Recently took a trip to VT with the family in my 98 4runner. One of the colder nights the wife was complaining of cold air blowing on her right foot. It definitely was not the climate system but I am unable to check as she can not drive 5 speed.
Where could air be coming from on the pass side kick / pinch weld area? Im looking for some ideas so I can try to seal things up.
thanks!
Matthew

 

I think the recirc inlet vent is in the passenger footwell area. If it's not closing all the way I think it's possible to have cold air from the cowl inlet come out there.

 

No, I use the "passive" climate control to my advantage so I am very familiar with how it works. Regardless The heat was on, the floor vent is on the center console side and the cold air was entering the right side of the pass foot well.
She was very upset that she had one warm foot and one cold foot...

 

Got a rust hole? Can you look from the firewall side and see if any of the rubber plugs/grommets are missing or cracked?

 

I've had the warm foot/cold foot thing happen before, that was with the recirc lever set in the middle. Yeah, that's not a real setting, and it's not intended to be used. The theory was it would recirc some air, pull in some fresh. But at speed on the highway, with some passive pressure at the cowl vent, what happened was cold air blew out of that inlet into the passenger footwell, while at the same time warm air came out of the center floor vents.

Thus my theory that if that vent wasn't closing properly, it might act in the same way it does with the lever in the middle, air coming in the cowl vent and straight out the recirc inlet.