Camaro5 Chevy Camaro Forum / Camaro ZL1, SS and V6 Forums - Camaro5.com
 
TireRack
Go Back   Camaro5 Chevy Camaro Forum / Camaro ZL1, SS and V6 Forums - Camaro5.com > Technical Camaro Topics > Camaro Issues / Problems | Warranty Discussions | TSB and Recalls


Reply
 
Thread Tools
Old 05-06-2018, 10:45 AM   #1
blumaro
 
blumaro's Avatar
 
Drives: 2012 Camaro SS / 1977 Trans AM
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: NJ
Posts: 96
HVAC problems - blend door?

My 2012 Camaro SS recently developed a problem with the AC not blowing cold air. It also seems like the heat does not get as hot as it should. I took it to the dealer and they informed me that the refrigerant charge is good but they feel that the problem is that the blend door may be broken. This makes sense considering the symptoms. They said they would need to remove the windshield and dashboard to further diagnose the problem. I suspect that the car will never be the same after that procedure. Wind noise and water leaks due to the windshield removal and re-installation. And interior squeaks and rattles from the dashboard. My car is very clean and well maintained with 42,000 miles on the odometer. I have no faith that the dealer will be able to perform this work and not create a ton of new problems and blemishes on the interior of the car and the paint around the windshield.

So I brought the car home and crawled under the dash and observed that the blend door actuator was working but I don't know if it is traveling over it's full range of motion. Some GM cars/trucks can have the blend door actuator re-calibrated by removing a fuse. Is this the case with the Camaro? I would like to try that before I pay the dealer to destroy my car.

Has anyone else had their windshield and dash removed? If so what were the results?

Is there anything else I should check before resorting to the dealer's extreme fix?

Thanks.

-Ray
blumaro is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-07-2018, 02:15 PM   #2
JD555
 
JD555's Avatar
 
Drives: 2014 2SS RS, 6 sp man
Join Date: Feb 2016
Location: Marlton, NJ
Posts: 461
I don't know if its possible but could you snake a boroscope in the vent to see if its moving?
JD555 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-07-2018, 02:30 PM   #3
sixty9fordkiller
Donkey Dick Cam Camaro
 
sixty9fordkiller's Avatar
 
Drives: 2010 2SS/RS LS3 M6
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Posts: 2,000
mine has the same issue. dash needs to come out and windshield removal and reinstall.

I live in California and i definitely need the AC to work. No choice for me. Gonna pay $1700 to have the dealer fix it for me
__________________

Bone Stock
sixty9fordkiller is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-07-2018, 04:02 PM   #4
BronxxBombers213


 
BronxxBombers213's Avatar
 
Drives: 2010 Camaro 2SS RS
Join Date: Nov 2011
Location: NYC
Posts: 2,387
where in NJ are you? Im in staten island if I can be of some help to you. I was having this issue and remedied it myself.

Turned out for me one of the power wires to the motor had frayed in the harness- the zip tie clip holding it on chewed through the harness itself, and once I fixed it, all was good. In trying to find the problem I went through alot of testing.

I have the scan tool to see if you have a code, and what exactly it is (it will register if something is wrong with the motor), and I have a new motor for that door in the garage. I can remove your motor without removing the dash. As long as the door itself isnt broken (Which I could test once the motor is removed), I should be able to fix it for you- The only thing is my time is very limited, so I dont want to make the promise and hang you strung along without A.C into the warm weather too long if we cant get something set up soon
__________________
BronxxBombers213 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-08-2018, 06:04 AM   #5
blumaro
 
blumaro's Avatar
 
Drives: 2012 Camaro SS / 1977 Trans AM
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: NJ
Posts: 96
JD555,

I'm pretty certain the blend door is not moving since turning the air temperature knob does not change the air temperature (it's always warm), but I can see the actuator moving a good amount. It's like it's turning but not moving the door.

sixty9fordkiller,

I wonder if they can get the windshield out in one piece? What if they break it during this procedure? Who pays for the new windshield? I intend to ask the service writer that exact question.


BronxxBombers213,

I really appreciate your offer however I'm located in South Jersey, about 25 minutes East of Philly, depending on traffic. I did visually verify that the actuator is rotating but the air discharge temperature remains warm no matter what position the knob is in. AC does not get cold, heat does not get hot. a quick google search reveals pics and videos of how the air blend door fails.

Interestingly certain years of the Chevy Equinox have a similar problem. Dorman has come up with a repair kit that requires you to drill out the broken air blend door "shaft" and insert a pin. It also comes with a stamped piece of metal that gets attached to the HVAC box and acts as a new bearing support for the new pin that is now part of the air blend door shaft. The actuator now attaches to the metal piece. See here:

https://www.dormanproducts.com/p-65769-902-600.aspx

We need something like this for the fifth gen Camaro.

-Ray
blumaro is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-08-2018, 10:11 AM   #6
Rock-It Man
376 cubic inches of fun
 
Rock-It Man's Avatar
 
Drives: 2023 Camaro ZL1 A10
Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: MA
Posts: 4,026
Windshield replacement is just a reality unless your car is a garage queen.

I'm on my third Camaro windshield. Modern windshields are structural members and are glued in. The last time I had a leaky windshield was probably 1980, and it came that way from the factory. This was back when windshields were held in the grooves of giant rubber grommets, not glued. The other side of the grommet was also grooved and held the pinch weld of the window opening. A sloppy pinch weld was the cause of the leak.

If they break the windshield while removing, you will get a nice new one that's not pitted. Again, ignore this comment if your car is a garage queen and so has no pitting.

Not sure about dashboard removal.
Rock-It Man is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-09-2018, 05:46 AM   #7
blumaro
 
blumaro's Avatar
 
Drives: 2012 Camaro SS / 1977 Trans AM
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: NJ
Posts: 96
Rock-It Man,

My car a daily driver but is very clean and well maintained. All the more reason not to want a modern windshield replaced. The adhesive was applied by a robot in the factory and the glass was set in place by a robot as well. Hopefully the dealer's glass guy isn't nursing a hangover when they work on my car and has the patients to carefully remove all of the old adhesive. I wonder how much abuse the leading edge of the head liner sustains during this process?

Does anyone else find it unacceptable that a six year old car has this type of failure? I've been driving for 31 years and never had an air blend door actually break. Sure, I've had cables break and vacuum lines fail and I would even understand a failed actuator on these modern cars but to manufacture the air blend door out of cheap plastic and then make it difficult to replace is ridiculous.

This kind of stuff is typical of GM. They do so many things right but there are always some things that leave you scratching your head wonder why is this part so cheaply constructed? The first thing like that I noticed after buying the car was the hard plastic hood release. The first time I touched that thing I was like really? Tell me that isn't going to get brittle fail while opening the hood one day.

I did place a call to Chevy Customer Service. I now have a case number. Hopefully they help out with the costs even a little. I'm not holding my breath though since the car is out of warranty. But six years? Really?

-Ray
blumaro is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-09-2018, 06:34 AM   #8
Rock-It Man
376 cubic inches of fun
 
Rock-It Man's Avatar
 
Drives: 2023 Camaro ZL1 A10
Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: MA
Posts: 4,026
Wait till you see how glued-in windshields are removed! It involves a reciprocating saw or chisel of some kind, and sounds like a disaster.

It's painful to watch, but a skilled technician will not leave behind any sign of the violence.
Rock-It Man is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-09-2018, 02:52 PM   #9
thef4ng
 
thef4ng's Avatar
 
Drives: 2012 Camaro SS A6 SIM
Join Date: Nov 2016
Location: Banning
Posts: 47
I had my cracked windshield replaced by a shop. Been running like that for a few months now. No leaks or wind noise. If the technician knows what he’s doing they won’t leave any signs of damage.

Also had my blend door break too. The actuator work. But the door itself had broken in two pieces. I didn’t want to spend over a grand to have the dealer fix it. So I cut a panel under the dash on the drivers side to access it. Hardest part was getting the dremel in there.
thef4ng is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-13-2018, 11:47 AM   #10
Deathstroke0571
 
Drives: 2015 Chevy Camaro SS
Join Date: Oct 2015
Location: Florida
Posts: 70
Quote:
Originally Posted by sixty9fordkiller View Post
mine has the same issue. dash needs to come out and windshield removal and reinstall.

I live in California and i definitely need the AC to work. No choice for me. Gonna pay $1700 to have the dealer fix it for me
shouldnt it be under warranty?
Deathstroke0571 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-13-2018, 11:50 AM   #11
sixty9fordkiller
Donkey Dick Cam Camaro
 
sixty9fordkiller's Avatar
 
Drives: 2010 2SS/RS LS3 M6
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Posts: 2,000
Quote:
Originally Posted by Deathstroke0571 View Post
shouldnt it be under warranty?
My car has 77K miles but its a 2010

i wish there was a TSB on it :(

Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk
__________________

Bone Stock
sixty9fordkiller is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-13-2018, 11:53 AM   #12
Deathstroke0571
 
Drives: 2015 Chevy Camaro SS
Join Date: Oct 2015
Location: Florida
Posts: 70
Quote:
Originally Posted by sixty9fordkiller View Post
My car has 77K miles but its a 2010

i wish there was a TSB on it :(

Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk
im having the same issue but mine is a 2015 and has 23k miles. Does the warranty cover Air conditioning problems?
Deathstroke0571 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-14-2018, 09:37 PM   #13
LasVegasSS
 
Drives: 2016 1 SS/2013 2 SS/1988 Frbrd GTA
Join Date: Oct 2013
Location: Las Vegas
Posts: 25
Same problem

Thanks to Blumaro for posting his thread. My blend door broke in the last two weeks on my 2013 SS. I bought the GMPP 100,000/5 yr warranty and it was covered. The dealership confirmed it is about a $1500 job and the windshield does have to come out.
LasVegasSS is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-25-2018, 06:09 AM   #14
blumaro
 
blumaro's Avatar
 
Drives: 2012 Camaro SS / 1977 Trans AM
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: NJ
Posts: 96
I got my car back from the dealer two days ago. I've been busy with work so no time to post a follow-up. Anyway, they called me about three days into to job to tell me that I would need a windshield. I said "Oh, they broke it during removal?". I was told, that no it did not break but the rubber molding was damaged during removal and the moldings are not available separately, they come with the replacement windshield.



Chevy Customer Service has been involved in this even before I dropped the car off for repair so they helped with the bill. I ended up paying just under $1,300 for the repair. Thank you Chevy Customer Service!


Of course it doesn't end there. As soon as they brought my car around I performed an inspection and found that the passenger side roof ditch molding was damaged at the end nearest the windshield. It seems that the little cap at the end of it was missing. Also the plastic cowl cover that meets the bottom of the passenger side of the windshield looks like it was pried up with a metal screw driver. There are numerous dents/gouges in this plastic POS. This is the panel that you remove to change the cabin air filter. Both of these problems were no doubt caused by the glass company that the dealership hired to swap out my windshield. It should be noted that the dealership mechanic did a nice job with the dashboard/interior and now my AC blows ice-cold again.



So I review these problems with the service manager and he is going to make it good by ordering a new roof ditch molding and have the body shop repair the cowl cover. Then I sped off to go back to work.


When I got home that night (Tuesday, yes they had the car for a week) I finally had time to really look the car over. It seems that the windshield was not installed properly. the edge of the glass is touching the drivers side A-pillar. The gap at the top between the glass and the roof is now much larger than it was. And the gap between the glass and the passenger side A-pillar is ~1/2". So the windshield was installed low and to the left. I compared this to my rear window and the gaps are equal all the way around.


So yesterday I brought the car back to the dealer to complain about the windshield and the service manager agrees that this is unacceptable. I now have an appointment with the glass company for next Tuesday. I'm sure they are going to do a fine job repairing this at their own expense...NOT. Can't wait to see what else gets damaged this time.



I will call GM Customer Service today and let them get involved again. I am not paying for yet another car rental as this should have been done correctly in the first place.


Lastly, I will try to post some pics over the weekend.


-Ray

Last edited by blumaro; 05-26-2018 at 10:35 AM.
blumaro is offline   Reply With Quote
 
Reply

Thread Tools

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump


All times are GMT -5. The time now is 10:30 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.9 Beta 4
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.