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.

RE: Coolant Leak Rear Heater
 

Thanks for quick response -- it is a valid VIN number, I verified. I just spoke with dealer and then with DCX. They are unwilling to do anything for me. I'm am a very unhappy customer. So much for a "Certified Pre-Owned" vehicle from Chrysler. This is first time I bring it into the dealer for service and they just "happen" to find this $600 repair I need to do that's on a component that's clearly failed on other vehicles. And no help from Chrysler. And on top of that I have to pay $180 for a faulty fan resistor motor that blows the fan on high all the time. Guess I should've bought a different car...

RE: Coolant Leak Rear Heater
 

humm 8 of the vin sorry the recall is for the hoses that are known to go bad if yours is not when they got the contract to which the hoses are known to go bad and the recall is out for them then yours is just a part of owning a van. Be greatfull that it has been found and not when u have no heat or have brunt up a motor because it has over heated. The resistor is just a thing i do a few a month. Did u buy a chrysler extended warranty?? stuff like that would be covered depending on what level u have.

RE: Coolant Leak Rear Heater
 

Got relief from the dealer -- appealed to sales manager. I did buy extended warranty but only for powertrain so doesn't include the a/c, but they will treat this as warranty and I will only pay for part of repair.I'mso relievedthey came through. $1K on repairs ona car I bought only 6 months ago was a little tough to stomach so I'm much happier now.

RE: Coolant Leak Rear Heater
 

I am having the same issue with a 98 Caravan - are you still willing to check on recalls? vin B661015

RE: Coolant Leak Rear Heater
 

that recall does not apply to a 98 van only 01 to 05

RE: Coolant Leak Rear Heater
 

Has anyone had success with getting this hose replaced for free due to a defect? Was there a recall for this issue? I haven't found very much info regarding a recall for this on the internet and not too much information on any forums. Point me in the right direction if I'm missing something.

RE: Coolant Leak Rear Heater
 

Chrysler Tech, last seven of VIN is R712961. Your help is appreciated.

RE: Coolant Leak Rear Heater
 

I just wanted to say that I've heard of several people repairing this by cutting out the bad section of pipe and clamping a section of heater hose in its place. They report that it works great. After reading about a few of these, I took a look at mine and found the place where it is rotting out-- I scraped off the rust, used some rust converter and repainted it. If it does end up going, I'll just splice in some heater hose.

RE: Coolant Leak Rear Heater
 

last 8 of the vin not 7

RE: Coolant Leak Rear Heater
 

I just looked at mine (03, 78,000 miles) The only part that shows any rust is the foward section coming out of the heater core (painted black tubing)where is it attached by a bracket to the bottom of the car. Just behind this bracket it attaches to 2 short pieces of hose that connect to aluminum tubing running along the length of the car to the rear heater. If it ever becomes a problem I think I'll go with your solution and just cut out therot,extend the hose, and fashion something to hold it to the bottom of the car. Simple and quick.

RE: Coolant Leak Rear Heater
 

Mr Chrylser Tech, the last 8 of my 2003 T&C AWD VIN is 1R347239. Any chance that I'm on a recall list? I was just under my van replacing my upstream and downstream oxy sensors (a rat chewed the wires) and saw the heater lines - pure rust. Thanks a million!

Rear Heater Tube Line Leaks 2003 T&C
 

My 2003 Town & Country has been leaking coolant as long as I have owned it (it was an end of lease purchase). Every 3000 miles my mechanic would tell me the coolant was low when I had the oil changed...but he could not see a leak in the engine compartment. Well, I found the leak today...because now it is a severe leak. The heater stopped kicking out heat...so I went searching. The driveway spot told me where to look...it was both coolant lines to the rear heater core. The location is under the van floor approximately behind the passanger seat. Now that I see all the threads on this post site...this sounds very common and should be a recall.

Hey Tech Man! The last four digits of my VIN are: 3R113554

By chance is this a recall gig? Best regards, Dean M

RE: Coolant Leak Rear Heater
 

I recently replaced the rusted rear heater pipes on my 2002 town and country. Is it possible to be reimbursed for these costs? My Vin number is 2R579808. I have been unable to find a recall notice.

wow, what a bunch of whining. what do you all expect to have a recall for every little problem that can occur? Chrysler should have had a recall for the allllll the differential pins that blew out the case especially on the gen 3 vans because when this happens the front wheels can suddenly lock and skid making for a fairly serious safety issue. So a coolant line springs a leak, as a vehicle owner, you are expected to maintain and monitor the condition of your vehicle. Back in the 50's, 60's, 70's, we maintained our cars. It was common place to replace the heater and radiator hoses every couple years or so even if they did not leak (yet). I'll bet hardly anyone on here ever replaced these items unless it failed.

all recalls are based on safety issues. coolant leaks are a wear-and-tear issue. The only coolant related recall I've encountered was on the AMC/Renault alliance heater cores would rupture blasting hot coolant right at the driver's legs/crotch area. I replace dozens of GM intake manifold gaskets, this is a common problem... no recall there. I've installed over 100 head gaskets in 2.2/2.5 chryslers and GM quad 4's... shouldn't these have a recall too?

A current/active recall on minivans is gen3 clock spring. this affects the air bag operation which is a safety issue. Ford had a recall on ignition switches that burst into flames, and now toyota's WOT problem (aka the Audi syndrome from the 80s)

Wow, thanks for the warm and winded response to my first post. As a first time member to these forums, I merely was trying to find out more information based on the earlier threads. I guess in the future I will look for information elsewhere.

wow, am I not allowed to express my opinions and feelings about a subject where people EXPECT something for free? I never even read your post, I read the ones where the statement that there should be a recal for the leaky tubes. I have replaced dozens of these. it takes me 1½ hrs and $120 in parts and new coolant. When I replace them, I spray the tubes with spray on bed liner prior to installation. So far a couple customers have had them last longer than the originals

the recall is for 05 vans not yours and the recall is for the clamps coming apart not the hoses rusting that is were u live not a factory defect.

The underbody heater hoses on about 141,000 of the above vehicles may leak
coolant at the heater tube crimps. This may result in the engine overheating.
Engine damage can occur if an overheated engine continues to be driven

Tx
 

Tx Chrysler Tech. This is our second Chrysler mini-van...we got 160k miles on the first and was still able to sell it off for $3k when landing our second. I was dissapointed in the coolant tube leak to rear heater on our 2003. The design is poor. The design should defend moderate rust and vibration fatigue (I'm a Structural Engineer, by the way...not some mechanic with a tude capitalizing $$$ on poor vehicle designs and celebrating/defending poor designs). My beef with Chrysler is 10 cents of rust proof coating would likely have prevented the issue I had...and what half of your 2003 van owners in winter climates will eventually have. This leak took several months to spot because it dripped only in winter (snow) and while the vehicle was on the move. My repair was about $15 and 2hrs...I didn't celebrate.

With that sort of logic, then the differential pin design that chrysler changed in 1996+ should fall under this also. Or how about strut tower rust. this is more serious issue than some stupid water tubes. Infact it's even a safety issue and frankly I'm surprised that it hasn't been formally addressed in court. So what if some heater tubes rust out 5,6,7---10 years later, engineers cannot 100% prevent EVERY possible situation. Anyone in engineering knows that planned obsolesence is normal... after all if this stuff never broke, wore out or failed in any way, how many new vehicles would be sold? I'm old enough to remember when 80,000 miles with minimal repairs was a miracle. Now people are whinning like crazy when a $100 part fails 5 years after driving it thru harsh conditions.

If you think this minor inconvience is such a HUGE issue, then go by a mid 70's chevy vega... you'd greatly appreciate these minor minivan issues.

find out the make up of the metal then find out the properties of the salt,cold weather,water and the basic ,metal expansion where rubber meets do all of this and see what the average time is for this part to fail. I am not a Structural Engineer so I wont have all of this data but U would be able to get back to me on your findings so I can pass it along to chrysler and then make a case about it. Down here in GA they hold up just fine no issues such as yours.

Heater Tubes
 

I think what people are complaining about (and what a few of you are missing) is that these should not be considered NORMAL wear parts. This tube failure is just one of the myriad of reasons that people run from Chrysler products and embrace Toyota and Honda. Good engineering would be to design a product to last for a specific number of cycles (miles) under REAL world conditions. They (Chrysler) obviously under designed this part. Not everyone who drives a minivan (soccer Moms) would know the damage that a coolant leak could do. When I spend my money, I want quality; not replacing my water pump (twice), repairing broken door wires, sway bar links, tie rod ends: all with less than 52K on my 05 T & C. And don't get me started on GM quality, they're just as guilty. At least with their new products, GM is starting to get it.

My advice, don't buy Chrysler unless you are mechanically inclined, no matter how cheap...

Bill

give me a break, a water tube fails. BFD, so you never had a heater hose or raditor hose ever fail? never had a radiator spring a leak? never had an oil leak? never had an A/C freon leak. Even honda's and toyota's have this problem. Heck even Rolls Royce has these problems arise.

as for reliablity... I have several chyrsler products that have NEVER needed any parts replaced EVER except tires, air filter, oil filter that's it.. I have a 1990 minivan with 320,000 miles and it still has the original brake pads. It was my father's before he passed 2 years ago. In the late 50's-60's and early 70's he had a 1959 rambler that achieved 230,000 miles and never had anything replaced just like the van. His driving style was condusive to longevity of vehicles. Last year I rebuild a transmission for a customer on his 2002 grand carvan at 290,000 miles. He owns a delivery service. That was the first repair he needed. as of now it has 370,000 when I serviced the trans fluid.

You're right about only the mechanically inclinded should own a chrysler. that's totally obvious with all the oblivous people that own them... like you since you own one. it would be best for you to sell your van, buy a toyota and leave!! I actually make more money servicing toyota's because the owners are willing to follow all maintenance schedules like replacing timing belt. the fiscally deficient chrysler owners (vast majority) rarely do this level of preventative maintenance which leads to all the posts on "how to fix my car".

Tx again tech guy. I stick by my 10 cent comment on rust proofing. Very likely rust is main contributing factor to the tube failures at the bracket. Engine and vehicle vibration not far behind. A simple bracket with rubber grommet provisions for each tube would extend the life of the tubes. What I have not added to the subject matter at this point is why in the %*@^# Chrysler even has a rear heater core on these vehicles in the first place. I didn't even know my vehicle had this feature. The front heater core kicks out sufficient heat for the entire compartment...that is when you don't have it in full defrost mode (all air flow against frozen glass). When I was experiencing coolant loss I spent multiple times inspecting the hoses in the engine compartment above & below. The tube failure was likely several months beyond the first leaks before I spotted the wet tube bracket three feet away from the engine compartment...and discovered the vehicle had a $*&^@# rear heater core.

Heater Tubes
 

I stand by my post.

Primary reason that I bought Chrysler was because my BIL worked for them so I received a good discount. He's laid off for good now (Newark plant closed) so that will be it for me.

As a reasonable consumer, I expect any OEM to stand behind their product and not shirk their responsibility.

And if EVERY car manufacturer used steel braided brake hoses and all other hoses, then they would never fail... and if every car manufacturer used stainless steel body/frame structure then there would never be any body or structure rust failure... and if every manufacturer used .... blah, blah blah.

You provided a perfect example of my signature
VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV

I too have a 2003 T&C which has the rear heater core supply lines fail. I came here via google search on the problem to see if there was a recall notice concerning it. There isn't, nor am I covered under warranty anymore. I've got to get it fixed and suck up the 500.00 I'm going to pay (190.00 for just the part alone.) But, I felt compelled to join this forum to respond to 22chrysler. I agree that things fail, break, rust etc. It's life. For the most part my Chrysler/Dodge vehicles have performed very well for me. Of course, there's things which need fixing. As mentioned, it's the way things go. Rarely does anything last which is not maintained. 22chrysler - your points could have been made with out your snotty, condescending and arrogant comments. You come off as a prick. The things people have said do not warrant your verbal attacks. If you find "the oblivious people that own them" such a burden, how about you don't comment to them? There surely are millions of "oblivious people". Good thing too, because otherwise companies which put out crap (I'm not singling out Chrysler) and then do not stand by their products wouldn't exist, and uber mechanically competent people like yourself would have to find another line of work. I bet you make a lot of money off those people.
I'm sure you'll (if you're even still here) fire off a scathing retort to my words. You're built like that. Please enjoy your anger and sarcasm. It's good for your health!

Just to let you know you guys seem to be a little childish. You think that if you buy a vehicle, then you should never have to do anything to it that will cost money. I have been a mechanic all my life and believe me when I say that they all have problems. I know some of the problems cost money but think of what the vehicle does for you all year long. I am happy to own a 05 chrysler t&c limited. I have had to put tires on it at 70000 and a battery in it at 65000 miles. Just fix your vehicles and stop thinking that anything that goes wrong their should be a tsb or recall. Man, quit whining!!!

22chrysler I like your posts. I too have been a mechanic for ever and know what you are talking about on the toyota's and the preventive mantenance. They do it like clockwork and the chrysler guys won't even change their trans filter until the trans does somthing wierd, like start slipping or shifting funny. Good to know you 22 chrysler. Keep up the good work!!!

I've got a 97 T&C, same problem. I crawled under with my dremel tool and cut off the bad section of the line and also up top behind the intake. However, now that my 5/8" heater hose "fix" has now blown off 3 times, my wife said she's not driving it until its fixed. I bought the replacement assembly. I've read that the intake manifold must be removed in order to replace this. Looking at my Chilton manual, what all needs to come apart? If I don't have to separate the throttle body from the intake and everything else, I don't want to do that. I just need to get at those lines. Any suggestions?

Kudos to Chrysler Corp. Why? Because with the aid of threads such as this one, I was able to convince them that the coolant lines were made of material which was easily corroded, and did corrode on enough vehicles that Chrysler changed the material to aluminum in newer models. The result was they reimbursed me for the cost of the part. I was in no way "whining" to them. I was respectful in my request - If they knew the part was faulty, or not durable enough to keep in production, then they have an obligation to replace it at their cost, and not their customers cost. This, to me is one reason I've enjoyed Chrysler vehicles since my second car as a teenager. It was a 1973 Challenger RT. Kudos to Chrysler for helping me out with the repair cost.
This is also support to our whining mr. pabe. The point of all of this is if a manufacturer builds something with parts proven to be a problem, then they should stand behind the decision to replace them with better parts, and then allow the other people the opportunity to have them either at a greatly reduced cost, or even free. I didn't ask Chrysler for the cost of labor. Only the part replacement cost. This aluminum version of the steel coolant lines is $190.00. Add $234.00 for labor and taxes. The items you list are all normal wear. This obviously is not considered "normal" or Chrysler would not have changed the material they are made from. In regards to this particular topic then, I think we're not all whiners. People who do not do preventative maintenance surely deserve the evil eye from mechanics in general, but be careful to over generalize all of us "Chrysler guys" as loathsome fools. We're not.
I'd like to respectfully submit that if you're a mechanic and you're on this board, and some one like Simon BarSinister asks a question, then just answer it... or leave it alone. 22chrysler went overboard with his berating of people across this board, who may only be lowly backyard mechanics, and who are trying to save a few hundred dollars by doing work themselves. We'll thank you for it. Or, if you don't want to simply answer the question respectfully, then lower your labor costs to something reasonable... and fix it for them.
Because of Chrysler's handling of my request, they have cemented my relationship with their company!