Blend Door Repair - 2005 Dodge RAM 1500 Pickup Truck

Blend doors are responsible for routing and controlling heating and air conditioning inside the passenger compartment of a vehicle.

When the circulation knob on a dashboard is turned a series of doors open and close beneath the dash until a comfortable air flow and temperature are achieved within the passenger compartment. Blend doors can be fully closed, fully opened or partially opened to achieve the desired temperature and air flow placement.

Since the doors are mechanical in nature they are subject to failure. Manufacturers use different methods to cause the doors to open and close. Vacuum being one way or by supplying an individual motor for each blend door is another way. The Dodge in this project has motors that open and close each blend door. There are metal components to this system but plastic is the predominant material.

The symptoms for the Dodge are that we can hear the fan speed changing as we dial up and down the fan but the air flow remains consistently low. We also know that when set to A/C the air being delivered to the passenger compartment is only mildly cold and this is probably due to a blend door introducing outside air to the air stream.

Through research we've learned that the blend doors on this truck consistently fail. The hinge-pins on the doors are made of plastic and over time the hinge will break and leave the door lying loose in a closed or partially closed position.

There is one door in particular causes problems and would exhibit the same symptoms we have if it fails. The door is located on the passenger side of the dash and is directly above the fan motor.

We've seen prices for professional repair ranging from $800 to $1,000 and the costs are almost entirely labor.