Blend door actuators.

[dodge man]

The problem with the Impala I replaced the door lock actuator on the back door was it was at the back of the door. I wouldn’t have bothered, just unlock it manually, which you can if it’s at the front of the rear door but the only way was to crawl across the back seat to lift the lock. Then to replace it the door comes to kind of a sharp point so tight working space.

The front speakers, same thing, I wouldn’t have bothered but certain sounds came through those speakers, like chimes and the clicking of the turn signals. They were easy though.

 

[coobie]

YIKES ! I would be sore for a week..

 

[coldsteelva]

I had this happen on my 2011 Durango on the passenger side. The gear itself didn't just self-destruct though. The cheap foam gasket material on the leading edge of the metallic blend door deteriorated to the point that the heater core melted it and when it cooled, it was stuck in place. The next attempted cycle of the actuator sheared the plastic gear. I enlisted my wife with her smaller hands to rip the blend door free and then we removed most of that unneeded foam gasket and then re-placed that sacrificial gear.

 

[kenmbz]

I replaced the door actuator on my 2011 jeep. I watched videos and the best advice was to get a small ratchet screwdriver (right angle). Without that getting the retaining screw on/off would have taken some major disassembly work.
Of course it was the wifes side and spitting hot air in the summer, so it had to be done ASAP.

Headlights are another pain, as you can't see where to put them back in and the HD lights have an external metal piece, that if you break, a $40 bulb goes in the trash.
Gloves on hands don't fit, so expect cuts and scrapes.

And those stupid tree clips always break no matter how carefully you remove the cowling.

 

[Oaktree]

Headlights are another pain, as you can't see where to put them back in and the HD lights have an external metal piece, that if you break, a $40 bulb goes in the trash.
Gloves on hands don't fit, so expect cuts and scrapes.

And those stupid tree clips always break no matter how carefully you remove the cowling.

Headlights on my '06 Grand Cherokee were getting cloudy, replaced them a couple years ago. Quite a bit of disassembly involved...had to remove the bumper and grill and I think something else but otherwise went fairly well. Youtube video was a big help...not sure I would have figured it out otherwise. Mine has halogen headlights, maybe they changed things when they went to HIDs.
Agree on those clips, I made sure I had a supply on hand before I started the job.

 

[N80]

Same problem on my 2015 Nissan Titan Pro-4x. What a terrible vehicle it has been. And before anyone cries foul I've been a loyal Nissan owner since 1984. Some of the best vehicles I've ever owned. But not this truck. It would take all day to list the problems it has had because of poor design and poor quality workmanship.

Anyway, several of my blend doors work intermittently. Sometimes not at all. Because I have the version with all the nav junk in the middle of the dash the blend door actuators and such simply cannot be reached without taking the entire dash out.

Well over a $1000 at the stealership just to get to them.

A pox on the man who invented these things to begin with. Call me an old coot but I still can't imagine what's wrong with the slides and levers we had in the 1970s. Heck, I owned a 1976 Jeep Cherokee. Possibly one of the worst vehicles ever made. Everything broke on that truck all the time......but not the AC/heat sliders.

I'll just have to live with intermittent HVAC.

As much as I hate this truck I have no desire to buy anything else because my expectations for all the other brands are pretty low and the prices are insane.

 

[dodge man]

The problem is the parts, cheap electronics and cheap gears.

 

[kenmbz]

The gear in the Jeep is cheap brittle plastic. Was surprised it lasted so long.

 

[Oaktree]

I'll just have to live with intermittent HVAC.

As much as I hate this truck I have no desire to buy anything else because my expectations for all the other brands are pretty low and the prices are insane.

Not that anyone else's trucks are any easier to work on.

The problem is the parts, cheap electronics and cheap gears.

And needlessly complicated designs. I'm with N80...levers and slides worked just fine.