Blend door actuator not working

1998 TOYOTA AVALON
188,000 MILES • 3.0L • V6 • 2WD • AUTOMATIC
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GGOVANN
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Hello. I have the car listed above, in late 2020, the face vents stopped working. Air is stuck on defrost. Still got cold and hot. Now the blend door doesn’t want to work. It's stuck on heat and it has been pretty warm outside for the past couple of days. Is there any way i can manually move the door to the cold side until I have enough money for this repair? it is bad not having A/C.
Feb 10, 2022 at 9:58 PM
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SQM
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Hello,

The best option would be to replace the blend door actuator.
The actuator moves a certain amount to change the hot and cold air flow. If you want to manually change it, it will likely require removal of the HVAX box and disassembly of the shrouds to move the air door. Also, you will have to make sure it does not go back to the previous position, as it might if the actuator is still attached and stuck.

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/replace-blend-door-motor

I have attached diagrams for the actuator replacement procedure below for your reference.

Please let me know if you have any questions.
Thank you.
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Feb 11, 2022 at 9:26 AM
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GGOVANN
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Thank you for your reply. Do you think an average joe is capable for this repair? will i need any special tools? I'm not a mechanic but i can turn a wrench.
Feb 12, 2022 at 10:36 AM
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SQM
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This is not terribly difficult. You will just need basic hand tools. The hardest part usually is being able to access the part as it is under the dash and does not have too much room to work with.
Feb 13, 2022 at 2:37 PM