How-To: Replace Defrost Gear Gen 1

96807 Views 26 Replies 16 Participants Last post by skills4lou, May 15, 2022

hack3rfx

Discussion Starter · Dec 9, 2016

I noticed a few days ago that 2012 lt want pushing air out of the defrost. It only works on the front vents and floor vents.

BIG PROBLEM to say the least.

I've read where this topic has been covered previously but with resolutions that did not work for me. I disconnected the battery multiple times for at least a minute (my radio reset). I even removed the fuse for about 30 second, still no cake.

So what happens is when i switch it to defrost mode, you can hear the blower die down, some clicking (actuator most likely), then it will start blowing again. There no air at this point anywhere! Then it stops again, does the clicking again, and then starts blowing out of the front. It's like it knows somethings not right and automatically switched back to the front vents.

What this freak is going on here? Anyone have any suggestions?

The dealership is ignoring me, and i only have power train warranty with gm.

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ChevyGuy

· #2 · Dec 9, 2016

hack3rfx said:
So what happens is when i switch it to defrost mode, you can hear the blower die down, some clicking (actuator most likely), then it will start blowing again. There no air at this point anywhere! Then it stops again, does the clicking again, and then starts blowing out of the front.

I don't think it's supposed to click. I think that clicking is a damaged flapper mechanism. The motor is trying to drive it, but instead the gear is slipping.

What you can try is pull the air cabin filter. Apparently a lot of debris gets on top of it. Perhaps enough to cause problems.

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hack3rfx

Discussion Starter · #3 · Dec 9, 2016

ChevyGuy said:
I don't think it's supposed to click. I think that clicking is a damaged flapper mechanism. The motor is trying to drive it, but instead the gear is slipping.

What you can try is pull the air cabin filter. Apparently a lot of debris gets on top of it. Perhaps enough to cause problems.

I actually changed that cabin air filter about a month ago. It blows awesome out of the front vents and floor vents. Im able to switch between them too but the clicking im referring to also occurs there as well.

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ChevyGuy

· #4 · Dec 9, 2016

Motor drives gearbox which drives the door. Most likely, you have a stripped or broken gear.

jblackburn

· #5 · Dec 9, 2016

You should hear a mode change when you ask it to change direction/temperature, but it sounds like something in your case is stuck or hung up.

hack3rfx

Discussion Starter · #6 · Dec 9, 2016

I found this thing in my drivers for board when i pulled the fuse. Does it look important?

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Just Rick

· #7 · Dec 9, 2016

By the look of that picture,you've found your air issue,as most others have said you have a stripped or broken drive gear,finding this has confirmed it,looks like your going dash searching,not sure about the 2012 models (I have a 2010 sedan)but the lower dash panels cab be easily removed,exposing all the drive gears for the venting(just use extreme care when doing so)I know my car still is able to be used with these panels missing,until you can get the part and replace it

scheib43

· #8 · Jan 13, 2017

Did you fix this?

I have the exact same issue and found the exact same broken piece on my drivers side floor yesterday when I went to put it in defrost. Came across this thread and saw the pic and said....AAAAAHHHHH, that's it.

Wondering if you were able to fix this and the location of the gear as I'm assuming it's under the driver side somewhere. Did you find schematics of the the Cruze? Mine is 2012.

HelpPlease554

· #9 · Jan 14, 2017

Yes please update if you fixed this issue and how. I can't find info online ANYWHERE about this. I saw your picture and it's exactly what mine looks like too. To a T. It was -4 Fahrenheit here, and like an idiot I started the 2012 Chevy Cruze and immediately switched from the vents from dash to defrost. I heard a snap and that same half gear cheap peice of plastic as pictured above fell down onto the floor by my feet. Took it to the dealer today and they want $1000 to fix it! They said they would have to take apart the entire dash. Ugh. I hope there's a better way. Clearly the gears are exposed, hopefully it's an easy fix. My windshield gets extremely fogged up here in the winter. I've had to pull over it got so bad once. It's extremely dangerous.

Blasirl

· #10 · Jan 14, 2017

This might help.

Chevy Blend Door Actuator Replacement - Part 1

or this one

How do I find the heat blend door actuator for my 2011 Chevy Cruze

This one is not Cruze specific, but again, it might help.

HOW TO REPLACE YOUR BLEND DOOR ACTUATOR

good Luck!:th_dblthumb2:

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E Roc

· #11 · Jan 20, 2017

I have the exact same broken piece. I believe it is the mode control lever (part #41 in the attached diagram). My guess is that I selected defrost mode before the car was heated up and the damper was frozen on one of the really cold days this winter. Therefore, the mode control actuator turned but gear #40 in the diagram could not because that is the gear connected to the defrost damper. The actuator apparently has enough torque to turn through a frozen gear and break the mode control lever which is a design flaw in my opinion. This part is tough to get to and most are saying that the entire instrument panel assembly needs to be removed in order to have access. I am going to try and just remove the lower panels and see if I can replace the lever that way because spending $1000 or more to replace this $5 part is ridiculous.

This should be recalled because it is a major safety concern not being able to see because the windshield is fogged up!

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Blasirl

· #12 · Jan 20, 2017

E Roc said:
I have the exact same broken piece. I believe it is the mode control lever (part #41 in the attached diagram). My guess is that I selected defrost mode before the car was heated up and the damper was frozen on one of the really cold days this winter. Therefore, the mode control actuator turned but gear #40 in the diagram could not because that is the gear connected to the defrost damper. The actuator apparently has enough torque to turn through a frozen gear and break the mode control lever which is a design flaw in my opinion. This part is tough to get to and most are saying that the entire instrument panel assembly needs to be removed in order to have access. I am going to try and just remove the lower panels and see if I can replace the lever that way because spending $1000 or more to replace this $5 part is ridiculous.

This should be recalled because it is a major safety concern not being able to see because the windshield is fogged up!

Nice diagram, where did you find it?

E Roc

· #13 · Jan 20, 2017

I got this from www.wholesalegmpartsonline.com they have a lot of nice exploded views there.

scheib43

· #14 · Jan 22, 2017

E Roc, I was thinking the same because it's the only piece that fits in the diagram. Let me know if you can get to it or how difficult it is to get to without taking everything out. I definitely don't want to pay $1000 for this to be fixed. It's just in a terrible spot to try and get to. At this point I'd be happy just to get it manually moved to Defrost/Feet combined setting.

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E Roc

· #15 · Feb 8, 2017 (Edited)

4

So, I didn't have any luck being able to replace the part by removing the instrument gauge cluster or from the driver side footwell. Therefore, I went on to remove the entire dash. It took me and my friend about 8-9 hours from start to finish and we were extra careful when removing panels with panel removal tools which you will definitely need if you want to do this. It honestly wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be to remove the dash. There were a few parts that were more difficult than others, but still not that bad.

Once the dash it out of the car, there is access to the mode control cam, levers and gears. However, there isn't a lot of room to slide out the cam so it is difficult to align the levers properly to the gears. It is very important that they are lined up properly to allow full rotation of the cam. I have attached a few pictures for reference.

Vehicle Motor vehicle Car Auto part Automotive exterior

Auto part Gear Wheel

Auto part Technology

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Blasirl

· #16 · Feb 8, 2017 (Edited)

E Roc said:
So, I didn't have any luck being able to replace the part by removing the instrument gauge cluster or from the driver side footwell. Therefore, I went on to remove the entire dash. It took me and my friend about 8-9 hours from start to finish and we were extra careful when removing panels with panel removal tools which you will definitely need if you want to do this. It honestly wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be to remove the dash. There were a few parts that were more difficult than others, but still not that bad.

Once the dash it out of the car, there is access to the mode control cam, levers and gears. However, there isn't a lot of room to slide out the cam so it is difficult to align the levers properly to the gears. It is very important that they are lined up properly to allow full rotation of the cam. I have attached a few pictures for reference.

View attachment 219282 View attachment 219290 View attachment 219298 View attachment 219306

I''m glad you were able to fix this and also learn how to dismember err dismantle your car at the same time.:th_dblthumb2:

Is it possible you could do a write up on the essential parts of this fix to help out the next guy. You could reference other post for the disassembly and add or subtract from that post and then get to the intricacies of the fix itself, the refer to that or another post for reassembly. It looks like you have the pictures to illustrate.

:whatdoyouthink:

WhiteZombie2010

· #17 · Mar 18, 2017

This is the exact piece I found on the drivers side floor. The air does not blow through the defrost only the front vents. Does anybody know what part this is called so I could see how much it is online?

Can Cruze

· #18 · Jan 25, 2018

Hi E Roc and everyone else. I have same problem in my cruze 2011. Its only defrost vent is not working. All other vents are working without any problem. When I press button of defrost vent it turn on front vents. What can I do. Anybody can guide me how to fix it or any alternative of this.

mnviper

· #19 · Feb 16, 2018

I had this problem occur in December here in Minnesota. Since I wasn't excited about spending eighteen hours removing the dash in an unheated garage I thought I would see if there was any possibility of fixing it by just removing the instrument cluster. It looked to me that while I could possibly remove the large outer gear, it would likely be impossible to re-install without the full dash removal. I noticed though that you can easily access the small gear attached to the defrost vent door and flip the door open and closed by hand. So I simply slipped a tie wrap around the vent door gear and a nearby plastic post and pulled it tight. Now the defrost is permanently on, which is fine for winter. This spring I may attempt the dash removal and do the full fix but wanted to let others know that you can get your defrost back with about 20 minutes of effort.

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Bart2011Cruze

· #20 · Apr 12, 2019 (Edited)

There is definitely as fix for the failing mode door actuator, to activate the defrost mode. Despite there being no information on this fix and only a temporary fix or taking apart the entire dash, I actually managed a permanent fix within 1 hour. This white/yellow part with the four teeth people find, is a broken piece from original part: GM product no. 13263335. Buy this part first and then watch YouTube video 'Chevy Cruze windshield defrost' that will tell you how to take part of your drivers side apart. This is a 10-20 minute job.

Now, instead of moving the little white gear wheel as a temporary fix (shown around the 5 minute mark in this video), you will do the following: stick your left arm through the left opening and grab the big large white gear wheel. Through the right opening, with a screw driver, push the plastic holder on the axle to make the white gear wheel come off its axle. With your left hand (still in the opening) grab the white wheel and pull it of its axle, but not completely that it will come off. Then reach behind the wheel with your same hand (all the work will be done with this LEFT hand, through the LEFT opening) and you will feel the other part of the the four teeth part that broke off (13263335). Feel how it will come off a little axle as well (therefore this part has a hole) and the nipple that will slide out the groove in the back if the big white gear wheel. Now, grab the new part and position it the same way, as the broken part came off. Feeling confident that it fits? It is only complete if you can push the big white gear wheel fully back on its axle and all falls into place. Now turn on your car and check if all buttons work and activate the correct wind stream. The gears will turn while you push each button. You can manipulate positions by turning the big gear, manually moving its position in relation to the axle. Do this until it rotates to the correct positions, leaving you with a fully functioning system again! If it pushing itself off the axle (you will hear a "pop"), that means you have to keep re-positioning it until it stays on the axle. I got this done in 20 minutes. Now put together the dash and done! Hope this helps!

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