Comments on: How to fix the A/C recirculation button on a 1997-2002 Chevy Malibu

By: Garon

Garon — Thu, 21 Jul 2011 23:27:25 +0000

Hey Joe. Just take a small screw driver and pry around the bezel around the key. Once that is off, pry around the black shroud around the radio/AC controls and it’ll pop off too. Don’t worry, you shouldn’t break it, its designed to pop right off.

By: joe

joe — Thu, 21 Jul 2011 15:50:07 +0000

How do you go about removing the bezel? Do you start from the inside of the bezel around the key or outside of the bezel around key? What size screw driver do you use to pry of bezel?
thanks

By: Frank

Frank — Sat, 11 Jun 2011 18:54:51 +0000

Oh my! I spent about 40 minutes total on following these instructions and IT WORKS!! Thank you so much for saving me a few hundred $$. A/C had gotten to where it was turning off and on at speeds 3 and above. Now, it blows full blast with re-circulation on or off and the A/C doesn’t cut out like it did before. It was tough on those 95F plus days running the A/C on 2….It is like driving a new car after I followed these steps. You are the man…

By: Ashley

Ashley — Fri, 20 May 2011 18:56:23 +0000

Fixed it! Had the connection wrong.

By: Ashley

Ashley — Fri, 20 May 2011 18:46:35 +0000

I tried to follow the pdf here…everything works now except the knob that changes where the ac is blown (directly at your face, face & feet, defrost, etc.) It just blows air out of every vent now without control.

There’s a chance I have lost a part of the connection. I have pictures of how I think it should connect back together (that’s not working) but I can’t post them here.

I can email them to someone if they think they could help.

Thanks!

By: Garon

Garon — Mon, 06 Dec 2010 23:41:12 +0000

No problem. Just click on a few ads.

By: John Blouch

John Blouch — Mon, 06 Dec 2010 02:51:41 +0000

thank you for such a fast reply. I will stay in touch after some checks. How can I repay the favor?

By: Garon

Garon — Mon, 06 Dec 2010 02:21:49 +0000

If I remember right, you can remove the glove box or see if you can look behind it and see if the “door” is opening or closing. It’s hard to describe, but if you feel/look back there, on the top of the A/C stuff will be a door that moves. Default position is closed (to allow outside air in), but if recirc is working, it should open. If you follow the link below, the grating between #5 and 6 shows the open area where the “door” is supposed to be (its a different vehicle, but its the best thing I could find). Perhaps if you put your fingers in there and press the button, you can tell if it’s working or not (it won’t hurt, it’s all vacuum actuated).

https://w05.dealerconnect.chrysler.com/service/mds2002/serviceInfo/en_US/8118b207.gif

This, however, shouldn’t affect the windows fogging as it should turn on the defrost and A/C to remove the fog. If this is not happening, make sure it’s switching to defrost (feel if air is coming out the top), and make sure the A/C compressor is turning on (the dry A/C air dries up the moisture on the window). Recirc is mainly best for those super hot days where the HVAC system can use the already cooled air in the car to cool instead of having to cool much hotter outside air.

By: John Blouch

John Blouch — Mon, 06 Dec 2010 01:54:31 +0000

I have windows fogging up in the cold and or rain. I have reason to believe the recirc is not working. Is it possible the recirc is stuck? I used to be able to hear the recirc change back and forth. I can not hear the change happen and the windows are fogging up. The button light will come on when I am making a change to recirc and it will go off again when I push the button, but I am not hearing any changes in the recirc. Any ideas??

By: Marc

Marc — Sun, 08 Aug 2010 03:58:17 +0000

I just bought a 2002 malibu and thought I was going to have to spend $300 to fix the AC. I googled the AC problem and found this! Figured I would give it a shot before wasting my money. It worked perfectly, all the buttons work, THANK YOU!