SureTrack Community Fix: Cold Town & Country

Lack of hot air from a heat has a couple of typical causes but when those aren’t the problem you have to look elsewhere. SureTrack community member AWSM had a Chrysler Town & Country in their shop that didn’t put out heat from the heater at idle. They posed the question to the community, and with the help of fellow community members, they were able to resolve the issue quickly.

The following Community Fix summarizes the interaction between members of the community that led to the solution.

Vehicle
2010 Chrysler Town & Country Limited 4.0L

Title
No heat at idle, replaced engine oil cooler.

Complaint
Customer complains that heater doesn’t put out heat when engine is idling.

Diagnostic Steps Performed/Parts Replaced
Confirmed customer’s complaint. Found no heat at idle, when driving vehicle has heat. Front heat is at 94 deg out vents, rear heat is 64 deg. Replaced leaking heater hose from engine to heater core, back flushed heater core, vacuum filled cooling system. Output heater core hoses only get hot when engine speed is above 2,000 RPM. Heat never gets above 118 degrees out front vents when driving. Found no TSBs for this issue. Could my water pump have broken fins causing low circulation? From what I hear these water pumps have problems, is there a way to check with out removing?

Cause
Back flushed engine oil cooler and had good flow through it but still had no heat. Bypassed oil cooler and now had heat & maintained heat at 150 deg out of both driver & passenger vents.

Correction
Replaced engine oil cooler, test drove vehicle and heater worked as expected.