Blower motor keeps failing, even after replacement

[Brandonium]

I'll say it once again.. if the recommendation is to not run it on high for longer than 5 minutes than this is unacceptable. If Toyota cannot manufacture or have manufactured a fan which can operate on high then it doesn't need to put those units in vehicles. I've run fans in vehicles on 'High' for much longer than 5 minutes continuously as that is a necessity in hot climates and I have never had a failure. My german cars never had a failure, my Swedish vehicles never had a failure and neither did my American ones. Hell, I can run the fan on high in my '77 International Scout and/or my '71 Volvo without issues.

How about you northern folks only run your heaters at half capacity during the middle of winter? Didn't think so....

This is a Toyota issue, not an owner issue.

if the motor gets too hot it will stop . when it cools it will work again. a sign that its damaged. do not use max/highest speed for more than 5 min.

 

[Saker]

[MENTION=138935]catrains[/MENTION],

Maybe your theory is correct for an already defective motor. :fish2:

Toyota is not going to place a motor in these vehicles that would have to be run on a lower setting than the highest switch settings, otherwise if they did, they would have placed a different switch or put resistors inline to reduce power to the motor at the highest switch setting.....or, if these blower motors were not designed to run on the high switch setting, Toyota would use a different motor. I call BS on your theory. PERIOD. :nono:

My thinking is there was a bad batch of motors that are failing.
I have 45000+ mi on my 2 3/4 yr old T4R and run my AC blower motor on high most of the time... and have not had any adverse issues with mine.

Ambient:
High Temps + High Humidity = AC on High = Cool/Cold Cabin Temp

 

[badhabits]

[MENTION=138935]catrains[/MENTION],

Maybe your theory is correct for an already defective motor. :fish2:

Toyota is not going to place a motor in these vehicles that would have to be run on a lower setting than the highest switch settings, otherwise if they did, they would have placed a different switch or put resistors inline to reduce power to the motor at the highest switch setting.....or, if these blower motors were not designed to run on the high switch setting, Toyota would use a different motor. I call BS on your theory. PERIOD. :nono:

My thinking is there was a bad batch of motors that are failing.
I have 45000+ mi on my 2 3/4 yr old T4R and run my AC blower motor on high most of the time... and have not had any adverse issues with mine.

Ambient:
High Temps + High Humidity = AC on High = Cool/Cold Cabin Temp

There is also this possibility. Toyota calculates the savings on making a cheaper fan motor balanced against the cost of replacing the new cheaper motor under warranty. If the savings for example run an estimated $100,000.00 per year versus the estimated cost of replacement which is projected to cost $25,000.00 per year what would you think Toyota would do? Instant $75,000.00 profit.

:noidea:

 

[Saker]

There is also this possibility. Toyota calculates the savings on making a cheaper fan motor balanced against the cost of replacing the new cheaper motor under warranty. If the savings for example run an estimated $100,000.00 per year versus the estimated cost of replacement which is projected to cost $25,000.00 per year what would you think Toyota would do? Instant $75,000.00 profit.

:noidea:

One of the "Big 3 Automakers" might do that!

We could debate this for a long time, I'm sure.

I have been owning Toyota's since 1984 and to my knowledge they don't build their vehicles that way....
That would defeat their bottom line for selling the number of autos they sell and as well as being known for dependability.

Toyota has always been known for re-tooling and fixing stuff that they find inferior.

 

[catrains]

[MENTION=138935]catrains[/MENTION],

Maybe your theory is correct for an already defective motor. :fish2:

Toyota is not going to place a motor in these vehicles that would have to be run on a lower setting than the highest switch settings, otherwise if they did, they would have placed a different switch or put resistors inline to reduce power to the motor at the highest switch setting.....or, if these blower motors were not designed to run on the high switch setting, Toyota would use a different motor. I call BS on your theory. PERIOD. :nono:

My thinking is there was a bad batch of motors that are failing.
I have 45000+ mi on my 2 3/4 yr old T4R and run my AC blower motor on high most of the time... and have not had any adverse issues with mine.

Ambient:
High Temps + High Humidity = AC on High = Cool/Cold Cabin Temp

I have replaced many dc blower motors much larger than these on big transportation vehicles. DC motors will over speed with dirty filters and the fan dirty . so that is why you should not run on the highest speed with NO resistor in line with the motor. with a slight vacuum in the fan box the load to motor drops then over speed with a direct 12 volt feed.

ac motors no problem because the speed is based on the frequency and winding/poles that the motor has. also no comm bar brushes used .

 

[azik701]

I've never owned any make of vehicle that's cooled to comfort in 2 minutes after the car has been roasting and it's 150 effing degrees inside the car. I might be getting cooler air in two minutes but the testicle gauge is still in the red at this point. If I get in my Ford I might be getting to a comfortable cabin and body temperature in 8-12 minutes and if it's a high UV day even longer. It's very difficult to get to a comfortable temp on high temp/high humidity days there's just no way around it.

You need to buy a Chevy truck. You will start freezing after 30 seconds.

 

[azik701]

OP, your problem could be just a bad batch of blower motors. It does happen. One of the bad motors has to be torn apart and see what caused it to fail.

 

[nevada]

Well I answered your question I guess.... you do run it on high speed often and over a long period of time. so be prepared to replace the motor every couple of years.

today air temp 95 deg f 75deg dewpoint. I start vehicle ac on let it idle 5 min fan on 3/4 speed. then start driving , in about 10 min the air blowing on me is cold then I turn it down slightly. after 30 min I run it on a low speed.

under the dash is 2 alum hot water pipes to the heater core I would insulate those exposed pipes. they do add heat to the interior.

having GM vehicles over 50 yrs this is also what happens if the blower is on max. I replaced a few on vehicles with no ac or ac dead. owners run them @ max all the time.

sorry man, not buying it.
while its no 5th gen, the blower motor in my first gen lasted nearly 300k on the original blower motor. its black, so you know the fan is on high most of the time.

 

[1engineer]

Well I answered your question I guess.... you do run it on high speed often and over a long period of time. so be prepared to replace the motor every couple of years.

today air temp 95 deg f 75deg dewpoint. I start vehicle ac on let it idle 5 min fan on 3/4 speed. then start driving , in about 10 min the air blowing on me is cold then I turn it down slightly. after 30 min I run it on a low speed.

under the dash is 2 alum hot water pipes to the heater core I would insulate those exposed pipes. they do add heat to the interior.

having GM vehicles over 50 yrs this is also what happens if the blower is on max. I replaced a few on vehicles with no ac or ac dead. owners run them @ max all the time.

No. I have been doing heat exchanger calculations (both air and water cooled) all my professional life. There is absolutely no reason not to run your fan motor at its highest setting for as long as you like. It was DESIGNED to do this. Now, will it reduce the fan motor life if you run it all day every day at its highest setting? Sure it will, just like never turning it on will increase its life accordingly. Everything has a design life. Toyota took that into account when it determined the high speed setting - it balanced performance and life and life is the reason there is not an "ultra high" setting on your dash lol. How long are we really talking about though? Years and years, not months and months. OP if you keep losing motors there is a problem and its not the motor running on high speed. Check connections, voltages, current draw, etc.

 

[catrains]

where I worked , Had the too high of a supply voltage problem on the DC blower motors so the resistors were installed to reduce speed. the motor supply voltage was 20% higher than DC motor rating that reduced the motor failures big time..

the manufacturer engineers tested it all out . also the filters and fan blade dirt .

 

[rigtec]

if the motor gets too hot it will stop . when it cools it will work again. a sign that its damaged. do not use max/highest speed for more than 5 min.

Hi catrains,

There are a couple things that if it were my own truck that I would check... First thing I would check for is 'Freedom of rotation'! If the blower motor shaft is struggling to turn when asked to run, then it's drawing more current than it was designed to draw: High current = excessive heat (BTU's) which requires a means of rejecting that heat at a rate sufficient enough to prevent the motor windings from overheating.

The second thing that I would check is voltage: In electrical physics there's a principle that says: When the resistance increases, then the voltage increases, but current will decrease. But... when resistance decreases, the voltage decreases (proportional to the decrease in resistance); so the current increases! If for some reason there is a decrease in voltage on high speed, then the amperage will increase; causing excessive heat to be generated in the motor.

I would pull the harness off of the motor and using a DCV Multimeter, I would check the voltage at the High speed terminal output. With the vehicle off, I want to see at least 12.5V at the high speed motor output terminal. With the truck running I want to see at least 13.5V at the high speed motor output terminal! With the motor reconnected, I still need to see a minimum of 13.5V at the motor high speed motor terminal. If that voltage is not available, but less than 12V on high speed then therein lies your trouble. The motor is overheating due to a low voltage supply condition!

Then I would check the available voltage at the battery to be sure that there is sufficient voltage there. If so, then I'd check the voltage at the blower motor high speed terminal output. If 13.5 volts (motor running) is unavailable at the high speed harness terminal with the vehicle running then I need to find out why! But there's your problem, and cause of your overheating motor trouble! You can check the cause yourself or have the technician at Toyota check the cause!

rigtec, Cheers!

 

[rigtec]

"...DC motors will over speed with dirty filters and the fan dirty . so that is why you should not run on the highest speed with NO resistor in line with the motor. .."

Any motor (AC or DC) will be allowed to run at it's max rpm with no load on it, but that's not the cause of the overheating which is burning out multiple motors! It's being overloaded that's causing the motor to overheat!

 

[catrains]

the voltage to the blower motor is fixed @12.5-14 volts DC. when the speed control is changed your adding resistance to lower speed when its on max speed NO resistance that is how these vehicle blowers work. max speed max current no resistance also this is a DC motor this has brushes so the brushes will arc with over speed. ac motors are not the same.

thanks for your help with the GPS issues I had . this motor stuff is my business . been in it a few decades LOL...

anyone with these Toyota motors defective take them apart you will see they are not the same as your window fan used in your house ..

ac motors do not over speed its all about frequency and the windings and poles.

 

[catrains]

You need to buy a Chevy truck. You will start freezing after 30 seconds.

on some model years the chevy trucks had cheap wiring connectors to the blower motor , melted , and was a recall cause it was thought to be a fire hazard . about 100% failure rate on those model years. no blower and a bad smokey smell. at least these toyota blowers die quickly .

my 2016 toyota cools as fast as my 1996 GM sedan ... perhaps they need an HVAC tech to check out the ac system.

possible toyota did not properly set up the refrigerant or vacuum the system properly . if air is in the refrigerant it will cause them to run it on max speed to feel cool.air reduces the systems ability to extract heat thru the temp/pressure process.

 

[catrains]

You need to buy a Chevy truck. You will start freezing after 30 seconds.

this is what I found which is old info I remember reading about these GM vehicle blower motor issues.


Condition....On some 2003-2006 model year Chevrolet Avalanche, Suburban, Tahoe; GMC Yukon, Yukon XL; and 2003-2007 model year Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra vehicles equipped with a manual heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system (CJ3) or heavy duty heater (C42), the interface between the electrical terminals of the relay Resistor Module and the Wiring Connector that powers the module may be incapable of conducting higher current levels for sustained periods of blower motor operation. In addition, moisture and other contaminants may enter the fresh air intake plenum and contact the internal circuit of the module or corrode the terminals. Either of the above may cause the relay resistor module or wiring connector to overheat, resulting in one or more of the following symptoms:

- The HVAC blower may not function on certain or all blower speed settings
- A burning plastic smell or smoke may be present in the vehicle
- The HVAC blower may run continually with the ignition in the OFF position

IN VERY RARE events, if the above Symptoms are Ignored......A FIRE Could Occur.

so as it says high current for long periods that means the motor speed is at the max.

just an example of this issue that is common on vehicles .

 

[1engineer]

this is what I found which is old info I remember reading about these GM vehicle blower motor issues.


Condition....On some 2003-2006 model year Chevrolet Avalanche, Suburban, Tahoe; GMC Yukon, Yukon XL; and 2003-2007 model year Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra vehicles equipped with a manual heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system (CJ3) or heavy duty heater (C42), the interface between the electrical terminals of the relay Resistor Module and the Wiring Connector that powers the module may be incapable of conducting higher current levels for sustained periods of blower motor operation. In addition, moisture and other contaminants may enter the fresh air intake plenum and contact the internal circuit of the module or corrode the terminals. Either of the above may cause the relay resistor module or wiring connector to overheat, resulting in one or more of the following symptoms:

- The HVAC blower may not function on certain or all blower speed settings
- A burning plastic smell or smoke may be present in the vehicle
- The HVAC blower may run continually with the ignition in the OFF position

IN VERY RARE events, if the above Symptoms are Ignored......A FIRE Could Occur.

so as it says high current for long periods that means the motor speed is at the max.

just an example of this issue that is common on vehicles .

No again.
If we wanted to spin the 4Runner blower motor faster it could be done. It is NOT going as fast as it can go.

In the case above (GM design, not Toyota) the problem is the wiring cannot handle the current draw. Basically a design flaw by GM.

There have been 400K+ 5th gen 4Runners produced and a handful of complaints about the blower motor failing. Pretty sure its not a design flaw as was the case with GM.

Run the blower on high as long as you like with no problems. In the winter here I have run it on high for hours a day as -25F is kinda cold. Its built for that.

 

[Salvo]

I have a 2014 TE and I'm on my third blower motor. The first two went pretty quickly but this one seems to be holding. Hope I didn't just jinx myself. Truck is totally stock, no mods. No one at the dealership seems to be able to explain it. Big surprise. Anyway, I know this is no help, but you're not alone.

Super jinxed myself. Blower number 3 is currently dying. 4 blower motors in two years on a truck purchased new and with currently $15k miles. I'm baffled.

 

[philsey]

Super jinxed myself. Blower number 3 is currently dying. 4 blower motors in two years on a truck purchased new and with currently $15k miles. I'm baffled.

I'd be escalating this beyond the dealer level. Odds are strong that something else is wrong.

 

[catrains]

No again.


Run the blower on high as long as you like with no problems. In the winter here I have run it on high for hours a day as -25F is kinda cold. Its built for that.

If I ran my ac blower on max speed in heat mode in winter all day long I could cook a chicken in the 1996 GM sedan . I hope these Toyota heaters work properly and do put out good heat temps during cold weather.

air temp max heat/max fan 145deg F in the 96 gm vehicle.

floor mats begin to melt.

 

[Salvo]

Just an update. I finally have my blower motor issue squared away. Today the TE's failing blower was replaced with something called a "100 series Land Cruiser". Whatever that is. My AC now blows fast and freezing cold!