Vents not functioning properly

Hello, I have a 2008 Subaru Legacy GT Limited, my vents order are no longer changing and the buttons are not stuck. The air seems to blow out of every vent, especially the main vents facing the driver and passenger, some seems to go through the defrost and even less to the feet. Along with this the squeaky noise that used to happen suddenly stopped along with this as well. Is this the vent mode actuator? Are there several of these? It sounded like the squeaking I heard was coming from under the passenger side Dash. Could anybody link me to find the proper part? Thanks!

Could try doing the ac auto diagnostics

http://legacygt.com/forums/showpost.php?p=4838143&postcount=3

 

Then this post has a bunch of pictures of the hvac layout

http://legacygt.com/forums/showpost.php?p=5203409&postcount=4

 

Post 51 has pictures of one of the actuators on the passenger side. Without doing research, I can't remember how many there are and stuff.

http://legacygt.com/forums/showpost.php?p=4322333&postcount=51

Hello, I have a 2008 Subaru Legacy GT Limited, my vents order are no longer changing and the buttons are not stuck. The air seems to blow out of every vent, especially the main vents facing the driver and passenger, some seems to go through the defrost and even less to the feet. Along with this the squeaky noise that used to happen suddenly stopped along with this as well. Is this the vent mode actuator? Are there several of these? It sounded like the squeaking I heard was coming from under the passenger side Dash. Could anybody link me to find the proper part? Thanks!

 

subbed...this is way over my head but I'm in the same position...I get heat (or cool) from the forward facing vents and when on defrost i get some up top and a lil on feet...but when i press just feet i get it coming out the forward vents...

Your vent motor control may be stuck or fail. Search AC Servo issue.

Basically remove the glove box, there are three of these motors control the vents and modes.

sometimes in the morning when cold my passenger side wont fully go over to 85 it scared me because I felt the coldness and I looked right over to my temp gauge and I thought I had a air bubble.

 

But yeah I have a issue with the floor and the passengers side sometimes, but I will be taking care of that at a later time not going to focus on it too much right now.

This seems to be what I need to do...very good walk threw

 

 

 

 

Sent from my 0PJA2 using Tapatalk

This seems to be what I need to do...very good walk threw

 

 

 

 

Sent from my 0PJA2 using Tapatalk

Nice find! I bet for us as well same issue.. I've had mine get stuck half way between the front defrost and the vent.. and after awhile it will switch over.. or as of right now it wont switch to floor only at all which is kinda what I want after spending 12 hours at work I saved that video

Thanks for all the responses! I must have accidently unsubscribed otherwise I'd have responded long ago. I plan to dig around a bit and see whats up. This car does not like me lately lol.

Fun update..another one bit the dust after the initial Issue was fixed $300 later. Dash cover had to be removed. Unfortunately the dealer gave the wrong part number but we got all that squared away. I dont have a part number for what initially went bad but now another one went out on me but differently this time. I pressed the defrost button only to hear a lovely thunk noise. After this noise no air comes from the two center vents on each side of the navigation. Occasionally after just starting the car a light amount will come out but as soon as you up the air flow a quiet thunk happens and back to the usual. Air very lightly comes from the two side vents and the floor. There is also no defrost. Could the mode door actuator be causing this? Any ideas are appreciated!

have you tried the auto ac diagnostics? I think that's supposed to test the mode door actuators.

 

This video might help too.

 

I'd see if the diagnostics tests can pinpoint a faulty part, and if not, I'd pull out the glovebox and stuff and see if I can see the actuators moving when I change modes.

These servos notoriously go out - the issue is the metal contacts eat through the conductive coating on the gears over time. It's no coincidence that the most-used AC buttons (Mode and driver temp control) go out first. I just replaced the mode-actuator on mine which fixed the annoying clicking sound and air not coming out of where it should. Now I just recently started hearing random clicking from the driver-side temp control so that'll be next. There are 4 servos total - (Mode, Pass Air Temp, Driver Air Temp, and Indoor/Outdoor Air Actuator). My understanding is all of the passenger side servos (3 out of 4) can be replaced simply by removing the glovebox. Not sure about the driver-side air-temp one though.

Apexi, thanks! Forgot about your original post up there. I will give that a shot. Amm203, i thought I heard something about that. Not sure what Subaru was thinking. I guess Ill soon have 2/4 replaced ans hopefully not one more! This cars about to find itself at the bottom of Lake Erie.

Hmmm. Well this looks like the same issue I feel like I'm having. 08 Spec-b.

 

I posted this elsewhere...

 

The driver's side when set to mid 70's is pretty warm, and if my passengers side is set to the same temp or hotter, it's actually blowing cooler air than the driver's side even if I put the passenger up to 85. Also blowing at the feet, it is not that warm either to match the temperature and seems to be blowing colder than my driver's side.

 

Also, when I turn the vent on to blow at my feet, it still blows out of the middle vents between my nav system. The only way to get it to stop from those vents is to switch to the front defog and the feet blower.

 

Do you have the part number by chance?

Below is what I have saved in my eBay cart for their inevitable failure:

 

These parts appear to be for 2006-2009 Legacy's (Excludes 2005 models)

 

Mode Actuator: 72131AG24A (This is what I already replaced - fixed the clicking issue when turning off the vehicle and now correctly directs air where it should go)

Passenger_Side Temp Actuator: 72131AG26A

Driver-Side Temp Actuator: 72131AG27A

Edited January 23, 2019 by amm203
Added links to part numbers

Let's bump this. I am a victim now...

 

amm203, do you know why these would not work for 2005 models?

Looks like all parts will fit 2005 GTs as well. I think the confusion comes from "What this fits" section on Subaru websites. It might show it fitting 2006-2009 GTs that are Spec Bs (which is the only year they existed).

I recently replaced the vent mode actuator on my 2005, and it took me a while to figure out which part number I needed. The parts source I used showed one set of part numbers for the 2005 actuators, and another set for 2006-2009 actuators. From looking at the other threads here, and doing my own research, I came up with this:

 

Vent Mode Actuator

72131AG09A (2005)

72131AG24A (2006 - 2009)

 

Temperature Blend Actuator, Passenger

72131AG11A (2005)

72131AG26A (2006 - 2009)

 

Temperature Blend Actuator, Driver

72131AG12A (2005) (might be out of production, not sure if there's a replacement)

72131AG27A (2006 - 2009)

 

Air Re-circulation Actuator

72131AG08A (2005)

72131AG23A (2006 - 2009)

 

There are discussions on this forum about whether or not the actuators are interchangeable between the '05s and later years, but I haven't seen any confirmation that they actually are or aren't.

 

I only have experience with the mode actuator, and for my 2005, I used part# 72131AG09A. Interestingly enough, it was about $20 cheaper than part# 72131AG24A, the mode actuator listed for the 2006-2009 cars. That makes me think there must be something different between the two, but I don't know....

Edited May 12, 2019 by csaari

Thanks a lot guys for your feedback. So I gather if I can no longer change where the air goes, I only need to change the vent mode actuator correct? I still can control heat, the AC, fan speed. Can't remember if air re-circulation works but I would think it does.

Where the air goes is the mode actuator.

Recirc versus fresh air is a separate actuator. Rarely fails because it's the least used.

Passenger and driver side each have their own temperature (air mix) actuator.

 

 

The mode, recirc, and passenger side temp actuators are accessible by removing center trim, dropping the glove box, etc like you would to change the cabin air filter.

Sounds like you only need to do the mode actuator. As long as the passenger side temp control works, and the fresh/recirc functions properly, you can leave those alone. It's not a monumental PITA to dig in there again if one of those fails in the future.

 

 

 

The driver's side temp actuator requires removing the whole dash to access it. Huge PITA, did it back in January.

Yeah. I saw your post. Sucks. I went ahead and bought the mode actuator and will change it when I get it.

 

If the driver side temp actuator ever fails, I'll change it when I swap my dash. I bought a new one a year ago due to my sticky one. I even have cracks now close to the instrument cluster, even though the car is stored in a garage .

Problem solved! Received the part today. Installed it this evening. Works like a charm. Protip: use a flexible extension for your drill. Makes the job quick and much easier to remove harder to reach screws.

Awesome! Glad you were successful.

Just out of curiousity, which part number did you go with?

I went with the one you listed: 72131AG09A (2005)

 

 

bought it on ebay for ~$67.

Bringing back a thread from the dead. Excellent info in here, and the correct part numbers and functions of the actuators.

 

My car had a bad driver's side temp actuator, so when I wanted AC, it was blowing hot air. Inconvenient.

 

I was not looking forward to taking out the dash, so I tried it from the bottom, above the pedals. It is a PITA, but it's possible. Didn't even take too long, but it's just very tight.

 

I took off the panel above the pedals, then removed the rectangular MT/AT module that is attached to the steering shaft. 3 electrical connectors, a clip, and 2 10mm bolts hold it to the shaft. I used a Gearwrench to take them out.

 

With the module removed, I could see 2 of the 3 screws, and the arm that is supposed to actuate the temp flap. When I turned the key on, and adjusted the temp, it moved twice, then quit. So I removed the 2 screws, and squeezed the white tube so the ziptie would come off the bottom tab of the actuator.

 

The 3rd screw is out of sight on the top, and recessed a bit, and hidden by the white tube. It helps if you have a mirror, or a tiny snake camera ( I have one that connects to my phone, very handy). Look at the bracket on the new actuator to get an idea of where the screw goes. I jammed my hand past the wire bundles and used a stubby #2 screwdriver to take the screw out. The actuator comes out pretty easily.

 

To get it back in, I used electrical tape to secure that 3rd screw to the bracket, and carefully put the new unit in, just starting the bottom 2 screws and making sure the pin on the actuator's arm was in the slot for the flap lever. Then I tightened up that 3rd screw, then the other 2.

 

It works!

 

-Paul

 

 

Where the air goes is the mode actuator.

Recirc versus fresh air is a separate actuator. Rarely fails because it's the least used.

Passenger and driver side each have their own temperature (air mix) actuator.

 

 

The mode, recirc, and passenger side temp actuators are accessible by removing center trim, dropping the glove box, etc like you would to change the cabin air filter.

Sounds like you only need to do the mode actuator. As long as the passenger side temp control works, and the fresh/recirc functions properly, you can leave those alone. It's not a monumental PITA to dig in there again if one of those fails in the future.

 

 

 

The driver's side temp actuator requires removing the whole dash to access it. Huge PITA, did it back in January.