It's probably not broken. It might be stuck but I doubt it's broken.
Locate the white thingy under the dash and see if you can move it by hand. If you can, the flap got stuck and needed more strenght than the knob could handle.

 

it this the case for evos as well
mine is really hard to turn....it wont turn all the right without a big hassel.....

 

It doesn't actually fix the problem, it's just a band-aid. I had a new cable installed and it just snapped a few months later.

 

It is broken, it's not stuck, it's broken. I heard it snap when I turned the knob. I have taken the dash apart somewhat and I can pull on the cord connected to the knob, but it does nothing. I will post a pic or something once I get a chance to take it all apart.

 

in my case i broke my knob like 2 weeks ago, i could turn the white thingy that turns the knob but i need a tool to do it. I am so ****, cheap crap

 

i just broke mine too, part of the white thing snapped but i can still regulate it using pliers

 

In my 04 the control is fairly easy to turn... But in my buddies 03 It takes like all the strength you can apply to your fingers to turn it, and you have to lean into it or make two attempts.

 

I broke mine this week. Awesome.

 

have an 03 and have the same problem trying to turn it. Will take it to the dealer and see whats causing it to stiffin.

 

sucks my ****s mine just snapped two days ago fjdlksafjdlksafjdlksa

 

Got warranty? At least head to the dealership and see if they'll replace it. I've heard of recalls on the knob, but I don't know if it covers every Lancer or not.

 

I just bought an 03 ES yesterday and it has this problem. I thought it was just the knob starting to break like my honda did. Guess I will be taking my new toy to the dealer.

PS
I love all the info that is on this site.

 

All information you need is right here https://www.evolutionm.net/forums/sh...d.php?t=316844

 

I have done this and its a fairly easy fix there are two ways to fix this though mits has an updated lever assy. for the heater box but if your vehicle already has this updated lever assy. then the blend door needs to be replaced also make sure you change your cabin filter often to keep dirt from gumming up the door.

 

mine was getting pretty hard to turn in the first year so i took it to the dealership

unfortunately, like someone said previously, it's only a band-aid solution...
it worked for on friend's lancer, but on mine it started going tough a few weeks later.... they said it was because i had never replaced the a/c filters and that next time i'd have to pay for the filters.... BS if you ask me...

i just take care not to force it too much and not to turn it too fast... hopefully it won't break