Climate control blows air when 'off'
 

I picked up a 2016 TEP in August and I'm loving it so far. Got a great deal, too: $30,800 out the door from a Toyota dealer for a Certified example with 53k miles and an aftermarket remote start system (which was not advertised). No mods yet...

Anyway, since I got it in August I'd used the AC every day but now that it's cooled off I'm using heat or have it turned off completely. However, when the fan is set to 'off,' it still blows quite a bit of air. If the temp knob is set to anything higher than a click or two past the mid-point, the warm air that comes out will actually make the car VERY warm. Is this normal operation for the 5th gen? Also worth noting that when the climate control fan is on, it makes a noticeable whine that's audible even over the radio unless the volume is turned up to like 20 (on satellite radio).

Thanks!

if its set to FRESH AIR, and you are moving down the road, yes air will come inside. then depending on where you have the controls, will determine the temp of air coming in.

I second what Nevada said. The whine in the blower motor is another issue. Pull the cabin air filter for a quick check, and check the motor and fan. I haven't done this on a fifth gen myself, but if its a common squirrel cage type fan, they can become dirty and clog the motor shaft with hair, dust, etc. This usually doesn't happen for many more miles than you have, but may be a quick fix.
Otherwise I have use WD40 dry lube to much success on blower motors in the past when they start to whine. Make sure you disconnect the motor, just in case.

i remember back in the days, my bmw had a similar issue. turns out it had a bad fan motor resistor. so when it was off, it acted like like it was in a higher speed setting.

Turn on air recirculation.

I get the same thing. I even asked the dealership to check it shortly after I got the truck. They said the blower was turned off when the system was off. I have to assume it is just air being forced into the system while moving down the road. And it definitely heated/cooled based on whatever temp setting the knob is turned to.

Thanks guys. Confirmed that turning on 'recirculate' stopped the air movement. It's surprising how much air comes through when it's off.

Now I just need to investigate the blower motor and filter.

Thanks!

My 5th gen blower motor and filter occasionally gets wet at the car wash. This can cause a rusty squeaky blower motor. I changed a blower motor on a 3th gen. It was easy. Only trick was to remove the plastic door threshold when removing the trim cover to access the motor. Motor itself is just three screws and a electrical clip/connector.

My 2019 does the same exact thing. Normal.


Yup, when the blower is off its off. But if the heat is on and blower is off the heat has to go somewhere if its not recirculating air.

But boy does the 4R give off some heat, like my feet feel like they are on fire if i have the heat up just a bit and the blower is on.

Try turning the air temp control knob to blue/cold. I believe this will prevent the outside air from being heated when it comes in.

Our vehicles also has the tendency to disable recirculation automatically based on interior humidity to relieve fogging within the vehicle... quite annoying when u dont wanna smell the nasty shit from other vehicles

hold the recirculation for 5 seconds and it'll lock ON

my 06 does that too. so annoying!

I need to test this in my 4runner but I dont drive much. In my Lexus it does as you describe. Its weird because it will be "Off" and if its slightly chilly out it will actually heat up the air!. Pushing the recyle/inside air but turned it off. You may want to try that.