whh333

I had to repair the air box mechanism on my 2006 GS300, and it seems a lot of them are not operating properly due to people trying to install the interior HVAC air filter without knowing how to open the door with the Recirculate button.

Best of fortune to those who do it themselves, the job is not that bad. Use caution when handling the passenger air bag.

Here are the instructions in Microsoft Word:

ShannonT

How long did this take you? I realized you only replaced the lever and teh door itself would require signiticantly more time.

whh333

I do not think replacement of the door or any other components would take much longer. The main time spent on this job is getting access to the mechanism.

ShannonT

The repair, start to finish took about in hour and a half, including a second full disassembly/reassembly, because I forgot to put in the floor air duct.

I bought replacement parts, but did not use any of them. I ran a bolt through the broken pin, after drilling it out. Bits started at 1/16th and worked my eat up to 3/16ths to fit the bolt.

I’m adding a picture that shows where the hole would pass through the inside of the door, so others can use for reference.

ShannonT

This shows where the hole comes out, when drilled from the peg side. I used this this for reference, When drilling from inside the air box.

ShannonT

Additional note for other people searching for a potential reason as to why their AC blows cool, but not cold.

This broken piece isa potential reason why your AC will blow at ~40 degrees when on low, but will increase to +/-60 degrees when you increase fan speed.

1. The door does not lock into 'recirculate' mode.
   1. External hot air continues to be the source air for the airbox
2. When the door locks into reciruculate mode, it pulls air from the cabin (normally much cooler than external air on a hot day)
   1. With recirculate mode locked in, the air at the center vents should blow at +/-40 degrees.

This means if the door is not locking in, your AC will not cool as efficiently as it should.

GS350Canada

So until I get this fixed, should I manually put the door in recirculate mode and leave it that way?

ShannonT

in my instance, the door would not stay in either position. It would change position based on the momentum of the car. When I stopped, it would close and recirculate, but when I took off, inertia would move it to the fresh air position.

It would literally float freely between the two positions and make no noise when it changed.

GS350Canada

I was afraid that might be the case but wouldn't know unless I opened the glovebox and checked it while I'm driving. I guess I'll just have to hope it can stay in recirculate mode because I really am not handy enough to take the whole glovebox apart without even knowing for sure what the issue is.

ShannonT

If you open the glove box, like you are changing the air filter, check to see if the door moves freely. It should not.

if you want it closed, you may be able to tape it closed.

I don’t have my GS any more, so can’t provide any pictures.

let me know how I can help.