2014 Tundra Air Conditioner and Heater Issues

I have a 2014 Tundra and the AC and the Heater doesnt work very well it seems, AC is barrable just doesnt blow hard, Heater almost is nonexistent at all. Cant Defrost and the only vent that seems to put out any heat is the far right one. Further left you go towards the drivers more it is blowing cold air like the AC is on.

But when I turn the AC on all the vents including the back vents blow out cold air just doesnt feel like very hard like I think it should.

First thing I did was replace the blower with a brand new OEM one and it made zero difference as it was an easy swap.

I noticed the Radiator was changed out with an aftermarket radiatior from autozone or napa, that got me thinking maybe there was a leak and someone tried to use stop leak in it before i got it and clogged up the heater core. That seemed to make sense on why air would blow hot from the far right but not the left if it was clogged.

I tried draining the coolant, and ran a flush backwards through just the heater core for 8 hours. This did slightly help, but not by alot.

Then I was reading through a repair manual and they mention a few times an AC amplifier? Never heard of one of those and that sounds plasuable as a problem too especially what I feel is low fan speed when I turn up my AC or heat.


I went ahead and ordered a brand new heater core, I just want to get some second and third opinions before I tear the entire dash out of this truck. I have heard some people say the vent doors can sometimes break but more on the previous gen then this one, and I really feel like I can feel the doors changing when i move it from hot to cold with my hand over the vents. I thought about tracking down someone with a flexable camera just to make sure and see what they are doing but that seems overkill.


But anyway I am wanting to see if anyone else has had a similar issue and any suggestions. For some reason taking apart an entire dash just doesn't seem like the most fun of things. Plastic clips are evil. I even asked a local shop what they would charge to just replace the heater core and man the labor was intense. He was guessing it would take him 2 days of just working on it. I luckily have a second spare car so I can have it in the garage a few weeks down. I just really dont want too, but feeling that's coming soon.

 

I’m havin the same issue with my 14 tundra5.7 .
I found my coolant reservoir almost empty, after filling it 1time it droplet 1/2 and i had to tap it again.
Hot air still wasn’t working properly, heat is low and the fan doesn’t have a lot of pressure.
I raised the front of the car on cold engine, removed the radiator cap, run the engine , turned the fan and heat to max, and squeezed the 2 coolant hose before they entered the fire wall.
Let the engine run and got some of the air bubbles out, that helped the heater work better but still not 100%.
Fan is still not running strong , and it takes along time to get heat.
All this when the air flow is directed throw the cabin filter.

I’m thinking to run a cleaner throw the heater core , Scotty Killmore has a good video on YT, using some HD cleaner.


Let me know what you did with your truck. Good luck.

 

Cabin air filter was mentioned but was it checked or replaced?

 

Whenever my vent air speed drops a lot - its is always a dirty cabin filter - as Retired...Finally said - replaced it?

Hey Retired...Finally - do not do as I did retired in 2016 then started full time back up in 2018 and still at it - 7 Years. Only good part is full time work from home since 2020....

 

This is basically some of the same basic things I did, I am 100% confident it's not air bubbles and I know cleaning out the heater core didn't work for me going both directions for 4 + hours, 8 hours total with the water hose.

I have bought a new heater core but it's still in the box I haven't went that route yet.

In research there is a kit toyota sells that has a heater core and the vent dampener system for like 1100 bucks and I'm thinking of retuning my heater core ans buying that kit. From research it looks like both are a high possibility and I'm afraid if I tear down the dash and fix one the other will be a problem now or soon in the future.
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And cabin air filter i changed twice once with a Amazon, once with a OE and even ran without for a week. No change.

 

Hmmm that is a lot of parts. Maybe an air tube is dislodged and the air is not going where it should or there is significant blockage in a main tube?

 

What is have heard from toyota techs is the damper and vent system is most likely they said if anyone ever ran wires for a after market radio or a trailer brake it's easy for that to break one of the gears which can throw off the entire thing.

I have a aftermarket radiator on mine which means I don't know what they did or poured into the radiator to try to fix that which that stop leak could for sure clog up a heater core quick.

There a video for the previous gen tundraa for guys replacing that whole system but nothing on the 14 and up. So leaves me a bit unknown.

 

I would guess it’s an actuator on the blend door on the HVAC system. Sucks. Have to replace whole thing.