Thank you so much from two girls in Pittsburgh. We did it ourselves and saved a ton of money! The soldering was a booger but we finally got it. Using 24-26 gauge wire was the key. Any thicker and you can't bend it enough WO ripping it off. Thanks so much my friend. Lisa and Kerri! Girls getting it done.
Rick, I wanted to thank you for taking the time to film these great videos. The tip on how to remove the unit was awesome. When I pulled out my unit I was not able to repair it myself, however, I was able to find a part and replace the entire part for less than $200. Then when I put it in it didn't work right. I went back to your trick on tightening the nut and that fixed it right up! My wife thinks I'm a genius and of course we saved a ton of money not ever bringing it in to the shop. I can't quite believe I pulled this off but I did it entirely based on your excellent and informative videos. You are doing great work! Keep it up!
Kirk Hansen congrats I just paid $400 to get mine fixed my mechanic put a longer ribbon in, I don't mean to rain on your parade but that's what I did I tightened up the nut around control knob but it didn't last, what your doing is pushing the broken connection closer to the point of where it' barley makes a connection, that was my story who knows maybe it will hold up for you! Good luck.
I have never used a soldering iron or a multimeter in my life, but after watching your videos I was motivated to try this repair out on our 2006 Highlander with the automatic climate control system knowing that it was going to cost me close to $1,000 for a dealer to replace. I checked out a few websites to learn how to test for continuity with the meter and practiced a few times with the soldering iron before working on the circuit board. With the automatic system I had to solder wires to both the temperature and fan controllers (they both were a bit wonky). I put it all back together and was amazed to see it actually worked!! We now get heat and cold and can turn the fan up and down. I spent about $50 out of pocket to get a meter and iron and a few other supplies, but so much better than $1,000. Thanks very much for sharing this!
I took my car to a shop and they told me the problem was the climate control panel and it will cost me $750 for a new one. I researched and bump into this video, I follow every step on the 3 part video, but I didn't dare to do the soldering portion ( I was afraid of burning the circuit board), so I took the part to a TV repair shop they did the soldering for $5. I put it back together and PRESTO!! Cold and beautiful air inside my 2005 Toyota Highlander during the hot Florida summers. Thanks a lot Rick, you are the man!!
Thanks so much. I didn't want to repair the module myself and purchased a rebuilt unit but I would not have been able to tackle the replacement without the step by step instructions you provided on removing the unit.You saved us a bunch of money!
I have a 2006 Highlander with the same issue. Temp knob wasnt working. My unit is slightly different but close enough. If not for your instruction I would of been way over my head! Thank you so much for posting this. Looks like I saved my family $1000 bucks, which is much needed right now!
Rick, you are the MAN! Your video saved me $1100. We weren't going to fix it at that price. Thank you for all you do to help the little guy. Other than this repair'\, our Highlander is and has been a great car. 170,000 miles and going strong.
Rick....I can't thank you enough for posting your three video's for repairing the Climate Control unit. Today, I worked to get my Toyota 2001 Higlander Control Unit repaired and it worked just fine after the fix. Just glad I found your video's. Best Regards....Paul
My hero. For years I've been dealing with this problem. Tighten the nut, then later jamming some cardboard or a coin under the temperature knob to get it to work. Your fix worked for mine. Thank you, thank you, and thank you. I can enjoy climate control, rather than deal with this issue that plagues so many. :)
Thank you so much Rick! The heater was stuck on 65 a quick google search led me here. I had the unit out of the car in 10minutes and ready for solder 15 minutes later. The soldering took longer than I expected...it's been awhile. All totaled it took about 1.5 hours to fix the problem. I spent $25 on a soldering iron, wire and solder and saved $700!
Thank you Rick! I have a 2008 Toyota Highlander hybrid. One day while driving my side was blowing cold air and my wife’s started blowing hot air. The problem was intermittent. I took it to the dealer and they told me they couldn’t find a problem. But the problem continued. I knew I couldn’t do the soldering so I found a new climate control on eBay and purchased it for a $150. I bought the plastic tools for six dollars and figured I’d give it a try. It took me 15 minutes from start to finish to open it up take out the old one put in the new one and close everything back up. I couldn’t of done it without you! Thank you
Excellent set of video instructions, extremely helpful, detailed and accurate! Rick, thank you very much for the videos! I have Highlander 2005, the problem exactly the same, and it was fixed within an hour.
Great video!! Our temperature was stuck on 65 so we could not get any heat. Followed your directions exactly and when I got to the circuit board, sure enough, one of the 3 wires was broken at the connection. I took it to a TV repair store and they soldered the 3 jumper wires as well as the 3 for the fan for a total of $20. What a deal! I put everything back together and to my wife's amazement everything worked perfectly. Total time for repair, including two trips to the TV repair store, 3 hours. We love our 2003 Highlander but I would have a hard time paying a $1,000 to fix something like this.
It worked! Got it fixed, thanks to you! Thanks Rick for posting these 3 videos. It was extremely helpful! Great step by step guide. You were right on point with the time frame estimated to fix this. Total cost for soldering gun and some wire: $9.73. I soldered the ends that broke off. It was tricky, but I did it. You saved me tons of money. Thank you so much Rick. You're a pro!
Hey Rick, I know these videos are 3 years old but I had to tell you that you ROCK!!! Can't thank you enough for this. Just hoping my soldering job will stick. For anyone else trying this--if you have middle aged eyes like I do, a good set of head loupes is a must. Also the finest point soldering gun you can find. P.S. Add me to your list of girls who have done this fix!
Rick, Thank you so much for these 3 great youtube's. My Brother-in-law and I followed your expert directions and had it fixed and all parts back in place in just under 2 hours! Soldering is scary, it took the most time! I love my 2003 Highlander with 103,000 miles. This will keep me going!
Thank you so very much for this video!!! I was able to fix the exact same problem on my Highlander. It took just under 2 hours for the complete job. I saved lots of money and don't have to deal with the mechanics. Again, a very big thank you!!!!
Hey Buddy! Thanks for the top notch instructions, especially the close-ups of the plugs, I could not have done it without those! The entire job took about an hour and everything works fine. Just a note for others: My Highlander had an aftermarket stereo and that make things a bit different. The mounts had been snipped off and there were no L or R on what was left, so make a note of how they went... Thanks again and good luck to all!
You Sir are a GENIUS!!! I had this problem but it turned into the heat not working and as it is now getting cold outside is just as bad as no AC in summer. It took me maybe an hour to do this. Put a dab of solder one all 6 points at that ribbon wire and now everything's perfect!!! Toyota should be ashamed of themselves charging people $800 for a little time and a few dabs of solder!
Thanks for posting these videos, Rick. I had read about this fix but having the detailed videos made the job much easier (and less likely to accidentally break something!)
Thanks Rick !! The video's are great. Very easy to foillow and all steps are exactly as I experienced on my 2002 Highlander. About 2 hrs total repair time not counting time to buy a new soldering iron with a fine tip , which is definitely needed to solder where the pins are extremely close together. My problem was full heat all the time and the solution worked perfectly.
Rick, thanks so much. I'm technically challenged but went for it. easy to follow your directions. Came out just as you said; had a friend help with the soldering; done and back in in about hour and half. Thanks for your kindness and generosity in sharing your skill & knowledge merry Christmas. My Xmas gift to my wife! Dennis
Thanks for this video - got it fixed on a 2004 Toyota Highlander - different layout than your model, but same procedure. Your right on a very small pointed soldering iron - those contacts are very small!
Many thanks for this tip. I followed the directions and it took about 3 hours due mostly to my fat-fingered soldering challenges. But the AC fired right up when I reinstalled it!
Thanks Rick very infomitive, I fixed my problem today, heater would only work whe I made a right turn.I just want to add I left my radio connected, I did not know the power up code. Also I did not disconnect the ribbon cable just need to be careful I notice there is a little plastic window you can remove if you want to disconnect it.. I wouldn't advise this repair if you are a little clumbsey or shaky and eyesight needs to be good. Thanks again jack
Hi thanks for your guidance. Fixed it as instructed and it worked. Only thing I couldn't do is the soldering. So I google electronic repair shops. Had to pay 40.00 to have them fix it.......again thanks and as easy as you showed. Took them just a few minutes to repair.
Rick.... Thanks so much!!!! The fix worked perfectly for me and just in time as our weather dropped to the single digits this week!!!!! Enjoy your archery vid's as well. Thanks again!
My Highlander has been, and is, a very reliable vehicle. It's easy to maintain yourself. I've changed the brakes. New rotors and pads front and rear very easy to do and way cheaper than a dealer. Oil change are easy too.
Thanks, I repaired my car last night. I now have heat.I noticed that the ribbon can be removed from the top. By pulling up the plastic window and pressing down the top white lever, which makes it so much easier. I purchased a soldering tool for 3.99(Harbor freight) vs 800.00 plus.
Thanks for your input David... 1. Pulling on the wires instead of the connectors can be a problem.. I believe I cautioned the viewer about that. 2. I thought about doing that myself, but to keep it simple for those viewer that are not skilled or have the tools to do that... again just keeping it simple.
When you removed the connectors from the back of the control pod you may have pulled on the wires instead of just the connectors which may have caused a wire to be pulled out of one of the terminals. We see this sort of thing all the time in the manufacturing facility at which I work. If you find a loose wire you can try and strip a small bit of the wire insulation from the end and solder it to the terminal from which it broke. Melting the connector plastic a little won't hurt it.
Thanks Rick this helped the compressor stay on and get cool air. But I also have a problem were the clutch malkes a squeaky noise when it engages for about 15 to 20 seconds like if the belt is going bad. I wonder if anybody had problems with the clutch before and if the repair kit that toyota sells would fix it.
I could not get the soldering done. I think I drank too much coffee. Hands shakey. Took to electronics repair shop. He wanted $50 to solder the 3 jumpers. I was able to talk him down to $25. It took him less than 5 minute to solder then I took it home and installed. It now works perfect. It is a great feeling to avoid overpaying a mechanic.
Martin, It is likely, if the electronics are faulty. If you are experiencing intermittent temperatures issues as described in this video, then you're on the right path for repairing it. Let us know how it works out.
My Highlander has the digital LCD screen which no longer works. As far as I know, that part is not repairable. Are the wiring harness hookups the same between the digital and manual climate control units? I was thinking of switching over to a manual unit.
Rick, is there anything i need to watch out for when i tightened that screw? I am not mechanially inclined. i appreciate you assistance on this. Sounds minor but ....i don't do cars.
Thanks Rick! I soldered the original wires back on. The climate button works. It's funny, now the Recirculate button and Air Conditioner button do not work. Did I short something out? I checked the fuses. They look good. Any ideas. Thanks, Jerry
Hi Rick, my problem isn’t intermittent. The heat just stopped working. Cold air is fine with the A/C. I flushed the heater core and the pipes to and from the heater core get hot, but no heat comes from the vents. My 2001 doesn’t have exactly the same climate control configuration as your video. I think my temperature control knob work like a thermostat - in that it’s integrated with the fan… when I turn the temperature control knob all the way to cold, the fan goes to high and the A/C compressor kicks on. When I turn the knob all the way to hot, the fan goes on high, but only cold air comes out. Do you think your solution could fix this problem too?
I had the same problem... I took the temperature control knob off and found that the nut behind there kept coming loose...what I did was put some superglue on the nut making sure I could still turn it... So as to not superglue to hot or cold permanently. I've done it twice and it works like new!
Hello Mr Rick will this fix the problem of the air not turning on. I turn the knob to high and nothing. but I do turn the air condition on and I can feel air if I drive on the freeway. Doesn't blow out fast just slowly. what do you think can be happening, again no air blows out unless on freeway and also must turn off inside vent to feel some air. help
My problem lies with the post/nut on the potentiometer. The threaded post is not completely stripped but I cant get the nut to tighten enough to control the temp. I've checked around for the potentiometer but all anybody wants to sale me is the whole unit. Does the repair that you've illustrated in these videos fix my problem or do I need to purchase the entire module? Do you know of anyone that sales the potentiometer individually?
When you say you re-soldered BEHIND the knob, did you follow my method? Did you check to see if you had continuity as shown in my video? Did you re-connect the three wire connectors you had to unplug to do the repair? Make sure that they are fully seated.
Rick..Someone stole my grandsons ac-heater control panel with radio ...its a 2005....is there anything special besides plugging in the harness? I thank you in advance for your help.
Hi Rick, I tried your method of fixing the Climate Controller on our 2005 Toyota Highlander. I did okay until it came to the soldering. It seems the middle pin on the small plate that attaches to the Climate Control knob disappeared so there was nothing to solder to and now operation is intermittent. Got it all back to together without losing anything, but now no A/C. Any suggestions you may have would be greatly appreciated!
George, I believe the pin you're speaking about is on of the wires in the 3 wire ribbon. This isn't a show stopper, as long as the small circuit board isn't broken. You can solder the wire directly to the pad were the wire pin was. Don't over heat the board. Let know how that works for you.
Hi Rick, Thank you for your reply. I'm thinking now this soldering may be above my technical skills. Are you still available to do that? If so, how do I send the part to you, etc.?
I hope you have heat now.I repaired mine last night. It wasn't difficult. I thought if it doesn't work I will buy a refurbished one on eBay prices ranged from 89.00 to 400.00 plus. I purchased a soldering tool from Harbor Freight for 3.99.
I dug a little deeper and a repair shop suggested I look at the blend door actuator. As I understand it, this moves a door that opens or closes to mix fresh air and blower air that blows across the heater core. My symptoms suggest the door is in the closed position so no blower air goes across the heater core. The fix that Rick shows here is what controls this door actuator. I found some information on how to check the actuator at www.sparkys-answers.com/2009/04/2003-toyota-highlander-ac-stuck-on-heat.html - I pulled off the actuator, rotated the heater control knob and the actuator arm moved. I also manually moved the blend door and got the heat that I had been missing, I put it all back together and it works fine. I'm not exactly sure what my issue was, but it works now. I may have to perform Rick's repair if this turn into an intermittent problem. I decided to try this fix before I ripped apart my dash. The "repair" took maybe 30-45 minutes.
Hey, Rick -- I did this repair a couple of months ago, soldered the jumper wires on, but it didn't solve the problem (we'd already tightened the nut on the potentiometer). We were getting intermittent heat, no no heat at all. Any suggestions on next steps?
I have a 2006 Toyota Highlander, and I think I may have the same problem, in reverse. My A/C works great, but I can't get any heat at all, even for the defroster. In your opinion, would this indicate the same fix?
Thank you for the video I was going to take mine out and send it away to get fixed for $150 but figured it looks like too much trouble to do myself so I asked my mechanic if you could pull it out and I'll send it away he told me he would try to fix it himself and put it back in the same day I downloaded some information from the Internet for him and he was able to install a longer ribbon and he charged me $400 which is a far cry from eight hundred to 1200 which is what the Toyota dealer in New York wanted to charge I can't believe the prices Toyota charges for a defective part that they installed so much for Asian quality.
I have a 2001 Toyota Highlander and my AC push button is having issues, it will blow hot but if I hold the AC push button in the compressor will come on and cold air cones
Oh Rick, the Rear Defroster button doesn't not work either. All three button do not work after I did the repair on the Climate Control knob. Thanks Jerry
The easy solution to this problem is to remove the climate control unit. NExt contact an old school tv repair guy in the yellow pages. You will want him to solder on new stronger ribbens to each swtich., This process should cost roughly $20
Thank you so much from two girls in Pittsburgh. We did it ourselves and saved a ton of money! The soldering was a booger but we finally got it. Using 24-26 gauge wire was the key. Any thicker and you can't bend it enough WO ripping it off. Thanks so much my friend. Lisa and Kerri! Girls getting it done.
Rick, I wanted to thank you for taking the time to film these great videos. The tip on how to remove the unit was awesome. When I pulled out my unit I was not able to repair it myself, however, I was able to find a part and replace the entire part for less than $200.
Then when I put it in it didn't work right. I went back to your trick on tightening the nut and that fixed it right up! My wife thinks I'm a genius and of course we saved a ton of money not ever bringing it in to the shop. I can't quite believe I pulled this off but I did it entirely based on your excellent and informative videos.
You are doing great work! Keep it up!
Kirk Hansen congrats I just paid $400 to get mine fixed my mechanic put a longer ribbon in, I don't mean to rain on your parade but that's what I did I tightened up the nut around control knob but it didn't last, what your doing is pushing the broken connection closer to the point of where it' barley makes a connection, that was my story who knows maybe it will hold up for you! Good luck.
I have never used a soldering iron or a multimeter in my life, but after watching your videos I was motivated to try this repair out on our 2006 Highlander with the automatic climate control system knowing that it was going to cost me close to $1,000 for a dealer to replace. I checked out a few websites to learn how to test for continuity with the meter and practiced a few times with the soldering iron before working on the circuit board. With the automatic system I had to solder wires to both the temperature and fan controllers (they both were a bit wonky). I put it all back together and was amazed to see it actually worked!! We now get heat and cold and can turn the fan up and down. I spent about $50 out of pocket to get a meter and iron and a few other supplies, but so much better than $1,000. Thanks very much for sharing this!
I took my car to a shop and they told me the problem was the climate control panel and it will cost me $750 for a new one. I researched and bump into this video, I follow every step on the 3 part video, but I didn't dare to do the soldering portion ( I was afraid of burning the circuit board), so I took the part to a TV repair shop they did the soldering for $5. I put it back together and PRESTO!! Cold and beautiful air inside my 2005 Toyota Highlander during the hot Florida summers. Thanks a lot Rick, you are the man!!
Oliver Barb I love hearing that! Nice job.
Thanks so much. I didn't want to repair the module myself and purchased a rebuilt unit but I would not have been able to tackle the replacement without the step by step instructions you provided on removing the unit.You saved us a bunch of money!
I have a 2006 Highlander with the same issue. Temp knob wasnt working. My unit is slightly different but close enough. If not for your instruction I would of been way over my head! Thank you so much for posting this. Looks like I saved my family $1000 bucks, which is much needed right now!
Rick, you are the MAN! Your video saved me $1100. We weren't going to fix it at that price. Thank you for all you do to help the little guy. Other than this repair'\, our Highlander is and has been a great car. 170,000 miles and going strong.
Thanks... It is a great car. I have 250,000 miles mine and counting.
Rick....I can't thank you enough for posting your three video's for repairing the Climate Control unit. Today, I worked to get my Toyota 2001 Higlander Control Unit repaired and it worked just fine after the fix. Just glad I found your video's. Best Regards....Paul
Your welcome Paul, Thank you for your service,
My hero. For years I've been dealing with this problem. Tighten the nut, then later jamming some cardboard or a coin under the temperature knob to get it to work. Your fix worked for mine. Thank you, thank you, and thank you. I can enjoy climate control, rather than deal with this issue that plagues so many. :)
Thank you so much Rick! The heater was stuck on 65 a quick google search led me here. I had the unit out of the car in 10minutes and ready for solder 15 minutes later. The soldering took longer than I expected...it's been awhile. All totaled it took about 1.5 hours to fix the problem. I spent $25 on a soldering iron, wire and solder and saved $700!
Nice!
thank you for helping, it saved me dealer's estimated repair of $1282+tax. Very delighted you posted this video.
Thank you Rick! I have a 2008 Toyota Highlander hybrid. One day while driving my side was blowing cold air and my wife’s started blowing hot air. The problem was intermittent. I took it to the dealer and they told me they couldn’t find a problem. But the problem continued. I knew I couldn’t do the soldering so I found a new climate control on eBay and purchased it for a $150. I bought the plastic tools for six dollars and figured I’d give it a try. It took me 15 minutes from start to finish to open it up take out the old one put in the new one and close everything back up. I couldn’t of done it without you! Thank you
Awesome !!!
Excellent set of video instructions, extremely helpful, detailed and accurate! Rick, thank you very much for the videos!
I have Highlander 2005, the problem exactly the same, and it was fixed within an hour.
Great news Yury.
Great video!! Our temperature was stuck on 65 so we could not get any heat. Followed your directions exactly and when I got to the circuit board, sure enough, one of the 3 wires was broken at the connection. I took it to a TV repair store and they soldered the 3 jumper wires as well as the 3 for the fan for a total of $20. What a deal! I put everything back together and to my wife's amazement everything worked perfectly. Total time for repair, including two trips to the TV repair store, 3 hours. We love our 2003 Highlander but I would have a hard time paying a $1,000 to fix something like this.
It worked! Got it fixed, thanks to you! Thanks Rick for posting these 3 videos. It was extremely helpful! Great step by step guide. You were right on point with the time frame estimated to fix this. Total cost for soldering gun and some wire: $9.73. I soldered the ends that broke off. It was tricky, but I did it. You saved me tons of money. Thank you so much Rick. You're a pro!
Rick, great video. I followed your instructions and saved myself $1,100! Thanks for posting.
Hey Rick, I know these videos are 3 years old but I had to tell you that you ROCK!!! Can't thank you enough for this. Just hoping my soldering job will stick. For anyone else trying this--if you have middle aged eyes like I do, a good set of head loupes is a must. Also the finest point soldering gun you can find. P.S. Add me to your list of girls who have done this fix!
Rick, Thank you so much for these 3 great youtube's. My Brother-in-law and I followed your expert directions and had it fixed and all parts back in place in just under 2 hours! Soldering is scary, it took the most time! I love my 2003 Highlander with 103,000 miles. This will keep me going!
+ca hoyt I loved mine too. I just passed my on to my son. My Highlander has 269,000 +- today.
Great job, hats off to you and your brother.
Thank you so very much for this video!!! I was able to fix the exact same problem on my Highlander. It took just under 2 hours for the complete job. I saved lots of money and don't have to deal with the mechanics. Again, a very big thank you!!!!
Hey Buddy! Thanks for the top notch instructions, especially the close-ups of the plugs, I could not have done it without those!
The entire job took about an hour and everything works fine. Just a note for others: My Highlander had an aftermarket stereo and that make things a bit different. The mounts had been snipped off and there were no L or R on what was left, so make a note of how they went...
Thanks again and good luck to all!
You Sir are a GENIUS!!! I had this problem but it turned into the heat not working and as it is now getting cold outside is just as bad as no AC in summer. It took me maybe an hour to do this. Put a dab of solder one all 6 points at that ribbon wire and now everything's perfect!!! Toyota should be ashamed of themselves charging people $800 for a little time and a few dabs of solder!
Thanks for posting these videos, Rick. I had read about this fix but having the detailed videos made the job much easier (and less likely to accidentally break something!)
You're a life saver Rick! I fixed it with your help. I had some blips with the sodering but I finally got it. I owe ya a big THANK YOU!!!!
Thanks Rick !! The video's are great. Very easy to foillow and all steps are exactly as I experienced on my 2002 Highlander. About 2 hrs total repair time not counting time to buy a new soldering iron with a fine tip , which is definitely needed to solder where the pins are extremely close together. My problem was full heat all the time and the solution worked perfectly.
Many thanks for this fantastic set of videos. Had the problem fixed in about an hour, and saved a lot of money...just as stated.
I used this procedure on my daughters 04 Highlander and it worked great. Thanks for sharing!
Your video was the bomb! Fix took two hours including a dinner break. All is well!!
Great new! Congratulation on a job well done.
Niiice! And thank you!
A/C didn't work, but fixed that by adding refrigerant. Heater didn't work and did as you suggested. Works great now.
Rick, thanks so much. I'm technically challenged but went for it. easy to follow your directions. Came out just as you said; had a friend help with the soldering; done and back in in about hour and half. Thanks for your kindness and generosity in sharing your skill & knowledge merry Christmas. My Xmas gift to my wife!
Dennis
Thanks for this video - got it fixed on a 2004 Toyota Highlander - different layout than your model, but same procedure. Your right on a very small pointed soldering iron - those contacts are very small!
Congratulations, saved yourself a lot of money.
Many thanks for this tip. I followed the directions and it took about 3 hours due mostly to my fat-fingered soldering challenges. But the AC fired right up when I reinstalled it!
Thanks Rick very infomitive, I fixed my problem today, heater would only work whe I made a right turn.I just want to add I left my radio connected, I did not know the power up code. Also I did not disconnect the ribbon cable just need to be careful I notice there is a little plastic window you can remove if you want to disconnect it.. I wouldn't advise this repair if you are a little clumbsey or shaky and eyesight needs to be good.
Thanks again
jack
Thanks Rick! Fixed it in less than an hour. The wife says thank you also.
Hi thanks for your guidance. Fixed it as instructed and it worked. Only thing I couldn't do is the soldering. So I google electronic repair shops. Had to pay 40.00 to have them fix it.......again thanks and as easy as you showed. Took them just a few minutes to repair.
THE perfect diagnosis to the problem. All fixed in an hour! Thank you!
Yes, IT WORKED! Thank you Rick you saved us $700+
Thanks for showing how to unclip the wire harnesses!
Rick.... Thanks so much!!!! The fix worked perfectly for me and just in time as our weather dropped to the single digits this week!!!!! Enjoy your archery vid's as well.
Thanks again!
01-09-2022 Did this repair yesterday. Toyota wanted $1600 to replace the whole unit. Thank you so much. I hope you see this.
That’s awesome!
My Highlander has been, and is, a very reliable vehicle. It's easy to maintain yourself. I've changed the brakes. New rotors and pads front and rear very easy to do and way cheaper than a dealer. Oil change are easy too.
Thank you so much for the detailed instructions. Was able to perform the exact repair on my Highlander.
I'm glad to see it help. I think you have the record for the repair.. Best to you and the wife.
Thank you very much. I fixed my car. saved a lot of money.
Brilliant! Thanks! Great detail and very thorough!
Thanks, I repaired my car last night. I now have heat.I noticed that the ribbon can be removed from the top. By pulling up the plastic window and pressing down the top white lever, which makes it so much easier. I purchased a soldering tool for 3.99(Harbor freight) vs 800.00 plus.
Thanks for your input David...
1. Pulling on the wires instead of the connectors can be a problem.. I believe I cautioned the viewer about that.
2. I thought about doing that myself, but to keep it simple for those viewer that are not skilled or have the tools to do that... again just keeping it simple.
When you removed the connectors from the back of the control pod you may have pulled on the wires instead of just the connectors which may have caused a wire to be pulled out of one of the terminals. We see this sort of thing all the time in the manufacturing facility at which I work. If you find a loose wire you can try and strip a small bit of the wire insulation from the end and solder it to the terminal from which it broke. Melting the connector plastic a little won't hurt it.
Daniel,
Thanks great news, thanks for sharing your success story.
Rick
Thanks Rick this helped the compressor stay on and get cool air. But I also have a problem were the clutch malkes a squeaky noise when it engages for about 15 to 20 seconds like if the belt is going bad. I wonder if anybody had problems with the clutch before and if the repair kit that toyota sells would fix it.
I could not get the soldering done. I think I drank too much coffee. Hands shakey. Took to electronics repair shop. He wanted $50 to solder the 3 jumpers. I was able to talk him down to $25. It took him less than 5 minute to solder then I took it home and installed. It now works perfect. It is a great feeling to avoid overpaying a mechanic.
+John Meyer John congrats..bottomline you got it done!!
Martin, It is likely, if the electronics are faulty. If you are experiencing intermittent temperatures issues as described in this video, then you're on the right path for repairing it. Let us know how it works out.
Your dashboard panel trims look great!! Did you paint them?
My Highlander has the digital LCD screen which no longer works. As far as I know, that part is not repairable. Are the wiring harness hookups the same between the digital and manual climate control units? I was thinking of switching over to a manual unit.
Rick, is there anything i need to watch out for when i tightened that screw? I am not mechanially inclined. i appreciate you assistance on this. Sounds minor but ....i don't do cars.
Thanks Rick! I soldered the original wires back on. The climate button works. It's funny, now the Recirculate button and Air Conditioner button do not work. Did I short something out? I checked the fuses. They look good. Any ideas. Thanks, Jerry
Thanks for this video!
Hi Rick, my problem isn’t intermittent. The heat just stopped working. Cold air is fine with the A/C.
I flushed the heater core and the pipes to and from the heater core get hot, but no heat comes from the vents.
My 2001 doesn’t have exactly the same climate control configuration as your video. I think my temperature control knob work like a thermostat - in that it’s integrated with the fan… when I turn the temperature control knob all the way to cold, the fan goes to high and the A/C compressor kicks on. When I turn the knob all the way to hot, the fan goes on high, but only cold air comes out.
Do you think your solution could fix this problem too?
I had the same problem... I took the temperature control knob off and found that the nut behind there kept coming loose...what I did was put some superglue on the nut making sure I could still turn it... So as to not superglue to hot or cold permanently. I've done it twice and it works like new!
Hello Mr Rick will this fix the problem of the air not turning on. I turn the knob to high and nothing. but I do turn the air condition on and I can feel air if I drive on the freeway. Doesn't blow out fast just slowly. what do you think can be happening, again no air blows out unless on freeway and also must turn off inside vent to feel some air. help
Wonderful news. I'm glad it helped.
My problem lies with the post/nut on the potentiometer. The threaded post is not completely stripped but I cant get the nut to tighten enough to control the temp. I've checked around for the potentiometer but all anybody wants to sale me is the whole unit. Does the repair that you've illustrated in these videos fix my problem or do I need to purchase the entire module? Do you know of anyone that sales the potentiometer individually?
When you say you re-soldered BEHIND the knob, did you follow my method? Did you check to see if you had continuity as shown in my video? Did you re-connect the three wire connectors you had to unplug to do the repair? Make sure that they are fully seated.
Rick..Someone stole my grandsons ac-heater control panel with radio ...its a 2005....is there anything special besides plugging in the harness? I thank you in advance for your help.
Hi Rick, I tried your method of fixing the Climate Controller on our 2005 Toyota Highlander. I did okay until it came to the soldering. It seems the middle pin on the small plate that attaches to the Climate Control knob disappeared so there was nothing to solder to and now operation is intermittent. Got it all back to together without losing anything, but now no A/C. Any suggestions you may have would be greatly appreciated!
George, I believe the pin you're speaking about is on of the wires in the 3 wire ribbon. This isn't a show stopper, as long as the small circuit board isn't broken. You can solder the wire directly to the pad were the wire pin was. Don't over heat the board. Let know how that works for you.
Hi Rick, Thank you for your reply. I'm thinking now this soldering may be above my technical skills. Are you still available to do that? If so, how do I send the part to you, etc.?
Hello Rick, need to send my climate control box to you for repairs, I need your address. I would like to speak to you. 678-895-0476
I hope you have heat now.I repaired mine last night. It wasn't difficult. I thought if it doesn't work I will buy a refurbished one on eBay prices ranged from 89.00 to 400.00 plus. I purchased a soldering tool from Harbor Freight for 3.99.
would this cause the ac clutch to be slipping
I dug a little deeper and a repair shop suggested I look at the blend door actuator. As I understand it, this moves a door that opens or closes to mix fresh air and blower air that blows across the heater core. My symptoms suggest the door is in the closed position so no blower air goes across the heater core. The fix that Rick shows here is what controls this door actuator.
I found some information on how to check the actuator at www.sparkys-answers.com/2009/04/2003-toyota-highlander-ac-stuck-on-heat.html - I pulled off the actuator, rotated the heater control knob and the actuator arm moved. I also manually moved the blend door and got the heat that I had been missing, I put it all back together and it works fine. I'm not exactly sure what my issue was, but it works now. I may have to perform Rick's repair if this turn into an intermittent problem. I decided to try this fix before I ripped apart my dash. The "repair" took maybe 30-45 minutes.
Hey, Rick -- I did this repair a couple of months ago, soldered the jumper wires on, but it didn't solve the problem (we'd already tightened the nut on the potentiometer). We were getting intermittent heat, no no heat at all. Any suggestions on next steps?
I'd start by checking the solder points again. Clean the contact area and re-solder. Use a multi-meter to check your work.
Hal C You need to doubt check your soldering job.
I have a 2006 Toyota Highlander, and I think I may have the same problem, in reverse. My A/C works great, but I can't get any heat at all, even for the defroster. In your opinion, would this indicate the same fix?
100%
RickM1953 Thanks.
we resoldered behind the knob ok,but now clock and controls don't light up after putting it back together-help
Thanks Rick
Thank you for the video I was going to take mine out and send it away to get fixed for $150 but figured it looks like too much trouble to do myself so I asked my mechanic if you could pull it out and I'll send it away he told me he would try to fix it himself and put it back in the same day I downloaded some information from the Internet for him and he was able to install a longer ribbon and he charged me $400 which is a far cry from eight hundred to 1200 which is what the Toyota dealer in New York wanted to charge I can't believe the prices Toyota charges for a defective part that they installed so much for Asian quality.
I am a woman over 50 and I repaired mine for 3.99.
I'm in love!!!
Lol
I have a 2001 Toyota Highlander and my AC push button is having issues, it will blow hot but if I hold the AC push button in the compressor will come on and cold air cones
Oh Rick, the Rear Defroster button doesn't not work either. All three button do not work after I did the repair on the Climate Control knob. Thanks Jerry
It's cold in the morning - heater control doesn't work - now I've got the guts to try and fix it. I'll let you know how it works out.
Alright! I love success stories.
Toyota just quoted me $900. to to fix this! Going to find someone to fix mine.
Muchisimas grasias thank soooooo much i save 800 $ dollars
The easy solution to this problem is to remove the climate control unit. NExt contact an old school tv repair guy in the yellow pages. You will want him to solder on new stronger ribbens to each swtich., This process should cost roughly $20
No, no paint job.
Sniffing all the way through