2001 wj (Jeep Grand Cherokee) blend door problems starting around 80,000 and now no heat at 111,111 miles.

- Central, SC, USA

My electronic climate control failed when the blend doors stopped working. I took it to the dealer who said it is a very common problem with Jeep in general. They would need to remove my dash and replace the motors for the blend doors. 1500 dollars later, I am seeing that I am far from alone with this rip off due to poor construction. From 20000 miles on to 90000 I heard a creaking after I shut off my car. Now I know what that was: The grinding of the blend motor.

- Lake Villa, IL, USA

Blend doors in my 2001 Jeep Grand Cherokee have gone out.

- Cedar Hills, UT, USA

Dual climate control blen doors. Both sides of the dual climate control will only blow out cold air. This is due to your failure.

- Westminster, CO, USA

Issue with no heat coming from passenger side of vehicle. It is a 2001 Jeep Grand Cherokee with dual heat zones. Cost $1,600 to repair, and it still is not working.

- Franklin, WI, USA

First the passenger side would not blow hot air, then the drivers side stopped blowing hot air. Now defrost no longer works. Failure has not been corrected. Repair requires an exceptional amount of money ($1,000+) considering that it is an obvious engineering/manufacturers defect in the strength of the blend air doors and motor assembly. Jeep has a "newer" "better" assembly that corrects the problem. Part is inexpensive - labor is not since it requires removing entire dashboard. This is a serious issue since it renders the windshield defroster unusable. This is not an isolated issue - it's widespread and covers many year's of production of Jeep Grand Cherokee and possibly other Jeep products. Upon investigation on the web - it looks like this is a part that will fail on all Jeep and not a question of if but when. Just like the brake problem found on similar Jeep (eventually recalled) it looks like Jeep is playing the waiting game - and hoping that most failures occur outside of the warranty period (such as ours 70K miles). This is an obvious manufacturers defect. The original parts were not engineered properly. Jeep obviously knows this or they wouldn't have created a "fix" for the problem.

- Hood River, OR, USA

2001 Jeep grand cheorkee defrost and heat stopped working. Blend doors and actuators had to be replaced along with recirc door. $1500+ in parts and labor was told by dealer this happens to all Jeep 99-04.

- Brookfield, CT, USA

HVAC system quit working properly. No heat, no defrost. Windows fogged/iced up so that vision was impaired and safety was definitely compromised(mine and others on the road)had dealer repair blend door units(4 parts required and complete removal of dash)at $1200.

- Bayside, CA, USA

My blend door in my V8 limited is broken. Not covered under warranty, and makes driving in the winter very cold. Estimate of 876 to fix.

- Rexburg, ID, USA

2001 Jeep Grand Cherokee with several problems. Consumer states that he has had the heater, power steering pump, brake calipers, and rotors repaired or replaced. Consumer stated rotors were replaced twice after the warranty was up.

- Elgin, IL, USA

The blend door for the passenger side of my 2001 Jeep Grand Cherokee limited has snapped in 2 pieces. The Jeep has 56K miles on it. It is practically new. I have tried to repair the door itself 2 times now. Pulling the entire dash after having the A/C system drained. The replacement doors are not available at any of the 3 local dealerships. There are no other replacements available. I contacted Jeep and was told that they choose not to help me. The book hours for this job are listed as 12 book hours. I have not found anyone with this body style of Jeep that has not had this trouble. Will no one help in this matter"?" the vehicle cannot heat properly nor defrost the windows. This is unacceptable.

- Amarillo, TX, USA

Please accept this email as a request for help with a common problem concerning Jeep Grand Cherokee owners and problems having to do with "blend doors? in the HVAC system. My vehicle, which my wife drives, heats on the driver's side, but blows cold air on the passenger side. It occurred all at once. It is also a real safety hazard as it creates an icing hazard on the windshield. The cost of repair through a dealership appears to range from $900 to $1500. I have sent an email through the Jeep.com website just before typing this to you. I also believe that the apparent inaction of the manufacturer to address this issue in a favorable manner is reckless endangerment of the general public. Since they are not addressing it many are seeking less expensive remedies and short-cut fixes, or attempting to do the repair on their own. I can see where this could then flood the used car market with faulty and shoddy repairs. I have to question whether or not it is cost effective to keep the vehicle after it is repaired. There are even numerous posts that indicate the dealerships are not fixing the correct problems with added expense to customers. And still others that indicate that the dealers do not want to spend the time to do the repairs due to the difficulty and time consumed, and the very real possibility that this repair will spark other problems. There are some who note that taking the dash out and reinstalling it causes all kinds of problems with malfunctioning controls. Again, it"S a real safety problem in northern areas of the country. And many people in these areas look for 4 wheel drive vehicles as a safety factor for driving in just those conditions when heat is needed in order to see clearly. It certainly raises the question of whether there have been accidents and injury from this kind of issue. I have not yet decided how to effectuate the repairs to my 2001 Jeep Grand Cherokee limited.

- Omaha, NE, USA

A component known as the heater system "blend doors" failed on my wife's 2001 Jeep Grand Cherokee limited, purchased used in April, 2005. This failure causes a situation where no heated air is available to defrost/demist the vehicle's windows, thus potentially causing loss of visibility and a potentially serious accident. This problem is apparently caused by a design flaw in the Grand Cherokee heater system from 1999-on. This is so common on these vehicles that there is even an aftermarket fix kit available (vs. The $1,200 I was quoted by our local Jeep dealer to fix the problem). This is clearly much more than an occupant comfort issue and, in my opinion, should have been treated by the manufacturer as a safety recall due to the danger to those both in the vehicle and otherwise. What we did not realize is that this is a problem that had been gradually happening virtually since we bought the vehicle until it eventually reached the point where the system completely failed.

- Niles, MI, USA

Description : I own a 2001 Jeep Grand Cherokee limited with 100,000 miles. The events leading up to the failure of the ventilation system were (1) rapid fogging of front windshield, (2) fogging of front passenger windows, (3) failure of passenger heat while still maintaining driver heat function, and (4) only cold air release on passenger side of Jeep. Consequently, (1) the windshield and front windows do not defog, and (2) no heat whatsoever comes from the passenger side floor and dashboard ventilation system. To correct this problem, a "blend air door" is necessary at a cost of approximately $1,200 inclusive of 7 hours of labor. According to the certified service department at the local Jeep dealer and online forums, this has become a very common problem for 2000-2004 Jeep Grand Cherokee limiteds with duel zone ventilation systems.

- Wapello, IA, USA

Defroster in Jeep Grand Cherokee limited will not defrost passenger side window. This is a know defect in this model Jeep and of course not covered by limited warranty. So now my wife can only drive the car during the summer months.

- South Windsor, CT, USA

01 Jeep Grand Cherokee limited V8 w/ climate control. Blenddoors or related components failed. Drivers side vents blow hot air, but passenger side blows cold air when heater is on. Prior to this, I had heard what sounded like plastic shattering one morning and every time the vehicle is shut off, the dash creeks for several minutes.

- Orem, UT, USA

We purchased this vehicle used with a warranty insurance policy. The sales manager assured us that if you push a button or turn something on then the warranty would cover it. The first time we used the heater cold air came out of the passenger floor duct. The warranty covers the automatic temperature control, but the dealer claims this does not include the components of the automatic temperature control system. There is no such component as an automatic temp control, but they Dodge they warranty anyway. I have read that I will have to pay $1100 to repair this by the time winter comes or else I will have no defroster and will not be safe to drive. The dealers are quite aware of the problems associated with this system but unless someone forces a manufacturers recall the dealers do not receive compensation and will not stand behind their cars. This is a cold weather safety hazard and engineering defect costing consumers unfair and costly repair bills and time inconveniences.

- Shasta Lake, CA, USA

Heater malfunctioned on my 2001 Jeep Grand Cherokee. It stopped producing heat on both sides of the vehicle, passenger and driver. Thus preventing the defroster to work and leading to zero visibility while driving in the winter. Freezing rain and snow will accumulate on the windshield preventing the driver from seeing the road. Consequently this would cause seriously injuries, possibly death from a crash. Dealer states this is a common problem and is probably a malfunctioning blend door. Due to the location of these blend doors it creates the need to fully remove the dash from the vehicle. Which is very costly for the consumer, costing near $2000 dollars to fix.

- Boise, ID, USA

I own a Jeep Grand Cherokee limited 2001. The passenger side heat and defroster did not work. The problem most likely happened when the vehicle was still under the extended warranty, but was not discovered until after the warranty expired. The warranty expired sometime in August, and I turned the heat on in September. Chrysler refused to cover any cost of the repair. Also, after researching the issue I found out it was a wide spread problem with the Jeep products. Repair the problem is expensive and risky. An attempted repair could cause electrical and coolant problems. It seemed to range in cost from $1000 to $2000. I received an estimate in the $2000 range. Here was the link to the web site showing others with the issue: www.topix.net/forum/autos/Jeep-grand-Cherokee/tserat48371icob68/P6.

- Columbus, OH, USA

The heater and defroster have completely malfunctioned. This has caused the vehicle to be unsafe in cold temperatures. Sudden fogging of the windshield decreases visibility to near zero and forces the driver to pull over and manually wipe the windshield. This is a common problem to this particular vehicle and is very expensive to remedy. The average cost I have been quoted to fix has been $1485. The entire dash, steering wheel, air bags etc. Have to be removed to access the faulty mechanism. I am concerned that if any of these major safety components are damaged or removed/replaced improperly it could lead to a serious injury to the occupants. The cost of the dealer repair will lead some to have these fixed by unqualified technicians and serious safety issues will arise from faulty airbag and steering component replacement.

- Waldron, AR, USA