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ernie
Dodge Dakota
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2/07/2005
22:24:39
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 Subject: RE: Heater Core Puked!
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Just an update. I went to the dealer today and told the service department that I had been trying to locate where a small spot of antifreeze was coming from that was under the truck on the pavement. That I kept checking the hoses and connectors and couldn't find a problem. Then with the steam coming out of the vent I found the leak coming out of the firewall drain and the fluid coming out of the right side floor vent. He told me that it was a leaking heater core. That I bought it in 1999 but that it only had 31,600 miles. He gave me an 800 number and that they may be able to help me. Well after calling, going through an automated procedure and waiting on hold for 30 min. I had to go back to the start and press the options that the operater gave me. 20 min. later I got a real person. The procedure is that I had to take it in for a check ($125) and then give them a report before they would deturmined what if any split/discount that they would cover. I called the service department and told them the procedure. The estimate would cost $125, and that if it was the core that would run another $1000 - $1500. I will examine my options from one persons bypassing the heater, and anothers going to a mechanic that I trust. In any event this dodge dealer will not get another dime from me. I will also seach for another truck and web sites like this one for problems on other makes and models. Thank again for the four pages of letters and the information that I gained from it.
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RPRacing
Dodge Dakota
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2/17/2005
20:59:56
|  RE: Heater Core Puked!
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Well the 4th one went out on my 98. I am SO FREAKING SICK OF THIS GARBAGE. And I thought my 92 GMC Sonoma was a problem vehicle. At least that was stuff that you could ignore year round (windw track, tailgate handle, torsion bar isolators, etc).
1st one went at 45K (Aug 02) or so. 2nd one 3 weeks later (firestone replaced the OEM one and did a warranty on teh second, but steer clear of that place since their tech dont know how to hook everything back up correctly). That one blew at 85K (May 04). Drove it bypassed until Oct 04 when I replaced it myself. Well this week (2/05) it is leaking AGAIN.
This is freaking insane. I asked one of the local dealers (Hembrough) here in WI if there was an updated core that wont leak within 6 months and all he said was "Dakotas dont have heater core problems". I dont like going there unless absolutely neccessary since the whole place is full of idiots from the sales to the shop. I had 186K on my Sonoma and only replaced the core ONCE.
As of now, Dodge lost a repeat customer. Theres no reason that they couldnt had designed the heater area to be able to remove the core without tearing the dashboard totally out. THen again, they are the same company that uses a uninut on the impeller shaft to hold the fan clutch on. Brilliant huh?
Now if Toyota could import a LandCruiser LC78 HD truck to the US.... (Tacoma's cant pull my trailer).
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ernie
Dodge Dakota
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2/18/2005
23:53:11
| RE: Heater Core Puked!
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Now that I got my 2000 Dakoda back today I want to pass on the results. In my search a radiator shop gave me a price of $500 labor plus. A transmission shop that moved into a bigger building two years ago and went full service, and did work for me several years ago, is who I went with. Cost was -
labor $532.00
htr 279234 $78.54
tax $5.70
haz waste $4.00
enviromental fee $20.00
evacuate A/C $85.50
recharge A/C $85.50
I had assumed the A/c service was included in the estimate, but he said that it was a separte service. I forgot the $13.90 for the antifreeze.
As I only have 31618 miles on it I will put on more miles as he has a 2 year, 24,000 mile warrenty on new parts and labor.I will carry a bypass connector in case it starts leaking on the way to Las Vegas, as the warrenty is only good at his shop. Again thanks for the help and advice. I hope that I don't have to report an early failure on the new unit like so many others did. Just in case while it is working I am going to look into trade in value, and as an alternative I will start looking into Certified used vehicles as the ones in our local newspaper have a 6 year/100,000 mile warrenty. I just read the small print. The warrenty is from the original date of first use when sold as new.
Could still be good with right vehicle.
Still like others this is my first and only Dodge.
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ernie
Dodge Dakota
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3/09/2005
22:18:20
| RE: Heater Core Puked!
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Last week after a 260 mile trip went to the repair shop to complain about low air flow out of the dash vents. Claims that as the new heater core is twice the thickness of the original it is due to restricked air flow. Took it in today for the 500 mile checkup and again complained about the problem. As he was checking it out I pointed out that as the vents are after the heater core and the flow from the defrost and the floor vents are full force it can't be the heater core cutting down the air flow. When he called me back he said that there is an tsb on this exact problem. He said that I had to know about it. As the problem didn't exsist til he worked on it he finally admitted that they may have missed something and that they should have checked for tsb's. He will order the two parts, that I have to pay for, but the 1 & 1/4 hour will be covered under the warranty. The tsb is for the split position of dash/floor, but it does the same thing in dash only. Does anyone out there know about this or which heading this is covered in under in this forum? Thanks
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ernie
Dodge Dakota
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3/29/2005
22:23:40
| RE: Heater Core Puked!
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I may be the only one left but I will continue my story. On 3/25 the parts for the tsb (see above) arrived, and the appointment was set up for 3/28. When he called that my truck was tested and ready it was after 5pm so it was set up that I would get it on 3/29. I didn't know what would happened so I was happy that he covered everything under his warranty. I am still waiting to see if the Dodge cost/share program will cover anything. Will do one more letter when I find out. At least the info will be there for others at a later date.
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ernie
Dodge Dakota
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4/21/2005
22:05:07
| RE: Heater Core Puked!
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I may be the only one on this page, but at least it will be here for the next dodge owner with a heater problem (or other problem) that happens upon this web site.
As to be expected from Daimler Chrysler after jumping through thier hoops since February I finally got a letter. In the letter it states "We fully appreciate your concern, particularly, in view of the expence and inconvenience involved. However, we are unable to accomodate your request for consideration in this matter. The vehicle in question has exceeded the time or mileage limitations of the warranty (or warranties) we offer on that vehicle at the time it was purchased." So in other words they lied again. The dealer, the three telephone operaters who told me about the cost/share program and of the procedure to follow, and Daimler Chrysler, and I did not get my original receipts returned as requested. So to you that drive to the limits and find the problems under warranty you are better off than I who put only 32,000 miles on my truck since 1999, taking care of what was to be our last vehicle. Now I am also going to our state attorney general's office with a complaint, and I am sorry that I didn't record the telephone conversations. If there are no dealers that offer a fair trade-in then we are forced to keep this truck and all of the shortcuts that they took to build this truck. There are far more that the heater core, ball joints, u-joints (also no greese fittings), no differencial drain plug, and seam problems that others posted. My advice is to all that find this site to check out all the complaints (topics) and all the pages in that topic. Good Luck
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Jack
Dodge Dakota
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4/22/2005
12:04:09
| RE: Heater Core Puked!
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Just for info on this problem... I have a 97 Dakota with 190,000 on it and the heater core finally failed. The symptoms were a fine vapor coming from the upper vents and then a few weeks later, a sweet odor. I used a reliable shop I like and they did the whole thing, including having to use the Crysler part, for about $600 (the NAPA core he tried first was too thick). This is a labor intensive job with the dash removal and air conditioning drawdown and refill. But I suspect it would have been a lot more at the dealer. I'm just glad it lasted this long before puking.
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Dean
Dodge Dakota
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4/22/2005
12:27:25
| RE: Heater Core Puked!
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All I can say is, I hope mine doesn't start leaking.
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Jecht X
Dodge Dakota
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4/22/2005
18:55:21
| RE: Heater Core Puked!
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dodge knows about their problem heater cores. they wont admit to it. becsaue if they do admit that the heater core design is flawed. you know how much money they would lose to relpace or reemburse people heater cores. its far more profitable to ignore the core and just charge outragous amounts to replace it. I mean $300 to $400 for a heater core is outragious. makes you wonder about dodges motive to place the core in a spot that takes forever to get too.
the only reason dodge recalled those trucks with the ball joints was because the government made them do the recall becuase it was a safety issue. if it wasnt for the gov. there would never be a recall for the ball joints. and you would have to foot the bill for new ball joints.
is there some gov agency that deals with non safety issues for vehicle like heater cores. I would say if all of you could get all your info on how many times yo u replaced the core and it still failed. maybe they could make dodge recall the cores and make them design a better one.
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ernie
Dodge Dakota
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5/05/2005
23:39:03
| RE: Heater Core Puked!
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I got a call from DC today. The young man stated that as I got the work done at a non-dealer they could not cover any of the cost. I told him that as the third call to the 800# the operator knew that I had it done elsewhere, and had given me no indication that everything had to be done at a dealership. I then pointed out that the letter I got from DC stated that the time or miles have exceded the warranty. DC changes the rules to what suits them best. So let me see the dealer wanted $125 for a report that I had to send to DC. Then the cost to replace the heater core was estimated at $1000-$1200, and DC admitted that the results could have been the same on compensation. So for $1379 I got the heater core, rear leaking brake cylinders, and the 30K mile maintenance done. The non-dealer even covered the TSB that he had missed about the longer lever (after my non-heat air flow complaint) free of charge. DC would not have done that. One last thing I told DC of this web site and that under BALL JOINT FAILURE they should read the 4/12 & 5/04 letter of J6933 and explain to him why they didn't feel that zerk fittings was needed in the ball joints. Sir I feel for your parents. May they recover fully.
I seem to remember that DC was bailed out with our tax money, while AMC went bankrupt. Now shortcuts seem to be the norm at DC. Yes the truck looks nice, but the safety issue should be a priority. Again thank you for this site, and I hope that I have added to it.
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RolandGS
Dodge Dakota
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5/13/2005
20:32:05
| RE: Heater Core Puked!
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I realize this was a while in coming.... but I finally compiled some text and my pictures of when I replaced my heater core in my 2001 Dakota. The site is here:
http://www.sarjent.com/Dakota/DakotaHeaterCore.htm
I hope it helps out anyone else who ends up with this problem.
RGS
Louisville Ky.
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RPRacing
Dodge Dakota
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5/14/2005
01:43:58
| RE: Heater Core Puked!
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Hey Roland, you didnt need to literally disassemble the whole dashboard. :D
Loosen the pivot behind each kick panel, remove the 7 screws at teh base of teh windshield and remove the center console plate and it spins forward so you can undo the electrical gang connectors. Then the whole dash can be removed from the truck. Would cut 8 hrs off your time. :D
The no-rosion pills sounds like a good idea. Dont know if that will cure the problem, but worth a shot.
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RolandGS
Dodge Dakota
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5/14/2005
06:13:47
| RE: Heater Core Puked!
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That's great if the dash part of the job is that simple, will shorten the time on this job by a lot. God forbid if there is a next time on my truck I will try to keep the dash intact.
RGS
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bykerdude59
Dodge Dakota
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6/16/2005
14:01:08
| RE: Heater Core Puked!
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Good job Roland. Great info the pictures...enough for me to say Fu%k that. I would rather go with out a truck for a good deal of time (to save up money) than to have to deal with that crap. Thanks for the info
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Chris J. 03CC
Dodge Dakota
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6/28/2005
00:22:04
| RE: Heater Core Puked!
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See this radiator shop's web page about electrolysis. Three tenths (.3) of a volt in your coolant can cause pinhole leaks and rad cores to fail. There is a simple test procedure and some solutions offered.
http://www.sancarlosradiator.com/electrolysis.htm
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Leah
Dodge Dakota
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8/06/2005
13:16:50
| RE: Heater Core Puked!
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I have '01 Dakota and the heater core has now gone out for the third time in under 4 years! The second one was not covered by warranty but just shy of 1,000 miles. So Chrysler refunded me. I was happy with that, and me being nieve thought it was just a fluke thing. Now this third time I thought Chrysler would replace it again because it had only been a littler over a year since the last one. No, there respond was the second time it was paid for was a "courtesy"! What crap! I did love my truck, not anymore!
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ernie
Dodge Dakota
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8/07/2005
01:10:27
| RE: Heater Core Puked!
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Leah - At least you got the "courtesy" once. I am still fighting with them, while they ignore me, just to get my original documents back (see 5/5 letter above) for the last three months. My 2000 was two years over the 36 months, but only had 31,600 miles yet it took them two months to deny based on the 36 months. Then after the second letter that I sent them I got a call that it was because I didn,t get the work done at the dealer. I sent a letter , with copies, to the Attorney General's office here in California. Like with Dodge no responce. The non-dealer is covering the work he did for 2 years so we have the time to check out other trucks. We now like three. The first is the truck of the year - the Tocoma, next is the Ranger, and the third is the Frontier as they meet our needs for a pickup. We are waiting for the 2006 trucks to come out before getting a new one. So please let us know what you got and the web sites that you used to check out the problems with the trucks that you considered. At the risk of offending another reader welcome to the No More Dodge Club.
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jahrome
Dodge Dakota
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8/18/2005
13:53:01
| RE: Heater Core Puked!
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My AC stopped working on my 2000 Dakota quad cab recently. Finally took it in today and got the big shock, leak in the dash area and $1175 to fix it. Just wanted to confirm the price so started googling around and found this thread. I have 110,000 miles on this vehicle. The mechanic said "we do a lot of them." I guess he wasn't kidding, seems to be a chronic issue with Dodge trucks.
Now I seem to remember some small amount of smoke blowing out of the AC way long ago. I just hope I don't have to deal with this issue again in a year like some of you. He's suggesting it could be leaves being pulled in that cause this, but I'm reading about electrolysis being the culprit. I wonder what the root cause is of the leak.
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Ken Spring
Dodge Dakota
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8/19/2005
21:41:30
|  RE: Heater Core Puked!
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yes...67k and a core is needed.... 2000 Quad 4X4 360... got a qoute for 800.00... guess Ill have to go with it.... can wait till next time...
should I go for a evap swap too??? "since they are there"....
Ken
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RPRacing
Dodge Dakota
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8/21/2005
03:01:53
| RE: Heater Core Puked!
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Ken, only replace the evaporator if its bad.
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