Calling all broken blend doors...

[X24]

Just got off the phone with ford customer service and I augued down to only having to pay 20% of the cost to fix my blend door. That just dropped the cost from $820 to $164. WOO HOO!!! I'll bet they didnt know I was a member of the best explorer site on the net and that I would tell all my fellow broken blend door buddies All I did was take it to ford and had them check it out so that I knew for sure that it was broken... well, actually it was more like I just paid them to tell me something I already knew, but I had to in order to have a case with customer service. Good luck to all you guys. Hell, your service people might even be nicer than mine and cover the entire charge.

 

[wpurple]

Seems I have been hearing alot about broken blend doors, could someone explain the problem and the years affected?

TIA

Kurt
97 (rusted) Sport

 

[X24]

It is the part that the hot/cold dial controls. It mixes the air to get the desired temp. I think it is mostly 97-98 that is affected by this. I believe that the wrong part was installed during manufacturing which caused them to fail. My blend door broke when I was using the heat so all I get is heat now. The A/C works but it cant get through because the door is blocking it. I was fine with it during the winter but now that its getting hot out it motivated me to get off my a$$ and do something about it.

 

[wpurple]

Don't mean to be a pain, but what exactly fails about it?
Is the replacement one different?
I have to pull my dash apart for other reasons and was thinking of at least replacing the heater core while I am there, maybe the blend door should be apart of my maintenance while the whole thing is apart??

TIA

Kurt
97 Sport

 

[espnfreak]

dude how did you get such a deal, my dads needs to be fixed, and thats a darn good price

 

[X24]

The guy at ford told me that the dial turns an electric motor which pushes and pulls this cable that is attached to the door. Well, where is attaches to the door is where is breaks. The fix is to replace the entire duct unit which costs about $220. Supposedly the new one is redesigned.

espnfreak... just do what I said I did in my first post.

 

[espnfreak]

well i need to know what you argued?

 

[X24]

I said that it was a problem with the truck before it was even put on the lot. It was a manufacturing defect and I didnt feel that I should be responsible for fixing it.

Just keeps saying it over and over... they will get tired of hearing it. You have to figure about $70 or $80 just to have ford tell you its broken and then whatever they tell you they will do for you. I was expecting them to say that it wouldnt be covered but when they just came right out and said, "we'll cover 80%" I thought about arguing further but I knew I wouldnt get it. Just be really nice and polite and say that you are a loyal customer and are thinking about purchasing another Ford in the future. Oh, BTW... 1-800-241-FORD.

 

[Bouche2210]

Thanks for the info. I just got off the phone though and got the total run around. I called the number you gave and they acted like they had never heard of the problem. Not that, that suprises me at all. Did you call anyone else? Like your local dealer? I tried mine and got no where. I am not one to give up easily though so if you have any more info I would greatly appreciate it. Thanks for your help so far.

 

[Deak]

Ahh the blend door. Its a problem ford should have recalled. There is even a TSB regarding the blend door. So the line "we never heard of this" is bull they know the problem exists.
The 80/20 deal relates to a warranty. Someone earlier posted the exact conditions, but basically if the truck is out of warranty your out of luck.
Since my blend door is rooted, and I have a brother who is a lawyer, I will ask him what legal options exist (if any). I imagine someone has explored this option. With every person who has posted about their blend door being rooted, there are 50 who haven't. Some people probably chalk it up to age and believe stories llike "it just happens" and pay a 800-1000 service bill for a 3.00 part that should have been recalled in the first place.

Deak

 

[Morgan97Ltd]

Originally posted by Bouche2210
Thanks for the info. I just got off the phone though and got the total run around. I called the number you gave and they acted like they had never heard of the problem. Not that, that suprises me at all. Did you call anyone else? Like your local dealer? I tried mine and got no where. I am not one to give up easily though so if you have any more info I would greatly appreciate it. Thanks for your help so far.

sounds like my conversation with them.. the guy was nice though, he called the dealer and asked what kind of assistance they could give me and made them aware that i was unhappy with the situation. all in all it was pretty worthless other than him saying "make sure you keep all of the receipts in case a recall is issued in the future"

 

[alphabets13]

if you can't get $ off from ford, don't get it done by them. i had a place do it for me for $597.00. better than ford's price. that included the part and overnight shipping.

 

[X24]

I don't know anything about a warranty regarding this... or were you talking about the factory warranty? Mine was out of warranty with about 53K on it when I had it fixed. I have an extended warranty which didnt cover it. Ford knows about the problem. Maybe the rep you talked to had never heard of it, but Ford definately knows about it. I'm suprised myself that it's not a recall. I think the guy said that 1% or 2% have to be broken and repaired by dealers to constitute a recall since it's not a safety related issue. I'm sure they are getting close to that amount, but you also have to figure people that repair it themselves or at independent shops don't go on record as being broken.

As for making them pay for part of it, you have to go to the dealer and have them confirm that its broken. After the rep tells you its broken, tell them that you know there is a TSB on it and you have heard stories of people getting assistance because it was a manufacturing flaw. Make sure you use the words manufacturing flaw because, after all, thats what it is... isn't it?

 

[itbejared]

This is all great info. I have already been to my dealer last year and was quoted the $900 and I said forget it I would do it myself. I was planning on doing it sometime this spring.. But I think I might give them a call and see if I can convince them to take care of it for me. It always helps when you know the guys are the Dealer really well..

 

[itbejared]

Well the Dealer says that since it is only a TSB they really don't care until its a recall.. I was nice yet held my ground saying its a Manufacuture defect and they didn't give a crap. Go figure.. And the worst part! I used to work for them!!!

but I have a buddy in the parts dept there and I can get the entire updated chamber for $75 Looks like I'm going to do it myself! It's all good...

 

[Bouche2210]

I now have a working blend door. I fixed it on the cheap though so I will just have to see how long it lasts. I found a quick fix on the ford-truck.com web site. You just take the acctuator out, drill a hole in the post and put a pin in it. With mine the plastic on my door post was so cracked up it took 2 pins but it worked like a charm. Like I said though time will tell how long it lasts. Thanks for everyones info.

 

[RGK]

Bouche2210,

Would you have a link to the ford-truck.com web site for the fix. Thanks.

 

[explr1]

I did the drill and #3 finishing nail fix. Free and took 15 minutes.

 

[jsgreen]

No Love from Ford regarding Blend Door

I just called 1800-241-FORD to report my $900 blend door failure. They were very nice - but not able to reimburse me in any way.

X24, you got lucky.

Everybody else - please call and report your problem, the more that register the issue the more likely Ford is to issue a recall. You will need your VIN handy (on your dash near the windshield on the driver's side, viewed from outside).

jsg

 

[Robb]

These are two good ways of fixing it at home.

This is the cheap, easy fix.

This is the more complicated, more expensive, yet more permanent fix.