Hey everyone,

I am hoping for some quality advice/help! My 2011 F150 Lariat is only blowing cold air. Took it into a shop I have trusted for years and they said actuators and blender motors are good, seems to be a voltage issue, they didn't even charge me for taking off the dash. They recommended I take to dealer to look at voltage issue, rip off, I mean dealer says my blenders are bad and it will be $2300 just to open up the dash. Please help a guy just trying to get to work without frostbite and keep food on the table for the family! Thank you in advance for any helpful input.

Sean

 

Hi Sean,

Can you do one or two little checks that might help eliminate some possibilities?

Need to know, are both heater hoses in the engine compartment warm or hot once the engine warms up?
If the hoses are the same temp or close we would at least know where to go next, can you do this?

If the hoses are hot , then we need to determine if there is a problem with the doors that direct the incoming air to warm it up.
Sometimes an actuator motor doesn't move the doors and that could be caused by either a malfunctioning door motor or signal from the control panel not getting to the door actuator.
Some actuator motors can be a stinker to replace and that might be why your regular shop doesn't want to get involved in the job and why the dealership wants to charge a lot of $$$..
So,, as you can see it can get a little involved.
You might ask if either shop would just move the door to max heat and lock it there, but then you might have to drive with a window open because the heat will be on constantly.
I realize this is not an accepted procedure, but at least you would be warm.
Heating controls are much more complicated in today's vehicles than in older vehicles and when they don't work it can get expensive to do some repairs.
What do you think?