Blend Door Breakage

[DeezelDood]

Starting new thread old issue to make it easy to find. Common problem, but no TSB on this. I asked the dealer about it and they said it is not a "safety" issue so Dodge does not notify owners. I suppose it also has something to do with the cost. It is very likely that most trucks will make it past the warranty expiration. Costs $800 to fix it. As noted on previous posts, the entire dash must be unbolted and shifted back. Attached pic shows the broken door hinge. When it breaks it falls into the housing and blocks air flow flow. On mine the small piece fell into the fan, which was the reason for the loud rattling noise. I hoped to get pics of my dash out, but when I asked to look the tech had already finished the job, too him just two hours. This means (a) he is very good, and (b) he does a lot of them. He appreciated the fact that I cleaned out all my bins, glove box, removed my aftermarket XM, cleaned out catch-all space in back (which is huge on the Mega) etc etc. More space, more place for junk. If you live anywhere between Sacramento and Reno I'll give you the name of the dealership in private message. Good reminder to all owners: If dealer sees gages they assume you're chipped and will try to void the warranty. Mine's stock, no worries. I removed my gages because the dash was coming out. I might consider it as matter of course, but no way to make the EGT probe dissappear.

 

[dan.poitras]

I

don't know how they figure it's not safety related.

When I was working for Kenworth a few years ago their was a safety recall for the same thing because your defrosting ability was impaired.

In my opinion it should be a recall issue

 

[AMink]

I'm going to guess it was Carson Dodge. :-laf They did mine in a short amount of time and knew exactly what I was talking about. I wish that I had known about the screen that makes air go to the back. I would have had that removed too. Others have had better luck with air flow after its removal.

 

[jnelson]

Mine broke at 100,000+-, but truck is only a year old. there are litelrally 100's of these breaking. Dealer told me $496 labor and $16. 00 for the part. $800 sounds a little crazy.

 

[Todd G]

If they can change it out in 2 hours, I would gladly pay $80 per hour for the fix. I can't justify the $800.

 

[DeezelDood]

Good point about this being safety issue. I actually had a windshield fogging problem last week. I got the $800 est from previous posts on same subject. Since this was a warranty issue I didn't ask for a quote. Repair shops quote prices from the book. Each job is worth "x" hours. If it takes them 2 hours you pay the same as if it takes them 12 hours. I have no issue with this, it's the only way to run a shop. Svc rep said he needed the truck for 8 hours. I'll guess it's a 4-6 hour job in the book (@ $120 per).

 

[dan.poitras]

deezeldood

Their is a tsb #24-004-03 concerning this.

Dan

 

[DonMartin]

here is mine that broke at about 15 thousand miles so far so good but



prob is they fix it with the same crappy parts that it was made with to begin with so it will happen again its just when



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[MMeier]

deezeldood

Their is a tsb #24-004-03 concerning this.

Dan

Dan, can you possibly post the TSB, can't seem to locate it. And Don Martin, I am under the impression the new parts have a tab or something that the stop rides up against, to prevent the door from overshooting where it is supposed to go.

 

[DonMartin]

Dan, can you possibly post the TSB, can't seem to locate it. And Don Martin, I am under the impression the new parts have a tab or something that the stop rides up against, to prevent the door from overshooting where it is supposed to go.

well i hope so but my truck is almost 2 years old i got it in jan 06 and was only a like 5 or so months old when the prob happened so i hope they had the better parts back then also

 

[DeezelDood]

deezeldood

Their is a tsb #24-004-03 concerning this.

Dan

Dan,

I recall seeing a TSB, but it was listed under early 3rd gens. I erroneously assumed that they fixed the problem in later years.

 

[ohnoitsyu]

Dan,

I recall seeing a TSB, but it was listed under early 3rd gens. I erroneously assumed that they fixed the problem in later years.

You'd think... but this is Dodge we're talking about. From what the dealer told me, the TSB doesn't apply to 2006 models. Nonetheless, it's the same part. The updated part they were initially putting into the 03-04 models that the TSB applies to is what went into our production 06 models (according to the dealer). They said this part has been revised twice.



Mine broke at 35k miles. Dealer fixed without a problem (other than them not cleaning the smudge marks on the windshield).

 

[Cummins Cowboy]

how do you tell if this is broke?? my truck is almost out of warranty

 

[dan.poitras]

Go to site features, then tsbs, go to air conditioning to get the tsb.

Haven't figured out how to post

 

[DeezelDood]

how do you tell if this is broke?? my truck is almost out of warranty

The door typically falls into the plenum and blocks the air duct. You'll notice low flow and fan noise/damper shudder at higher speeds. You can't miss it at high speed but it's not very noticeable at low speed. I had not had fan over #1 speed for a while so this may have been going on for a few weeks. After the fix (I think) I'm noticing better flow than when truck was new.

 

[ssanders60]

3rd gen. a/c vent doors

'03s were plagued with this problem, I'd have thought that the newer

models would have been permanently corrected. They will repair this

even if the vehicle is out of warranty on mileage and years as they did mine.

The tech had so much experience with this, that he was able to rework

mine, plus replace the condenser which was leaking and recharge the system,

all in about 3 hours. Here they charge $1000 just to get into the area

to repair it, unless Chrysler takes care of it, then you pay $100, and you

have to do the calling.

 

[MMeier]

'03s were plagued with this problem, I'd have thought that the newer

models would have been permanently corrected. They will repair this

even if the vehicle is out of warranty on mileage and years as they did mine.

How'd you manage this?

 

[MrZip]

I have a 03 model and this happened at 82,000 miles back in Feb and cost me $484 to have fixed. Now here it is October and 98000 miles and it has happened again it seems like. No defrost or heat vent air. The repair shop said it may be the motor this time that swings the door. I don't know. My question is, has anyone been able to get any help from Dodge to pay for the fix after warranty? Is there any kind of class action letter campaign to Dodge to get them to fix these pieces of crap? Twice in one year is a little much for me to handle. The engine may last a million miles but I am not sure if the rest of the truck will. Taking it to dealer next week to get looked at. Any advice on what to tell them, ask them or show them will be appreciated.

 

[ssanders60]

To get help for the repair of your blending doors, call customer

service, the number is located in your warranty information book,

that is small book with about 50 pages, it's located near the rear.

In my book U. S. no. 800 992 1997, you have other nos. for Canada

Mexico, etc. Also it has arbitration info in this book.

If you call make sure your cell phone is fully charged and expect

it to go back and forth with at least two people, be nice to them,

but show that you are very unsatisfied regarding this problem.

The first person takes the info, write down your case no. , the second

person will call you, if he denies you any help, call it to his attention

that vehicles are being repaired out of warranty, then if the response

is negative, talk to him about arbitration.

I was at the dealership when I made the call. This gives you the

advantage, the 2nd guy calls the dealer for info like, possible abuse,

how much needs to be repaired, etc.

My Ph. is 904 744 2057 if you want talk about it.

If dealers had any backbone they would make the call for you, but they

won't, none of them.

 

[betterthanstock]

If dealers had any backbone they would make the call for you, but they

won't, none of them.

They'd rather charge you triple what the factory will pay them.