Ford Focus Stuck HVAC Door Repair 

I found the easiest solution is to set the middle knob to the vent&feet setting. This opens the upper HVAC flap at a 45 degree angle and positions the lower flap pointing up and level. I then can squirt WD-40 right down the central vents above the radio. The WD-40 hits the sticky flap and covers it completely. The door stopped sticking, no disassembly necessary.

With the help of all you alls, I fixed it. I used a hole saw and made a hole, then I used a screwdriver to pry open the vent, drilled a small pilot hole for a deck screw to prop the vent open all the time and finally I used a pick and some gotillia tape to hold the plastic disk I drilled out with the hole saw while I hot glue guned it closed. I even hot glued the deck screw in so it wont move. The hot glue melts at 400 deg F so it should not melt from the heater core, and if if does I'll bake a turkey in my Focus this thanksgiving. A long thin screw is what I wanted and had a few (hundred) deck screws lying about. I guess I'll always have air on my feet now, but it works! Thanks.

this is a very informative video. i was looking for an open view of that flapper system because i wondered if Ford incorporated a spring in the top door (didnt see one) but i only argue about the junkyard trip. i hope you didnt destroy everything else to get to the doors....if thats one thing that makes me angry and becoming a pet peeve of mine is people who completely destroy other parts in their path just to get what they want. made numerous trips one day because every car i needed the part from was wrecked by careless people who only want what they want....respect for the junkyard owners and respect for the next guy who is gonna salvage a part from. not accusing you guys of anything, just wanted to get that off my chest

LOL, I love the comment at the end "this isn't really that big of a deal". Did you ever get all that stuff back together?

Well I'll be damned. You're the same fella that showed me how to fix my door handle recently 😆 I got that fixed. Thank you for the excellent video showing me how to fix it 👊🏻 Now here I am again, needing your help again 😆

Thanks for taking the time to do your video, you saved me a lot of time.

First I'd like to say thank you for your informative video. Its awesome guys like you on youtube that have saved me a ton over the years fixing my own cars. What I have done is I already replaced the cables for the switch, however the lower blend door is still sticking. I'm curious if there is any way to do this without fully removing the dash?

Thank you, Thank you, THANK YOU - very helpful that you took that puppy apart so I could see what I was dealing with, without taking my dash off!

Thank you for making this video! I searched a few years ago and could not find anything showing the internal operation.

Super helpful video, I ended up being able to move the door just by spraying some WD-40 in there and pulling hard on the metal lever in the driver's foot well, but this helped me figure out what the actual problem was

The quickest repair for the sticking door is to take the white thing off that moves the levers ,the one under the dash,the lever that is closest to the dash is the one that sticks. Pull it forward and you will feel it stick..now back it off,and drill a very small hole at the 2 o clock position, make it close to the round shaft. The put a small screw in it. This will limit the door from shutting tight,but enough to for the ac vents to work fine.

You made my life so much easier with this unusual and educational video. I watched it a few days ago while getting ready to change the vents cable, and didn't want to take your approach over here in snow country, but liked it just the same. However, after doing the install and trimming the melted rubber door seal, I started the car and still didn't have much at the defroster- and I didn't know why. While pulling screws from the side I pulled one way up high and 5 minutes later a piece fell on the floor and I had no clue where it went back in at. I eventually figured it out but didn't realize that linkage attaches to another flapper up higher.Now that I rewatched this video, I was able to see exactly where it goes and I now see why I still had no defrosters. So thanks a ton, I REALLY appreciate it!

thanks buddy for taking the time to do this...big help,

Perfect thanks a ton dude, you definitely earned my sub! Mine is a little beater I use for work, been switching vents by hand after replacing the damper switch line(didn’t fix it) been driving myself crazy trying to figure out what could be making it stick. You made this very easy and plain to see. Thanks for you video dude, I now know how to fix my hvac! I definitely ain’t paying $630 for a shop I try to do all my maintenance my self both at home/car and work. I won’t even pay $45 for an oil change😂😂😂 Again dude thanks a ton!!!

Thanks for the info. I kinda figured I'd have to take that all apart. I should have known it wouldn't just be the cable that's too easy.

Let it heat up before you try and turn it,if stuck, and leave it in the straight up position when you shut it down that way the sticky stuff won’t be in contact with any surfaces to glue it shut and it will still function as intended as a diverter for the air control system.

Absolutely amazing. Loved the video. Very straightforward and to the point and extremely helpful!!! Got mine working! I ended up putting a long screw driver into the curved narrow slot and tapping with a hammer and voila it was freed

Glo good looking out

A great video, Jamie. I wanted to let you know that Chicago 2020 price for the fix at a shop is $1200-1500. I dropped a wad to have it done, it took longer than expected so the guy knocked the price down to $1000 for me. I wish that were the end of it but - I still have the same problem! The good part about having a shop do it is they have to get it right, so back it goes. I was sent photos of the work in progress and they got the whole thing taken apart just as you show in your video. I was told that the sticky control was due to the bearing points for the damper door being worn into oval shape. Looking at your teardown photos it doesn't look like the plastic housing that holds the bearing points for the damper and blend doors can come out.

Fantastic... Replaced those cables on mine but still sticky. Guess it's that door. No way I'm gonna take the whole dash off to get to it through. Is there a way to clean it off without ripping everything apart? I'm not confident enough in my skills to do that much deconstruction. :)

Great video - I need the disc that moves the levers and also the white plate that the cable assemblies mount on to. Do you happen to know the part numbers for those? Thanks in advance!

Hi there thanks for your amazing video. Could you tell me the name of the part inside the air conditioning box? (The one that you said gets stuck which put the cables under pressure)

What if the AC is working for both the passenger and driver side, but the heater is only blowing hot on the passenger side. The driver side heater and defrost are blowing cold. Would that be a blender door or actuator? Or are they the same?

I liked the video! I thought my 2006 ford focus would be a simple blend door actuator fix, but it's turning out to be harder. I noticed before I replaced the switch I couldn't turn the black wheel behind it like a should. I still replaced the switch because it was broke then took the whole housing out and removed the wheel. I can flick the lever with my finger and it moves, but I cannot get the black wheel to line up correctly to make it do it. Any advice? I can't find a diagram to show me what is wrong.

Ugh I had a feeling this is what I was going to find. I just replaced the switch because it had broken on my sister's '05. It happened because the vent door gets stuck on the top-only vent position. I think we're just gonna have to deal with not using that option. It doesn't get stuck in any other position. Not worth the $600+ from the dealership and there's no way in hell I'm taking the dash out. LOL

Why did you have to do all that ? Was that all for vent door ? Wondering regardless you will get my sub to just for determination and ingenuity 😎

Thanks for the tip My issues is with the knob stripped off and the spindle it rests on cracked. Is that part of the switch as well?? Looks like it's the part connected to wired

can I apply any type of oil or something to the vent doors? i can reach in with my arms and feel the sticky rubber from the 2 vents on the dash by only taking the vents out

My top door now appears to be stuck in the defrost position. The dealer replaced the cable just before I bought it, so I assume it has that sticky problem. Can that door opening be accessed without taking everything apart, by going thru the control panel, so I could put something on the lip of the opening that would prevent the door from fully closing and sticking? Would It be better to rig up a stop on the outside of the air box to keep the door from closing all the way?

If all it's doing is sticking then at 6:15 just drill two small holes (talking 1/16) and stick a can of lithium grease (with red tube) in and spray it down and around...solves the problem for a few more years before you have to do this. Then to seal the holes up (if you care) just use some butyl rubber and it will seal it but allow you to peel it back to reapply later.

I sure wish Ford had done better research on these diverter door seals. And not chosen a material that deteriorates to a sticky glue in a few years. Thus causing all these problems. And in a part that is VERY difficult to replace.

How did you patch the hole? Duct tape?

I see you have ATN Shirt. I have a ATN Thor lol. I love thermal

Hmm that rubber seal around the control flap seems to have decomposed, ive seen old rubber drivebelts for home music centers do the same thing. It just turns into black sticky goo, ive had to use a rag dipped in petrol/gas to get the stuff off, its a sign of poor rubber manufacture. For silly plastic bits that can get mixed up, your camera on the mobile phone is handy for quick pictures, in some cases it can be a month before its re-assembled, phone snaps are a life saver :-D

Any advice for someone with an 09 focus and the actual door that the actuator controlled is broken ? The shop told me 10 hours so you can imagine I'm not going to pay a Grand to get a $40 part replaced , and I do get some change in temp by using the actuator as a wrench and turning the plastic peice

What about that a/c button? Mine only stays on on low.

I got vent and defrost but no floor heat.

do i need to remove cross bar to take out the dash board, please advise. also the dashboard is screwed to cross bar or to the body.

Has anyone here gried useing a heater cable on the selector? Are they the same size? Might be a better cable to get from the auto salvage yard.

I need help in this

Not a big deal? Tearing a car apart like that IS a pretty big deal. Qhen I was in college someone took a crowbar to the dash of my 74 Hornet to get the AM/FM Cassette player out and I spent my entire Spring break rebuilding the dash with a junkyard system that I pulled out.

For a simple fix you took the whole damn car apart

That part you got from the junk yard is actually broken.

I got a 2010 Ford Focus. When the car warms up I get hot air blowing from the passenger side and warm air not so hot coming out of the driver side. No matter what direction air is set to. All the vents on the passenger side is hot and all the vents on the driver side not so hot, warm like. Any idea what it could be? I replaced the blend door actuators already.

How the fuck do you get the front off no point starting a video half way through the job

First I'd like to say thank you for your informative video. Its awesome guys like you on youtube that have saved me a ton over the years fixing my own cars. What I have done is I already replaced the cables for the switch, however the lower blend door is still sticking. I'm curious if there is any way to do this without fully removing the dash?