Air blowing from defrost all the time.

[dbierman]

Hello everyone.

This is my first post in this forum.

I recently purchased a 2018 Ram 1500 4X4 with the Hemi, almost two weeks ago. I was headed out for a 10 day trip with my son through Georgia and Florida playing baseball with his HS team for spring break. I test drove the truck a couple weeks earlier, after deciding to buy it I was stuck at work every day before my trip so I did everything online or by phone. So, all I had to do was drive to the lot, grab the keys and go that morning. I drove it straight home, loaded it up and we headed out. So far I love this truck, but...

While on the trip I noticed the air, wether on hot or cold blows out of the defrost in all modes.

I did some internet searching and found a thread on the Ram HD forum that talked about this, it even went into great detail about going to the dealerships and opening a case with @RamCares . It was posted back in 2019 and his was a 5th gen, mine is a 4th gen but it's doing exactly the same thing.

He said the dealership said they went out on the lot and checked all the other vehicles and they all did it so basically told him it was "working as designed" and they weren't going to fix it.

The thread abruptly ended with no resolution. I've searched here but haven't been able to find any information here about it.

My problem so far isn't the frosting up he was complaining about on humid days, my issue has been when the heat is on it blows into the windshield and then straight into my face. I wear contacts so this is a "no bueno" for me.

Is this a common/known issue? Is there a fix for it, or maybe a recall? It's clearly not a one off problem with my truck.


Sorry to make my introduction with a problem issue, but this is where my searches have gotten me to.

Thank for any help.

Duane

 

[stenerson]

Those blend doors are made of cheap plastic and are notorious for breaking. I had to replace one once on my prior 3rd gen, and replaced with an aftermarket metal one. It could also be a blend door actuator.

 

[dbierman]

Those blend doors are made of cheap plastic and are notorious for breaking. I had to replace one once on my prior 3rd gen, and replaced with an aftermarket metal one. It could also be a blend door actuator.

I was afraid of that, that means the whole air box has to come out doesn’t it?

I’ve got a bore scope I may stick up in there and see if it’s broke.

 

[stenerson]

I’ve got a bore scope I may stick up in there and see if it’s broke.

That's a good idea. If you got a decent scan tool you can test if the actuator is working.
I didn't have to remove the whole airbox when I fixed it on my 3rd gen. But that was the front vent and not defrost. Not sure about defrost.