Heater controls

Q I am having problems with the various heater controls on my 2002 Toyota Corolla Verso (135,000 miles). It started some months ago when the fan control switch needed many pushes before it would change speed.

I purchased a new switch piece from Toyota, this did not make any difference, Toyota advised me that it would require a complete switch – cost £130 plus. I have lived with the problem for some months finding that by playing with the auto switch I could vary the fan speed by adjusting the auto temperature.

I now find that the aircon switch is playing up – working then not working. I have now found that when starting from cold the digital readout for fan speed, heater settings and settings for directing the airflow are sometimes all blank.

After the car warms up for five minutes or so, the displays reappear. The fan speed switch will now not change the speed at all. Is there a temp sensor that could be affecting the readout or am I going to put myself in the hands of the very expensive Toyota mechanics?

Geoff Allen

A The control systems are all built in with the switch/display unit and I would suspect that this is the problem. I would though be inclined to purchase a second-hand unit which may be better value.

It would appear that most of the 2002 Corolla Verso’s were fitted with the mechanical control panels and the change to the version you have was in 2004. I am not sure if the later panel would fit your Toyota, but I did find a couple on ebay listed as 2002.