Argh. This has been bothering me for weeks. My AC tends to put out warm air. I'll have it at 68-72 and I'll be sweating(LO is freakin cold!, and 65 66 seem to be giving mildy cool air). Or more often if just feels like the fan is on, no AC. I don't have the "auto" function enabled, and I took off the underside dash, and the temp sensor is still connected and when I took it to the dealer, they said they cleaned it as it was dirty. Once in a while the AC works as it should, and no problems, but the majority of the time, I'm either getting slightly warm air, or just a fan like circulation feeling. Any ideas? I want to take it back to the dealer...but I don't want to pay another 100 bucks just for them to say we can't replicate it.

Your best bet might be to turn on the Auto mode. The Temp setting doesn't directly control the temperature coming out of the ducts, and the temp sensor also isn't doing anything with Auto turned off. The system is meant to be used as a thermostat for Auto mode. If you want the air inside to be 68 degrees for example, set the Temp to 68 and turn on Auto. It will blow hot air or cold air, as needed, to make the temperature 68.

Since you get very cold air by setting the system to "Lo" (which means max A/C, whether or not Auto is on), it sounds like your A/C system (compressor, refrigerant, etc.) is working fine.

there are also 2 other sensors. on the dash one compensates for the amount of sunlight entering the cabin. I believe it is called a sun-load sensor. the other is the ambient air sensor.

you really need some data. get an instant read thermometer and leave it in the vehicle. set your temp and see how far off it is on different days.

Good stuff. Thanks gents. I'll try putting it on auto for a week or so and see if it acts better. I also like the idea of a instant thermometer. I'll check out radio shack.

That makes sense that the temp isn't the temp when its not on auto. But, when I first got the truck I got a nice cool breeze out of 70. Now its very warm. Do you guys think that the air might be warm because its colder outside(low 40s which isn't that cold.) I agree my AC is working fine because at LO it works like a charm, but the middle temps are pissing me off.

Did you locate your AC glass window and look for bubbles running through the 134a or freon?

Well I checked the transcababulator, it was leaking a little formula 7. However, the quizcalotor was operating normally. Haha, just wanted you to see what I felt like. I do appreciate the info, and it sounds like a good lead, but where would one find the AC glass? Under the hood? In the center console?

THANKS!

Here's a thread that tells you how to use the A/C sight glass, located under the hood in front of the radiator.

http://www.toyota-4runner.org/showth...threadid=26179

As long as you're getting cold air on LO, I would think your A/C system is fully charged. The system is very sensitive to the amount of refrigerant that's in it, and even a very small leak can make it quit working completely.

I had this summer; the AC 'cutting in and out' I would get cold air and then it was warm for a little bit then back to cold.... all during full fan and still trying to cool down the cabin.
I was getting bubbles in the glass so I assume it needs a little bit of 134a. So mine didn't quit working. maybe the 2003 is different than your 2006. Maybe you have a better explanation why it isn't low but going warm and cold?

Ok, so the problem on the thread posted by toto seemed a lot like mine. I found my sight glass after some serious detective work. I turned on the car set the ac at full blast and cold and began watching the ac. I didn't really see anything change from when it was off, like no colors or anything...BUT I did see bubbles form! There were a few bubbles, went away. Then a hole bunch of bubbles, then they were gone. And then single bubbles formed every few seconds.

The pdf posted said bubbles may be normal though if ambient temperatures are high, but my 4runner thermometer says 52 outside. Also when I turned it off, it didn't foam. Sounds like according to that pdf. I'm deficient in refrigerant. But, my AC on low is constant and cooling! Thats what I don't get...also when I took my runner in last week, I'm almost positive the guy said they checked my refrigerant and said it was good.

Does the pdf tell you how to check the psi? best way to tell if you are low or not.

No...but I take off the little valve cover on the silver pipe, and use a pressure reader on the thing that looks like the tire pressure nozzle? What is the psi that I should be looking for?

Not sure what the psi should be. what does the owners manual or repair manual say?

I've got an 05 V8 4x4 SR5, and my heat setting appears to be way off too. It's 20 degrees here in the morning. I'm not running the a/c compressor. Yet if I set the temp to "lo", I get outside air "warmed up a bit, but still cool". Then, if I bump up the temp to 65, it's WARM...bump it to 67-69, and it's HOT! Way too hot! It's like my heater is set to "all or nothing". It's not in auto, and no a/c running. I don't understand how setting it to auto would fix this though? I'm in manual mode, and just want a little warmer air coming in from the outside, through the dash vents. Auto wants it coming through the floor boards. The temp sensor grill is clean, engine isn't running hotter or cooler, everything seems normal, except for the sensitivity of the temp setting in relation to what I get. Anything above 69 degrees, and I'm down to my shorts, and that ain't good for anybody!

Early morning temps have been on the cold side here at about 45

Wait, wait, wait.... you mean the fix of this problem is to turn off the fan before adjusting the temps? I never had to do that before!

Also, I still haven't been able to check my cars refrigerant pressure because I don't have that tool. I tried the pressure reader at the gas station..but its too big. I'm hoping it just needs a little recharge. My system has been on auto the past couple weeks though, and it seems better, but the temps do fluctuate, which I assume is normal under the auto feature.