speed all the way down before changing the recirculation knob. I think it puts less pressure on it.

[bronsin]

This whole thing of people solving problems with the internet just gives me a warm and fuzzy!:biggrin:

[BCtogian]

Thanks for the pictures Kal-El! Just had this happen to me a few weeks ago, decided to finally take a look at it and found this place! Still relevant in 2015.

[09sedan]

bumping this just happened to me so im going to take a look and see whats going on

[09sedan]

yep, same thing.. fixed it! :)

[Martywells777]

:wink:

Very easy to do. It only takes minutes with no tools to take the center stack apart. Starting with pic 1 snapping off the bottom piece.

Then pic 2 shows the two vertical pieces snapped off.

Pic 3 shows the climate control panel being pulled off.

Pic 4 I'm holding the control arm assembly that connects to the back of the top left knob that controls the circulation switch. That's what popped off. I simply re-attached to the back of the the fan speed assembly shown in pic 5.

:thumbsup:
Just was searching for how to fix mine which popped off a month ago and all the steps worked great, thanks!!

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N910A using Tapatalk

[auxmike]

Is this a sedan only issue?

[timmiller]

Thanks Guys- Was going crazy because the mechanical assembly fell off and was hiding behind the housing...until I saw these photos, I would have given up...but keep digging around until I found it. Happy Yaris Owner.

[frog13]

This very issue happened to me last night on my 2010 Yaris 4 door hatchback. I'm kinda heavy handed at times. In the aforementioned photos , do these dash panels (where the fan speed and recirculation knob is) "pop" off easily? Pull straight out or push panels in slightly to get them too release??? TIA

[CTScott]

This very issue happened to me last night on my 2010 Yaris 4 door hatchback. I'm kinda heavy handed at times. In the aforementioned photos , do these dash panels (where the fan speed and recirculation knob is) "pop" off easily? Pull straight out or push panels in slightly to get them too release??? TIA


Yes. Just pull straight back starting with the bottom corners.

[frog13]

Thanks Scott , this Forum is a vital necessity. Thanks to all.

[frog13]

I haven't started disassembly yet. Any clue as to why the mechanism / cable maufunctions ?. Is there a screw that needs a bit of lock tight applied?. TIA

[frog13]

What the heck , the print on my last post is micro???.

[CTScott]

I haven't started disassembly yet. Any clue as to why the mechanism / cable maufunctions ?. Is there a screw that needs a bit of lock tight applied?. TIA

No. The cable carrier assembly just snaps into place. The issue is that if the cable or what it drives binds and you force the cable, you pop the carrier out.

[frog13]

Understood , thank you. When I eventually get too this , I'll look for binding points / lube points.

[rendrag]

Had the same problem and just fixed it thanks for the posts and pictures

[thebassline]

Thanks everyone for the help and pictures. My issue ended up being the actual flap being stuck and not allowing it to move. Taking out the glove box, following the cable to figure out where the mechanism was and moving it manually cleared up whatever gunk had been accumulating and allowed the dial to move normally. Attached some pictures of that in case anyone was interested.5760457605

[rehan86]

Thanks a lot!! You have saved me my money and time at the garage.

Today I did it and only took 5 - 10 mins.

[yarishatchback]

I’ve had this problem now for a while ...I HOPE THIS HELPS!!!

Inside my glove compartment where the flap is for the vent , it had a wiring harness cable that fell in front of the flap ... when the glove box is closed it was pushing against the wires that fell
In front of the vent flap...


Try opening the glove box and then try to flip the vent ... if it flips easy , pop the glove box out and check to see if there is anything impending the vent .


That was my fix for a tight vent cable...

[Irishsea]

Old post but signed up to say it's still helping people.

Just fixed my partner's 2008 Yaris with 39k miles on it. Local garage quoted me almost £200 as they said it was over 2 hours of work.