NHTSA Complaint #10242414 — 2000 JEEP GRAND CHEROKEE

AUTOMATIC CLIMATE CONTROL SYSTEM ACTS ERRATICALLY. REGARDLESS OF WHAT SETTINGS ARE USED, HOT AIR WILL BLOW OUT ONE SIDE WHILE COLD BLOWS OUT THE OTHER. SOMETIMES WHICH SIDE IS COLD OR HOT WILL SWITCH. I AM FILING THIS WITH THE NHTSA BECAUSE THIS IS A MAJOR SAFETY HAZARD. BECAUSE MY AUTOMATIC CLIMATE CONTROL DOESN'T WORK CORRECTLY, I HAVE NO WINDSHIELD DEFROSTER. WE HAVE BEEN RECEIVING A LOT OF RAIN LATELY AND THE TEMPERATURES HAVE BEEN DROPPING. MY WINDSHIELD KEEPS GETTING FOGGY AND I CAN'T CLEAR IT. I HAVE TO PULL OVER AND WIPE IT OFF WITH A TOWEL JUST TO HAVE IT FOG UP AGAIN A FEW MINUTES LATER WHILE I'M TRYING TO DRIVE. IN THE WINTER, THE WINDSHIELD WILL FREEZE OVER AND IT IS VERY DIFFICULT TO KEEP CLEAR VISIBILITY. I CAN DEAL WITH BEING UNCOMFORTABLE, BUT NO DEFROSTER IS A MAJOR PROBLEM. I HAVE TAKEN THE VEHICLE INTO A DEALERSHIP AND HAVE BEEN TOLD THE COST OF REPAIR WILL BE AT LEAST $1200. AFTER RESEARCHING ONLINE, IT APPEARS THIS IS A VERY COMMON PROBLEM. MY FATHERS 99' JEEP GRAND CHEROKEE HAD THE SAME PROBLEM. JEEP HAS IDENTIFIED A DESIGN FLAW AND HAS REPLACEMENT PARTS, BUT THEY WILL NOT FIX THE PROBLEM UNDER WARRANTY UNLESS THE VEHICLE IS STILL IN WARRANTY. THIS IS A MAJOR DESIGN FLAW AND A MAJOR SAFETY ISSUE. JEEP DIDN'T HAVE A FIX FOR THIS UNTIL THE JEEP WAS WELL OUT OF WARRANTY. I PUT TODAY'S DATE AS THE INCIDENT DATE, BUT THIS HAS BEEN HAPPENING FOR THE PAST YEAR. IT IS CONSIDERABLY WORSE NOW AND THE VEHICLE WILL BE UNSAFE TO DRIVE THIS WINTER. *TR