Heater Issues

I am having an issue with the blend door actuator for the passenger side I believe. I am trying to have heat and only get it on the drivers side and cold air on the passenger side. I recently change out the antifreeze and don't know if this caused any problems. It has just recently turned cold and just now have needed the heat.
In the past I have had issues when cooling where the passenger side got hot air until the thermostat control was lowered more and then the air would get cooler. I bought my Tundra just a few months ago and am just now finding these problems. I need some help to identify these issues so I can address them correctly.
Thanks for any help!

 

Welcome!

 

Does the Tundra use vacuum to move the dampers for heating?

 

A friend's 2012 with about 120k miles or so has the same issue. His mechanic said he's seen the same issue in various models of Toyota of the same age. Going to cost him $1200 to fix - have to take the entire dash apart. Dealer wanted $2600 then used the price as an excuse to get him to trade it in for a new truck.

That's about all I know...Maybe there's a discussion elsewhere on the forum...

 

Thanks for the reply! I am hoping to find an answer for my issues. Any information concerning the actuators and duct louvers/assembly would be greatly appreciated. I have found virtually nothing with my search on google and was hoping to be able to try common logic first if possible before asking for dealer help/cost??

All advice/knowledge would be of great interest.

 

Try burping the system first. See video

https://youtu.be/cRPEqO06O58

 

Thanks for the info, I just replaced the radiator fluid and thought about an air bubble so I used a field terrace for raising the front end and then put the rear end on it. I read where raising the front and then the rear with the engine running for a few minutes should get any air bubbles out. Again I have some heat on the drivers side and hot air is blowing out the rear of the console air ducts. I haven't checked the thermostat but again I have hot air in one vent area so that leads me in other directions.
I am now looking into maybe an actuator issue or even air duct louvers/arms broken. Both heater hoses are warm/hot again leading away from radiator issues. I haven't had a second person to help while working on the problem so this also makes things harder to identify. I have talked to a mechanic friend some and he tends to think it may be a actuator issue so he is going to look for some information but I don't want to bother him much until I am ready to give up. He has already done some paid work for me and I am trying to keep cost down as long as I can.
Please keep the ideas coming and I will continue to attempt all solutions.

 

I had a similar problem with my 2010 Tacoma last June! However, the problem was with the air-conditioner, and I was getting cold air on the driver's side and warm air on the passenger side.

Turns out the system was low on refrigerant! I had my truck for almost 8 years and about 75K miles before the A/C required service. Turns out there was just enough R134a in the system that it wasn't blowing totally warm, but apparently the layout in 2nd gen Taco causes refrigerant to be concentrated on the driver side when the system is low. I know how to recharge the A/C myself, but I wanted to make sure the system wasn't leaking, so I brought it to my dad's mechanic to be pressure-tested. I was surprised when the mechanic found no leaks...




He recharged the system, and determined that there were no leaks. Our mutually-agreed-upon theory was that 7 years of Pennsylvania winters and summers caused the fittings/gaskets to shrink and expand, allowing R134a to leak out over time. It just took a while for enough R134a to escape that it was actually noticeable!

My mechanic charged the system and got it down to 38°F, and it worked great for the remainder of the summer! I am expecting the system to be working perfectly when it gets hot here again!



Anyway, going back to your problem...

Perhaps your truck is low on coolant?

The work van at the bar where I work, a 1999 GMC Safari SLE AWD, had this weird issue. The heater worked okay when the van was actually moving, but at idle it would blow lukewarm at best. I took it to my boss's mechanic, we popped the hood, and discovered the van was low on coolant. The coolant reservoir was topped off and the heater worked fine both when the van was at idle and when moving. It still didn't work as good as the heater in my Tacoma though!

 

Thanks, I can relate to almost everything you brought up. I will check out the cooling system and see if that helps with my problem. I never thought of this and it makes perfect logic and as I said, it will be checked.
Thanks again for thinking outside the box and sharing your experience!

I will let you'all know what I discover

 

Well, it turns out I have already covered everything suggested and am down to the duct system again. I am now preparing to have a mechanic shop go into the dash and look into the internal ducts to see if I have a broken part or why the proper doors in the duct work are not directing the air where intended.
Thanks everyone for the input, I just hope I finally find and fix the problem.

 

Did you find out what the problem was? Im having same issue with my 08 Tundra

 

in my 2014 passat I had a similar issue and the heater core was plugged. it was experiencing dissimilar metal corrosion internally and plugging. I would get driver side heat only and cold air on the pax side. vw replaced core through a recall campaign and then diesel gate came along and made my favorite fuel saver go away. boy do I miss 45mpg

you can see the issue clearly if you have ice on the windshield as only half would defrost

 

happened this morning, only none of windshield defrosted. the truck had been running for about 20 minutes. after i drove about 10 minutes it heated up.. yesterday it never heated in y 30 minute drive home.

 

I changed the serpentine belt on my '07 and I think the new belt was the last straw for the water pump. After replacing the belt the reservoir was sucked dry and the radiator fluid dropped just enough so the computer noticed it. The computer then shut off heat to the passenger's side of the truck. When it got slightly lower the check engine lights came on and I lost all heat. The only way to get things to work again was to use the Techstream software to reset the computer. A standard OBD2 scanner couldn't do it.