Hi, I've searched the web for this problem but haven't seen it addressed. Our 2001 Chrysler Town & Country LX minivan gives off heat only in the driver's side vents, the passenger side air is cold. The fan is running but only cold air blows out. The rear vents also have hot air coming through. The A/C works fine, only cold air comes out of all vents. What could be causing this and is it something my husband can fix himself? Unrelated (we think), but the lights are out on half of the speedometer dial, does he need a special tool to access the light fixtures there? Finally, the speedometer seems to be inaccurate by about 5-10 miles. Once the dash is off, can he fix this as well? Sorry about all the questions! Thanks so much for any guidance.
the problem will be with the blend door which is the flap inside the heater box that adjust the temp which is independent side to side. you may be able to get to the blend door motor by removing the glove box to check one side if the blend door (i am not sure if this blend door is for the left hand or right hand side) this repair will have to be carried out by a compitent mechanic and i would advise a trip to your chrysler dealer to have the vehicle conected to the diagnostic equipment (DRB111) and chech the trouble code which should say blend door out of range. if this is the case the dash bord will have to be removed
There was a problem with the blend air door shaft breaking but it could also be a bad blend door motor. You need to have it diagnosed by someone who is familiar with the system
Unrelated (we think), but the lights are out on half
No. But the instrument cluster will have to be removed to gain access to the bulbs. My advice would be to replace all the bulbs while the cluster is out.
Finally, the speedometer seems to be inaccurate
Just curious why you think the speedo is off by that much. There is no way to adjust the speedometer. Has the tire size been changed from the original tire size ?
You dont specify but if it is the Dual zone system you might have a control head problem causing this. A scan tool and multmeter will be needed to verify the problem
Hi guys.- This is just amazing!! Just a few days our T&C 2001 LXi had the same symptoms as you describe! Passenger side only delivers cold air (we are in MASS and it's getting cold...) no matter what temperature you set it (dual temp. control). Driver side is working just fine. Sometimes you can hear the sound of like a servo trying to open or close something. Took it to the dealership and with the 'estimate', almost lost my socks...: $950. According to them, around 8-9 hours for labor and around $220 for 2 parts (blender housing components!?). They connected some sort of computer to operate the blender or port and made no difference. I think I can get the parts for around $150, but not sure I dare to do the job myself. Does anybody know where I can get an exploded view of the dashboard and how to dis-assemble it? I imagine that to get to the faulty parts you need to go through a complicated sequence of removing plastic parts, fasteners, latches, etc... Thanks to anybody that can give any addtional advise or help locating a manual or pdf with exploded views.
Well, well... being as persistent as I am, found out last night that there is a TSB for this problem! 2400601 and NHTSA ref. 620069.
Called Chrysler Customer service hotline. After describing the issue and bouncing through a couple of reps, the veredict is that Chrysler would not cover any of the expenses. According to them the TSB is only a document explaining how to replace the parts... Because the vehicle is out of warranty (time and mileage - only 57K) they can't do a thing. They re-assured that this is the first time they've heard of it and the TSB only has updated instructions on how to do the job. I think this is not true. Does anybody know what the TSB exactly details? Anything else to try before going poorer by a grand...?
just because you find a TSB that you think may fix your car doesnt mean it is related to it. The TSB you are refering to came out in 2002 and pertained to problems that were there when the vehicle was brand new. It requireed the replacement of the evap and fin temp sensor. I assume that your a/c heater worked up to this point and there is no need to replace these parts. They have nothing to do with your problem anyhow. More then likely you have a faulty blend air door motor, low on coolant or a wiring or control head problem. A TSB is not a recall. It is used to help with technicians to diagnois problems. My sugestion to you would be to have someone that is familiar with this system check it out and tell you what is wrong with the vehicle before you start throwing, parts and labor at it.
Very untrue. From www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov (goverment site):
Make: CHRYSLER Model: TOWN AND COUNTRY Year: 2001
Service Bulletin Number: 2400601 NHTSA Item Number: 620069 Summary Description: SOME VEHICLE OPERATORS MAY COMPLAIN OF NO HEAT IN ANY MODE, FROM THE FRONT RIGHT SIDE OF THE VEHICLE. THIS BULLETIN INVOLVES REPLACING THE BLEND AIR DOOR SHAFT WITH A NEW PART. *TT
Unless you have a different source to get this information, this TSB was issued on May 2001 and has nothing to do with any of the components that you refer above.
Yes, myself and the original initiator of this thread explained this clearly in our postings. Problem as described on the TSB, has to do with ONLY cold air coming from the passenger side or the inability to regulate the mixture of cold/hot air. The way this is described, if you look at it closely, is pretty vague but yet reveals that the problem is affecting only the right side (passenger) and gives instructions on how to replace the blender door shaft ONLY.
a) Faulty air door motor - it's possible b) low on coolant - Almost impossible, since left side works perfectly on both extremes (hot or cold) c) control head problem - my intital description of the problem, detailed that the dealership tried operating the blender door with ?? (computer device) and got same results. So, I don't think control head problem at this point is an educated guess OR
d) *** faulty blend door shaft as the TSB mentions and explains how to replace !! ***
The TSB might not be a recall. But to me, it clearly indicates that the company has taken the extra time and effort to document a procedure to replace a part that can fail (Verbatim: SOME OPERATOR MAY COMPLAIN...). The failure in my car together with the original posting submitter and a few other threads I found describing similar problems, is an indication that there might be an abnormal incidence of this issue.
I can just imagine tons of other customers that don't have the time or knowledge to do a good research and fall in the trap. Modesty on a side, I'm a pretty good 'googler' and yet took me a good time/effort to find leads to this problem. On top of it, imagine how many van owners outside of the 'cold' belt never use the heater on the car and might have the shaft or the blender housing faulted but never realized it!? How much revenue does this produce? The dealership wins (labor & parts), Chrysler saves and us, just pay. Do you know that the blender housing was redesigned due to a weakness in it (redesigned end of travel tab)? Why is the problem so specific to only the passenger side? Simple: design flaw corrected with a new blender housing or in some other cases with a new blend door shaft.
A reputable dealership has checked the car and offered to do the job for close to $1K... However, after the latest events, I called another one and explained my thoughts and mentioned the TSB; guess what? they are going to try the procedure as per the above TSB doc. and try to replace the shaft without dis-assembling the whole dashboard! I guess they can get to it from under the driver side... We'll see and I'll keep you guys posted. Share what you know, learn what you don't.
Yes I stand corrected. somehow I thought we were refering to the 2002 as I stated in my last reply and not a 2001. But either way just because there is a TSB does not mean that the problem is due to that bulletin. The system would have to be checked out.
When you purchased your car the warranty was 3/36 and you had the option to purchase an extended warranty . Your warranty has expired now and you have a problem with you vehicle that you think should be covered under warranty. How much did you pay for your house and how long have you lived in it? When something goes wrong after the intial 12 months or whatever warranty, do you complain to the builder? You say the dealer checked it out and told you it would cost 1k to fix. that told me that someone didnt know how to check it out or just wasnt sure of the fix. It takes less then
1/2 hour to install the shaft you are refering to.Take your vehicle to someone that wants to fix your car. If you take it to someone and tell them you want this TSB done to your car and it doesnt fix it are you going to blame them because the heat still does not work?
Hmmm, picture this: you are Chrysler and started the 2001 Van batch production on Jul-Aug/05 (just a guess since I have no idea how they schedule their manufacturing process). The cars start to sell a few months later or around the same time-frame. As more are sold and start hitting the streets, early production complaints start to show up. Some of them address the right side heating problem... You as a reputable manufacturer, look into it and uncover that there is a part(s) that was not best designed. Logically, foresee that this might become a major problem, so you decide to re-design it, manufacture and INSTALL the modified part in the new/to be produced vans.
Question is: A) How long did it took to complete this cycle? B) How many are there out there with the faulty one? C) How much would it cost to Chrysler to replace all of thoses that they know had this potential problem?
So, you tell me what you consider fair? I know, I know, it is not a fair world. It's really made of profit or losses...
I am not arguing for warranty coverage on a normal tear and wear component. Just some consideration from the company, and thought that the fair thing to do was to divide the expense. So, at the end, we both loose less, and next time I'm in the process selection of a new car, this event is weighted in and considered.
The other lesson I've learned and bothers me is that dealerships (in general) do not do a very good job of investigating. I know the final outcome of our case is still in the air. But, there is a chance that with only 1/2 hour labor and a fairly inexpensive part the problem might be resolved. Either way, I believe that this should have been discovered and offered by the Chrysler techs and not me! On the other hand, I want to believe that they honestly thought that the only way to get to the part is by pulling out the dashboard, and not trying replace the shaft and if it fixes it, still charge me for the first diagnose... Well, who knows the real truth!?
Kind readers: Just to share a bit more of our experience. Had a chance to look into the +100 TSB's appliccable (check for yourself in the address provided above) to our van. We experienced several of them while in warranty! Moan and groan sound coming from the front!? Which took I don't know how many dealer visits and replacement of parts untill the whole front steering assembly was finally replaced. Front link problem? Heated seats issue? Etc., etc. My humble opinion, like it or not, is that there is some relationship between potential defects and TSB's...
BTW, the syandard warranty was for 4/48 and we bought the extended warranty from a third party company that went out of business on Dec/05 (1stSource)... Learned the lesson, and next time I'm looking into extended warranties, I'll probably go straight and buy it from the manufacturer.
Picture this: buy a coffee machine, bicycle,tv, DVD machine, computer, computer software, printers, fax machines and anything else and they all have problems when they are built. Once they are on the market they find out the product has problems, these products dont have TSB's that would tell us of an update. They would only issue a recall if it is determined to be a safety issue. I had a TV that Sony new of a bad solder joint. The technician charged me for the repair, he new exactly what the problem was. I had to pay for it because i was out of warranty. My one cup coffee machine made by Meletta spills water everywhere when ever it wants to. Meletta was aware of the problem and redesigned it. I was out of warranty and there was nothing I could do.It isnt fair. but the warrty was out. I normally dont get into these debates. This is the last reply I have on this. You have a happy Thanksgiving
Update: Finally got the van back from the dealership after 3 days. Not sure how they got to the blender assembly without removing the dashboard. Found that the shaft and right side motor were in trouble... Initially thought there was something wrong with the shaft being too short (however, it has been working for years with no problems). Must have fallen in grace with the service manager (and has won my loyalty), since they went in replaced the motor and not sure if the shaft as well, since the blend door was 'bonded' to the shaft using some epoxy or crazy glue. Anyway, total cost with parts and 3 hours labor was a little under $300; a lot better than the $1K originally quoted from the other place. Don't know how long it will last, but I've always heard that repaired 'bones' are harder to break... Time will tell. Best to everyone, Luca/.
Just my $0.02 cents since you posted an update, but any experienced car buyer knows all about this kind of a problem, and if they are worried about it they simply avoid buying early production model vehicles.
There's lots and lots and lots of models out there that have been in production for more than 2 model years. Granted, you won't have the sexiest latest thing on the block that you can show off to your friends, but it's going to be more reliable. So which is more important to you, sex appeal or reliablility?
A good auto dealer salesman would have asked you this question when you went to buy and if you had just kept saying reliability, reliability, relaibility over and over they would have steered you to a production model that had been in production for some years.
IMHO the car buyers that want the newest flashiest sex appeal cars out there are usually the ones quick to sell them when the initial factory warranty is close to expiring.
I fixed this issue in 30 minutes.. you can find directions on TSB
2400601 or.. If you need instructions to fix this issue can send me an email at snipped-for-privacy@earthlink.net. Again, The fix should take you less than 30 minutes. you will need a phillips screwdriver, an 8mm socket or small 8mm wrench... and potentially a $5 part from your dealer.
You must be an optimist - otherwise you would have titled your thread "heat not working in half the minivan". Anyway - looks like your optimism paid off.
Bill Putney (To reply by e-mail, replace the last letter of the alphabet in my address with the letter 'x')
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