The air conditioning and heating is a crucial part of your vehicle to have working because nobody likes to drive in a car and feel uncomfortable in the summer or the winter. That's why you need to know about a very important part known as the blend door actuator. It plays an important role in getting air to your vehicle since it controls hot and cold air coming into the car based on the temperature settings. Here is how you can tell you need to take your vehicle to an auto shop to have this part repaired.
There Are Odd Tapping Noises
One of the first indications that you may notice is an odd tapping noise from your vehicle. Some cars have the blend door actuator in the front of their vehicle, so it can sound like the tapping is coming from behind the dashboard. Meanwhile, larger vehicles may have it in the back and the noise sounds like it's coming from the rear.
This tapping noise is due to the gear teeth within the blend door actuator being broken. The blend door actuator is a relatively cheap part, so expect your mechanic to want to replace it rather than try to repair the broken gear teeth and have it potentially break again down the road.
The Heat Or Air Conditioning Is Always On
Have you noticed that the heat is always turned on in the vehicle and you can't get it to switch to the air conditioner? This may not be a problem with a lack of refrigerant in the air condition, but due to the blend door actuator not being able to do its job. The motor inside the actuator may have failed, or the part has some sort of internal damage that is preventing it from working as intended. If the blend door cannot move, then it's going to be stuck on the heat setting.
On the flip side, you can have the same problem where the air conditioning is always on during the winter. This may be harder to notice right away because it can take a while for your engine to heat up and cause the heat to actually start working. If that blend door is not moving then you'll never get hot air.
The Dual Climate Controls Are Not Working
Any vehicle that has dual climate controls has multiple blend door actuators, which allow each vent to control its own temperature. It is entirely possible for one blend door actuator to stop working, which forces a passenger to be stuck with cold air or heat. If so, that specific blend door actuator will need to be replaced.
Contact a local car repair service to learn more.
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