Ram1960

I have come to learn that my truck has a failed defrost door as described in TSB 24-004-03. This is my first Dodge truck and first diesel (purchased with about 35k mile), so I decided to purchase the Chrysler extended warranty. I am out of the original warranty period. So I was thinking that this would certainly be covered under my warranty. Well come to find out, that even though the warranty covers heater and A/C, they pick and choose which part numbers are covered. Guess what, defrost door is a part number that is not included. If I want heat in my truck, I will need to pay $550 to get the repair made. I do not feel I should give any more money to Chrysler. I paid once for items like this with the warranty. I do not want to pay again. The repair seems big enough that I am not sure that an independant shop would be trained. So I pay or I freeze?

So my question, does anyone know of a way to manually move that damper door? Maybe I could hook up some kind of cable? Maybe some kind of lever.

See you down the road in my "Shiver-rado"

rjm022

no disrespect- this is why it is very important to read ALL the paperwork and ask alot of questions before signing the paperwork- especially when purchasing an extended warranty.i would try another dealer first and give d/c a call too- before i shelled out that kind of money

rammtuff

Don't nickel and dime. Just get it fixed. If 500 bucks is a burden to you financially maybe you are in over your head with this truck. Why jimmy around with a cable?
And as stated: read before you buy. It is a known documented problem on the '03's Searching for TSB's etc before purchase you could have brought this to the attention of the dealership to ensure these parts were in fact covered.

smokindog

I'll have to agree with rammtuff a little here.....

$500 is on the relatively cheap side compared to the other things that could need replacing. Heck, tires come to mind right off the top of my head. Oh, oh, and toys too!!! Can't forget about them!

However, if you bought an extended warranty and things like the A/C and like equipment I would definitely be putting up a fuss with the administrator of the plan.

bubba33

500 bucks aint nothing? It is something.First thing is that Dc knows there is a problem with the door.Then he says he bought the ext warranty and it says heater and AC are covered.You guys that are telling him he should have read the fine print is BS.Do you really think in the fine print it says the defroster door is not covered in the ext warranty?

Ram1960

I guess to know if the warranty was good or not I would have to check all 13,000 part numbers against the DC list? By the way, DC did not supply that list of part numbers. They just state in a general term heater and A/C.

It is bad enough that the truck is broken. But... I could live with that considering I paid for a warranty. But this is the worst of all worlds. I have a broke truck and I paid extra for a warranty. Now I pay again. Does not seem right. I did call DC to discuss. They reminded me that my truck has 13,000 parts. How can I expect them to cover them all?

Does anyone know where I might find some pictures of the lower heater housing? Maybe I can find a way to manually move the door.

SolarExpress

This relates to a totally diffrent truck I know, but it may help. The door on my 92 Dak is located behind the glove box. I had to replace the blower motor. THere aint much to them. A little door that is vacume operated that moves to direct the blower air to the dash/floor vents or the defrost window vents. But I just re-read your post while typing this and you said you have no heat at all in the truck. That would make me suspect that either the dash switch is bad or the regulator for the coolant (the little valve that lets coolant move through the heater core) is bad. All the defrost door does is direct the airflow. Of course I could be wrong, but this suggestion did not cost anything.

sadlerb_98

I would fix it. That truck is too new to rig something up like that. You also have to protect your resale value. I am sure if you told a prospective buyer that you rigged something like that up he would walk away. I know I would.

Try and call several dealerships to see if one would cover it. The slower service departments will try and get warranty work over no work. I've tried that in the past with my Ram 1500 and it worked. It all depends on the service manager I guess. I would also write a letter (not email) to the DC CEO or president. Letters are more personal.

goog luck,
Bob

TexasCTD

I agree with Bubba on this. That is BS. If he bought and PAID for an ext. warranty that says it covers heat and air..........then it should be covered.

$500 is $500.

So now he is out the money for the "questionable at best" ext warranty and now a known problem that should be fixed on his truck regardless of mileage or warranty.

rockittboy

i dont care how much money i had, $500 for something that should be covered under warranty is rediculous. try another dealer. and if not...take your time and tear into it yourself. heck, ill tear into mine for ya if it helps. PM me. $500 is a set of gauges or a box or quite a bit of fuel!

Hounddog

I'd call the 1-800-992-1997 assistance number and ask for assistance on a KNOWN problem and ASK the SERVICE Manager for assistance and or ask him to ask the REP.Its a KNOWN ISSUE on these trucks.Explain WHY you want assistance.I assume the extended service contract is a D.C. contract? If show explain that you DO buy D.C.products in many forms(customer loyaly)etc.

04 SO CA

I build swimming pools. I wish I had more customers like ramtuff. Tell them they need to pay more, after they have signed the contract. If they question it, then I could just tell them that "maybe they are in over there head to own a pool". And, what I'm asking for is not that much money when it comes to pools. I think it's probably more of a principal issue than a money issue.

dansdodgediesel

Call Dodge and complain. You shouldn't have to pay there junk design in the first place like we all do. If there is a TBS on this. They know it's junk from new. With all the money there saving by having the Slaves in Mexico build this truck, they can afford your $500 heater door.

06dually

Sounds like a crock of **** to me, pay all that money for an extended warranty and still have to pay. I'm glad I didn't get the extended warranty...of course I never keep a truck over 3 years anyway.

scook6

I have a question about the extended warranty. Did you purchase a genuine DaimlerChrysler extended service contract or a generic dealer extended warranty? Because if it is a genuine DC contract it states very clearly in writing what parts are covered and which are not even down to what parts of the heating and A/C are covered. And if it just says heater and a/c then either call DC or go to another dealer and while you are at it tell DC about this dealer's practices I know you don't think it makes a difference but it does.