Hello..

I haven't been on here in a while.. lots of changes... liking the new look...

Anyways, I've got an issue it seems is quite common but it hasn't been explored the way I'd like to dig into it, so ya.. lets get to it.

I have my 06 3500.. Last summer we were driving in the heat of summer and we lost A/C. We replaced the compressor clutch and got things up and going again. We lost A/C 2 weeks later, but with it being the end of summer, we just felt we would deal with it in the spring. This spring (March) we took the truck to a Dodge dealer and had them replace the compressor and check the rest of the system... Btw, we are now over $2500 in repairs, but the new compressor has a 1yr warranty on it. It worked for 3 months and has failed again. We are now waiting for a compressor from Dodge, thank goodness the heat has taken a bit of a break but we are looking at likely the 18th before we get a compressor (number 4) into the truck.

Our friend's minivan has lost 5 compressors, its a 2007 Caravan... reading online it seems to be limited to Dodge products... Why? A compressor is not a wear part, it should last a descent amount of time.. the original compressor lasted ~160,000kms.. I'm about to break 200,000kms and the drivetrain of the truck is strong.. I don't want to be fighting with it though.. I have a family that I don't want to put through the stress of traveling through hot territtory in a truck with no A/C... Its not fair to the 1yr & 3yr old, and certainly not fair to my wife.

Can anyone shed any light on the issue? Any insight would be appreciated.

 

I'm on my fourth Chrysler vehicle, I know several people who have them - none of us have experienced A/C compressor failure that I've heard about. My Mazda lost one under warranty in '09. Prior to that, my Mom had a GM product that lost a compressor twenty years or so ago. I had a Toyota compressor fail in '74.

Perhaps you should abandon the dealer and go to an A/C shop...

 

I've tried both.. I should have stated the rebuild was from an AC shop.. the last one regarding the replacement was from a dealer.... at least the dealer had the ability to offer a warranty on their product.. the AC shop wouldn't... should have been a red flag I know but the offer of cold air, when there's an abundance of hot air is hard to argue with.

 

Can't say we've had a compressor actually go out on any of our Dodge vehicles over the past 20 years. It's all been leaks that take it out. Dad's 02 has got 130k on the original compressor, no idea about mine, but I've got 160k.

Now, my 76 has an original compressor and it's locked up, I believe. But we've never had problems like you're experiencing.

 

I never let my compressor go long periods of time without being used. In the winter, I make sure to turn it on and run my A/c for a few minutes at least twice a week. The Freon has oil mixed with it and the seals need to be lubricated so they don’t fail. I have never had a compressor go out or leak in 25 years.

 

Maybe that's the thing with living in Texas, I use A/C almost 8 months out of the year.

 

Have an 06 1500 Ram with 110,000 miles and havent experienced any trouble at all, never even had to recharge the system yet

 

I have heard that "rebuilt compressors fail often and that you should always get a new one. My friend lost his a/c and repl;aced with a new one and has had no problems. Others who use rebuilt have problems so-- I would go with a new one.

 

It sounds like something is wrong with the system and causing failure of the compressors. There is a sensor just past the evaporator that tells the compressor clutch when to cycle to keep the temp above freezing so the evap doesn't freeze up. If it or the TPIM/PCM circuit it connects to isn't working right to cycle the clutch then that could cause the compressor to fail. It is worth checking into anyway.

 

Mine has 120,000+ on it and will turn my quad cab into a meat locker in about of 5 min or so.