Air Conditional randomly inoperable.

UPDATE 04/05/2022:

I brought it to the dealership about a week after this started happening. I had notified them almost every time I brought it in for service since I bought it that the blower was occasionally loud, and they chalked it up to debris getting in through the glove compartment - which made absolutely zero sense to me. This time they said they would look at it thoroughly since my warranty was coming to an end, at the appointment they told me they had discovered debris in the blower motor, and cleaned it out. They charged me $90 saying it wasn't covered under the warrant, but I received a call from management almost immediately telling me they were refunding the fee with no explanation.

I've had the issue happen many more times, but never when I'm able to take it to the dealership to show them, that was until this past weekend. It shut off on my completely when I was leaving the gym, I drove straight to the dealership, and the advisor was great - he just said "Yup, that's the blower motor - I have one in stock we can take care of it right now.". They had it swapped out in about 90 minutes, and it's been working perfectly ever since.


Summary: AC fan in truck is occasionally loud, and yesterday I couldn’t get it to blow any air for a few hours until it spontaneously resolved.

Question: Anyone have any ideas about what could be going on here?

Full Details:

I have a 2020 TRD Pro. I’ve been noticing now for well over a year that occasionally the blower gets really loud, usually when I’m running heat - and it sounds like a helicopter at times. I’ve mentioned it at every service, and been told it’s likely “papers in the glove compartment getting pushed back.” since I can’t really replicate it on demand.

Yesterday I noticed it was getting warm in my truck, which is odd because I have the system set on AUTO at 65°F and it was warmer than that outside. Then I noticed there was absolutely zero airflow. I switched it off auto and turned the temp all the way down, and turned the fan all the way up with no change, still zero airflow. Then I turned the heat all the way up with the fan all the way up - still nothing. The display shows it’s all turned on as it would, but there is nothing coming out.

Things I tried:

• Turning it off, and turning it back on - it still wouldn’t come on.
  
• Turning it off, and letting it sit for an hour - it still wouldn’t come on.
  
• Turning it off, and letting it sit for three hours - it came on working fine.

After it started working, I noticed the fan was really loud again. Then today, it’s working fine, can’t really hear the fan.

I’m closing in on my 36,000 miles, so I’m planning on going to the dealership, and having them document everything since they won’t do much if they can’t replicate it.

Anyone have any ideas about what could be going on here?

Thanks in advance.

 

Blower motor. . .mine had been doing the same thing and luckily had a few minutes to swing by when it wasn't working so they could verify. My 2019 did the same exact thing. . Must be fairly common on these newer trucks.

 

Did they have to pull the dash apart to replace? Everything put back together well?

 

First three things to check:

1. Make sure the cabin air filter is in place and nothing is blocking it. Easy check, just in case.
2. When the fan is running on high and manual, are you able to switch properly between floor, face, etc? If it doesn't mix properly make sure you get it into the dealer before your 3 yr is up. To fix the blending unit the whole dash comes off and it's expensive. It's rare that there is a bad one from the factory but it happened to me 6 months after buying the truck.
3. When the fan is running high, does the system heat and cool? Use a thermometer if you have one to check the air out of the vents. Use a manual mode and not auto.
   

@Nomoredomestics is probably right with the blower motor.

 

I'm honestly not sure how involved it is or how to get to it, but I have read its not a hard job.

 

Sounds like something might have fallen in, locking up the fan blade, this happens.
Start by using a flash light and look in all vents top and bottom.
Also inspect the inside the cabin filter access. I have found old leaf's, pencils and a broken fan parts in my older cars and trucks before.
This work for me 90% of the time. Was able to fix the problem.
If you can not find anything take it back for warranty work.
It can be a pain in the ass to replace a blower motor or fan on some trucks or cars.
Good Luck

 

UPDATE 04/05/2022:

I brought it to the dealership about a week after this started happening. I had notified them almost every time I brought it in for service since I bought it that the blower was occasionally loud, and they chalked it up to debris getting in through the glove compartment - which made absolutely zero sense to me. This time they said they would look at it thoroughly since my warranty was coming to an end, at the appointment they told me they had discovered debris in the blower motor, and cleaned it out. They charged me $90 saying it wasn't covered under the warrant, but I received a call from management almost immediately telling me they were refunding the fee with no explanation.

I've had the issue happen many more times, but never when I'm able to take it to the dealership to show them, that was until this past weekend. It shut off on me completely when I was leaving the gym, I drove straight to the dealership, and the advisor was great - he just said "Yup, that's the blower motor - I have one in stock we can take care of it right now.". They had it swapped out in about 90 minutes, and it's been working perfectly ever since.