Defogger Problems of Ford Explorer - part 2

I have discovered many Ford Explorer owners have this failure--due to a manufacturing defect. When defroster does not work can result in serious accident. Mr.

See all problems of the 1997 Ford Explorer 🔎.

The failure of the heater blend door causes uncontrolled windshield fogging and icing. Visibility is often reduced to zero. Mr.

This heater has the potential to be a serious safety issue. The defroster will not work properly because only hot air will exit the vents, which leads to a foggy windshield. This problem appears to be very well documented and Ford has a TSB for it, 99-8-8 and 97-24-25.

Defogger/defroster will not operate as blend door is stuck on air conditioner.

Defroster does not work and is causing front windshield to fog up during cold weather, and it will be hard for consumer to see. Dealer notified.

See all problems of the 2002 Ford Explorer 🔎.

This problem started out as an inconvenience but has grown to be a safety issue as the defrosters fail to function. I have no control over the heat/ac and when the windows are hit with water below freezing I have a safety problem. At times fog and moisture cannot be removed from the window w/o pulling ofer to wipe it. The dealer says that it is a $1000 repair and TSB's say it is a known issue. Please advise.

See all problems of the 1998 Ford Explorer 🔎.

Ford has been well aware of the blend door breaking problem for several years now and still is doing nothing to appease their customers. Mine is stuck blowing cold air, so should I need it to defog or defrost my windows during a rain or snowstorm (of which we have many in minnesota) I cannot. I've found numerous reports of this part failing and complaints written to Ford all over the internet. The problem is prevalent in several Ford models, yet they refuse to compensate their customers for a part that is obviously defective.

I feel that Ford should address the issue of the air blend door / hvac system at a safety level due to the fact this these problems could result in hazardous driving conditions.

In middle of a snow storm, defroster would not work, causing vehicle not to have any heat and poor visibility to drive. Consumer found a technical service bulletin, NHTSA sb618546 relating to the problem. Dealer was contacted to resolve the issue. *akjg.

Defroster is not working properly. Contacted dealer, and the dealer is not willing to do anything.

Heater plenum hot/cold air blend; door breaks, causing no temperature control for heater & defroster.

While driving consumer notice flames coming from rear window, consumer took vehicle to dealer, the delaer stated connection to rear defroster unit caught on fire. . Delaer stated it was a short in the circuit.

Experienced failure of heater/defroster in cold weather. Ford dealer in athens al wanted $1000 to correct failure.

See all problems of the 1996 Ford Explorer 🔎.

My Explorer only produces warm air for heat and defogging when the temperature outside is too hot to want or need warm air. The dealership service center says it is the blend door & actuator assembly that has failed. I say it defective by design and should be repaired at their expense, they disagree. Not being able to properly defogg a windshield is a serious safety issue.

The plastic blend door breaks and you have no control of hot/cold temp on truck.

This is an example of very poor design; this part should never fail - it is a simple part, subjected to very minor loads. Worse, the entire dashboard must be disassembled to replace it, and rather than replacing just the blend door (a little flapper that controls the mix of hot and cold air), you have to replace the entire heater plenum assembly.

1995 thru 1999 Explorers and 1997-99 mountaineers, built through 4/98 were manufactured with a plastic air blend door which breaks due to poor design and prevents temperature regulation . Ford revised this plenum using nylon as a reinforcement , which is stronger and less susceptible to breakage. If the air blend door breaks and the system is locked in the a/c mode, defogging/defrosting the windshield is a challenge. This is a safety issue that should be addressed. Thank you.

Heater defroster/defogger is blowing out cold air,. Dealer and manufacturer were notified . Feel free to provide any further information.

The heater and defroster stopped working because of a plastic part on the heater door that fails after to much use. The part has to be replace by a part called the actuator value. Ford must have know about this problem, because it has a replacement part already to go when the part fails. (nylon blend door and plenum #f87z-18471-da. ) the problem beening that it cost $784. 40 in labor to put the part in. If Ford new it had this problem , why wasn`t it on a recall list to replace???.

No summary listed for above vehicle.

See all problems of the 2001 Ford Explorer 🔎.

Front defogger is operable, but heat doesn't heat.

Blend door in the ventilation system does not operate. Leads to excessive heat in the summer and significant difficulty defrosting the windshield in the winter. This is a known problem to Ford. They have begun to replace the original plastic blend doors with nylon blend doors.

I own a 1997 Ford Explorer that since its been purchased the air conditioning and the heat were always giving me problems, I have since found out that its a problem with almost every Ford Explorer out on the roads today. This is a major concern to me due to window defrosting during the winter months, the blend door has a mind of its own and will open and close at any time. Please advise me on how I can get this looked into. I believe that Ford should be responsible for this and they believe that they dont. Thank you for your time.

Consumer was unable to defrost vehicle because of air temperture coming out of defrogger. Contacted dealer. They sad this was a result of blend door case being broken.

Broken blend door in 1998 Ford Explorer, a/c only runs on high and heat only runs on high, common problem on numerous Explorers from 1995 to 1999-2000. Ford either states they have never heard of it, or its not a big deal but either way will not cover the 800. 00 to 1,000. 00 cost to repair the broken door unit.

Due to defective rear defroster, car burned and was complete loss. Ford was contacted but claimed that they were not liable because no open recalls existed. The representative in the consumer affairs refused to give me their name and refused my repeated (3x) requests to speak with their supervisor.

Broken air blend door, causing no heat for defrosters or heater.

When driving this fall I found that when using the vent I got nothing but hot air, then the automatic setting on the heat/air temperature control would not regulate properly. It would go to extremes to 85+ degrees, then drop off and blow until it was down to 60 and then back up to 85 continuously. I went according to the owner's manual, which stated I needed to have it put on the computer and checked at the dealer. After they kept my car 2 x as long as promised and charging me $100 to call the engineers at Ford itself, they told me it was the blend door in the heater plenum. This door is apparently made of plastic and breaks. In my case it worked for a little while, but very slowly, and was in the process of breaking. It currently does not work and is stuck in the air conditioning side. I get no heat and can't defrost my windows. I live in wisconsin and we are expecting freezing rain today, not to mention snow later this week. The dealer has told me that the engineer they talked to said this has happened before. If it is a bad design, but because it is not officially a defective part on their list, they could not fix it without charging me another $700 on top of the $100 already spent to diagnose the problem. I have found on the internet that I am not the only one this happened to (see mightyautoparts. Com, on the line with larry hammer - exploring the limits of patience). The newly designed door is made of nylon that is stronger and less susceptible to breaking. When contacting Ford customer 1st to let them know about my visit, they said an advisor would be assigned to me and would contact me the next day, that was 2 weeks ago. I feel I am being given the run-around. I am driving in an unsafe vehicle. Ford will not take any responsibility for the bad design. I fully appreciate and accept that things wear out on vehicles and need to be replaced, but defective design shouldn't be at my expense, in dollars or safety.

When using defroster/defogger front windshield fogged up severly. This could lead to a vehicle accident due to poor visibility. Dealer/manufacturer notified.

See all problems of the 2000 Ford Explorer 🔎.

Severe poor visibility when using defroster/defogger. It caused windshield to become fogged up, and could cause a vehicle collision. Dealer/manufacturer notified.

Heater will not control due to manufacturers wrong part installed from the factory. This is the third one we have had to replace.

My client suffered 3rd and 4th degree burns of right forefoot and toes from extreme heat emitted by vehicle's manually controlled heater. The heater vent is just inches above the gas pedal, directed at driver's foot. Burn victim required skin grafts, then 3 toes amputated. Over $400,000 in medical bills and treatment. Heater tested at 180 degrees over the gas pedal. Client's feet were numb due to diabetes, and didn't feel extreme heat while driving car on highway for 25 miles over, 1/2 hour with heater on. Ford says "no defect" - other Explorers with same temp readings.

Defogger isn't working which makes all windows fog up.

See all problems of the 1999 Ford Explorer 🔎.

Ongoing problem with defogger fogging up window for a short peroid of time before it clears up. Mfr. Notified dealer, and was informed to contact NHTSA on this matter.

Front differential vent tube sprays out lubricant beacause the vent mechamism is deffective. Yh.