I bought the part and just finished replacing it. The steel pawls on a rotating plastic plate on the motor sheft each have a tooth which engages the plastic gear, then slips once the door is locked or unlocked, wearing-out the plastic gear when it slips. I had previosuly disassembled the mechanism and flipped the plastic gear on the shaft, but now both ends are worn out and I had to replace it. Here is the defective part of the actuator assembly:
I then took the time to write the following letter to Mr. Alan R. Mulally:
What happens when steel “teeth” or pawls repeatedly contact a plastic gear? You and I know the answer, so why don’t the people who designed the electric door lock actuator assembly, part number 6L2Z-78218A43-AA know that? Or, perhaps they know and do not care?
You are doing good things, but I’ll suggest that this is exactly the kind of poor quality and lack of adequate failure analysis issue every person in FMC needs to understand and avoid.
If you look closely at the item I enclosed, you will see wear at both ends of the plastic gear. I’m handy, so had disassembled the actuator and flipped the gear over on the shaft, but that only lasted for a time. While the $63.49 cost of the new actuator is not a major expense, I’m not your typical customer. Most people would have thought the car less reliable than they want because something such as this broke, had to pay dealer labor to have it changed, and had to mess with dropping off and picking-up the car at the dealer. It all adds up in peoples’ minds.
