Hi all. Over the weekend while at the beach my AC climate control panel suddenly quit working, which shut down my AC, the blower fan, and even the outside vent toggle. I took it to Toyota in Panama City because I thought it might be a power issue that would affect my alternator, but the alternator came back ok. They did say that the climate control panel would have to be replaced, roughly $1300 for new. I was shocked and angered to say the least.

After driving back to Birmingham in 90 + heat with no AC or outside vented air coming in, I took it to a shop that is run by a guy I trust, and he said that the panel is fine and that there is a power issue probably on the dome circuit. Specifically, he hooked up a laptop scanner and it showed no power at all going to the AC.

Has anyone else had any problems with this? Its just supposed to get hotter from here on out and I really don't want to waste money on parts and labor that I don't need. Sorry for the long post.

I really don't want to come accross as a arse, but did you check your fuses? As for it being a power supply issue, I could believe that, but did your technician actually test for voltage at your A/C Control Panel connector?

Do any of the lights on the buttons light up? Do you still have a fuel mileage indicator? or is the whole LCD screen out?

I believe we have some stickied threads where you can get the factory wiring diagrams for the vehicle. By the way, we could use some information on what vehicle you have.

i.e. Trim, Year, Engine. As some models came with a dual zone climate control and others did not.

I have a 2005 SR5 V6 with standard trim. Mine doesn't have the dual climate control. The entire panel is dead. The LCD screen seems ok because the clock is displayed and still responds to changes, but everything else is blank. I have no MPG indicator or outside temp gauge. The three controls as well as the rear defogger and outside vent control are nonresponsive and are not lit up at all.

All the fuses checked out ok. That's the first thing we looked at this afternoon. I think he's gonna take the panel off tomorrow when I leave it with him to check the voltage, but his laptop that he hooked up to it showed no power going to any of the HVAC components. There was also an issue where the side window motor went out of sync and the rear windshield wiper quit working temporarily. I was able to get those back in sync.

Acid, if everything checks out ok, and TOYOTA insists that the panel is dead, GO on ebay and find a climate control display (comes attached with the buttons and such). They go for about $100-150. As you know, look for an SR5/Sport compatible. Paying $1300 for a NEW one is insane. it take about 5 minutes to install (including taking the old one out and installing the new one)

Good Luck

Ed

The lights and the controls are different circuits. It doesn't make sense for the entire panal to stop working. Was the vehicle ever flooded?

Well I heard back from my mechanic and he confirmed what the Florida dealer said. The panel is getting plenty of power, but is dead as a doornail. Just checked Ebay, and there is a new one on there right now for $825, but my shop is getting me a used panel from a Toyota / Lexus parts dealer in Tennessee. Its gonna be about $850, with a one year warranty, which is alot better than the $1400 that Toyota wanted. They even gave me an 08 Camry as a loaner until the part comes in, which should be around Friday.

I wonder what makes those things go bad. Thats an awfully expensive part to be so vulnerable.

Could be a lot of things. Bad sodder joints, mother board, etc etc etc.

Did that work because mine is the same way only thing that works is the time no mpg temp gauges fan nothing works

Hi guys,

I am new here. Great site!

I have the same issue on my 03 4Runner. My clock works great as does the light on display but nothing else.

I replaced it with used ones I found on ebay. The first 2 I got did not work, 3rd time was a charm. It lasted 2 months, thankfully through the heat waves here in NCal until it recently died too.

I went out looking for a replacement again and have had very little luck. I have bought 3 more and each of them did not work on arrival. I have rec'd refunds but am skeptical on the used ones on market.

What I know now is this is obviously a very common issue. My mechanic said there is a internal bulletin on it. No fix it is a replacement item. I was quoted $1100.

Anyone have a good source for OEM parts? I have read someone will rebuild them for a fee but unable to locate link.

Thanks for any help

I'm late to this thread but was wondering if anybody found a good resolution? My AC controller is not responding to any input. Backlighting and clock are okay. I got a used AC controller from Ebay and replaced it, but still no luck. I took it apart and don't see any problems with the ribbon connectors but then again I'm no electronics expert. Any suggestions? btw the dealership wanted $1,800 to do the exact same thing, so even though it didn't work I'm glad I didn't let them do it. 2004 4runner LTD V8

Did you replace it with another dual control? Mine blew a circuit on the board (visible by a burned area) and I replaced it with a non-dual control from an SR5. Initially it didn't work but I found I had to mess with settings using the bad unit. Basically I had to put in the old unit, turn it on and swap in the fully functional unit which then worked. In other words I had to eliminate any dual control setting before replacing it.

Not real technical but you get the idea.

Or maybe the replacement unit you got is bad if you did get another dual control unit. $50 on eBay!

Checking to see if this was resolved... I just put a new HU in and while I was buttoning everything up, I noticed that the panel isn't working anymore. I also have no clue where the fuse is for it.

Any updates on this? Same thing happened to me, as well as the turn signals not working. P

Check the IG1 fuse , the AC control and turn signals are tied to it as well as a bunch of other stuff.

Any update on this for anyone?