A/C compressors – Chrysler TSB
Chrysler has issued two TSB’s on the A/C compressors in 2001-02 Caravans, Town & Country, and Voyager vans.
The first is a software update. #21-002-02
Chrysler claims that the software update will increase the durability of the compressor. From the factory the PCM has an “anti-slugging” feature that removes liquid refrigerant from the compressor during cranking. That feature is activated every time the vehicle is started and the compressor has not run during the previous drive cycle. Unfortunately, it also removes all the oil as well.
Chrysler doesn’t tell us exactly what the new programming does differently, just that it improves the life of the compressor—which must have become a big problem because of TSB #2 below.
TSB # 24-004-04 applies to 2001-03 Caravan, Voyager, and T&C vans.
This TSB covers the failure of the compressor which can be detected by a squealing of the drive belt or a missing drive belt. The drive belt squeal because the compressor has seized.
The warranty on the A/C compressor has been extended to 7 years or 70,000 miles.
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© 2007 Rick Muscoplat
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Indeed, failed A/C compressors have been a big problem in Chrysler Corp. minivans. I had 2 fail in succession on the same 1996 Town & Country minivan. The first failure occurred conveniently 1000 miles after the 36,000 mile warranty expired. I paid $1,200 for a replacement of the compressor & everything else that was damaged when it failed. However, the warranty on the Chrysler-dealer-provided repair was only for 12 months. So 13 months later the replacement compressor failed again. This time the dealer wanted $1,800 for a replacement. By this time I had done a fair amount of research & learned about the huge number of A/C compressor failures in Chrysler minivans. I had 2 better ideas. (1) I told the dealer to simply remove the compressor – cut the A/C lines – and replace it with an idler pulley and the serpentine belt that went with a non-A/C minivan. After that the minivan was hot in the summer & the windshield a bit hard to defrost in the winter but OK otherwise. (2) was my 2nd better idea, trade it in for a Ford.
No wonder Chrysler is not long for this world.