The contact owns a 2006 Pontiac Torrent. While operating the vehicle, the heater failed to produce hot air and the windows failed to defrost. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who diagnosed that the heater blend door was faulty and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer and local dealer (lance Buick GMC, 2 chauncy St, mansfield, MA) were both notified of the failure, but no assistance was offered. The failure mileage was 65,000. The VIN was not availalble.

- North Attleboro, MA, USA

The contact owns a 2006 Pontiac Torrent. The contact stated that the defrost system failed to operate when activated in cold temperatures. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the blend door actuator failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 175,000.

- Akron, OH, USA

The heater is not blowing any hot air at all. The knobs/switches all work and it forces air out but its very cold air, after reading this site and others it looks like the blend door is broken, there needs to be a recall on this. I seen the service alert for it but it says up to 100,000 miles, mine had more than that when I purchased it, GM should at least pay for it no matter how many miles. I have a toddler and its way to cold to be riding in the car with no heat. This needs to be fixed now!

- Quarryville, PA, USA

The contact owns a 2006 Pontiac Torrent. The contact stated that the heater unit malfunctioned. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure and current mileage was 140,000.

- Crothersville, IN, USA

Driving, turned the defrost on, only cold air came out, unable to defog or defrost windshield. No heat whatsoever. Blows cold air at all times. Apparently some of the other GM vehicles based on the same platform have had the same problems.

- Marianna, FL, USA

I am totally outraged finding out that GM placed a non safe part on this truck that I bought brand new. It will cost $1000 even after keeping this truck maintenance free, trouble free from regular maintenance at the deliver that I purchased it from. I am very upset that this part was not recalled as the part costs between $22-100.00 while the labor because of where it is will cost up to $1000 at the dealer I purchased it from and get regular maintenance check ups with. I totally agree with all of the consumers on here: The actuator that operates the heater blend door - overextends and breaks the heater blend door. This causes the heater to not work at all. The actuators are defective and the heater doors are defective because they break due to a manufacturers defect. If the heat doesn't work the windows won't defrost so this is a visibility hazard. I also listed it as an electrical and unknown hazard.

- Milwaukee, WI, USA

The blend door for heater is broken and only cold air is allowed to flow through. This has been documented to break in many Torrents. The door is designed to only move 60 degrees but the actuator is designed to move 180 degrees causing the door to break. When I called to talk to several body shops to discuss this issue, they explained to me that this happens in many Torrents and GM will not recall the part and it is my responsibility to get it fixed which could cost me between $1000 and $1500 for labor and parts.

- Evansville, IN, USA

The heater stopped working and cold air blows through the vents.

- El Paso, TX, USA

During the summer, the air conditioning on our 2006 Pontiac Torrent started acting up. We could only run the car's air conditioner for a few minutes before it would start blowing out warm air. We found that if we turned it off for a while, then turned it back on, it would work for a while longer, then we would have to repeat the process. Now that cooler temperatures are here, we have found that the heater is blowing out cold air. We took it to a repair shop to see what was wrong with it and was told that it was the blend door, which is a common problem with the Torrent. Cost: $1200, as it would be a good eight hour job to replace the necessary part. Since the cost was so high, we took it to another place and was given the same verdict, but the repair cost was substantially less - $750, which is still a lot for a part that costs less than $100. We don't have the money to have this part replaced right now because we just dished out $551 to have the catalytic converter replaced, so we are looking into a portable heater until we can afford to have the repairs done. The blend door should be recalled and taken care of by the manufacturer. Our family of five (the youngest being nine years old) has been bundling up every time we get into the car, but are worried about when the temperature gets colder and the windows start frosting over. This part, in particular, is extremely dangerous to be without during the winter, due to inadequate visibility from windows that cannot be defrosted. Definitely a safety issue that should be addressed by the manufacturer!!!

- Granite City, IL, USA

The heat went out in my 2006 Pontiac Torrent. Took it to the dealership where I was told it was the blend door actuator. I was also told this is a common problem with the Pontiac Torrent. The labor alone on this problem is $1200. The part itself is only costing me $35. I feel this is very dangerous as it gets very cold in Indiana for winter, and when you have no heat, and only cold air blowing out it reduces visibility to almost zero. Why isn't GM recalling this part? hundreds of people are having this problem. I don't feel this is an effective way to keep an honest business running. Please make a recall on this problem and reimburse people for the cost.

- Osceola, IN, USA

The heater stopped working on my 2006 Pontiac Torrent, cold air comes out of the vents regardless of the setting. I live in Michigan where it is essential to be able to use the defrost and the heater. We contacted the dealer and were told that it would cost a minimum of $1200 dollars to fix and 8-10 hours of labor, the actual part is under $100. The delaership even said that this is a typical problem on the Torrents and that they have fixed many of them. The warranty doesn't cover it once the vehicle has gone over the mileage allotted by the manufacturer however I don't feel that this should be a factor for the heater as the number of miles driven does not affect the heating/cooling system. I don't feel that I should be responsible for replacing a plastic part and paying for labor especially since this seems to be a common defect in the Torrent. Additionally and most importantly this is a huge safety issues since you need to see out your windshield to drive. GM needs to make this right by having a recall on this part!

- Westland, MI, USA

I had 2 wheel bearings replaced with 3 months of one another and then the heater died. Just blows cold air - told it was the blend door and would cost $1200 to fix - which I do not have. No defrost either - definite hazard. This is obviously a defect in this vehicle and GM is not willing to fix. My car has 78,000 miles currently -

- Royersford, PA, USA

I own a 06 Pontiac Torrent and just recently the heater and defroster quit working. After having it fixed and paying 200 and driving it 5 miles, I woke up the next day to go to work to have no heat or defrost again to have it diagnosed again and be told that the heater blend door was broken and it would cost around $600 to be fixed. After much research I have found that there are thousands of Torrent owners with the same problem, as well as Chevrolet equinox owners. This is a serious visibility issue, with no way to clear our windows of fog and frost in these colder months. Although I have not heard of any deaths or injuries resulting from this obvious design flaw, I believe it is just a matter of time. Please help!!!!

- Elkhart, IN, USA

Air blend door has defect where motor actuator over-rotates and breaks door. Vehicle is left with no heat for vehicle or defroster. This is a manufacturing defect and can happen at any time, causing loss of visibility in cold weather. Internet search indicates this is common problem for 2006 Pontiac Torrent and Chevy equinox.

- Virginia Beach, VA, USA

The motor actuator for the air blend door over-rotates, which has caused the air blend door to fail. The result is the car no longer has any heat and the windows can no longer be defrosted. This has been a common problem for 2006 Pontiac Torrents and Chevy equinox (the internet is full of complaints). GM has refused to conduct a recall or tsb due to the large amount of labor required to tear the dash apart to fix (7-8 hours). This is a manufacturing defect that needs to be addressed and can occur at any time, which would cause loss of all defrosting capability of the windshield and side windows.

- Virginia Beach, VA, USA

All the blowers are working but no heat will come out. Continues to blow cold air no matter what control is selected. Looks like the blend door is broken, which is causing it to not flip over to the heat side.

- Kingsley, MI, USA

The contact owns a 2006 Pontiac Torrent. The contact stated that the heater was inoperable. The dealer inspected the vehicle and advised that the blender door failed. The dealer stated the blender door was not covered under warranty and the vehicle was not repaired. The contact believed the failure to be a manufacturing defect. The VIN was not available. The failure and current mileages were 57,000. Updated 10/27/2011

- Jamestown, NY, USA

Heat went out with out warning. Upon researching online found it's a common problem and should be recalled. The actuator was the cause of the broken shaft on the blend door. The actuator had rotated too far, beyond its limits, and overpowered the plastic shaft on the door. This actuator isn't just a simple motor. As you know, an electric motor spins when power is applied. The actuator is a small electric motor connected to a gear-reduction unit, with a position-sensing device that is monitored by the body control module (BCM), which is a computer that controls a bunch of stuff not related to the engine or powertrain. When the position sensor indicates that the actuator is at the end of its range of travel, the BCM shuts off power to the motor. The output shaft on the actuator should never be able to reach the degree of rotation that is shown above. Why did that happen" did the BCM malfunction and apply power too long" I doubt it... because electronic circuits are less likely to malfunction than electro-mechanical devices. I'm going to have to assume that the actuator is faulty... that the position-sensing device (probably just a variable resistor) developed an open circuit, or an internal short circuit, or something. This kind of problem bugs me (and a lot of other people) because General Motors has not issued a recall to fix what can be a safety problem... no heat means you can't defrost or de-fog your windshield. What's worse... GM has not even issued a technical service bulletin (tsb) about this problem to advise dealership service departments about the how's and why's of this malfunction. So I'm a bit concerned that the new actuator might malfunction just like the first one. If GM had issued a tsb, I'd be assured that the engineers had solved the faulty actuator problem, and that all the replacement parts had been revised and improved, and the heat would work just fine for years to come. But I don't have that confidence. Recall needed. $915 to fix it.

- Fort Riley, KS, USA

2006 Pontiac Torrent; loss of heating system; no de-ice or defrost capability; $1200 repair cost...failure of air temp blend door assembly.

- Zachary, LA, USA

I own a 2006 Pontiac Torrent. Overnight the heater stopped working in my vehicle. The blower fan and all the switches are fine. Airflow does change from vent to floor to defrosters. When I turn the temperature knob to hot air, only cold air comes out no mater what the setting is on the mode door. I brought it to my mechanic and they ran a diagnostic. My temperature gauge was fine as was my coolant level. They advised that the temperature shaft is broken inside the heater box and would need to be fixed by removing the entire dash labor cost alone is above 1000K. I called GM to ask what they will do to assist with the cost but since there is no recall or class action they will not help to repair the damaged heater door. Online there were over 325 complaints of the exact same issue when I just put in 2006 Pontiac heater as a search. Note that this vehicle is only 5 years old and garaged at all times this should not have happened and is a safety issue especially since I no longer have heat in the car and Transport children daily.

- Sykesville, MD, USA