2012 Focus Side Heater Vents Not Working

[vxt]

Hello all

I very recently emptied the piggy bank and bought my first Ford. A September 2012 Focus Zetec-S 2.0 Diesel. It's good. Apart from the awkward glove box design!... And...

Now the colder weather has set in I've had the heater on and noticed that whilst the vents located on the centre console work extremely well, there seems to be nothing coming out of the vents on the right of the steering wheel and the left of the glove box.

Whilst the vents on the centre console are opened and closed with the control next to each of them, the side vents don't seem to have any individual controls for them. Is that right?

I've tried each of the settings on the control which switches between blowing on the screen/feet & screen/feet only/feet and face/face only. Selecting any of these doesn't make a difference.

Am I missing something? My right hand is getting cold during the morning commute!

Thanks in anticipation

[alexp999]

They don't have a wheel to shut the air off, but if you aim them either fully up or down (can't remember which) it effectively shuts the slats.

Air should come out of them when it is set for face. Have you tried putting the blower on full speed and having it aim only at your face and seeing if you can feel anything?

The air is shared between the middle (controllable) vents and the side vents, often more air comes out of the middle than sides, but you can adjust the middle vents to try and balance it somewhat. I tend to have my side vents aimed at the windows this time of year to keep them clear anyway.

[vxt]

Thanks for the speedy response, Alex.

I have experimented a bit. I'm glad I'm not going crazy and missing controls for the side vents somehow!

I'm wondering whether the pipes are disconnected inside the dash/engine bay and that's why there's no blow from the side vents.

[jeebowhite]

Its possible, but would be surprising.

What speed do you have the fan blowing out on?

[vxt]

When the fan's on setting four (the highest of the four settings) it's blowing gale force out of the centre vents.

The heater's great. Really hot, but nothing comes out of the side vents.

It's so strange, which is why I thought I'd better ask if I was missing something obvious.

[alexp999]

My car has EATC, but it shouldn't make much difference.

What happens if you shut the middle vents, do you get anything out of the sides then?

[vxt]

Electronic Automatic Temperature Control! Fancy!

I shall experiment further shortly on the commute home. I will report back. Thank you for your suggestions thus far. : )

[Preee]

My side vents are not great either , but i have the center closed most of the time , and then placed on screen i get enough air out to keep the side windows clear , although ifon my EATC i hit the auto defrost it blasts out the side vents. , but that may be because the fan setting goes up to 7

[vxt]

You're right of course!

My fault... When the side vents are in the lowest position they are closed. Much happier now. Warm hands.

I must say I'm really pleased with the responses received and the speed of the responses.

Kudos and thanks to you all!