Our exploder is stuck on defrost and floor.  When my wife told me it broke, my instant reaction was fuck that.  I've done them years ago on different cars and they were a bastard on older stuff.  I could only imagine the hell on a modern car.

My suspicions were confirmed after googling around.  It is buried behind the instrument cluster.  Short of removing the entire dash it seems every other way to get to it is based on a hope and prayer of working completely blind.

Has anyone done one?  Is the juice worth the squeeze?

As a mechanic for the past 18 years I can tell you with great confidence the best thing to do with a modern ford it push it to the street and set it on fire after making sure your insurance is up to date. When I get to work this morning I have a 17 escape sitting there waiting for me to take the front bumper cover off of. I am not looking forward to even doing that.

I replaced mine on a 2007 F150.

It was not fun, but I was able to get it done even blind.  It was absolutely worth it.

years later, I had to remove the entire dash for a heater core.  It was full exposed and much easier.  But I would not remove a dash just for a blend door actuator.



I left out one of the screws when I did the blend door actuator replacement, it was hell to get it out and no way was I fighting it to get it in.  2 out of 3 is fine.  I was going to put that screw back in when I had the dash off, but decided to leave well enough alone.

I hear you.  This will be the last Ford I ever own.

I have a expi, so probably very similar. Mine has around 4 of those little bastards up front and at least one more in the back ac.

I replaced the one located on top of the stereo. I though it was easy but I have skinny arms and still did end up with a couple good cuts. I popped the plastic shit off around the stereo and removed the stereo too( I think). Then I removed the glove box. I was able to remove 2 screws from the front then I had to snake my arm through the glove box and up and remove the rear one blind. That was fun.

As much as that sucks. The ones on the driver side and the bottom one are far worse to change. I have to change the bottom one out too.  I love the Expi but whoever designed the placement of these things is a jerk.

Also, dont skimp on these items. Get Ford parts from a certified Ford reseller. The chinese are knocking off the parts including the Ford logo with cheap shit.

I've done them in an '07 Ford truck (behind the glove box) and a few times on an '08 Expedition (directly behind the radio), neither were overly difficult.

I have replaced 6 of the mode actuators on newer ford explorers. I forget what the book says for labor but it’s a lot. You do NOT have to remove the dash. All work is done on the drivers side. You do need to remove the lower kick panel, the gauge cluster trim assembly ( the take leather trim pops off the steering column) and the gauge cluster. You get the lower screw from below and the other two from up top by using a combination of flex extensions and swivel angling it. The plug has a red locking tab to release before you can unplug it too. Not easy but I can r&r one in a half hour.  For reassembly I use some butal tape to hold the screw in the socket while I hand start them. I have had zero issues using aftermarket ones from autozone, my cost is like $12 bucks. Any questions message me.

Wisdom