Coolant Leak Rear Heater
 

Has anyone experienced the rear heater lines rotting through and leaking coolant and not having it covered under warranty?

RE: Coolant Leak Rear Heater
 

how new of a minivan is it i know we had alot of 2005's that did it and dcx covered them but you gotta remember if their is damage under thier then they may not. usually if its under the 3 year 36,000 mile warranty they cover it if not call the dcx complaint line they usually handle everything ok. Only after talking to the service manager he might be able to help as well

RE: Coolant Leak Rear Heater
 

Hello Ace

Thank you for the advice. The C & T is a 2002 w/ 46K. We did end up contacting DC and they were responsive.

It appears that there are numerous 'rear heater tubes' rotting off. Although this is not a powertrain warranty issue it is a show-stopper. The wife was driving with the kids at night on the highway when the van began to sputter and overheat. Dangerous situation to be in and probably due to a vendor supplied tubing that is too weak or needs to be re-engineered. We will probably have some rust-inhibitor applied to the new tubes because this problem will most likely re-occur.

We are a three time, repeat, loyal DC mini-van owner and are little concerned that this issue or other vendor quality issues may appear.

Is DC going to address this heater line design/vendor issue?

Thanks

RE: Coolant Leak Rear Heater
 

Yes they have switched vendors, the tubes are now made of aluminum instead of painted steel tubing. Yours may or may not be silver in color (aluminum), depends on whether or not your dealer has new stock, or old stock lying around.

RE: Coolant Leak Rear Heater
 

Not to revive an old thread but I'm having the same problem on my 2001. Should I just bring it to a dealer? I was quoted $400 for the job by my local mechanic. Thanx a lot,

John

RE: Coolant Leak Rear Heater
 

what is your vin # there are recalls out for the tubes either the whole lines or just the rubber parts depends on what setup U have
Let me know I can run the vin Number and see if U have an outstanding recall on your van.
Kevin

RE: Coolant Leak Rear Heater
 

Here's an off the wall question that maybe you can answer Kevin, I had the same thing happen to my '02, got a deal on the replacement part and installation for $289. Unfortunately I didn't think to pursue reimbursement from DCX, but in looking at the bad section of piping, I thought, what if I were to just cut out the bad section of line and replace it? According to the dealer, the new part, which looked like a set of antlers, was not easy to install which was the reason for the high cost. Why not run a small section of new piping (or hoses) pressure fit onto the old sections? Without any recalls or reimbursements this could be a more cost effective repair no?

Tom

RE: Coolant Leak Rear Heater
 

the off the wall question is that is what the recallis to replace the rubber part of the tubbing with new tubes and clamps and in some cases u get a new whole line assembly with ac lines included. Your dealer should know this they run what thay call a funcion 14 and get any recall info on your van. Give me the last 7 of your vin number and i can look at that info myself and see if it had been done or what ever. I will upload a copy of what i see to ya. If u had to pay for a recall then something is wrong. I NEED VIN NUMBRE FOR NE ONE WANTING TO SEE IF THEY ARE COVERED.
Kevin

RE: Coolant Leak Rear Heater
 

I just searched and found this thread sincehave a 2003 Town & Country and was just told I had this problem -- $575 to repair. I just bought this used from the dealer 6 months ago and am not happy to have to pay for this. In particular since I had this issue with my previous Dodge Caravan (it was a '97) so I know it must be a design issue. last 7 of VIN on the car is R290614 -- any chance this will be covered? I will make some noise about this since seems not isolated incident.
Jackie

RE: Coolant Leak Rear Heater
 

your vin number is not valid. recheck the vin number via your auto insurance or look on the vin plate.
U were quoted to replace the rear heater tubes correct that is what the recall is for.
The dealer should have checked this out already but i will recheck behind them with the correct vin number at hand.