tdeperte
Member
I have had an issue on my 2016 3500 since new where my air conditioning and heating system keeps going into recirculate mode by itself. In this mode it is using inside cabin air only. I am in the process of taking this vehicle to the third dealer in am attempt to get this fixed. During this fiasco I was able to duplicate the problem on a 2018 at one dealer, so I suspect many vehicles have this same problem.
My system has the three round control knobs. The knob on the left controls the fan speed and if this knob is pushed it turns on/off the recirculate mode and a light illuminates on the knob when in the on mode.
The center knob controls the temp setting and when pushed it turns on/off the ac compressor. When the knob is turned all the way to the left it also turns on max air or recirculate mode and illuminates the recirculate light on the left knob.
The knob on the right directs airflow out the various vents, defrost, dash or floor.
By themselves these knobs all work correctly. What happens is when the system is on say in ac mode I can hear the outside air vent door close and the fan noise increase. I am then in recirculate mode using inside cabin air only with no recirculate light illuminated on the knob and the middle knob is not in max air mode. If I push the left knob and put the system into recirculate mode for a few seconds and then push it again to turn recirculate off I can hear the door open and draw outside air in. After a few seconds or minutes the door will close by itself. I have removed the glove box and observed the door exhibiting this behavior.
Many dealer service personnel ask me "so what is the problem the ac is working?" The main problem is I do not get any vent mode where I get fresh outside air in the cabin when I am in the vent setting with the ac off. I also am always driving with the ac in max air mode which increases the fan noise in the cabin. The first dealer replaced the hvac control module because everything is controlled electrically. It did not fix the problem. When I duplicated the problem in a 2018 they said there was nothing more they could do, I would have to take it up with FCA. I did that and the woman assigned to my case was a lousy representative and I got nowhere and she never followed up, just wanted me to get a new truck.
But wait, there's more. Many times but not always I turn on the ac by turning up the fan speed and pushing the center knob and the ac light illuminates but the compressor won't start until I put the system into recirculate or max air mode. It will blow warm air all day long with the ac light on until I put it into recirculate or max air mode.
I have an appointment next week at a third dealer but my optimism in getting this fixed is pretty low. It appears to be a software issue but getting someone to listen and follow through either at the dealer or FCA has been impossible.
So, since I duplicated the recirculate door issue in a different truck two years newer than mine I suspect there are many others out there with this issue. The only way to tell is to carefully listen to the fan noise to hear if your recirculate door closes even though the controls indicate you should be using outside air, or if you don't get any airflow into the cabin when in vent mode.
My system has the three round control knobs. The knob on the left controls the fan speed and if this knob is pushed it turns on/off the recirculate mode and a light illuminates on the knob when in the on mode.
The center knob controls the temp setting and when pushed it turns on/off the ac compressor. When the knob is turned all the way to the left it also turns on max air or recirculate mode and illuminates the recirculate light on the left knob.
The knob on the right directs airflow out the various vents, defrost, dash or floor.
By themselves these knobs all work correctly. What happens is when the system is on say in ac mode I can hear the outside air vent door close and the fan noise increase. I am then in recirculate mode using inside cabin air only with no recirculate light illuminated on the knob and the middle knob is not in max air mode. If I push the left knob and put the system into recirculate mode for a few seconds and then push it again to turn recirculate off I can hear the door open and draw outside air in. After a few seconds or minutes the door will close by itself. I have removed the glove box and observed the door exhibiting this behavior.
Many dealer service personnel ask me "so what is the problem the ac is working?" The main problem is I do not get any vent mode where I get fresh outside air in the cabin when I am in the vent setting with the ac off. I also am always driving with the ac in max air mode which increases the fan noise in the cabin. The first dealer replaced the hvac control module because everything is controlled electrically. It did not fix the problem. When I duplicated the problem in a 2018 they said there was nothing more they could do, I would have to take it up with FCA. I did that and the woman assigned to my case was a lousy representative and I got nowhere and she never followed up, just wanted me to get a new truck.
But wait, there's more. Many times but not always I turn on the ac by turning up the fan speed and pushing the center knob and the ac light illuminates but the compressor won't start until I put the system into recirculate or max air mode. It will blow warm air all day long with the ac light on until I put it into recirculate or max air mode.
I have an appointment next week at a third dealer but my optimism in getting this fixed is pretty low. It appears to be a software issue but getting someone to listen and follow through either at the dealer or FCA has been impossible.
So, since I duplicated the recirculate door issue in a different truck two years newer than mine I suspect there are many others out there with this issue. The only way to tell is to carefully listen to the fan noise to hear if your recirculate door closes even though the controls indicate you should be using outside air, or if you don't get any airflow into the cabin when in vent mode.
