Ford Repair: 2001 Taurus Blend Door, pens pencils, preventative measures

Question
Dennis,

In reading the questions on this wonderful site, I see frequent references to problems with the Taurus blend door, ultimately requiring removal of the entire dash to repair.

As a new owner of a 2001 Taurus, are there any preventative measures I can take to minimize the chance of incurring this problem?  (Lubrication, adjustments, best practises, etc)?

Answer
Sorry, there are no preventive measures. The failing part can be an electronic motor or a broken blend door. Some last forever, some don't. Just don't keep anything on the dash that can fall into the defroster vents, that's about all you can prevent. We find pens, pencils, etc. in there sometimes.