Temp Wheel Problem in Dash
 

My 06 3.0 temperature wheel is sticking, I have tons of play in either direction and when I feel resistance its only for a short time and it feels like the valve is sticking. So the air never gets hot or really cold.

I was able to mess with it one time out of 50 and I got the valve to move enough for heat and worked great, got warm so I had to move it back and now I cant get heat.

Any known issues? I lubed the wheel nothing...I remove the radio so see if I can see a cable and it's all enclosed in a separate unit not accessible. I was pulling on the vents to remove them and they do not budge.

Has anyone had first hand experience with this ?

If the cable connects down in the passenger footwell. If you remove that panel on the side of the center console, you'll see it. Maybe it will show you the play.

It can also get disconnect behind the vent. At least mine did. Look on YouTube for videos of how to pop the center vent out. There are two catches you have to depress just the right way and then it comes out easy. Don't try to force it...

Ditto the above...there's a bowden cable attached to the stratification dial...sounds like yours may have come loose:

I found the blend door and the Bowden cable by removing the glove box and the plastic heat duct.

Problem is the blend door itself is hard to move, so the load in the gears to turn the door cant handle it, actually a very poor design. I've messed with this for hours. I lubed the door as much as I possibaly could but has no effect. Right now I have to manually move the blend door by hand so in the spring I have to open it more by hand..sucks.

Only thing I can guess is the person that owned it be fore me was a smoker and it made the door stick. The vents stick, the seat buttons stick, even though the car does not smell it must be the tar left over.

If anyone else had this problem let me know what you did to fix it?
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Mine was difficult to move and would spring back after I moved the knob. Maybe not as bad as you say. My X also had a smoker. I pulled the center vent and cleaned and lubed the wheel and sprayed some silicon lube down the bowdoin cable. Its been fine since. I would try if you haven't done that already. If you can't find the video on youtube, let me know and I will post one. Once you figure out the trick it takes maybe 10 seconds to get the center vent out.

Can you post the link please!! will try.

Curious to see this vent removal trick too. A little preventative lube never hurts.

I left this alone and manually move the arm with my hand to summer or winter.

Does anyone know if there is fix for the two white gears. There is a small bolt that looks striped holding both together. I'm going to get back into this problem and try and fix it.

The door, arm is sticking putting pressure on the 2 white gears making them separate.

2006 3.0