Heat only through front vents

Courtney Paige Gross

I have a 2004 V8 Hemi third row seater Dodge Durango. I have heat in all front vents that face driver and passenger. It doesn’t come out at the window vent, feet, or back of the vehicle. Any ideas what it could be? I’m assuming a wiring issue because last year when this happened I had to rig it up to where if I tugged slightly on a couple wires the heating would work fine. I need a permanent fix or at least something that will last me through the winter. I have a 3yr old that will be in the car as well, HEAT is a must. Help!

xwesx

Hard to say. Could be electrical or mechanical. Since you mention having to "rig it up," you might start with checking the actuator. If it is just stuck on dash only, and is not routing to the other areas, then it could be the actuator itself or the wiring to the unit, and that could be actual wiring or a circuit board failure, but you don't really know until you trace the fault.

Next would be to check the ducting to ensure it is attached; if that came apart somewhere, then you will lose most of your efficiency. Not sure about the 2004, but I suspect ducting along both the floor (under the front seats) and through the doors.

I would be most concerned about lack of defrost. I mean, you can bundle the pup more to handle the reduced heat, but if you can't see to drive, then it probably won't do either of you much good. If it turns out to be a cost-prohibitive issue, I would try to get the "stuck" setting at defrost, or defrost/footwell, and just let it stay at that.