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Second Row Heat..where is it?


Psyke

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Hey Folks,

For those who had their Journeys last winter, what you thought of the heating in the vehicle? with our first subzero weather tonight, I figured I'd take the time to play with the heat, so I parked outside for an hour and went back to test the heating; Obviously very little heat to start, but starts to get slightly warm when the coolant hits 70-75c... Because the V6 idles so low, it takes a while to get up there(about 5-10 minutes). Doesn't help that you can't rev past 4K either to help it along.. Start driving and the temp starts rising pretty quickly and at 80c it gets pretty comfortable, and once it starts hitting 90c it's time to start lowering the temp in the cabin...

Of course, this is the front blowers....the second row passenger (and for that matter 3rd row as it feeds off the same tube) get nothing but very slightly heated cool air, to the point that it looks like it'll be useless once we start hitting <-10 weather...IF anything, the heat from the front will heat the back faster if we direct it that way. If I turn off the front vents, and go floor only, it seems to get a bit hotter, but still nothing that would keep me warm if I were chilled..doesn't work the same way if I go top vents only.

Anyone happen to know what feeds the second/third row blower? and what's your experience been with the second/third rows?

cheers!

Steph S.

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I know mine as the rear climate control on its own feed and system for A/C so I assume its a separate system (from the front) for heat as well, and based on the feedback from the dealership when I had a rear A/C question during the 40+ degrees we had during the summer it takes a long time to get the rear motor/system to optimal temperature and the quickest way is to start driving.

So I guess you would have to have someone in the back 2nd/3rd row check the temperature when you're in motion. Also, I noticed that the top/roof tubes in my feed from the rear forward, so the 2nd row is the end of the roof tube.

This will be my first winter with the Journey, so I'll have more accurate testing information as then winter progresses.

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Can't take advantage of the block heater when you're at the supermarket, parked on the street, or at a general parking lot (in most cases). At home it's not a big deal because I have indoor parking. In any case, as long as I can see, I'll start driving, so in general, I don't idle very much; when I did the tests the other day, I had parked the DJ outside for an hours and idled purposely to see how long it took to get up to a reasonable temp.

But, all that is besides the point; the fact is that once the vehicle gets up to normal operating temps (after idling, I did go for a drive to push the engine and get the temp up), and the front cabin is all toasty warm, the second and third row vents are still pushing out cool air, which is a concern. I'm going to bring it into the dealer to have it looked at.

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  • Official Dodge Support
Hey Folks, For those who had their Journeys last winter, what you thought of the heating in the vehicle? with our first subzero weather tonight, I figured I'd take the time to play with the heat, so I parked outside for an hour and went back to test the heating; Obviously very little heat to start, but starts to get slightly warm when the coolant hits 70-75c... Because the V6 idles so low, it takes a while to get up there(about 5-10 minutes). Doesn't help that you can't rev past 4K either to help it along.. Start driving and the temp starts rising pretty quickly and at 80c it gets pretty comfortable, and once it starts hitting 90c it's time to start lowering the temp in the cabin... Of course, this is the front blowers....the second row passenger (and for that matter 3rd row as it feeds off the same tube) get nothing but very slightly heated cool air, to the point that it looks like it'll be useless once we start hitting <-10 weather...IF anything, the heat from the front will heat the back faster if we direct it that way. If I turn off the front vents, and go floor only, it seems to get a bit hotter, but still nothing that would keep me warm if I were chilled..doesn't work the same way if I go top vents only. Anyone happen to know what feeds the second/third row blower? and what's your experience been with the second/third rows? cheers! Steph S.
Can't take advantage of the block heater when you're at the supermarket, parked on the street, or at a general parking lot (in most cases). At home it's not a big deal because I have indoor parking. In any case, as long as I can see, I'll start driving, so in general, I don't idle very much; when I did the tests the other day, I had parked the DJ outside for an hours and idled purposely to see how long it took to get up to a reasonable temp. But, all that is besides the point; the fact is that once the vehicle gets up to normal operating temps (after idling, I did go for a drive to push the engine and get the temp up), and the front cabin is all toasty warm, the second and third row vents are still pushing out cool air, which is a concern. I'm going to bring it into the dealer to have it looked at.

Steph,

The rear tends to take longer to warm up, as you already know, and the rear vents are usually only to assist the front vents in warming up the entire cab.

That being said I will look in to this for you and also look into what feeds the second/third rows and what you can expect.

As for your visit to the dealer, let me know what they advise and if I can be of any assistance.

Edited by DodgeCACares
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That's interesting.. In my 11 caravan. The rear heat is very strong.

So much that this morning, I had them on hot, and the fronts in cold, and still felt the heat on the back of my head.

That, and they come on as fast as the engine warms up.

I assumed the DJ had the same heater, as these cars are somewhat related.

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keep in mind that the coolant is passing first to the front heater and by the time it reaches the second heater its almost cold, we are talking about about 4 feet of piping, its normal for the the second row to blow colder air the the first row and also it take allot longer for it to heat up, usually second row will only heat up WHEN u drive the car, not by idling

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Steph,

The rear tends to take longer to warm up, as you already know, and the rear vents are usually only to assist the front vents in warming up the entire cab.

That being said I will look in to this for you and also look into what feeds the second/third rows and what you can expect.

As for your visit to the dealer, let me know what they advise and if I can be of any assistance.

Thanks DennyB, much appreciated.

keep in mind that the coolant is passing first to the front heater and by the time it reaches the second heater its almost cold, we are talking about about 4 feet of piping, its normal for the the second row to blow colder air the the first row and also it take allot longer for it to heat up, usually second row will only heat up WHEN u drive the car, not by idling

The heater core for both the front and back (even if it's two separate units, but I really can't see there being two different heater cores), "should" be in the engine bay, or just under the dash. The piping should only be ducts that direct the air to the back (and front) and four feet of ducts should not drop the temp from a what feels like a blistering 40c (not accurate, but it feels very hot) in the front to a much much cooler temp in the back. Logically, it should be one heater core, that breaks up into two separate ducts, one to the back and one to the front, and then from each of them, breaks twice more to direct between heat and cool air. So the amount of hot air being directed to the back, should be relatively comparable, if they did it logically...however:

That's interesting.. In my 11 caravan. The rear heat is very strong.

So much that this morning, I had them on hot, and the fronts in cold, and still felt the heat on the back of my head.

That, and they come on as fast as the engine warms up.

I assumed the DJ had the same heater, as these cars are somewhat related.

I seem to remember reading somewhere, and I can't find it for the life of me, that there's an electric heater for the rear, but I thought that was supposed to be a booster for third row only... If it's for both 2nd and 3rd row, it could explain a little as why there's such a temperature difference.

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keep in mind that the coolant is passing first to the front heater and by the time it reaches the second heater its almost cold, we are talking about about 4 feet of piping, its normal for the the second row to blow colder air the the first row and also it take allot longer for it to heat up, usually second row will only heat up WHEN u drive the car, not by idling

This is the best explanation (including the one I got from the dealership) as to why the rear takes longer to cool in the summer and heat in the winter. Thanks.

The heater core for both the front and back (even if it's two separate units, but I really can't see there being two different heater cores), "should" be in the engine bay, or just under the dash. The piping should only be ducts that direct the air to the back (and front) and four feet of ducts should not drop the temp from a what feels like a blistering 40c (not accurate, but it feels very hot) in the front to a much much cooler temp in the back. Logically, it should be one heater core, that breaks up into two separate ducts, one to the back and one to the front, and then from each of them, breaks twice more to direct between heat and cool air. So the amount of hot air being directed to the back, should be relatively comparable, if they did it logically...however:

As far as I know when you have the rear climate (tri-zone) system, there are two separate units. As far as I can tell, there aren't any air ducts that run from the front to the 2nd/3rd rows. And all the vents that are in the 2nd/3rd all route to the rear of the vehicle. So as far as I know there are two separate heaters with only the coolant running from the front to the back.

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Where's the air intake and the fan for the 2nd/3rd row? I'm trying to control the recirculation servo bypassing the climate control, but, if is there a separate air circuit for the rear places, there should also be an additional recirculation servo (which I didn't think of).

Edit: I found it, everything is under the side panel in the trunk, right side, the air intake is the grille it never gets air from the outside, so I should only worry about the front fan.

BTW, it may be due to the Fiat engine, but in winter, with temperatures well above zero, my freemont takes forever to start heating (at least 10 minutes). And that's for the front row, didn't check the rear. The dealer, as always, says it's normal.

Edited by Lebowski
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  • Official Dodge Support

Good morning all,

Psyke, thanks for bringing this up.

I just want to add to what I advised you and add to the thread.

The Journey doesn't have a Dual Core HVAC system like the Caravan, so it will take longer to heat up.

With that in mind, as your vehicle is still cold and the vent tubes are still nicely chilled, you may not feel the heat in the back for some time, like a lot of you are pointing out.

Idling won't get things very warm even-though most of us have remote start, albeit a nice feature, you won't get much heat in the back until you're moving.

How long it takes to warm up will vary and I will state that this is a characteristic of the DJs.

Hope this clears things up a bit.

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  • 5 weeks later...

one thing that always worked for me in all of my previous cars and including this one is to start driving right away and don't use the heater at all .. turn it off if you can ... Why ? because turning it on steal the heat from the engine and it take longer to build up .. if you turn it off all the heat generated will be for the engine and it will get hot faster ....

i mean .. if you don't need the defrost mode , no snow or ice .. if it just cold outside and your windshield and windows are clear ... turn off the heater , start driving and in 5-6 minutes the engine will reach his normal temp .. then turn on the heater .. instant warm air from the vents ...if you start driving with the heater on it will take twice the time to get warm inside ( because you are stealing the heat from the engine right ? ) .... Journey's with ATC like mine do automatically something similar : when it's cold you see '' Auto Delay '' on the screen and the ventilation is low .. when it get warmer the ATC turn the fan full speed but i prefer to turn it off because it is more efficient and quicker to build up heat.

just try it ... you will see what i mean

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  • 6 years later...

So I'm having a similar issue with the rear vents, hot and cold! It barely blows anything out, mostly room temperature, even on full blast. The fuse for the rear HVAC is good. Now what? 2014 Journey.

Edited by mommysheena
Added year and model
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3 minutes ago, jkeaton said:

Are you blocking the rear blower air intake with anything?

No. I don't think so. Where is it located? I bought it a month ago have been having this issue since then. Didn't think to fully check the rear system before taking it off the lot.

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23 hours ago, mommysheena said:

No. I don't think so. Where is it located? I bought it a month ago have been having this issue since then. Didn't think to fully check the rear system before taking it off the lot.

 

Download an owners manual and familiarize yourself with it if you don't have one. 

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  • Official Dodge Support
On 10/27/2019 at 9:54 PM, mommysheena said:

So I'm having a similar issue with the rear vents, hot and cold! It barely blows anything out, mostly room temperature, even on full blast. The fuse for the rear HVAC is good. Now what? 2014 Journey.

 

Hi mommysheena,
Your sentiments expressed here are certainly understandable. We suggest having your dealer inspect this concern if you have not done so already. We are also available via private message if you would like any additional assistance during that process.

 

Rob 
DodgeCares
 

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  • 3 months later...

Sorry to jump in here, I'm in the UK and have got a 2010 2.0 diesel model. Since getting in a few weeks the blowers/demisters don't work, showing as fully on but nothing blows out, had it with a auto electrician but not able to find the fuse or anything for the front blowers where it is located? Any help on why these would not work? Also the central locking doesn't work. Any idea what could be causing the Issues. We Have changed batteries in remote. 

I have tried to contact the seller but not responding. Thanks 

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