NHTSA Complaint #11429385 — 2015 DODGE JOURNEY

I noticed that my heater hose looked like it had some crusted coolant around the Tee joint. I looked closer and realized that the Tee joint appeared to be cracked on both bottom left and right side of the joint. I literally just grabbed it and it fell apart. I started to do my research and this happend to be a common problem that owners of dodge journeys are having because the factory Tee joint is made of plastic and is not made to with stand the heat. I went to an Auto Parts store and was informed that this part has not been released for aftermarket sale. So I called the dodge dealership and was told that I can not just buy the Tee joint. I have to buy the entire assembly with is around $200. I researched how much it would cost for part and labor if I didn't change it my self and that would cost $600. This is a Factory issuse so it should not be on the buyer's to have to change this part. It is a safety issuse because I have read that when people have had this issue while driving in the past that the car started overheating out of nowhere and clouds of white smoke poured out of the engine. This could obstruct the drivers view and cause a crash.