2001 Saab 9-5 Blend Door Repair - By Andrew Higgins, February 2010

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1 2001 Saab 9-5 Blend Door Repair - By Andrew Higgins, February 2010 Introduction: This is a long article but it provides details related to troubleshooting problems with my 2001 Saab 9-5 HVAC air ventilation blend door and other interesting finds along the way. Problem: Air is not distributed evenly, front right & left, rear or defrost and Cold/Heat is emitted simultaneously. In my case, the ventilation is rather unpredictable and own right erratic. Testing: I have performed the following test of the HVAC control unit: - Started the car - Press and release "AUTO" - Press and release "OFF" - Press "OFF" and "REAR DEF" at the same time - The display blinked (Confirmed) - Turned car off - Restarted car and pressed "AUTO" and "OFF" at the same time. The HVAC display presented the following error codes: 0 (Initial display) 1 11 (Displayed for several seconds) 2 11 (Displayed very briefly) 2 14 (Briefly) Then the HVAC reset and started in "Auto". The fault codes posted on The Saab Site ( indicates that error code "11" is the right side blend door and error code 14 is a loose air distribution motor. Conclusion: I am a capable do-it-yourselfer. I am certain the typical blend door lever or shaft failure has occurred; however, I have not disassembled anything... yet. I contacted The Saab Site and to see what they recommend for "typical" replacement parts and for confirmation of the error codes. The Saab Site recommended investigating the Left blend door. I admit, am confused, and since the car is down-forthe-count for other repairs and I need to order replacement parts, I decided to proceed by performing the disassembly of both sides. Tools: Philips & Flat head screw driver, 6mm - 1/4 drive socket, 1/4 driver, T20 Torx, and a good shop light. Parts (Source The Saab Site): P/N: Lever ($26,19 - OEM or $25.00 for The Saab Site aluminum version) P/N: Insert Sleeve ($17.14) (Not required for this time around ) P/N: Cabin Filter ($ OEM or $28.80 AFT). I highly recommend replacing this! See photos at: < Page 1 of 13

2 Disassembly and Inspection (Note: The pictures were taken after disassembly): I started on the right (passenger) side by removing the round cover under the dash. This requires depressing the pin in the center of the three round clips and removing them. I began unscrewing the black access panel just behind this cover and near the firewall because I initially thought it was related to the blend door repair; however, a few steps from now you will see that debris (leaves, bird feathers etc) fell out. Actually, there is evidence of this in all the pictures because it made a mess. Regardless, this is when I realized that more was going on behind this panel. More on this later I remove the 4 fasteners securing the panel under the glovebox. It slipped out easily after it was released from the clip on the firewall. See photos at: < Page 2 of 13

3 The glovebox is held in by 3 fasteners under the dash that were concealed by the cover that was just remove, and by 2 fasteners just inside the glovebox door. See photos at: < Page 3 of 13

4 The glovebox slips out easily; however, there are 2 wires connected to the courtesy light and a vent hose (to keep drinks and gloves cool) that needed to be disconnected. After disconnecting the 2 wires and twisting the hose off of the fitting, I removed the glovebox. See photos at: < Page 4 of 13

5 It was at this point the I finished removing the cover that I initially thought would provide access to the blend door and found the cabin air filter. Remember the leaves? At this point I removed what looks like the cabin air filter. See photos at: < Page 5 of 13

6 It is beyond disgusting and I figure that it is very unlikely that it has ever been replaced. I certainly hope this isn t what a typical cabin air filter looks like. Here is a close up of the intake side of the cabin air filter housing. See photos at: < Page 6 of 13

7 I decided to remove the servo closest to me with large R on it. I started by removing the Thermal Couple (TC) from the vent. Carefully open up the tabs on each side and then to prevent damaging the TC wire, slide the TC straight out. The TC is a thin wire and you don t want to bend or damage it. Then I disconnected the electrical connector to the servo motor, which required giving the legs on the outside edges a gentle squeeze. Then I removed the 2 fasteners holding it in place and pulled it straight out while giving it a gentle tug and a slight rotation. Here s the TC removed from the vent ducting. See photos at: < Page 7 of 13

8 Everything look good under here... but it didn t look quite like the replacement parts that I have seen online. I figured that other servo motor, located higher up and closer to the fire wall, must be the bend door. I disconnected the electrical connector and finally removed the bend door servo motor and found the lever and shaft intact. See photos at: < Page 8 of 13

9 I did find a couple of cracks in the shafts bore but it doesn t look like it needs to be replaced...yet. To summarize the right blend door, everything is intact and functions. I noticed that the actuator was a little sticky and somewhat difficult to move at first, but it loosened up after a few cycles (full rotations back and forth) without the servo motor installed. I think it needs a little lubrication between the disk and housing shown below. See photos at: < Page 9 of 13

10 Now I moved over to the left (drivers) side and began by removing the 2 fasteners securing the ECU access port and the 3 fasteners securing the lower panel. Removal was similar to the right side; however, I had to lower the left (outside) edge about 6 inch toward the floor before I was able to slide the panel out. I finished removing the ECU connector from the panel by rotating it slightly and pushing it through the panel. I removed the panel from the scene and proceeded to the left blend door servo motor. See photos at: < 13 Page 10 of

11 I found only one servo motor on the left (drivers) side and it is marked with an L. I removed the TC from the vent and the electrical connector from the servo motor just like I did on the right side. See photos at: < 13 Page 11 of

12 I found the infamous lever and gently used the flat head screw driver to carefully slip it off the shaft... See photos at: < 13 Page 12 of

13 ...and sure enough it had the typical lever failure. a crack at the weakest point. I am very surprised that Saab made the left lever with the key relief located at a point with so little material. Stress concentrations like square corners are things engineers are taught to avoid, or so I thought. I am ready to order the replacement parts and reassembly, which is reverse order. See photos at: < 13 Page 13 of