Blend door vote

[EasyRhino]

Not familiar with this problem. Was not evidenced on my 94 Limited to 103K miles, my 97 XLT 5.0 AWD to 87K miles, and not yet on my 2002 Limited 4.6 as of 18K miles.

 

[X24]

I think the TSB on this problem started in 1997. Not sure tho. Where's Robert when you need him?

 

[tenikiwon]

Mine was bad when I got it, found out a week later

 

[Robb]

The blend door problem is only for the 96-98 Explorer (I believe).

Robb

 

[MechWolf]

64K miles, just got the diagnosis confirmed by local Ford dealer - broken blend door.

Called Ford, expressed my dissatisfaction and requested relief on the $775 repair bill. They "researched the problem", to their credit they called the dealer, but regretted to tell me they couldn't grant my request.

RAZOR - how'd you get them to pay?!?

On a side note, I just got a letter from Honda saying they have had an unusually high number of problems with '01 Odyssey trannies, so they're extending the warranty to 7yrs/100k miles just in case.

I'll be writing a letter to Ford. Probably a waste of ink, but it'll make me feel better!

In the meantime, I'm gonna cut the hole and manually open the door.

pagz - So the instructions in the link worked? Your door works like new?

Shivering in AK,
MechWolf

 

[X24]

Be persistant with Ford. Call them back and ask again. Tell them you dont think its right that you should have to pay to fix a manufacturing flaw. Tell them its been a problem waiting to happen since it left the factory. That what I did and they paid 80%.

 

[pagz]

Mechwolf - yeah, it works fine right now....i took it up to the snow on New Years and was able to adjust the temp as needed with no problems. You have to find someone to remove the refrigerant from the evaporator. (I had a friend of mine do it at his A/C shop) Like i said got a few cuts on my fingers and hands but it was worth the $900.00 ford was gonna charge me. It was a little tricky fitting the new door in but if you follow the directions and cut it like it says, you should have no problems. They said it should take about 2 hours but in actuality for someone who is not mechanically inclined, it took me about 5-6 hours ...Good Luck

 

[explorer4x493]

Blend door already replaced.

At about 100k.

cost about $900, but i don't care my dad payed for it...

 

[daniel cauchon]

No prob yet !! but I ear that it`s more tha 96 and up ???? tell me yes please !!

 

[Sid Daley]

Starting to act Wonky !!

Just bought the 97 X six months back and have
been following the board for recurring themes. The
other day I noticed I was getting cold air when it should have been blowing hot, the hot air started up and it appeared fine, then today the heat/cold was very sporadic.

I'm not hearing any unusual sounds however, I think the symptons are Blend door related, I have sourced a Ford tranny guy in the Surrey B.C. area that now works out of a shop in his home, when I went to visit home a while ago to diagnose my tranny he had a 97 EB in his shop with the dash ripped out and having the whole assembly replaced. He says the part is 200$ Cdn, I think he gets it wholesale from the Ford dealership he used to work at, then he charges $300 for labour.

I can get the job done for around $500 which from what I've read here seems reasonable.
I plan on starting a new thread and seeing how many people have had success with the free blend door fix from Ford Truck forum.

Sid

 

[RAZOR]

MechWolf, I didn't know it was covered till I picked the truck up. I told the Dealer that it was constantly blowing heat and they fixed it N/C There is an authorization code on the bill. Authorization Code:6975 Hope this helps someone? RAZOR

 

[X24]

Repairs on the blend door are not covered under any warranty that I'm aware of. There is a TSB on the problem. I paid 20% of the final cost to have mine replaced after complaining to Ford Customer Service.

 

[Morgan97Ltd]

just got mine fixed a couple months ago... i got the used car managers labor rate which was $55/hr and parts at a 10% discount after complaining to the dealer since i had just bought the car a year ago and already had almost $3k in repairs. i think it ended up costing around $500, which from searching around is a pretty good deal for a dealer

also, be sure to call Ford Customer Care and report it. as worthless as they are (which is pretty damn worthless, i must say), hopefully someday they'll get enough complaints to issue a recall so i can get my damn money back.

 

[X24]

I didnt think the blend door was a problem with the automatic climate control systems... unless yours, for some strange reason, is manual.

 

[explorer4x493]

My '96 went...

At about 95k. Cost around $900, because i was too lazy to do it myself.

I did alot of research on it and didn't like the idea of tearing out my whole dash.

Oooh well.

 

[Morgan97Ltd]

Originally posted by 98FordX24
I didnt think the blend door was a problem with the automatic climate control systems... unless yours, for some strange reason, is manual.

i always thought it was only a problem with the automatic climate control systems?

 

[alfcapone]

No problems

in my -99

 

[98BlackXSport]

My blend door makes noises, but it still kinda works.

 

[X24]

Originally posted by Morgan97Ltd
i always thought it was only a problem with the automatic climate control systems?

The guy at my dealer said that during manufacturing, they put the blend door for the auto climate control systems in the manual and it didnt fit right which causes it to fall over and break.

He was either lying or Ford screwed everything up. Doesnt suprise me.

 

[james t]

so many explicatives it would bring down the server if it edited them... mine just went out.