Outside air coming through glove compartment

[jwright4]

Hey guys i have an 03 explorer and i've noticed since it's gotten cooler here in the northeast that i'm getting a pretty bad draft of outside air coming in through the glove box. My blend door seems to be working fine, and did all summer with the a/c on.... Anybody have this happen to them before? or any ideas what the problem might be? Thanks in advance

Jay
Albany NY

 

[whagen]

cold air from glove box

I have the same problem, plus the heat does not seem as good as it used to be. Everything seems to be working. I also noticed that i have small leaves in my glove box.

Any idea as to what the problem is and what the fix is?

 

[Donner]

Same...

Mine just started that this year... the only thing I did was have a stereo installed. In the glove box, it's cold enough to store water.

 

[jwright4]

If anyone knows a solution to this, or why it's doin it please let us know. The past few days have been 15 degrees here in the northeast. I have a hand towel in there now to insulate and protect the air from coming into the cabin. grrr

 

[whagen]

Here is what I have from the Service manuals.

http://bill-hagen.com/3rd_gen_ford_explorer_hvac.aspx

 

[Curtis]

The blend door may be the problem.

Mine wasnt opening/closing and my AC was blowing to the outside. I always felt that the flow through the dash vents wasnt enough to cool people sitting in the front. The dealer took a look, and sure enough the blend door was broken, and blowing the AC to the outside according to their description.

The door itself is a $50 part.
The labor on the job was over $700
My extended warranty covered it.

After replacement I have a nice flow on my face from the dash vents. Badly needed in a black on grey leather explorer in FL

 

[jwright4]

i have wondered about the blend/door issue...but my air flow has been adequate enough for me. The same as it was when i purchased the explorer 2 years ago with 20k miles on it. so i don't "think" that is the issue, but who knows. Though the blower is loud at the #4 setting, the heat is still strong enough to force you out of the vehicle if i kept it on that setting long enough. It switches fine between floor/defrost blend settings. I hear the door opening and closing. But it seems like way too much outside air is coming in. Do not notice this during the hot summer months. The only thing i notice is that the lowest setting doesn't push out hardly any air. I'm very bewildered here as to what the problem could be. If it's a blend/door problem i'd rather just keep the hand towel in the glove box during the winter months, then spend close to 1,000.00 on getting it fixed. If any one has any other info on this problem lemme know Thanks for the info

Jay

 

[Wrightlife]

I have the same problem. My wife keeps a blank in the front seat to put over her legs. If anyone has a answer please post.

 

[molaker]

I 've had the same problem with my 03. I posted here about a year ago with this issue and no one said anything I've just learn to live with it. I paid $800 to fix my 98 x's blend door I had a feeling thats what it was with my 03 it really ticks me off that ford still has the same problem in 03 I took my x to the dealer a year ago and they said no problem found! Ha!maybe somebody can come up with a fix like they did for the older style.

 

[Donner]

It just air here

It's never cold enough to justify fixing it here... and if so, the mrs gets a blanky like Wrightlife's... For you in the colder areas, yeah, it's a problem... no TSB on this? Duct tape?

 

[Curtis]

I 've had the same problem with my 03. I posted here about a year ago with this issue and no one said anything I've just learn to live with it. I paid $800 to fix my 98 x's blend door I had a feeling thats what it was with my 03 it really ticks me off that ford still has the same problem in 03 I took my x to the dealer a year ago and they said no problem found! Ha!maybe somebody can come up with a fix like they did for the older style.

The first time mine was at the dealer for this they said no problem found. Then I read a post on here about someone elses blend door. The next time at the dealer for something else I mentioned it again and said I think its the blend door... sure enough, they found it... and $800 later... under warranty it was fixed.

 

[whagen]

Figure out the issue

Well with some trouble shooting and reading how the HVAC system works, it looks like its either the actuator that move the door that controls wheather to use outside air or recirculate the inside air.

The other possible problems are a vacuum line leak, the control in the dash is not working or the door in the dash that open and closes to let inside or outside air in to the system.

I have a feeling its the door, since I am guessing it's only partially open and lets cold air blow in when the car is moving. The faster I go the more air blowing in (great in the morning when it 20 degrees!!). But in looking at the Ford manual, it looks like I can get to it by taking the passenger air bag out and through the glove box. I will try to post the instruction to the link higher up in this thread to explain the procedure to deactivate and remove the airbag and to put it back in, in addition to any other info I come across.

Any one have a parts breakdown to figure out the ford part numbers that I may need? The local parts guy over the phone was not thrilled to help.

If I can I will try to take some pictures of what i find out this weekend, when i try to take it apart and get it working.

 

[Donner]

Mine has stopped... I changed back to a double din stereo and it stopped. I don't know how it was corrected, but it stopped.

 

[Curtis]

Here are a couple scans from my 04 service manual. Hope they help

 

[Donner]

Well, the double din theory didn't help, so I hope ^^ helps. Hit a dip, the cold air poured in like the fan was on...

 

[whagen]

A little more info

http://bill-hagen.com/Air_Inlet_door.aspx

best of luck

 

[TidePride50]

Same problem here on a '03.

 

[jwright4]

wow it all seems to be a big pain in the a#*. thankfully as the driver i don't notice this at all, and it still heats up fine inside to me. Though, i drive with the window or sunroof vented anyway in the winter just because i like the mix of cool / warm air. to avoid all the bs i'll just keep my towel inside the glove box. Oddly enough i don't notice this problem at all during the summer months when it's 90+ degrees and the a/c is pumpin....hmmmm

I also take issue regardless taking the whole dash apart as once it's done the dash is going to be more prone to squeaks and squawks from taking apart bolts screws etc........

 

[pitbulldell]

any updates on this thread?