AC blowing hot air on passenger side, but cold on driver side

[Yash s.]

I have a 2013 Ford Edge Limited (with dual zone A/C), and just today the ac started acting really weird. It would blow ice cold air from the driver side vents, and really hot air from the passenger side vents. Same story with the rear vents. It blows warm (not as hot) on the passenger side one, but ice cold on the driver side. When I would try to change the temperature, it wouldn't do a thing. I'd appreciate it if someone can help me out. Thank you!

[Gadgetjq]

This is a very common issue.  It's usually the blend doors that have stopped working correctly.  Fortunately the fix (unless something has gone very wrong) is easy.  With the ignition on, press your ventilation power button and your defrost button simultaneously.  Hold them for several seconds.  You may hear a click.  After the click (or ten seconds) release the buttons and press the power button again.  Your system 'should' begin operating normally (with the engine running of course).  If it doesn't, try it again.  I've seen forum reports indicating owners have had to do this multiple times but eventually the doors came around to their way of thinking.

 

[Yash s.]

4 hours ago, Gadgetjq said:

This is a very common issue.  It's usually the blend doors that have stopped working correctly.  Fortunately the fix (unless something has gone very wrong) is easy.  With the ignition on, press your ventilation power button and your defrost button simultaneously.  Hold them for several seconds.  You may hear a click.  After the click (or ten seconds) release the buttons and press the power button again.  Your system 'should' begin operating normally (with the engine running of course).  If it doesn't, try it again.  I've seen forum reports indicating owners have had to do this multiple times but eventually the doors came around to their way of thinking.

 

I tried that, but it didn't work. I thought we had to do it for 3 seconds so that's probably why it didn't work. I gave up after seeing the tutorials because all of those people had the hard buttons to do it, but my car has the touch buttons, so I thought it would only work on those cars. I'll do it again and  I'll keep you updated!

[Yash s.]

That didn't work, unfortunately. I found a YouTube video where someone disconnected the actuator from the arm, and it worked just fine so I tried that, and it worked for me!  I just can't change the temperature anymore.

[Timber]

On 5/19/2020 at 10:03 AM, Yash s. said:

That didn't work, unfortunately. I found a YouTube video where someone disconnected the actuator from the arm, and it worked just fine so I tried that, and it worked for me!  I just can't change the temperature anymore.

 

That means the blend door actuator is bad, so replace it would be the answer.

There are videos on how to replace it.

[TMac1795]

I'm sort of having that issue with my 2015 titanium. Air blows from defrost and floor only. The temperature works no prob ( hot and cold when needed). I have changed the blend door actuator on the drivers side and still nothing. Any suggestions are greatly appreciated 

[Gadgetjq]

4 hours ago, TMac1795 said:

I'm sort of having that issue with my 2015 titanium. Air blows from defrost and floor only.

Have you tried a reset?

Reset AC doors when one side is blowing hot, the other is cold (and they're both set the same)

1. Press your start/stop engine/accessory button (don't start the engine)  

2. Press AC on/off and Defrost buttons simultaneously to reset the blend doors

3. When you hear a click (or after 10 seconds) release the buttons

4. Press AC on/off one more time.  You should be good to go but some have reported having to do this more than once.

[TMac1795]

Do you mean just the A/C button, not the power button? Should the hvac unit be off or on? 

[Gadgetjq]

2 hours ago, TMac1795 said:

Do you mean just the A/C button, not the power button? Should the hvac unit be off or on? 

Here's a link to my Edge Mods & Tips page with a picture showing the power and defrost buttons.  It shouldn't matter whether the system is on or off when you do the reset.  https://www.gadgetjq.net/edge/tips/quick_tips.html#ac_reset

Edited July 8, 2020 by Gadgetjq

[Miner]

Thanks! This happened to me today. Is there anything that can trigger it? Apart from component issues?

[enigma-2]

Probably not.

    The positioning is both controlled and synced by the actuator. In gen 1 cars it's caused by gear teeth getting stripped.

 

In gen 2 cars, the actuators were redesigned with beefier gears but the cheapened the wipers traces and thus then became to point of failure. The when the actuators fail, they "hunt" the determine where the end point is, failing to find it, they shut off until the following start cycle. Sometimes resetting the actuator allows it to break the hunting cycle by  repositioning by wiping full travel which allows it to relearn each end position. 

 

In both cases, the actuators were designed poorly. 

 

Here's an excellent video which gives a run through of the actuators and how they work and fail. 

 

[John Grieten]

And what if we have a 2010, with knobs and no buttons?

[Rick1955]

We had this issue. I tried the suggested fix... and it worked the very first time! Thank you very much! Saved us a trip to the shop and $. 

[AMM]

How much will it likely cost to fix my 2012 edge if hot air only blows on the passenger side and only cold air blows on the driver side

[Michael Plotkin]

Oh my gosh. Thank you so much. Such an easy fix. It takes a little bit for my side to heat up but it’s so much better. I’ll take it. Now that it’s winter I won’t be freezing.