A/C Recirculate button question

[mesohungry]

I bought a 2004 Base vibe a month ago and have been working on minor issues here & there.
Since the temperature is finally hitting 100 degrees here, I started using the A/C. When pressing the recirculate button, I do not hear or feel any difference in the air. On other vehicles I've owned, when pressing the recirculate button I usually feel more air being pushed through the vents.

On this vibe, I hear & feel nothing. Is this normal or is something not right here?
A couple weeks ago I checked the HVAC door after reading a post on here and adjusted it. I got a little more air flow and slightly colder air. Now I just need to figure out whether the recirculate thing is broken or it's just normal on this vehicle.

[ColonelPanic]

The recirculate motor is of questionable quality and design on these cars. They're constantly under load which eventually strips the plastic gears on the actuator. Generally when they give out you will have a constant clicking from the upper passenger side of the dash.

What I've done to check the actuator operation is to look at the HVAC box inside the dash on the passenger's side. You can remove the glove box (remove junk out of it, remove one philips screw on right side, drop glove box down) and then turn on your fan. You should see the internal air intake above the cabin air filter opening.



Toggle the recirculate button and you should see the damper close or open. If you feel like pulling the cowl trim under the windshield you can also see the damper close or open.

If you're feeling more adventurous, you can pop the passenger's side cowl trim below the windshield and see the intake from the outside and very it opens/closes fully.

[mesohungry]

Yep, it was the actuator assembly. I read several threads about it last night. Only difference was that mine wasn't clicking. I removed the glove box and took a look. The damper didn't move at all on either setting. 2 hours of work and a few scrapes and I successfully removed the actuator. Cracked it open and found 1/4 of the teeth were worn down.
I rotated it 180 degrees as others have mentioned and put it back together. Accidentally broke a couple of tabs, but I used a product called Q Bond to permanently seal that sucker.

Once I re-installed it, I toggled the recirculate button and everything is working as it should. I've only been here a short time, but this site has definitely saved me hundreds of dollars in repairs already. Thanks

I went ahead and ordered a new one from amazon to keep in case this one takes a dump again.
I hope I don't have to deal with it again though. That top screw was a pain to remove.

[ColonelPanic]

Congrats on the successful fix! Your time of 2 hours certainly beat mine.

[mesohungry]

Pic of the damage:


The majority of the time was spent trying to remove that top screw. Everything else was quick & easy.

[jake75]

This is a "defect" that has been around since at least 2003 and never addressed. Maybe it is a way to assure that Toyota dealers get at least a little repair work. Or maybe it is just one small way they can get back at us for their defeat in WWII.

[waveresponder]

I had this replaced under warranty once already some 28k+ miles ago.

WIll have to get around to doing this fix myself. Just been turning the radio up louder and sucking up the annoying click click click clikc sound at the lower fan setting.

[Guy in PHX]

I ended up just pulling off the power connector at the actuator and let it default to the outside air position. May be I'll fix it at some point in time. But summer has already begun in Phoenix (100 degree plus) so it won't be too soon.