NHTSA Complaint #10462479 — 2000 JEEP GRAND CHEROKEE

THE IN-DASH HEATER/AC BLEND DOOR IS MALFUNCTIONING CAUSING AIR FLOW NOT TO BE PROPERLY DIVERTED BETWEEN LOWER DASH VENTS, DASHBOARD VENTS AND DEFROSTER VENTS. THIS IS CREATING AN UNSAFE CONDITION WHEREBY THE WINDSHIELD WILL NOT CLEAR IN RAINSTORMS AND WILL NOT STAY DEFROSTED IN WINTER DRIVING. A SEARCH ON THE INTERNET AND ALONG WITH DISCUSSIONS WITH A LOCAL DEALER WORKING WITH JEEPS FOR MANY YEARS HAS LED ME TO UNDERSTAND THAT THIS IS A LONG-KNOWN AND VERY COMMON DEFECT WITH JEEP GRAND CHEROKEES. PRICES TO REPLACE THIS BLEND DOOR HAVE RANGED FROM $1000 TO $1500 DUE TO THE FACT THAT THIS IS A VERY LABOR INTENSIVE REPLACEMENT. I CONTACT CHRYSLER ASSISTANCE AND THEY SUGGESTED THAT I CONTACT YOU TO IDENTIFY THIS SAFETY CONCERN SO THAT PERHAPS A TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN (TSB) COULD BE ISSUED AND CHRYSLER WOULD ADDRESS THE DEFECTIVE BLEND DOOR FOR CONSUMERS EXPERIENCING THIS SAFETY ISSUE. *JS