2019 Blower Motor

Hey everyone, I'm on the fence with this issue I'm having, and hoping anyone can help. Yesterday afternoon when I left my brother's house (I was parked in his driveway and temp outside was above 100), I turned on my a/c to medium fan speed, and noticed a slight humming and the fan power wasn't as strong as I remember it being- in az I'm using the a/c most of the year. The sound was intermittent and not completely apparent.

The drive home was about 40 minutes, and I was still a bit uncomfortable (not ice cold like I usually am). The air was blowing ice cold, just not powerful.

The last time I went to Camelback Toyota, I was really turned off by them. I went for the fuel pump recall, and the advisor was telling me about all these things they would do since I was at about 35k. He was writing on the log to clean my battery terminals, differentials, a/c service, fuel service, transfer case, etc. I never recalled them writing things down before so I asked if its an additional cost and he replied yes. I told him no, and he pushed back. I still provided a firm no. He got an attitude, and I also mentioned I did not want them touching the wheels (balance and rotate). This is where i could tell he became really annoyed with me. I have aftermarket wheels and tires which get handled at another place.

So my question to everyone is, should I go in and change my own blower motor? If I recall correctly the part is $50. Last time I brought the truck for a squeaky shock in the rear, they charged me $80 to troubleshoot the problem, then refunded me since it fell under warranty.

 

Sounds like that dealership is a load of crap. Unfortunately, Toyota have no say in how their dealerships are run. I'd say you're better off finding another place to take your truck in for maintenance.

I had the AC service done on my truck last year with about 42,000 mi on it, forget what all that entailed but when they were done the AC was colder and stronger. Wasn't horrendous price either, and I know the manual recommends AC service every 40ish thousand miles. I'd say start with your cabin air filter and go from there. Sometimes a simple fix like that will get you back up and running.

 

I pulled my blower motor to spray cleaner in there. 3 lil screws, 2 clips and the plug. 5 min job. I've only gone to Toyota in Tempe, they were dummies too.

 

Thank you for that. Yeah, I change my own filters, and have done most of the work myself to the truck. My dad taught me a ton of basic stuff when I was younger, and always told me he didn't want mechanics taking advantage of me because they would try.

I looked at the motor itself from above to make sure there weren't any kind of leaves in it, and I didn't see anything.

Edit: Yes, I definitely am going to find another dealer. After this last encounter they really upset me. He wasn't asking if I wanted the additional services. It was definitely a shady sales tactic.

 

I didn't even think to clean it, thank you. I'll try that. We bring the truck off road a lot, especially lately to go shooting out by lake pleasant. Maybe somehow the AZ dirt is trapped in there.

 

Service writers are on commission, hence all the "little things" they can bill for the more money they make.

Simple service things you are best off doing yourself. Start with that cabin air filter.

Rob D has a video on changing it out (it's hidden in the back of your glove box).
https://youtu.be/tqpVW65lNPU?t=126

It takes less than a minute to change. I use all OEM filters (McGeorge Toyota has good prices, but grab a couple of oil filters, air filters, etc at the same time to save on shipping).

2019 - still new, I wouldn't remove the fan (after 10 years it's worth pulling and inspecting, but there is a foam gasket that rips so use caution). If you find a hole in the air filter and mouse droppings, ya you need to drop the fan so remove a dead mouse (yech).


Exploded diagram of fan location (above passengers' feet).

Tip: Screws into plastic/nylon. It's easy to strip. I start by turning the screw backward until I feel a click. Once you feel that click it's the start of the thread, then go forward. This prevents cross-threading. One reason I like hand tools when reassembling things (power screwdrivers are great for disassembly)

 

I was cleaning the coils to get rid of that musty smell. There was a tsb on power motors but that was for early 3rd gens.

 

Thank you for all the details. Yeah, I just changed the filter out maybe a month ago? It looked super clean and didn't have anything foreign in it.

I'll keep the sensitive nylon parts in mind if I do go thru and drop it. Thank you for that tip, I'm sure it'll save me headaches down the line

 

I have noticed a musty smell, so I did change the cabin filter. It went away, but eventually came back. Keeping my fingers crossed my issue is a simple fix like you have stated.

 

Two of my favorite YouTube folks for good common sense Toyota:

Faye Hadley (she ran her own independent Toyota repair here in Texas)
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCc0508DmRG72ILIkc4Vr8yg

Toyota Maintenance. Peter is in Northern California but is so peaceful and methodical in his repair and tips.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCSqUTKab5R1I4B5frDEjXzA

One of the worst experiences was going in with my daughter to a Jeep Dealer (she didn't listen to Dad!) but thankfully it was a lease (whew). It has a Fiat 2.4 Engine that burned oil. Brand new vehicle but would burn a quart of oil, but to save the engine shut down the fuel pump! Since it was in for warranty repairs (lowest paying jobs) it was always a week to get it back.

I'm a firm believer in doing it yourself, but when I don't have time or realize "something isn't right" (multiple check engine lights on my 2019 Highlander -- leaking high-pressure injector at 6,000 miles) took it for service. The dealer kept clearing codes, but they would come back after a week. When CEL is on, disables cruise control. Sigh.

 

Took your advice @Skydvrr and cleaned it up a bit. Also stuck the dyson up in there and vacuumed whatever. Took the truck out not too long ago, and it's perfect. Thank you Nick and everyone for your advice and support!

 

Glad to hear! Didju get any leaves or debris in there? Could have Definitely caused a problem

 

I didn't specifically see leaves. Probably dirt though. The plastic cover thing was spinning more freely by the time I was re installing it. Spent about ten mins on it. Night and day difference though.

 

Nice! Hopefully it's long lasting. You didn't notice any cracks around the center of the blower did ya? In the white plastic, where the nipple is?

 

No cracks at all. Inspected it thoroughly since I thought something had to be broken with how weak it was blowing the air.

 

Interesting. Your resistor could be on the fritz as well, but more than likely not. Glad it's working good now!

 

This was an issue on the second gen Tacoma. In the 200k miles we put on ours the blower motor went out twice, resistor once and the connector at the resistor had to be replaced from overheating.

Blowers were easy swaps as was the resistor.

 

@NinGee87 get this done before you hit the 36k it will help with ac issues and it’s free aslong as you get it done before 36k https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/tsbs/2019/MC-10166026-9999.pdf tell them the ac struggles in traffic and low rpm . They didn’t even have to replicate it at my dealer . Good luck

 

Oooh good advice! I was thinking they wouldn't be able to replicate it and turn me away, while taking my "diagnostics fee" they charge.

 

It’s a tsb so I don’t think you would have the charge anyways . Also as you are under the 36k/3years