2000 Concorde XLi - No Air

We're getting confused here. This evaporator wasn't replaced before; it's
the original... 68000 miles on it. My last car (1995) ... with 78000 miles
on it, had the evaporator replace. Despite the modifications to the current
evaporator, there's sufficient history to suggest Chrysler's failure rate is
high on this component. Unfortunately, only they know. I don't mind paying
for Chrysler's profit... but I don't feel the public should pay for their
loss. If they can't find a way to reduce the failure rate on a component to
a low level in an environment where imports are delivering higher quality
and demanding a higher buck, then the prudent manufacture would make an
strong effort to assist consumers who've suffered two significant failures,
even if they were just a fluke. People talk ... and more and more are
walking. I'm really surprised to see Chrysler take this stand. But... so be
it. I've already made arrangements for a repair from a reputable
radiator/air conditioning specialist in Akron to make the replacement
Thursday... and not for $89 ad hour. Total cost: $730 prox... including tax.
I lost little time... Chrysler looses a customer... plus whoever else might
be influenced by my suggestion to avoid them unless they buy new and
repurchase within warranty. There are too many good alternatives to stay
with a manufacture that has to pinch pennies with its customers.

 

The neigborhood I live in is 12 years old, we have had 6 well pumps go out
in that short of time. (34 houses) That shouldnt happen but it does, should
I post a bitch in a plumbers forum?
Or should I look for a pump made by Mistsubishi?


If they can't find a way to reduce the failure rate on a component to

They lost a customer or a crybaby?


.. plus whoever else might

 

if need be so as not to loose a job

 

you know what glen i have a 95 grand marq. and it has the same set up with the
cowl panel and i have never touched the ac, never had to has always blown cold.
never has to add any 134 and i owned it a long time has 150 k on the clock
best car i ever owned next to my cuda

 

If you're comfortable with that pump scenario you made up, fine. Most people
I know would look for a root cause rather than chalk that off to chance...
and seek redress.





You know anything about business at all? What's the difference to a company
after a profit? They bank the money from both; complaint or no complaint.

 

I've gone through a number of cars throughout my life as well. Never ran into major repairs like I have in these two Concordes. The 1995 I owned had the transmission replaced at 35000 as well. Then that evaporator at 78000. First hunches ... are often right.
you know what glen i have a 95 grand marq. and it has the same set up with the cowl panel and i have never touched the ac, never had to has always blown cold.
never has to add any 134 and i owned it a long time has 150 k on the clock
best car i ever owned next to my cuda
maxpower wrote:

I

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

 

I feel you.

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

 

Evaporators in all makes are not holding up because the new refirgerant is
corrosive and not as efficient as freon so evaporators are made thinner to
make it more efficient and get eaten up by the freon substitute quicker.

 

I'd find a new well repair guy. I had a well and the wires broke every year
to it. Finally I got a new well guy and he told me to put the wires in a
sleave and they would never break again. Problem solved. Get a new well
repair guy.

 

Good advice about the well guy. That's exactly what I'm doing with Concorde;
gettin' a new car guy.

About the your comments concerning the new coolant and the thickness of the
evaporator fins... I think you may find the problem lies elsewhere. I've had
involvement in refrigeration and air conditioning manufacturing and from my
experience, the leaks nearly always involved poor welds (solder). The air
conditioning plant was moving to sonic welding when I retired but they were
having a hell-o-va time controlling leaks at connections. I suspect that's
the issue here. But that's really irrelevant. Chrysler has final say on the
components it chooses to accept. If it's like any other major
manufacturer/assembler today (and I'm sure it is) it even sends it's
engineers to the vendors plants for routine quality reviews which include
observation of all (except proprietary processes). So they have two teams of
engineers working on any given component; theirs and their vendors. No
excuse for the failures I've encountered... assuming this wasn't a fluke and
the failure rate is actually higher than industry standard (or that of GM,
Toyota, and Ford). The only way a manufacturer successfully combats these
issues when they occur is through a lenient repair policy. Barring that, it
opens itself to criticism, ill-will, rumor, and ultimately lost customer.
This is one main reason Japanese manufacturers were able to gain the market
share they did a number of years ago; attention to quality and support of
the customer. It paid off for them... it's killing US manufacturers 'casue,
although they're trying to adjust (Delphi bankruptcy, Ford, and GM at junk
credit rating) they've got a rough road to hoe.

I understand why Chrysler rejected this repair. They're suffering
financially as well. The issue is, this was a short sighted decision. They
won't notice my meager loss... but they will when they see it spreads by way
of mouth. Make a bad product today and don't stand behind it and your in
serious trouble. But... what the hell. That was my last fight with
Chrysler, and I lost.... but so did they. My loss ended... theirs continues.

 

Quite frankly, a bigger gripe would be the power windows on these cars. At
least the 99's. On my 300M some were fixed 3 or 4 times under the service
agreement I bought. Chrysler should be fixing them all for free since it
was an obvious screw up.

As for the evaporator, Chrysler sent letters out extending the warranty on
the first generation LH cars. They did not do the same for the second. We
never had trouble with the 99 300M ac. One poster said that leaves getting
into the evaporator caused corrosion. We kept our 300M in the garage all
night so it was only getting half the leaves as outside cars. Was yours
kept garaged or on the street.

By the way, people are bitching at Honda because their evaporators are
sitting right up front and very low in the current accord and are being hit
by stones. The stones cause leaks and Honda refuses to fix them under
warranty unless you bitch even if the car is almost brand new. Everyone is
working at low margins these days. Your best value is probably a Hyundai.
They got hundred's of millions of tax payer money to build a plant in the
southeast US so you might as well buy one of their cars and get some of your
tax money back. A friend bought one. It appears to be a terrific value if
it holds up.

 

Was yours kept garaged or on the street.<<

Always. Both of them.

Regarding the Hyundai, the car's a little too small for me; back issues...
old age. From a pure business play, I like what Kia is doing. It looked like
a disposable car when I first saw it a number of years ago. Then they began
paying attention to style and now have something that looks appealing. Still
not for me; too small. But if they're customer relations are decent, I
wouldn't be surprised to see them increase market share significantly here.

Gotta' run. I have an evaporator replacement scheduled for this morning. And
it's NOT with a Chrysler affiliate.

 

Actually I have a friend that bought a 1 year old Kia. It seems quite roomy
inside and an outstanding value if it doens't fall apart.

 

Time will tell. Judging from the TV ads I've seen on KIA over the past year,
I'd say they dumped a lot of brad into attracting customers. If the car
doesn't hold up, some executives will never work again and shareholders will
make noise. So... I'd suspect that car is engineered to hold up fairly
well... proportionate to it's price.

By the way, what's the warranty on the labor for a replaced evaporator at
Chrysler. I was a little surprised when I got my bill this afternoon from
the shop that replaced mine; 90 days. When I thought about it, it sounded
right. I doubt if Chrysler would warrant beyond that.

 

All Mopar parts replaced at the dealership are covered for 12 months
unlimited mileage. Except Wear items.

 

Not parts... labor. What's the warranty on the labor to replace an
evaporator on a car out-of-warranty?

 

If the evaporator is leaking refrigerant, where does the leakage go?
Does it go into the airstream and get blown into the passenger
compartment?

 

--

Chrysler warranties part and labor 12 months or 12k miles

 

yup

 

Is there an odorant added to R134 so you can tell if you're breathing
it?