Active grille shutters

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When someone asked if my car had them ('14 MKS) I was ready to say, yes, I keep them right next to the blinker fluid reservoir. Then I googled and found that my car and many others do have them. I even saw a dealer that was selling a '16 MKS which read: "Low miles, twin turbo, heated leather, active grille shutters". Funny. Then I found this:

"Some newer Ford vehicles feature active grille shutters — a system that optimizes aerodynamics by using vents to control airflow through the grille to the cooling system and engine compartment.

If air is required to cool the engine, the vents are opened. If no airflow is needed, the vents are shut, contributing to significantly reduced aerodynamic drag.

Mounted ahead of the radiator, the active grille shutters feature motorized horizontal vanes that can rotate 90º to block airflow. Automatically controlled by the car’s electronic control unit, the vanes can be rotated into 15 different positions — from fully closed to fully open — depending on the amount of cooling air required.

When fully closed, the reduction in drag means the active grille shutters can reduce CO2 emissions by 2%.

As an additional benefit, the system keeps the vanes closed as long as possible when starting from cold, so the engine reaches its most efficient operating temperature quicker. This also helps reduce fuel consumption."

You know I will have to see this in action by having someone drive my car while I am in the car in front of it.
smile.gif
 
I appreciate the technology and the intent behind it, but I will be deactivating my Fiesta's grille shutters before summertime. The thing runs hot enough as it is. Most early 1.0 Ecoboost failures that I've read about seem to be due to some kind of overheating related to broken plastic parts in the cooling system. I can live with the 2% emission sincrease, and loss of 0.2 MPG on the highway.
 
Originally Posted By: Snagglefoot
So what's wrong with a sheet of cardboard with a flap and a string?



The EPA wants that string tied into the ECU. If you can figure out how to wire it in, then it should work.
 
Originally Posted By: Snagglefoot
So what's wrong with a sheet of cardboard with a flap and a string?



You joke but the truckers in the winter will put the plastic..thing.. over the front grill to block the cold air.. seems to be the same effect?
 
Originally Posted By: bdcardinal
We really only ever replace those on vehicles that have been in accidents.


Yeah, but think about all the cars where it is broken, and the Owner's have no idea that it's broken.

Personally I would have no long term confidence in a cheap piece of plastic on this part of the car.
 
the 2014+ Cherokee with the 2.4 has these.

IIRC when they break its around 600-800$ to fix

If you drive around 12000 miles per year

I think that works out to about 5$ in gas.
 
Heavy trucks have had these for decades. They opened and closed mechanically by a separate thermostat. In the winter they rarely open because of the large cooling systems. I had a vinyl covering that I zipped open or closed depending on the outside temperature. On a really cold day and pulling a light load, they would be zipped up or the engine wouldn’t get hot enough to keep the cab warm.
 
My Sierra has them and I wish it didn't. They make fitting a light bar behind the grille impossible and simply removing them throws a CEL.
 
Originally Posted By: Mr Nice
Another electronic thing to break right after the warranty is over, no thanks.


FIXED:
Another plastic thing to break right after the warranty is over.
 
Originally Posted By: glock19
My Sierra has them and I wish it didn't. They make fitting a light bar behind the grille impossible and simply removing them throws a CEL.


I plan on removing the shutters, but leaving the motor and linkage in place so the ECU still thinks it's working. That should avoid any CEL problems.
 
Originally Posted By: Mr Nice
Another electronic thing to break right after the warranty is over, no thanks.

Agreed.

Originally Posted By: Snagglefoot
So what's wrong with a sheet of cardboard with a flap and a string?

When it warms up, the cardboard gets forgotten. I'll admit I had personal experience with that.
 
The 1932 Packard has variable grille shutters, operated by thermostat. The cooling system is full flow, but the airflow is regulated to manage engine temperature.
 
I have to get out more, never heard of these things until I came across this topic and looked them up.

Is it a significant MPG savings?
 
Have them on my 2014 Ram. Wish I didn't. Unnecessary complexity for minimal benefit. Seems vulnerable to damage as well. A rock or some other object could easily hit the grill and jam the system. As others have observed, the plastic parts give you no confidence that the system will be durable over time.
 
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