SSM 49264 - Climate Control Temperature Will Not Adjust With Clicking/Snapping Noise From The Dash

[pboggini]

My 2019 Ranger did the clicking sound when twisting the knob. from hot to cold and then I noticed that warm air was coming out despite me having it on full cold and AC on, sigh. I called around and it was 2 weeks before I could get an appointment. I stopped into Frontier Ford and talked to one guy there. I shared the SSM number and he said "well we have to diagnose it first before we can tell you anything." I replied "I bet you $100 it's that SSM." He went out, took a pic of my VIN and then went in and started typing. He said "oh, you have Premium Care with no deductible". I said "yea, all I'm trying to do here is to ask if it's indeed this problem, can you get the parts and how long would it take to get it done?" He said that the parts were available but he didn't know how long it would take for them to come in. Once they came in he said a couple of days worth of work. I then called my friend at Folsom Ford and he said the parts were 1 day away for any dealer near me.

Fast forward to the 19th of December and I dropped off the truck. They confirmed what it was, ordered all the parts and got the truck back to me 3 days later. Fortunately no squeaks or anything like that. But, one day later I hopped in the passenger seat and tried to put on my seatbelt. The receptacle was nowhere to be found, ug. I texted the service guy and he had me bring it back. Turns out that part of the seatbelt was jammed under the console. The tech was able to free it quickly and so far it's all been good now.

I'm happy that someone posted on this form how to get a discounted Premium Care plan from that east coast dealer.

peterb

Sponsored

 

[dtech]

I'm still slowing inching forward to my 1st ever purchase of an xWarranty - on anything. I do like that the Ford warranty gives you a number of time/mileage options and some choice of deductibles.

However like filing income tax returns when I owe them $$ , I am delaying purchase of the warranty until close to the factory warranty expiry in the hope that my HVAC gives it up in the next few months, instead of spending time here I'm thinking it may be more productive to sit in my Ranger and continually cycle the temps to max heat and then max cool, open to any other suggestions on how to promote it's failure. TIA.

 

[keubs]

update: stopped working again. Stuck on freezing cold. Just filed a complaint with the NHSTA. If my vehicle can't defog/defrost itself while driving, that seems like a pretty big safety hazard, and if the only recourse is a $4000 repair that is happening with regular use, maybe something will happen. I encountered this driving across Donner pass (the irony is not lost on me) on 80 in blizzard conditions. So I'm driving on wet/freezing roads with one hand on the wheel and the other regularly wiping my own windshield from the inside. No way that's safe and could almost certainly cost someone their life. If not with the distracted driving then almost certainly from pulling over and sitting in the cold.

I recommend any of you facing the same issue do the same, maybe we can get some traction on this.

 

[dtech]

update: stopped working again. Stuck on freezing cold. Just filed a complaint with the NHSTA. If my vehicle can't defog/defrost itself while driving, that seems like a pretty big safety hazard, and if the only recourse is a $4000 repair that is happening with regular use, maybe something will happen. I encountered this driving across Donner pass (the irony is not lost on me) on 80 in blizzard conditions. So I'm driving on wet/freezing roads with one hand on the wheel and the other regularly wiping my own windshield from the inside. No way that's safe and could almost certainly cost someone their life. If not with the distracted driving then almost certainly from pulling over and sitting in the cold.

I recommend any of you facing the same issue do the same, maybe we can get some traction on this.

There are federal safety standards around windshield visibility , good for you to encourage others to step up and file complaints as recalls are based on threshold numbers. I filed one 20 yrs back when my Saab direct ignition cassette failed and burnt up wiring, mostly though because the dumb *ss tow truck operator left the ignition on. Eventually a recall was issued but ironically it didn't cover my year. Takes only a few mins to file. But a class action suit might get better results and could compell ford to compensate owners who paid out of pocket , there seems to be little question that for my1999 these units are defective.

 

[AzScorpion]

I'm still slowing inching forward to my 1st ever purchase of an xWarranty - on anything. I do like that the Ford warranty gives you a number of time/mileage options and some choice of deductibles.

However like filing income tax returns when I owe them $$ , I am delaying purchase of the warranty until close to the factory warranty expiry in the hope that my HVAC gives it up in the next few months, instead of spending time here I'm thinking it may be more productive to sit in my Ranger and continually cycle the temps to max heat and then max cool, open to any other suggestions on how to promote it's failure. TIA.

I waited until about 45 days before my 3/36 was up to purchase an extended warranty. This was my first time ever purchasing one but with my HVAC box now broken (did the manual fix for now) and all the other electrics on board I thought it was a smart move. I went with the 6/75,000 and added the LED lighting with a $100 deductible. I usually trade mine in every 3 years but with the new Gen coming out this year I figured I keep this one a little longer than normal.

Mine just made a loud clicking/grinding noise one day after shutting the truck off and I wasn't sure what it was. I noticed the heat coming from the drivers vent with the ac on the next time we went out and it dawned on me the actuator had broke and that's what the noise was. I guess cycling it back and forth all day could help speed up the process. lol

 

[dtech]

I waited until about 45 days before my 3/36 was up to purchase an extended warranty. This was my first time ever purchasing one but with my HVAC box now broken (did the manual fix for now) and all the other electrics on board I thought it was a smart move. I went with the 6/75,000 and added the LED lighting with a $100 deductible. I usually trade mine in every 3 years but with the new Gen coming out this year I figured I keep this one a little longer than normal.

Mine just made a loud clicking/grinding noise one day after shutting the truck off and I wasn't sure what it was. I noticed the heat coming from the drivers vent with the ac on the next time we went out and it dawned on me the actuator had broke and that's what the noise was. I guess cycling it back and forth all day could help speed up the process. lol

Probably end up wearing out the climate control buttons in the process but such is life, wife would approve as it gets me out of the house even if it's only in the garage and she can run the freaking vacuum or other devices that give her pleasure

 

[keubs]

Alright so I'm surprised I just came to this realization, but just in case anyone else couldn't see the forest through the trees like myself, I found a "fix" and I thought I'd share:

Now full disclosure I live in Northern Nevada and we've been hovering around a high of 30° for a couple months now, and it was borderline dangerous to drive my truck in most conditions due to windshield fogging, and just the general temperature of the car (my wife and dog being the biggest haters). That said, I ordered a new blend door actuator from FordPartsGiant and was excited to see if this was the same issue everyone else faced. I get the part, go out to the garage, and drop the glovebox to try installing it. And a quick thanks a 1,000,000 to all the people in here who either created or linked to videos showing this install process and gave me the confidence to give it a shot. So anyway I drop the glovebox and notice someone had already done that, because the cable that prevents it from slamming open is already missing. I get to the actuator and know there's two visible screws and one that's not so easy to see. I remove the two (drop one in the process, and its gone forever) and realize one is already missing! I'm not the first person to encounter this stupid problem! So I get the actuator out, and it dawns on me how the entire thing works:

This little motor simply rotates the slide mechanism that moves a pin on the heater assembly to say "use hot air or don't" (see picture). It's purpose is solely to slide a physical pin about 90° in either direction based on the entry provided from the temperature dial on my dash. So, I just move the pin with my hand and lo and behold: heat comes out! I'm thrilled, because my car isn't a veritable ice box anymore. My wife, not so much because she already knows I'd happily drop my glove box and reach behind my dash and slide that pin as-needed if it means saving $4000 in repairs. I don't know if that's just me, but if you find yourself in a freezing cold car and just need to make it through winter while you wait for those 3 month repair lead times, you can just remove the part, move this pin yourself and have a functioning heater again. And if you are like me, you'll find a way to either replace the part or live with the fact that this is how the heater works on your car.

 

[AzScorpion]

Alright so I'm surprised I just came to this realization, but just in case anyone else couldn't see the forest through the trees like myself, I found a "fix" and I thought I'd share:

Now full disclosure I live in Northern Nevada and we've been hovering around a high of 30° for a couple months now, and it was borderline dangerous to drive my truck in most conditions due to windshield fogging, and just the general temperature of the car (my wife and dog being the biggest haters). That said, I ordered a new blend door actuator from FordPartsGiant and was excited to see if this was the same issue everyone else faced. I get the part, go out to the garage, and drop the glovebox to try installing it. And a quick thanks a 1,000,000 to all the people in here who either created or linked to videos showing this install process and gave me the confidence to give it a shot. So anyway I drop the glovebox and notice someone had already done that, because the cable that prevents it from slamming open is already missing. I get to the actuator and know there's two visible screws and one that's not so easy to see. I remove the two (drop one in the process, and its gone forever) and realize one is already missing! I'm not the first person to encounter this stupid problem! So I get the actuator out, and it dawns on me how the entire thing works:

This little motor simply rotates the slide mechanism that moves a pin on the heater assembly to say "use hot air or don't" (see picture). It's purpose is solely to slide a physical pin about 90° in either direction based on the entry provided from the temperature dial on my dash. So, I just move the pin with my hand and lo and behold: heat comes out! I'm thrilled, because my car isn't a veritable ice box anymore. My wife, not so much because she already knows I'd happily drop my glove box and reach behind my dash and slide that pin as-needed if it means saving $4000 in repairs. I don't know if that's just me, but if you find yourself in a freezing cold car and just need to make it through winter while you wait for those 3 month repair lead times, you can just remove the part, move this pin yourself and have a functioning heater again. And if you are like me, you'll find a way to either replace the part or live with the fact that this is how the heater works on your car.

I wrote a detailed description here which is very similar to yours. Mine is on the drivers side and hopefully the passengers side doesn't go out next. We have similar weather as you and this is all I do now. Twice a year I manually switch the arm and it only takes about 15 minutes.

 

[keubs]

I wrote a detailed description here which is very similar to yours. Mine is on the drivers side and hopefully the passengers side doesn't go out next. We have similar weather as you and this is all I do now. Twice a year I manually switch the arm and it only takes about 15 minutes.

Wish I woulda seen this post. It's buried pretty deep lol. Super funny to me that this is what people are resorting to on vehicles now 3 years old, but if this is what it takes...

A few sidenotes.
A. I bought the driver's side actuator when I needed the passenger side.
B. I realize now though that the part wasn't broken, it just popped out of alignment, and was spinning fruitlessly.
C. I also now realize that this repair had been done before. That inaccessible screw everyone spoke of was nonexistent, and you can see from the picture that the pin we've resorted to manually adjusting is greased up real good. A more enterprising person would 3D print these little plastic points of failure to have everything functioning properly again, but i'm not sure I have that capacity right now

 

[RVA Overland]

Wish I woulda seen this post. It's buried pretty deep lol. Super funny to me that this is what people are resorting to on vehicles now 3 years old, but if this is what it takes...

A few sidenotes.
A. I bought the driver's side actuator when I needed the passenger side.
B. I realize now though that the part wasn't broken, it just popped out of alignment, and was spinning fruitlessly.
C. I also now realize that this repair had been done before. That inaccessible screw everyone spoke of was nonexistent, and you can see from the picture that the pin we've resorted to manually adjusting is greased up real good. A more enterprising person would 3D print these little plastic points of failure to have everything functioning properly again, but i'm not sure I have that capacity right now

Mine was the same problem, I pulled the actuator and had the same thought, I can do this manually if needed. Though of making a hook with an old coat hanger that I could have ready to pass through the plastic parts and manipulate like an old choke. When I tested the actuator, it worked so I realigned and installed and all good. Hope yours continues to work as mine has.

 

[keubs]

Mine was the same problem, I pulled the actuator and had the same thought, I can do this manually if needed. Though of making a hook with an old coat hanger that I could have ready to pass through the plastic parts and manipulate like an old choke. When I tested the actuator, it worked so I realigned and installed and all good. Hope yours continues to work as mine has.

Yeah thankfully I have an STX so there's only the one actuator, on the passenger side. Yet another reason why I harp on the beautiful simplicity of cars without fancy features like climate control. Sometimes it pays to be a luddite. I drove a Cherokee XJ before this and when the hydraulic lifts on the trunk went out I began carrying a stick around in the trunk to prop it up. I already feel as though this coat hanger heat adjustment situation is my new "trunk stick"

 

[TheDillweed]

update: stopped working again. Stuck on freezing cold. Just filed a complaint with the NHSTA. If my vehicle can't defog/defrost itself while driving, that seems like a pretty big safety hazard, and if the only recourse is a $4000 repair that is happening with regular use, maybe something will happen. I encountered this driving across Donner pass (the irony is not lost on me) on 80 in blizzard conditions. So I'm driving on wet/freezing roads with one hand on the wheel and the other regularly wiping my own windshield from the inside. No way that's safe and could almost certainly cost someone their life. If not with the distracted driving then almost certainly from pulling over and sitting in the cold.

I recommend any of you facing the same issue do the same, maybe we can get some traction on this.

I will add mine!

 

[Jon_H]

Thank you all for the info in this thread, I was prepared when I walked into my dealership's service department with the "ALL HEAT, ALL THE TIME" issue. The service tech took a look and determined it was indeed the dash-out repair. I was quoted just over $3K and 3-4 days once the part(s) arrived. The truck is less than 36 months old, as most of ours are, but has well over 100,000 miles so way out of warranty. The service writer, Miguel said he would open a claim with Ford and see what happens. He called me the next day and said Ford would pay all but $600. This is a win in my book. I am scheduled to get the truck back Friday or Saturday, I'll report back on the results. (BTW, Rancho Santa Margarita Ford's service folks have always been fair with me, they've made mistakes, but always corrected them. Thank you Freddy and Miguel)

 

[dtech]

Thank you all for the info in this thread, I was prepared when I walked into my dealership's service department with the "ALL HEAT, ALL THE TIME" issue. The service tech took a look and determined it was indeed the dash-out repair. I was quoted just over $3K and 3-4 days once the part(s) arrived. The truck is less than 36 months old, as most of ours are, but has well over 100,000 miles so way out of warranty. The service writer, Miguel said he would open a claim with Ford and see what happens. He called me the next day and said Ford would pay all but $600. This is a win in my book. I am scheduled to get the truck back Friday or Saturday, I'll report back on the results. (BTW, Rancho Santa Margarita Ford's service folks have always been fair with me, they've made mistakes, but always corrected them. Thank you Freddy and Miguel)

Congrats and kudos for Ford pretty much doing the "right thing" .

 

[txquailguy]

NO ONE should have to pay for that ridiculousness with our Climate Control systems!!!

My dash still isn't like it was when I bought it!!! Plus the tech got grease on my headliner!!

That was a pisser to say the least!!

Sponsored