Hi everybody. I recently got a 2011 Toyota Camry and it does not let me switch the vents so that all the hot air goes to my feet. It does stop blowing out of the top middle dashboard vents, but the hot air still comes out anyway.
I do not want ANY warm air around my face or head. (That is an invitation to my skin and scalp to get instantly oily, itch, break out, and start me down a miserable rabbit hole of itching, scratching and plucking for hours. I’m not solely blaming the vent of course, but man it sure does not help.)
The vents on the upper sides let you switch them all the way closed, but the vents in the middle of the dash you can only turn the vent panels down and away, and I can really still feel the hot air coming out even with the fan turned completely off and the vent panels turned, because of the spaces between the panels.
I looked up “car vent covers” imagining something I could put over the top of the vent panels and found nothing. Maybe I can creatively come up with something, but I would want it to be easily removable for when I want air conditioning which I DO want to go straight to my face and head. Which could be the exact same day I want the heat, since it can be sunny in the day and cold at night.
So. Should I go to a car detailer and see if he can find vents that close all the way that fit in place of the vents that don’t? Will they fit, or can he get them to fit? Or should I maybe go back to the dealer and they can fix the heat so that it never goes near the upper vents in the first place? Which would be cheaper and still work out?
(Or, what might make a good vent panel cover that would stay and cover tightly yet be adjustable? Maybe something that would roll up and down?)
Wow! Almost too much information! I started itching and sweating, myself! It would have probably been enough to say…
I instantly thought of Roseanne Roseannadanna!
What if you temporarily let it hit you long enough to heat the car’s interior and then lowered the temperature so that it just maintains the desired comfort without continuing to blast you in the head with hot air?
How about trying to move the seat and/or seatback to the rear of the vehicle? I’ve found that many drivers sit too far forward for some reason, habit, I guess. As long as your feet can reach the pedals and your hands reach the steering wheel you should be okay. CSA
I use a couple of old credit cards that I cut to fit the side of the dashboard vents to direct the air away from me.My 2012 Corolla has the same problem.
I kind of think the car was designed this way though. Air blows through the vents on the sides of the dashboard when it’s directed to feet, thus those vents have off switches in case you were actually serious about only warming your feet. The middle vents don’t have off switches because the air is not blowing from there. It just emanates.
Interesting. My 1992 Corolla doesn’t have this problem at all. When I direct the heater to the feet area only, airflow to the dash vents is completely blocked. My car uses the simple cable method to control the HVAC doors, and I presume OP’s car uses the electronic actuator method. My first guess was that there’s a problem with the HVAC actuators or doors as posted above; but if CG’s Corolla has the same problem, I’m now thinking there’s no way to solve this. The cable system design is just more robust than the actuator method. There must be something inherent in the electric actuator design that prevents total blockage to the dash vents. So other than completely blocking off air flow at the dash vents, OP may just have to live with it.
One option if OP never wants air to come out those vents, they can JB Weld something over the vent, like a piece of plastic, paper, or wood. Not gonna do anything for the interior attractiveness though. And it might reduce the amount of cooling when AC is needed.
I’m also noticing the effects of dry air on my skin since the weather has turned colder the past few weeks, especially on my hands. My solution is applying some hand lotion.
I sympathize with you, I can’t stand heat b;owing in my face either. Unless I need defrost I always have my 2012 Camry set to floor. It directs air to my ankles and shins unlike every Chrysler product I owned that all put the heat on the feet nut is doesn’t leak any heat out the vents.
I think you need to get this fixed rather than try to cover the vents. A detailer would have no expertise with this. A dealer would but an independent shop would be cheaper, if they knew what they were doing.
Almost too much information! I started itching and sweating, myself! It would have probably been enough to say…
