Hello,

My name is John Petelle and I own a 2003 acura tl which I bought new. I have a problem with the auto climate control not controling the inside temperature correctly. It is always to cold and does not get warmer when I adjust the temperature up from say 70 degrees to 75 degrees. What could cause this?

Thanks,
John

Welcome to the forum. There could be a few things. If you turn it to say 90 do you feel a change or is it just in small increments you dont?

Thank you for your reply. To answer your question I would like to say that my problem is intermittent. Some times it works the way it's suppose to, other times, when it is failing I can adjust the temperature to 90 degrees and the air stills does not get warm. Yesterday when it failed I switched from fully automatic to just automatic and tried to get warm air by adjusting the auto temperature on the right and the air stayed cold. I then turned off the air conditioning and the air got warm. When I switched the air conditioning back on this morning it worked as it is supposed to. Is there a relay, switch or a sensor that could cause this problem.

Thanks,
John

It could be a few things. It could be the mix control motor, the mode motor, water valve control.

Do you find it has the same issue with cooling the car?

Unfortunately there isnt 1 easy way to find out which it is. Parts of the dash need to be remove do inspect.
I dont have my manual here but there is a way to get the display to show a code to see if or whats wrong.

Thanks again for your response,

I am not sure about cooling. I will see if this a problem the next time it fails. I will be on vacation for the next 12 days so I won't be reponding to this forum item. When I get back I might take my car to Jiffy Lub to get the diagnostic code readout if you think this might point to the problem. What do you think?

John

Hi,

A few months ago I reported the problem with my 2003 Acura TL Auto Climate Control. I still have this problem and I saw on this forum where others have had the exact same problem. There is probably a common component that has failed but I haven't seen the fix reported in the forum. Does anyone know what the fix was? Again, the problem is no auto temp control. It is always cold no matter what temperature is set until I set it to 90 degrees. Then hot air flows. I checked the air mix valve and it does not move unless the temp is set to exactly 90 degrees or 60 degrees. Then it goes from fully closed to fully open and vice versa. Sometimes when I do this I can get it to change with incrementally temp. changes. I lubricated the valve and the cable but I am not sure this will fix the problem. What causes the cable to control the valve incrementally?

Thanks,
John

Hi,

A few months ago I reported the problem with my 2003 Acura TL Auto Climate Control. I still have this problem and I saw on this forum where others have had the exact same problem. There is probably a common component that has failed but I haven't seen the fix reported in the forum. Does anyone know what the fix was? Again, the problem is no auto temp control. It is always cold no matter what temperature is set until I set it to 90 degrees. Then hot air flows. I checked the air mix valve and it does not move unless the temp is set to exactly 90 degrees or 60 degrees. Then it goes from fully closed to fully open and vice versa. Sometimes when I do this I can get it to change with incrementally temp. changes. I lubricated the valve and the cable but I am not sure this will fix the problem. What causes the cable to control the valve incrementally?

Thanks,
John

So you say when going from cool to 90° you get hot air, and when going from warm to 60° you get cold air. And going to anything inbetween produces no change?

I'm just guessing here, but maybe the climate control thermostat is failing.

The 60° and 90° settings override the automatic climate control and will blow cold and hot air respectively at full force indefinitely. (The climate control only operates between 61°-89°)

Since you say you can still get cold and hot air, albeit thru manual mode, the HVAC still seems to be in proper, working operation. This leads me to believe that whatever is causing the problem is limited to parts exclusive to the climate control.

I'm no AC expert, so I don't know how you could test the thermostat, but I do know it is located behind a small vent next to the right of the steering wheel on the dash (I think right by the ignition).

Dear Mr Motoring,

Thannks for your suggestion. Is it possible that the thermostat would sometimes work and sometimes not work? When I have this intermittent problem I sometimes can get it to work for awhile by going to 90 degrees then backing down to say 68 degrees. When it does work like this I can control it within the 61 to 89 degree range until the next time it fails, usually the next time I drive the car.

Also, can the climate control thermostat be replaced without tearing the dash apart?

Thanks,
John

I happen to have the same problem. Same symptoms- air blows COLD, adjust from 70 to 75, no change. 75 to 80, no change. Finally, set to 90, and air gets hot quick. Adjust back to 75, and air goes cold again.

My initial thought is mix control, but I haven't dug into it yet. Today, I'm busy working on yet another new problem- trunk won't open.

After 6 years 3 months of ownership (I bought new), this car is turning into a POS. Apparently, I should have just gotten a GM product. I had a choice a couple months back to sell either my '95 Accord EX (with 151k miles- also purchased new), or my '02 TL-S (75k miles, just today). I sold the Accord, and this car has been making me regret that decision since.

NOT a happy camper.

Todd

Well, this is John Petelle and I still have a problem with my automatic climate control. I have disconnected the cable to the water control valve and checked the valve manually. It seems to move ok although there is some resistance. I am not sure how freely it should move. I tried to operate the temperature control between 61 degrees and 89 degrees. It seems the linkage does not move incrementally so as to control the water control valve incrementally. It is either fully open or fully closed although the temperature at which it changes from fully open to fully closed seems to be around 74 degrees right now. Is this the way this valve works, fully open or fully closed. If it is, what else could be causing the temperature in the car to always be cold throughout the full temperature range? Does the air mix motor affect the operation of the linkage to the water control valve?

i would say either the mix motor or the valve located in the engine compartment. There have been a few with the valve located in the engine compt.




one more thing. do all your controls work (ie... fan speed, mode select, AC)

I think all the controls are working ok. I can here a clicking sound from behind the glove compartment like maybe a baffle that is moving when I move the temp through the range of 61 to 89 degrees.

I checked with Acura service manager and he said it probably is the air mixture motor, a $350.00 repair. Can this motor cause this kind of problem, and if so how can I be absolutely sure? I probably would attempt to buy the part and fix it myself If I am sure this is the problem. It sounds like there are a number of others out there with the same problem, but I haven't seen a post with the exact fix for it. When I get it fixed I will write a detailed explanation so that others can solve the problem without spending $350.00 or more. The service manager did not think $350.00 was a lot of money for a service repair. I checked with a salvage yard and they have an air mix motor that I can pull from a 2000 Acura TL for $50.00.


Should the water control valve in the engine compartment have only 2 positions, either fully open or fully closed. This is what I see when I adjust the temp between 61 degrees and 89 degrees. The actual temperature that it changes from fully opened to fully closed is 70 to 71 degrees. This may be the correct operation of this valve and the temperature that it switches may change depending on the air temperature in the car. If this is so what should cause the temp in the car to change as I move the temp control between 61 and 89 degrees. It seems the air coming out is always cold unless I move the temp up to 90 degrees.

Can I see any of the components in the car behind the glove compartment, maybe near the blower and the air filters related to the air mixture motor or valve related to mixing hot and cold air.

Thanks,
John

My "99" seems to not want to warm up and I correct this by cranking the temp control all the way over to hot and then back again. This seems to clear the problem and given the "fix", I'm assuming it's the control reostat in the dash that gets dirty.

Thank goodness for the heated seats !

ET

these have a lot of problems with the air mix motor going bad and only takes about 30 minutes to repair with the right tools

John, judging by the above username, I take it he is an Acura Tech. I would go with his advice.

However, the valve should not be ON/OFF. My imagination would tell me that the temperature is changed by the amount of coolant allowed to flow into the heater box. If its ON/OFF, its really hot or really cold.

it doesn't control the coolant flow it controls the air flow

Since we now think my problem may be the air mixture motor, how do I test it and repair it? Is this something that if I can do? What tools do I need? I have a multimeter. I have purchased a service manual for my car on the Internet. It should arrive today or tomorrow. Maybe there is something about the air mixture motor in this manual. Also, I think I will take the car to Advance Auto to see if there is an error code pointing to the air mixture motor. Should I expect to see an error code if the air mixture motor is causing my problem?

Thanks,
John

My '02 TL-SNAVI is the same way - to up the temp a few degrees I have to crank it up to 90 then back down to what I want. This was compounded yesterday by the blower motor not coming on at all. The vent motors open and close the different vents, redirecting the airflow as they should, and the compressor kicks on, but the blower just doesn't come on. Where is the relay for the blower motor? I also heard from an ex-Acura tech (from a while back) that fuseboxes have caused problems in the past, and are tough to trace down...any liklihood this is the problem?

I would check the connection to the actual blower first. Many have had them melt

Is that the connector at the bottom of the blower motor? 2 or maybe 3 heavy-gauge wires in a white plug?

yes

watch the air mix motor while you turn the temp controls and see if it moves
the motor is behind the radio on the bottom of the air box

ok, it had obviously got hot, the connector was looking pretty rough, but the spades on the motor don't look too bad. Is it just the connector that needs replacing normally, or does it cause something else to go?

sorry for the hijack, I'm also watching for more answers on the temp adjustment issue...

That's what it was. The dealer had an updated harness and a replacement transistor that mounts into the blower housing. My blower motor was still good, but apparently they sometimes need replacing. The harness was a bit of a PITA, you have to remove the Blue/red wire from the harness going to the transistor, and then pull the glovebox and pull the Yellow/black wire in a brown connector mounted behind the glovebox. Parts cost $50.00, took me an hour and a half to figure out what went where and finish up. All is good though.....

Hello, This is John Petelle again. Since I last posted on this forum I received the service manual I bought on the Internet. I checked for an error code and I got error K which points to the air mix control linkage, door or motor. I observed the linkage while varying the temp control through the full range. It appeared to work as it is supposed to. The problem right now is the system is working correctly as the inside cabin temperature is rising when I move the control to a warmer temperature. In other words it is not failing right now.

One thing that is different right now is the outside air temperature is around 71 to 75 degrees. When I last saw the problem the outside air temperature was 90 to 95 degrees. I don't know if anything in the climate control system would be affected by this difference in the inside and outside air temperature. I saw the resistance checks for the inside and outside temperature sensors and am not sure if one of these sensors could be failing and causing my symptom. The book indicates I should see a different error code, either A, B, C, or D indicating either an open or short in the sensor.

The air mix control motor check looks like a failure would cause the motor to run and stop at either max hot or max cold position. Since I always have been able to get either real cold or real hot air at 60 degrees or 90 degrees does this mean this motor is working as intended.

I think I will need to see another failure and look at the linkage at that time. If I remove the air mix control motor will I have a problem reinstalling it as far the reinstalling the linkage stuff? If the linkage or door don't move smoothly is this easily fixed?

Thanks,
John

I had the same problem. I bought the motor for about 100.00. Replacing it was easy.

I know this is very old, but there is no resolution here. Anyone know if the air control motor was replaced and fixed the problem?

I have same problem.. Looking for solution and have searched forum for answer.

thanks for any pointers.

I have been having the same problem for a couple of months, getting cold air until I select full hot, and sometime that doesn't work either. As Jpetell mentioned I also get an error code "K", mix valve motor or linkages. Someone mentioned they replaced the motor, I surmise that fixed the problem but I would like to be sure. I would also like know how easy is the access to the motor.

OK My fan doesn't blow any air out (Hot or Cold) any suggestions to do and how much would it be to repair or has anyone fixed this problem themselves?

Hey john, sometimes my car does the same thing . I Have a 03 tl type s. But I find If I put it all the way over to the hot side. Then take it back it works great.

How do you check for error codes?

To clarifiy my last question, Error "K" doesn't sound like an OBDII type of error code. Is there some other way of checking on the dash display or something?