2000 Concorde XLi - No Air

My mechanic can't find the leak. Lost 1.5 lbs last Fall just before Winter.
First time use this Summer forced a recheck and recharge; lost 1.5 lbs. That
was three weeks ago. Now it's blowing warm air again.

Q1) Does the entire control panel have to be removed to get to the
evaporator on this model?
Q2) I assume at 68000, there's no recourse... unless, perhaps, there's
some recall or there's been an exceptionally high failure rate. Either of
these?
Q3) What do the manual call for as a total cost for an evaporator
replacement and recharge?
Q4) Will dealerships "deal" on this repair at this time of year or do
they pretty much go by the book? In other words... what's a fair price from
a dealership claiming to give me "a deal"?

 

More then likely the evap is bad

A1) Yes, including the entire dash.

A) Chrysler Has extended the warranty to 70k on the LH for some years, I
forget what years they did it. contact your dealer

A) About a 6 hour job, roughly $400. for parts

A) Deal or no deal? not a TV show.....whatever the book says would be a good
deal

Glenn Beasley
Chrysler Tech

 

thet dash has to come out and it's a very common failure but since it is not a
safety issue it woun't be a recall and d.c won't do squat
the dealer will charge book time and use a$ 400.00 evap coil when a better
aftermarket part can be had for $160.00 are u in michigan?? i'll do the labor
for 200.00 and i have a recycler to boot

 

More then likely the evap is bad

A1) Yes, including the entire dash.

A) Chrysler Has extended the warranty to 70k on the LH for some years, I
forget what years they did it. contact your dealer

A) About a 6 hour job, roughly $400. for parts

A) Deal or no deal? not a TV show.....whatever the book says would be a good
deal

Glenn Beasley
Chrysler Tech

 

Unfortunately... I'm in Akron, Ohio. Medina actually. Mind sharing the
manufacturer of that part? I can look it up for a source close by. A $340
premium on something known to fail so often the warranty was extended causes
me to look for another supplier.

 

A $400 dollar part plus 6 hours labor at the Chrysler rate equals what?

 

$1000.00 give or take depending on sales tax, price of R134, PAG
oil, shop supplies, waste disposal fees and any other wallet
flushes you might encounter.

 

There appear to be two types of LH evaporators listed in aftermarket -
plate fin and serpentine - which do you prefer and why?

Reference:
http://www.partsamerica.com/ProductList.aspx?PartType=391&PTSet=A&SearchFor=Evaporator

Bill Putney
(To reply by e-mail, replace the last letter of the alphabet in my
address with the letter 'x')

 

But I'm here to receive advice, Bill. I don't feel qualified to give it.
Thus... what do YOU recommend... and why?

 

And that would be cause for me to ask the dealership if I really look like I
was born yesterday. That's $100/ hour labor rate.

 

Give or take...

Even at $85 you'd have;
Labor $510
Parts $400
R134 $15-20
PAG oil $15-20
Sub total $940
[email protected]% $52.64 (using my sales tax rate)
Total $992.64

Knock the labor rate down to $65 an hour and you're still
spending $870.00

 

--

Um, you would have to do the math on that when you find out what the dealer
charges per Hour.!!!

 

What's your dealership charge a customer per hour?

 

$89

 

Well in this case, I'm in the same boat as you - I have to replace the
evaporator in my '99 Concorde, and I don't want to use the OEM evap. if
it's designed to fail in 4 to 6 years like they apparently are. That's
why I was asking Philthy the question since he seems to have an opinion
(based on experience?) on the alternative (aftermarket) evaporators.

Bill Putney
(To reply by e-mail, replace the last letter of the alphabet in my
address with the letter 'x')

 

i would use the plate and fin
it's what style is in there but sometimes have to use what i can get my hands on
i would do 2-3 a week at the dealer,during the warmer months and would do at least one jeep
a week

 

I see. Sorry to hear that. I just got off the phone with Chrysler's Customer
Service. I told them my 1995 Concorde had the evaporator replaced at 78000
miles and they participated in the repair for all above $100. There was
apparently an extended warranty on the component. This time - the same
general failure at 68000 miles - they have opted NOT to participate. When
asked how this is different, I was told there's no recall, there's no
extended warranty, each case is handled on a case-by-case basis, the answer
is "No" in my case, and the decision is final. That fails to answer the
question of how this is different form the 1st failure but somehow the woman
seems there's sufficient rationale in there somewhere to support "final". I
guess it doesn't have to make sense; it's Chrysler. It may not have to make
sense to Chrysler but it does to me. I don't have to buy another Chrysler
and a lot of people ask for my opinion on making major purchases. These are
seniors who aren't finished buying big cars. I can't help being honest and
relating my personal experience; two Concordes, five years apart, both with
evaporator failure between 68000 and 78000 miles.... and Chrysler refusing
to participate. (It took significant arm twisting the first time. I was told
"No" twice. This time. I won't even ask again. I just won't buy another
Chrysler. It's not just the car someone buys when they're a senior citizen.
It's the attitude of then company. Chrysler demonstrated poor judgment in
this case. They saved $900... but they lost a customer good for another four
cars minimum.

 

Why? because it isn't warrantied for life? yep, they did it once, know for
every vehicle you own , they have to warranty forever! **** off you whiner!

 

i would use the plate and fin
it's what style is in there but sometimes have to use what i can get my hands on
i would do 2-3 a week at the dealer,during the warmer months and would do at least one jeep a week
Bill Putney wrote:

Well in this case, I'm in the same boat as you - I have to replace the
evaporator in my '99 Concorde, and I don't want to use the OEM evap. if
it's designed to fail in 4 to 6 years like they apparently are. That's
why I was asking Philthy the question since he seems to have an opinion
(based on experience?) on the alternative (aftermarket) evaporators.

Bill Putney
(To reply by e-mail, replace the last letter of the alphabet in my
address with the letter 'x')



So the dealer you work at is selling after market parts?

Glenn

 

The problem is when leaves and debris gets past the cowl screen it falls
down next to the bottom of the evap, it corrodes and causes the failures.
When the evaporator gets replaced with a MOPAR part it comes with a special
cowl screen which is supposed to stop foreign material from getting into the
HVAC box. Was that screen installed at the time the new evap was replaced?

Glenn Beasley
Chrysler Tech