AC only "cold" from 1 vent?

It has finally started getting warm here for longer stretches of time. I noticed the AC not blowing as cold as it did during the Spring about two weeks ago but figured it may have been due to higher outside temperatures. Last night coming back home from the store after a rain and 20 degree drop outside, I figured something is definitely wrong. I moved around a thermometer between dash vents and only the closest one to the driver-side door is lower than rear-view mirror display says is outside temperature. It seems to be between 7-15 degrees colder depending on dash and dash and floor setting. Other three dash vents are all same as outside temperature, and the front floor vents feel warm to the hand as well.

For a bit of history, my dad took it three times for AC related services when he owned it. I don't have the records in hand, but did find some information about them through Toyota Owners. In Sept. 2014 they checked for leaks, and didn't find anything. Oct. 2014 they checked for leaks again, didn't find any, but also topped it off with R134a claiming it was low. End of July 2015 he went back for same issue where it wasn't getting cold, but online records don't show what was done. He said they checked for leaks again, didn't find one, and also filled it up with R134a again. He is supposed to be looking for the printed record for me.

Bumper to bumper ended about 2 months ago. I'm not sure if any 12month/12k warranty would apply to the last visit, especially not knowing what was done. I wouldn't mind having to pay for a recharge, but I don't want to be paying them hours in labor to not find a leak whenever it keeps running out within 11-15 months. There's obviously something happening that they failed to find the last three times.

I tried searching here but mostly came up with either AC not turning on at all, or much older trucks starting to have low refrigerant levels.

 

Sounds like a fresh air vent is locked open and mixing with the cooled air.

 

I'll poke around in the search to see what I can find then. No idea where the vents are located to check. I will add that when it works, I could pretty consistently get all the dash vents to cool down to around 40 degrees on the thermometer so it's getting pretty unbearable for the air blowing out to be 80-90 degrees! Even 70 out of the one that seems to be somewhat working was pretty awful on the way to the store last night.

 

Sounds like the little servo motor is just having a hard time. Good luck sorting it out!

 

That one vent stopped blowing cold yesterday, which made the couple short trips since nearly unbearable. I took it to the dealership today. They looked through the history, got a tech to start looking at it, and ended up giving me a '16 OR loaner after waiting a couple hours. They said will talk with Toyota to try to get whatever they do find covered since it had several complaints while under warranty.

 

The dealership had me pick up the truck to drive over the weekend. They refilled the refrigerant and added dye again, and wanted to get it circulated so they could check for leaks again early next week. This morning my wife noticed liquid drip onto her leg from underneath the passenger side dash. My understanding is there are AC parts under the dash on the Tacomas, correct? Could a leak back there be causing the condensation she felt?

 

Yeah the coils the air blows through are inside the cab behind the dash. It sounds like the drip line is not dripping correctly and the reservoir is filling up causing your wife to have gotten a little drip on her.

 

Was it just water? Check the drain tube on the firewall, passenger side. With the truck running, AC on, it should drip water. If not, clear the blockage. This being said, if they had to refill the refrigerant, there has to be a leak.