Blend Door Actuator Replacement Cost

Your car likely has a heater core where warm air is produced. When you want warm air, then air in the vents is directed to the heater core. When you want cool air, the air is directed away from the heater core. The blend door actuator is responsible for controlling the movement of the vents and the direction of the air, so once it’s damaged or broken, you may not have much temperature control in your car.

If you need to have this car part replaced, you can expect to pay between $200 and $300 for parts and labor. Some cars will cost much less, such as the 2011 GMC Terrain. Others, like the 2005 Mercedes-Benz S55 AMG may cost you close to $1,000. Labor tends to be about $130 across the board. No matter what car you have this replacement procedure done in, the cost is about the same, but the parts can vary in price wildly.

Blend Door Actuator Replacement Cost Comparison

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Midas

Mr. Tire

NAPA

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What Is Blend Door Actuator Replacement?

Usually, it is the actuator motor that has failed when the actuator is no longer working. It’s a fairly simple process to take that part of the AC unit apart and replace the old motor with a new one. If you don’t run your AC system much after you realize there is a problem, then the damage may not affect any other part of the system, and you should be able to get away with a relatively inexpensive repair.

Expect the replacement work to take one to two hours, including testing.

Benefits of Blend Door Actuator Replacement

By getting this problem taken care of, you can enjoy nice, cool air once more. You may still get cold air from the AC unit every now and then once the actuator starts going bad, but it won’t be as cold or as easy to control as before. It will become unreliable, and you can get it back into proper working condition by having this simple replacement procedure done.

What Is Done during Blend Door Actuator Replacement?

Your technician will first diagnose the heating and cooling system. He’s going to look or any problems and try to determine if it is the actuator that is at fault. Tehri may be another problem you aren’t realizing that needs to be taken care of.

Once he determines that the actuator is the source of the trouble, he will open up the heating and cooling system and take out the old actuator motor and replace it with a new one. In many cases, the blend door actuator can be reached through the hood of the car, but in some cars, the dashboard will need to be opened up, which can cost you more and take the mechanic longer to deal with.

Once the new unit is in place, the technician will close everything up and then test the heating and cooling system again. In some cases, the technician may want to do a road test to see how the system performs while driving.

When to Get Blend Door Actuator Replacement

How often the blend door actuator fails depends on the kind of car you have. For some cars, this is common problem, but others will hardly ever have a failing actuator. You can drive while the actuator has stopped working, but don’t expect to be very comfortable. You won’t get much temperature control with a damaged actuator, as the air condition system will have trouble sending the right kind of air to you. You may hear grinding noises and notice that the air isn’t as cool as it is supposed to be, and if you do, you should have the air conditioning system checked out before using it again.

This is not an emergency job, by any means, but you can damage your air conditioning system by running it with a failed actuator. During summer months, you definitely want to get this problem fixed or you will be stuck with a hot car.

How to Save Money on Blend Door Actuator Replacement

If you are looking to cut some of your costs for the blend door actuator, then you can do so by doing the work yourself. This is a great way to save on labor costs, but you should only do that if it is a simple removal. If you would have to take out the steering wheel, dashboard, airbags or anything else from the inside of the car to reach the actuator, then you should probably leave it up to a professional. There are simply too many things that could go wrong.

You can try to compare rates from mechanics in your area, but you will probably find that their rates are pretty similar for this job. Be sure you tell them what type of car you have so they can give you an accurate estimate based on how difficult it is to remove the actuator.

Sample Blend Door Actuator Replacement Costs