Easy Fix For Broken Heat Control

[Hoo Gnu]

The other day, I decided I wanted the heater on, so as I drove down the road, I pushed the heat lever on the dash.
I stopped when I realized that I was doing nothing more than bending the lever.
Pretty shoddy, Toyota.
Anyways, it can be overcome with no disassembly.
Standing on the passenger side, put your hand on the transmission hump of the floor, close to the firewall.
You can feel the end of the control cable. Push it to the drivers side for heat.
I expect I'll only do this twice a year, so that's the end of that.

 

[the_dingman]

The root of the problem is that the bypass valve for the coolant running through the heater core gets stuck (it's under the hood, center, by the wipers)... There's actually two cables coming off the heater control, one controls airflow and runs to the heater unit, the other runs to this valve. Disconnect this cable (or replace the valve) and the problem is solved with the control still usable.