Heat Quit...blows cold air. Let's fix this and then someone come chisel me out

[EmergencyManager]

So last night driving to a County Board Meeting my heat stopped working. Heated seats work fine thankfully. The heat on Defrost, etc all blows cold. Ice cold.

• Ambient Temp was 11 degrees
• Truck was warm, the gauge showed it was warm and have been running for about 10 minutes.
• Drove approximately 24 miles and still...no heat...
• The My Touch system shows that the heat is on hi. AC is off
• Fan speed works fine.

This is my emergency response truck for the county. It literally is my swiss army knife of emergency preparedness. I travel all over the region/state (I bought it in April with 20K on the clock. It now has 49k) and need it to run.
2011 Ford Explorer XLT
MyTouch System

 

[blwnsmoke]

Just to clarify, you had zero heat at all? There is a known issue where Ford released a TSB regarding one of the actuator doors wouldn't switch over causing cold air to blow out. But this normally caused the driver's side to blow cold and passenger side to blow normal/hot.

This would be the first that I've heard of both sides blowing cold air. Being that you have a 2011 and the TSB I included below is for 2011 models, I'm inclined to believe this is your issue.

The part lists for $17.02 MSRP and about $9 through discount Ford sites online but then you add shipping. With 1 hour of labor you are looking at roughly $125-$150 for the repair (booked at 1.1 hours plus the part).


12-1-8 DUAL AUTOMATIC TEMPERATURE CONTROL (DATC) - BLEND DOOR ACTUATOR INOPERATIVE

ISSUE:
Some 2011 Explorer vehicles equipped with DATC system may experience unresponsive temperature change when requested and/or erratic temperature change.

ACTION:
Follow the Service Procedure steps to correct the condition.

SERVICE PROCEDURE

Remove temperature blend door actuators, refer to Workshop Manual (WSM), Section 412-00.
Suspect parts have a black cover and new service part has a white cover.
Remove alignment feature from new actuators. (Figure 1)


Figure 1 - Article 12-1-8


Support actuator flange so there is not stress on the actuator body. (Figure 2)


Figure 2 - Article 12-1-8


Drill out the 2 webs with a 3.17 mm (1/8") drill bit. (Figure 3)


Figure 3 - Article 12-1-8


Install new actuators, refer to WSM, Section 412-00.
Reprogram the Heating Ventilation Air Conditioning (HVAC) module to the latest calibration using IDS release 76.04 and higher or 77.01 and higher. This new calibration is not included in the VCM 2012.1 DVD. Calibration files may also be obtained at www.motorcraft.com.

PART NUMBER PART NAME
AA5Z-19E616-C Motor Assembly


WARRANTY STATUS:
Eligible Under Provisions Of New Vehicle Limited Warranty Coverage
IMPORTANT: Warranty/ESP coverage limits/policies/prior approvals are not altered by a TSB. Warranty/ESP coverage limits are determined by the identified causal part and verified using the OASIS part coverage tool.

OPERATION DESCRIPTION TIME
120108A 2011 Explorer: Replace The Blend Door Actuators Includes Time To Modify The New Actuators And Reprogram The HVAC Module (Do Not Use With Any Other Labor Operations) 1.1 Hrs.

DEALER CODING
BASIC PART NO. CONDITION CODE
19E616 42

 

[EmergencyManager]

Hmm. I didn't check the passenger side. I did check the rear air and I think it was cold. Will check the passenger in a bit. Going to do the MFT Update here in a few

 

[new to ford]

I agree with blwnsmoke. I had the same problem on both passenger and driver vents and it was fixed under warranty by that TSB. That was over a year ago and so far no problems.

 

[EmergencyManager]

Passenger side cold.....
It's got an appointment Friday. I had a car pull out in front of me a few hours before this. I had to jam the breaks hard and go into the other lane (yes I looked at it was empty hence why I went into it). I'm wondering if this is related?

 

[FordService]

Passenger side cold.....
It's got an appointment Friday...

Let us know how the appointment goes on Friday, EmergencyManager. If your vehicle is a fleet vehicle, you can also reach out to our Fleet folks for assistance. They can be reached at 1-800-343-5338.

Crystal

 

[EmergencyManager]

Will do. Thanks! It's not a fleet service vehicle. We're a smaller county. Yeah small counties!

 

[JStellato]

I have the same issue, we have an appointment Tuesday. The frustrating part about it, is that in the summer our Air Conditioning Died. They fixed it, 3 weeks later.

And now that it's winter our heat failed. Ugh.

 

[FordService]

I have the same issue, we have an appointment Tuesday. The frustrating part about it, is that in the summer our Air Conditioning Died. They fixed it, 3 weeks later.

And now that it's winter our heat failed. Ugh.

Keep us posted, JStellato. Feel free to give me a shout via PM if you need me to get involved. Be sure to include your full name, best daytime phone number, VIN, mileage, and preferred servicing dealership in your message. I'll investigate some options to help.

Crystal

 

[EmergencyManager]

UPDATE: It was the blend doors. Literally got it fixed on Friday. Rotated the tires, changed the oil and fixed this. Then Sunday the tornado hit. The truck didn't shut off for 18 hours. It wasn't my county, but a "very close" county. So we responded in.
Back to the topic at hand - The TSB mentions something about "programming them" - is this needed? I didn't see how you do this??

 

[peterk9]

UPDATE: It was the blend doors. Literally got it fixed on Friday. Rotated the tires, changed the oil and fixed this. Then Sunday the tornado hit. The truck didn't shut off for 18 hours. It wasn't my county, but a "very close" county. So we responded in.
Back to the topic at hand - The TSB mentions something about "programming them" - is this needed? I didn't see how you do this??

I think that is done by the dealer.

Peter

 

[EmergencyManager]

I think that is done by the dealer.

Peter

I called the dealer and they went "Huh!? I don't know what you're talking about".

 

[peterk9]

I called the dealer and they went "Huh!? I don't know what you're talking about".

Well I don't know what to tell you. Perhaps they didn't read the entire TSB.

OPERATION DESCRIPTION TIME
120108A 2011 Explorer: Replace The Blend Door Actuators Includes Time To Modify The New Actuators And Reprogram The HVAC Module (Do Not Use With Any Other Labor Operations) 1.1 Hrs.


Peter

 

[blwnsmoke]

I called the dealer and they went "Huh!? I don't know what you're talking about".

Not sure how important it is but since the dealer is paid to do it and Ford states for it to be done, I'd want it done to insure it continues to work properly.