Toyota Yaris DIY

Total Time:

7 mins (if you know what you’re doing)
20 mins (if first time opening the dash)
2 hours (if you’re have two left hands or missing your opposable thumbs)

Tools:

Small flathead screwdriver to disconnect wire harness and push in the little clips that holds the plastic pieces together. (But not required. I could have done it with my keys or just my fingers.)

Follow instructions for changing the LED to access the back of the vent dial. Everything comes apart really easy. Use this guide. On the back of the circuit board (the one with the A/C button), there is a momentary switch (momentary means it requires continuous pressure to be closed) with a little metal arm. I know this description is vague, and I’m sorry I don’t have pictures, but there’s nothing else on the back and once you’re there, it’ll be obvious. Bend the metal arm a few times and it breaks right off. Presto! No more annoying A/C with defrost. Reassemble.

How it works: the back plastic piece has a ridge that engages when the vent knob is in the defroster mode. The ridge presses on the metal arm to trigger the momentary switch. No metal arm means the ridge can’t trigger the A/C switch.

For the belt and suspender people to check you have the right switch (which is what I did), you can turn on the car and press the switch and see if the A/C turns on. It’s easiest to tell when the car is fully warmed up since the difference in idle speed between A/C off and A/C on is very noticeable. I also had a scangauge to check fuel flow, but you can open the hood and check the condenser fan.

Tips:

• Leave the vent dial knob all the way to one side (like face vent) so when you reassemble, you don’t have to worry about aligning the indicator.
• There’s a little bit of grease on the knob to lubricate the gears. Having some paper towels is handy.