CHR Heating Issue Solar Sensor

Hey, I've got a 2021 Toyota CHR with a gasoline engine and about 141k km. The heating isn't blowing as hot as it should. I scanned for error codes and found one related to the solar sensor. I suspect a faulty cable or plug connection. Anyone run into this? Where to start?

4 comment(s)

Solar sensor, huh? Interesting. Is only the heating affected? Any issues with the automatic headlight dimming or the climate control reacting strangely to sunlight?

Good question! Now that you mention it, the headlights do seem a little slow to react sometimes. I hadn't connected the two issues. Could a faulty solar sensor really affect all those systems?

Yeah, it definitely could. The solar sensor, or daylight sensor, feeds information to the ECU which controls a bunch of things. Given the error code and the symptoms, a bad connection sounds plausible. Honestly, with those symptoms showing up I'd get it checked out at a shop before it messes with something else.

Thanks for the advice! I took it to the workshop and you were spot on. Turns out it was a corroded connector on the solar sensor. They cleaned it up and replaced a short section of wiring. Cost me 95€ and the heating is working perfectly again. Headlights seem better too!

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