Diagnose a bad door blend actuator on a 2012 Charger/Challenger/Avenger

This is the way you can figure out if you have a bad door blend actuator. Symptom are a loud repetitive knock sound behind the glovebox area and sometimes being stuck only on floor/panel/defrost/recirculation. Since there were already videos on how to get to it, i decided to just do the diagnostic part. Hope this help guys.

[@angiearmstrong5394]

Thanks. This video was helpful to my friend that has a 2012 Chrysler 300 S.

[@jdga375]

Thanks for sharing. Very informative.

[@tomcraftdonkey2285]

Thanks for sharing. The knocking sound happens rarely for me, but I have temperature changing problems on both sides of the car. How can I diagnose this? Thanks.

[@Frontline830tx]

Exactly what mine is doing! 2012 charger rt!

[@fritze01]

Huge thanks for the video, I was able to replace my bad actuator with its help along with a few more on YT. Is there any syncing that is required to make it work correctly, or does the PCM figure it all out after a few restarts. I saw some fuse pulling on older vehicles that reset the system?

[@jojozeon]

Im glad it helped. For me, i let the PCM reset it. It was a little loud at first but after a week it broke in and still works like new to this day.

[@josevilla676]

J Rio. thank you so much for uploading this video. do you have the replacement video by chance?

[@jojozeon]

Jose Villa sadly, i dont have the replacement video but its a matter of take bolts out, pull out the part, place new part in, put bolts back on. its a simple swap.

[@robertdavila3959]

My two actuators on the drivers side look different. Every parts place is telling me there's only one showing on the system. So does that mean I have to buy it a dodge dealer

[@shookchris]

Mines doing the same exact thing right now

[@hassanwilliams489]

Can you please tell me which one of those are which that would be useful like which one , I know it’s two there and one on drivers side but what are the names of those like the one straight ahead , the one on the side and the one on drivers side if you could tell me the names it would be a big help please

[@jojozeon]

Hassan Williams Its called a "air door blend actuator"

[@papahood01]

Thanks for this video and how difficult is it to remove the glove box?

[@jojozeon]

Not very difficult at all. Comes out with ease by pushing in the plastic tabs on each side they rotate on, also has a little wire that is attached to it on the top of glove box/right side. That needs to be removed. Its just hooked on, nothing fancy.

[@papahood01]

Do you know off hand what bit you need to get the screws out. I watched another video for a 2011 charger and he mentioned a T15 star bit

[@jojozeon]

Jeff Arahood sorry for late reply but yes, its a t15 for all the screws in that area

[@justkiller2]

At first thank you very much .. Can u give me part number please

[@honkingonbobo]

I have this problem on the driver side, sounds like it's right behind the steering wheel. How much do you think it would cost if I took it to a shop? (I'm not a very mechanically gifted person).

[@jojozeon]

you are looking about $250 to $400 in labor. remember thats based on my area in nc. best thing to do is call the dealer and ask the service desk how many labor hours they charge for the job. then multiply that by the average rate in ur area and you will have a more accurate estimate. thats just labor.

[@honkingonbobo]

Okay, thanks a ton man, I really appreciate it!

[@spacemonkey2355]

I’m getting the same noise on my 12’ 300

[@mopar392ta3]

Mines don’t make the noise. Passenger side gets heat driver side blows cold air? Any suggestions

[@jessicacorrea7221]

The same thing was happening to mine. My A/C or heater dont work anymore on it. Did yours ever throw a moldy smell thru the vents by any chance? Like kind of a whistle little noise kind of?

[@jeromea1659]

Im gonna Help you now bro. Look close at the STAR. It has 6 points an Allen Key wrenches do too ;-). Just have both metric and Standard and test fit for good smugness. Your Welcome

[@joekohl2247]

how do you tell when it stops clicking? I think mine is the middle acutatar? are they interchangeable? Please advise? Thank you!

[@jojozeon]

No clue if they are interchangeable but if it does not click on normal operation that mean is fixed

[@deadriser5404]

Same but only thing...my climate works fine. Only similarity I have to your issues is the knocking sound. It's dead on! Same exact sound! Same duration of sound! Same results when adjusting the climate causing knocking sound to come and go. Same same same. Only difference is, as I mentioned is that my climate still works very well on mine and isn't messed up at all (yet🤐🤞)but that knocking noise behind the dash is dead on. I wonder what causes the actuator to go bad.🤔 The only thing I can think of that would've caused this for me is... Okay yesterday I remember the wind blew the front door really hard before I could grab on to it. It jerked it pretty hard. NOW.. 1. The door is now slightly unaligned 2. The horn beep is higher pitched than usual as if the low pitch horn completely went out. 3. Knocking sound behind dash All three of these symptoms started at the same time all together and right after the wind blew the door like that yesterday. No prior issues of those 3 symptoms. Vehicle maintenance well maintained! Very well taken care of. Waiting on body shop to open as soon as this Coronavirus BS dies down so I can get this fixed asap. All body shops are closed. I pray it doesn't rain. Wouldn't want rain seeping inside of the door like that. Fk!!🤬

[@jojozeon]

Dam a possibility might be damage to the wire harness. Check all connections to ensure they are snug. Horn should be unrelated to the solenoid as its its own wire.

[@deadriser5404]

I was told by a friend that the thick black scrunched thingy in the door has wires inside of it that run to the horn. Don't know how true that is... If so, maybe when the wind blew the door, it jerked the wires loose or something. The horn was fine before so I'm confused bro.

[@jaythev6predatormopar_fami624]

Is it bad if you do not replace this part? Ive had my 2012 charger for 3months and its been doing that but i thought it was normal.?

[@jojozeon]

Not bad but you can lose the ability to recirculation or have trouble with temperature change talking a while

[@dougd6523]

They have 3, one more that’s harder to get to on the driver side

[@Barber2023]

I have a 2012 Durango no air in front or rear vents just roof vents in rear. Any thoughts?

[@fritze01]

Had a 99 and a vacuum line detach from under the hood near firewall that resulted in not being able to change any of the vents.

[@jojozeon]

^^^^^ I would say start at the vent selector assembly.

[@ajaymehboob2079]

Hey J RIO, Thanks for the useful video. On my charger, I don't hear any knocking sound, the problem is when I change AC modes , nothing happens. Still cold air is blowing through the face mode. What could it be? Actuator or AC doors stuck closed? Please help...TIA Mate

[@TheUserNameNoOneHas]

we’re you able to figure out the problem? i noticed the other day the air coming out of the vents on my charger was really weak even on high. air is still cold, but i think a door is stuck closed but i have no idea which one

[@tomcraftdonkey2285]

@@TheUserNameNoOneHas I have the same problem on both sides. Did you ever fix it?

[@ferguson8143]

@@TheUserNameNoOneHas do you have a cabin filter?

[@ferguson8143]

@@tomcraftdonkey2285 do you have a cabin filter? It will be in the dash behind your glovebox which you have to remove

[@tomcraftdonkey2285]

@@ferguson8143 yes, but it's actually accessible from under the hood.

[@jillstone8154]

Can you tell me the part number, mine is a 2013 charger

[@khalidaldossary5501]

i have same sound but in drive side?

[@jojozeon]

same problem more than likely. i have personally not taken the driver side one off so i would buy a manual or look at forums if decided to diy

[@fredjohnson9856]

there is a temp blend door on driver's side, makes noise when you change temp instead of recirculate

[@Tradog1]

J Rio what will happen if you don't replace it?

[@jojozeon]

Besides the air being not recycled and not cooling well, just a major annoyance.

[@SzEXYKaRmA]

I have that problem right now. Did it also drain your car’s battery?

[@jojozeon]

It could technically be draining a weak battery. Should not drain in 1 day unless clicking 24/7 and car left sitting. Battery might need replacing if its old. Battery life span on cars is about 5 years. That's when they generally start getting weaker. You could go to your local Autozone or AdvanceAuto to get the battery condition checked for free but if older than 5 or 6 years i would start looking for a replacement battery. Battery date should be in top of battery on a circle sticker.

[@SzEXYKaRmA]

Yes, I’ve had it for about 5 years. But it started to drain since the knocking started. I took it to Autozone and they told me it still had 80% battery life O.o but it intermittently totally dies. I had to call roadside assistance yesterday for a jump start. Usually, I would just sit in the car with everything turned off and after about 20 minutes waiting the car did start again but not yesterday :( Anyways, thank you for the video and your reply!

[@Mclvn]

Can this end up causing the ac to blow out hot air instead of cold?

[@jojozeon]

That is a separate problem. The ac system in these cars is not the best. I have to hit the recirc button for it to change temps. Dodge has bad electronic modules for AC

[@braydenbracken5355]

Did you ever figure out the cause of your problem?

[@robran7]

Hey great video! I remember my car doing this noise for like 4 weeks and then all of a sudden it stopped. My problem is that cold air only blows out of the passengers side and warm air out of the drivers side and the vents in the middle console that point to the rear seats. I just replaced the compressor. Any idea why my ac is doing that?

[@schusterjo]

Your passenger side blend door actuator is bad.

[@yoogrizzly3054]

Mine keeps changing cycles on its own idk why front to the flooor then to the windshield

[@daydaycuttinup9372]

Mine too you figure out the problem?

[@elbajoquinto]

so i dropped my car for an oil change and as i drove off the lot i turned the ac on high and all i felt was super hot air, i reached to the passenger side and that side is blowing in cold AC quality air, do you think this is the same problem despite not hearing the clicking on it?

[@jojozeon]

The problem with that is that it can be a door blend actuator but also could be a faulty ac control. Make sure to change the temps to cold and notice if you hear the vents moving from when it gets switched fron hot to cold and vice versa. You should hear the type of noise in the passenger side try to hear the driver side. if no noise, blend doors are not responsing are more than likely shot.

[@jessicacorrea7221]

I had a question on mine? Mine is a 2014 Dodge Charger and mine does not blow cold or heater anymore. Last year I took it to my mechanic he said he couldn't find a leak any where on the A/C system he recharged it only worked for 1 month after that it stopped blowing cold air. Also on mine there is a whistle kind of low noise that comes from the vents . And it also has a moldy smell to it. I also hear like a clicking noise like it wants to turn on what do you think it might be?

[@jojozeon]

Sounds like you got more issues in par with the same issue illustrated. Take ur car to an actual AC mechanic not a generic mechanic as usually they will not specialize on AC systems.

[@jessicacorrea7221]

@@jojozeon Thank you for the advice. I was thinking the same thing specialized A/C mechanic would be the best for me at this point.

[@joaquinsolorio6810]

thanks l fix the problem less then 30 dollars

[@jojozeon]

Glad it saved ya some money!

[@FoNzY700r]

Joaquin Solorio wat size was the tool and name of tool plz

[@mikeprice8307]

@@jojozeon what if you have blinking defrost with air blowing though defrost for 30 seconds?

[@nathane2243]

Notice how 99% of the videos is always the passenger side

[@mrdilengence6884]

i didnt remove the glove box. I took out the 3 push pins underneath pulled the flap out and went from the bottom

[@jojozeon]

monroe passmore u can do it from the bottom but i like working comfortably lol.

[@mrdilengence6884]

I understand. I took video and showed it to my dealer after they tried to charge me $425 to do it

[@jojozeon]

monroe passmore wow thats insane. dealers will charge outrageous prices for stuff people can do themselves with a little bit of research.

[@josevilla676]

hey guys. thanks for the comments. would either of you have the replacement/repair video by chance?

[@elsapadilla2897]

They tried to charge me 500