Now the wrench sign keeps on almost every trip, since I have the repair method already but without a garage and tools, I have to take the car to dealer to replace the traction blend door actuator. I take it to Evan Ford @ 5500 Dundas West but it is forever closed and sold to Erin Mills Ford in Mississauga. Then I went to Yorkdale Ford.

The Ford part number is 8L8Z 19E616E or Motorcraft # YH1770 as learned here. They suggested a diagnosis test but in order to save cost I just let them to change it. They also tried to find out if it is covered or not by warranty but apparently it is not. Finally they said they would charge $218 for the labour and $46 of the part. Plus tax it is about $300. Not a bad deal.

BTW I have a 2008 4WD FEH and 43, 000 KM on it. It just passed the basic 3 year 60,000kM threshold. I will pick it up tomorrow and let you know if the problem of wrench sign disappeared.

I remember the first time it went on it was in blue color and now it is yellow, and it always goes on only after you drive it for a while, eg 5 minutes.

 

Here are two pictures of the Traction Battery Blend Door Actuator.

Part: $38.2, Labor : $218, tax 13%, disposal charge $5, total $295 Canadian dollars. Good news is the wrench light is OFF now.

 

$218 labor. Plus a healthy markup on the part.

I wonder how those guys sleep at night.

 

Not so bad on the part, but labor seems high for a 45 minute job.

 

Tough for me to swallow paying those labor rates... And that's actually not that bad. Most people come back with estimates well over that price so you did OK. The job isn't very difficult so if it ever comes up again I would encourage you to go for it and save yourself some cash for something nicer than an mechanic's bill. It's almost like free money when you can do it yourself. Then you can tell your wife you've saved XXX dollars and that you are fully justified spending at least half of that on a new TOOL/TOY! ;-)

 

True...I read all the posts in the past and if you read that wrench sign, check the code and also go with the diagnosis it could reach $1000....:O

So scary...I called different dealers here and both of them quoted 2 hours job. In Canada Ford charge $109 per hour. Why it is so high? I don't know. I remember some one here mentioned that it would take more than 1.5 hours and peel those plastic coatS could take some time....maybe additional clips need to be bought for fixing it back....Plus I don't have many tools....

Anyway still thank everyone for the information so that I could directly go to replace the motor assembly without cheat by them or paying additional services..

 

It's all good... Thanks for posting the pictures of the actuator opened up too. It's a surprisingly simple gadget inside.

 

Those concentric rings are the problem. Copper straps drag along the rings to maintain contact as it rotates. It quickly wears out and contact is intermittent. Given the cost and frequency of repair, I'd say Ford needs to upgrade the design.

 

Or not, since they are no longer going to make the FEH. Or does the Fusion Hybrid also have the actuator?

 

How about all the FEHs on the road? It is not unheard of to redesign / improve a service part. This part clearly sucks.