NHTSA Complaint #10216259 — 2003 FORD EXPLORER

I JUST RECENTLY TOOK MY 2003 FORD EXPLORER XLT 4.0L V6 TO MY LOCAL DEALER BECAUSE OF A COLD DRAFT COMING FROM THE GLOVE BOX AND OR FLOOR PANEL ON THE PASSENGER SIDE. UPON NOT EVEN GOING INTO FURTHER EXPLANATION ABOUT MY PROBLEM THEY KNEW EXACTLY WHAT THE PROBLEM WAS; STATING IT IS THE "BLEND DOOR." THEY SAID "THE PINS FROM THE DOOR BREAK OFF AND CAUSES THE DOOR TO FALL MAKING IT NOT FUNCTION PROPERLY CREATING A COLD DRAFT AND THE HEATER OR AIR CONDITIONING NOT TO WORK PROPERLY; IS A "COMMON PROBLEM".' WHEN I CALLED DOWN THERE TWO DAYS LATER, TO GET MY QUOTE ON FIXING IT, THE MANAGER IN PARTS SAID 'THE PART WAS $50.00 AND WAS GOING TO REQUIRE 4 HOURS OF LABOR BECAUSE OF HAVING TO TAKE THE WHOLE DASH OFF TO GET TO IT; I WAS LOOKING AT ROUGHLY $330.00 WITH PARTS, LABOR, AND TAX.' I PERSONALLY FEEL THIS IS A 'MANUFACTURES DEFECT' AND WHY SHOULD THE CONSUMER HAVE TO PAY FOR A 'MANUFACTURES DEFECT?' ALSO, IF THIS IS SUCH A 'COMMON PROBLEM' WHY IS THERE NOT A RECALL FOR IT BEING FAULTY; OTHER THAN BECAUSE IT'S NOT A SAFETY HAZARD. I APPRECIATE ANY TIME YOU PUT INTO MY QUESTION AND DILEMMA. I WILL BE LOOKING FORWARD TO AN EXPLANATION AS TO WHY IT ISN'T A RECALL. *CN