Another dealer stealer anecdote

eastof111

eastof111

BinThere
Administrator
Two months ago I had to take my Jeep for a tech bulletin computer update at the dealer. While there, I had an actuator replaced that operates the drivers side air vents due to a ratcheting noise when changing from outside to cabin circulation. Other than that, the a/c was working fine blowing cold air.

After three hours, the service rep tells me that I was low on freon and that the tech installed one pound of freon and one pound of dye. No charge to me because while doing so, he broke the Schrader valve by accident. On the drive home, the darn air vents still did not work correctly, so I returned to the dealer and now I needed another actuator the tech missed. Six hundred bucks later I am out the door.

A few days later I started smelling a very bad freon odor whenever I used the outside circulation setting, but it cleared up once switched over to the a/c setting. I figured the tech had some how gotten freon in to the cabin air intake. So, for a few weeks I kept the fan on high while driving with the windows open hoping the smell would disappear. Once the smell disappeared, I would switch over to the a/c and close the windows.

Since that didn't solve the problem, I popped the hood and removed the cabin air filter and cleaned the intake. Still no go. Took the Jeep back to the dealer and now the service writer says I have a leak and will need a evap core due to finding a leak on the edges of the heat shield on the evap drain. Plus they have to order the part and it will cost me $1800 and they will have to r&r the dash.

I now have an appointment with a local repair shop to see what they find. I certainly can't drive the vehicle with this smell since it is not healthy, but the a/c does blow cold air. I can't understand why the a/c works perfectly if I have a month old leak.

Comments from auto experts out there?

Thanks
 
I do not understand why freon would be added to a working a/c system. One pound of freon would be abouthalf of the freon capapcity for a 05 Grand Cherokee. If it was that low, you would expect the a/c not to cool properly.
And why even mention the broken schrader valve? This vavlve was not broken when the Jeep came in. If it was, the freon would have probably escaped. Mentioning this shows incompetence of the person doing the work. The valve should not have been broken, and Freon should not be added "Free of Charge" To add 1 pound of freon at most shops is around 60.00!

As for the smell, your a/c drain probably quit working or was partially clogged. This allowed excessive moisture to build up on the a/c evaporator core, and you now have mold growing on it. I have attached a couple of links that describes this problem in more detail, along with some options to get rid of the problem.
Another source of smell from the vents could be coming from dead debris on top of the air intake outside the vehicle.This air intake will be located under the windshield wipers, and you may have to raise the hood in order to see all of it. Look for tree limbs, leaves, or other trash in this area and remove any that you find. The air intake for the heating/cooling is not cleaned regularly on most vehicles and can become a source of foul odors if it is not cleaned.

A good price on changing the a/c evaporator core on a 2005 Jeep would be between 400-600 dollars. The higher end would be 900 dollars, and 1800 dollars is ridiculous!
Be very careful when allowing someone to do this job. A loose dash, or a leaking evaporator core could be the end result!

Turn the a/c on and set the vents to recycle or recirculate. within ten minutes, you should see a puddle of moisture forming under the Jeep, coming from the evaporator core. If you do not have moisture forming under the Jeep, then the a/c drain needs to be checked.

An old trick from an used car dealer to eliminate a/c evaporator smell:
Disconnect the a/c compressor by removing the clutch wire, compressor relay or fuse.
Set the vents to recycle or recirculate.
Start the vehicle, Turn the heat to high, then close the vehicle doors with the windows up. Allow vehicle to run 30-45 minutes.

http://www.jeepforum.com/forum/f309/air-conditioning-smell-1118597/index2.html

http://autorepair.about.com/cs/heatingac/a/aa071601a.htm
 
If the smell from the evaporator is freon, replacing it would be in order. The evaporator was leaking on my 95 Dodge van and I was able to stop the leak with some stop leak. You will get mixed opinions about stop leak for a/c systems. I have had success with the newer formulations that are available. The way they work is by reacting with outside air. It remains liquid in the system until it hits oxygen, then a reaction takes place to stop the leak. Older formulations worked differently and I have heard horror stories about them clogging the system. I have only tried the newer types and have had a high success rate with them.

I have done evaporators on earlier generations grand cherokees (97, 2000) and it is a big job.

When your evaporator starts leaking you will smell it when you first get in the vehicle. This is because there is more pressure in the evaporator when the system is shut off. The static pressure when the car is shut off is around 100 psi depending on how hot it is. When the a/c is running the pressure is around 30 psi or so inside the evaporator so it will leak less while it is running.

I still have a new evaporator for my dodge van but haven't installed it yet because the stop leak is still holding from about 3 summers ago. I also never discharged the system. Sometimes it is more cost effective to leave the freon in the system as opposed to having to evacuate it and then replace parts and recharge. Good luck either way.
 
Thanks guys.... took it to the local repair shop and they could not find any leaks with the black light nor a smell. Have to drop it off again today for further investigative work. We'll see what they find.

I never found any debris in the cabin air filter intake and I did clean the whole area with bleach and wiped clean with negative results. Well, will find out today what the diagnosis and cure is.

Thanks again guys... learning some thing new every day!
 
Most good a/c repair shops have a device that can detect the freon gas, so no need for a black light or dye.

Somebody that is creative May be able to replace or clean the evaporator core without removing the dash.
Dash removal should be avoided and done only as a last resort!

Here are the links for a couple of videos that will give you some idea of what it takes to remove the dash.
The evaporator core is usually next to the heater core in any vehicle. These cores are not usually placed in different locations.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jFfIvAgqduQ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gj3P1YEYE6Y
 
That's what the Jeep dealer wanted to do (remove dash to access the core) and replace the whole unit. I still feel a little sour with the dealer since the only thing wrong when I brought in, was the drivers air vent not operating properly. So I definitely will not use their services again.

I am still waiting to see what the repair shop has found. Worse case scenario, I was thinking of trading it in for a 2014 with the same Hemi engine and 8 speed. Since the economy sucks, they are offering many incentives which will end by August. One of which is zero percent for 36 months, or 0.9 for 48 months, plus some factory rebate. Quite tempting, but will wait and see what happens with the repair shop before I make a decision. I have been using them for service on all my vehicles since 2000 and they have been pretty trust worthy.
 
EB thanks for the videos.... after watching the dis-assembly for a second time, I am extremely happy I didn't allow the same dealer TECH that diagnosed my a/c problems go near my car. He probably would have forgot to re-install the steering wheel. LOL
 
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