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Rear Heating Problems, 2014 Transit Connect LWB Titanium


mrgone
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So after weeks of letting me talk to voicemail, I finally got a call from a customer service rep today. As I explained that yes the dealership checked out the items I cited and found them to be working as designed, that they were sorry that I wasn't happy with the design.

LIVID does not even begin to describe how I feel at the moment.

I guess the first use of my go pro camera will be to make some videos about the issues.

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I have the same problem with my 2014 Transit Connect. I get no rear heat and cold air comes through the upper rear vents even with the control turned to heat. I took it to the dealer in December and they said my rear electric heating element wasn't working and that none were currently available from Ford. The dealer said that it was unusual for a part to not be available and that a redesign might be happening. I heard back from them a couple weeks ago and they still have no answer from Ford.

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  • 3 weeks later...

The passengers in my SportWagon up until the end of December have been only our three dogs. My inlaws came in to Minneapolis/St. Paul at a time in which our temperatures got up to -5F for highs. That's when I discovered the rear heat blows a nice steady stream of what feels like outdoor air. Trips around town were cold to say the least. Great vehicle in the winter as long as you are wearing a parka in the back.

What's the word in Dearborn? Since there isn't any paid advertising out there, it seems like word of couth advertising has been the advertising campaign on social media. Word of a cold cabin in the winter will drive a huge spike through the vehicle ever becoming popular nation-wide.

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I also have the problem of no heat for passengers. Took TC to my dealer in November. They had it for a week trying to take care of the issue. The mechanic was back and forth with theFord engineers and did not get any satisfactory information. They also had another new one on the lot and he said it was the same. Air but very little to no heat.

I do know that because these heaters are independant electrical units (the frontone works perffectly) it has nothing to do with the engine coolant, temperature, etc. It is like you have baseboard heat in the car. But why does the front work and not the back?

Ford engineering needs to deal with and correct this problem now. Otherwise I am very satisfied with this vehicle.

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After joining this morning I also went to Ford website and filed a complaint by email. Just received a response with a case number and am supossed to hear from dealer this week. I emailed back that my dealer has tried to deal with this and that Ford needs to come up with a solution for all owners with the problem. We will see what happens. Everyone needs to complain directly to Ford.

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Well, I came to this forum for a reason, and I'm not liking the answers I'm finding. I'm two weeks into owning a 2014 Transit Connect Wagon LWB. We sold all our vehicles and consolidated to this vehicle for an upcoming move to Russia. Rear heat was a big factor in our decision, and guess what.....it doesn't work. Same problems as you folks have described.

So far, in two weeks, I've got a folding seat failing (current has a tech bulletin on it) and a failing rear heater. I'm starting to have serious doubts about this vehicle.

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  • 2 weeks later...
  • 3 weeks later...

I am late to the conversation.. I had time today to check the parts diagram for the heater and the front heater core supplies heated air under the drivers and Passengers seat when the control is pointing to the feet . With the fan on 3 or 4 and the front temp control on high there is a fair amount of heated air under the Driver and Passengers seats . The intake for the rear heater is under the Drivers seat. This is not a great design but it might make more heat availiable for the rear of the vehicle

This won't fix the Bad design but could help some.

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As a follow up I did a test run with the car this morning . The starting temp outside was 10 degrees F.

Set the front heater on fan speed 3 and temp control high . The rear fan was on 2 and the temp control on high after a ten minute run the heat coming out of the B pillar vent was good

I also found that the vent hook up on the passinger side under the seat might be good . when it is on the duct correctly then there is good heat for the passingers feet.

The Rear heater gets most of the warm air from the front heater supplied through the duct.

Hope this helps some one.

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  • 4 months later...

I too have had the very same issues. No heat. Had the van on a trip when it was -30F and all the windows were frosted over, and I had no place to stop. Little heat and certainly not enough when you have a long wheel base van. Passengers were wrapped in blankets and freezing. Dealer ordered parts in February and they just came in this week, 7-27-15. Just got a call from the dealer and they said that is the best the heater unit does just slightly warms the heat put out by the front unit. On top of the heat issues, I have had window trim fall off multiple times and replaced by the dealer only to have them fall off again. I have a back seat that rattles constantly and they tell me it is a poor latch problem nothing they can do I need to "slam" the seaty down harder. But why only that seat not all of them????? And it still rattles!!!!! Turning up the heat in the front to supplement the back is not a good option as the driver will get over heated and possibly sleepy while the rear passengers are freezing yet. This needs to get fixed. Did I mention how Loud the rear seat unit is too! Poor Poor design.

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The duct from the front to the back exits under both seats it is two piece, the outlet

Is a push fit into the feed duct from the front.

If it is not pushed in correctly then the hot air from the front gets lost under the

carpet. As the heat for the back comes from the front and is run through and boosted

buy the rear heater.,, It is critical to make sure that the feed ducts are working properly.

I agree that the rear fan could have been made quieter.

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  • 1 month later...

Hi, I have a 2014 transit connect xlt wagon. I couldn't get the back heat to work. I read somewhere else (I think it was a discussion about 2015 version) that the temperature in the front has to be dialed all the way to high before the rear heat will be activated. So I tried this. I turned the front temp all the way up and the back vents off, turned the rear fan speed on high and turned the rear temp to high/feet. After this if you put your hand under the seats after about 10 minutes there will be heat coming out near the feet under the seats. The best I can tell is this rear climate control is not really independent of the front. I guess the engineering idea is that if its cold the second row people won't end up getting heat as well as the front, so there is a small electric foot heater to add some accessory heat. Also the side vents do get heat also, but best I can tell the heat is from the front heater and the blower just helps move it through some more. I really don't know if my explanation is correct, but after reading different sites and experimenting with the vehicle, this seems to be how its working. I would try cranking the front heat temperature and then turning on the back to see if you get any heat at all, that's the only way I could. If somebody else has different information please share. At one site, someone said their 2015 owners manual said you had to crank the front temp all the way up before the electric rear accessory heater would be activated. What's odd to me is, why doesn't some Ford engineer just explain this. You have to buy a vehicle and then experiment with it and research it to figure out how it works.

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Every one needs to check under the front seats to make sure that the riser duct is correctly

inserted into the front feed duct. This is critical for the heat generated in the front to exit

under the front seat and heat the second seat floor. It also supplies the rearheater

with warm air that is boosted.

If these ducts are, not correct then the hot air is trapped under the rug!

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All; While I certainly appreciate the input and possible explanations/solutions as to why the rear heater is ineffective (AND loud), the problem is NOT solved and Ford does not appear to be doing anything. My Transit Connect was 1-year-old in July. Although I will undoubtedly take a beating at trade-in, I am beginning my search for a new vehicle.

My Transit Connnect had all the earmarks of being a very cool transporter but the lack of manufacturer involvement and a fix for the problem will keep me from ever again purchasing a Ford product. This is, of course, beside the fact that the rubber trim pieces for the rear windows keep falling off, the rear gate is difficult to close due to lack of a good handhold system, and...months ago I received a recall notice about a fuel pump problem that could strand me on the roadside. The real problem is that Ford cannot supply its dealers with the correct parts to fix this possibly debilitating malady. A Transit in my dealer's service lot waited a month for the part. The customer had to drive a different vehicle (not a Transit) while awaiting service. Yes, the dealer furnished an alternate vehicle but the point is, NO person/vehicle should have to wait a month for a part Ford knew was defective. I am on a waiting list. Some recall. While I am certain Ford does produce some good vehicles, the Transit Connect should have had evaluation by American drivers on American roads in all american seasons before unleashing this vehicle on the unsuspecting public. If they had, this forum would not be taking place.

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@mrgone,

Sorry to hear about all your TC problems. sounds like a bad ride.

how far up the ladder at Ford have you gone in working these issues?

curious, what vehicle did you drive before you got the TC and why did you change it?

Don't think anyone will deny you've had more than your share of problems so far, but I have to disagree with your forum comment "If they had, this forum would not be taking place." The forum isn't just for discussing problems with the TC. It's for sharing everything about the TC, good, bad and ugly. And if bad, ways to overcome them. A guy just jumped on the forum today to talk about making mods to his new 2015 TC. That's pretty neat. And the recent interchange between posters Escobar and our resident tech genus GBL was a beautiful thing. It's all good.

best of luck to you in your quest for a more suitable vehicle.

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Windguy;

I replaced a Lincoln Town Car (my 90-year-old) mother's with the Transit Connect. I retained my Honda Element as my dog, lumber and dirty stuff hauler. The farthest I got "up the ladder" was to get a case number from Ford. They extended my warranty but offered no solution to the problem, or even that "...[we] are aware of the problem and are working on a fix". It will be interesting to see if the 2016 models have the same rear-seat heating system.

As to the "forum" comment, I was speaking solely about this topic, not the forum in general. Adtually, I have not looked at the rest of the forum. it would probably benefit me to do so. I'd love to see what mods can be done. Perhaps my general negatvity will change if I consider the positive aspectds of the vehicle. There was a reason I bought it ,especially after all the research I do.

I will not act in haste. Thanks for your insight..

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@mrgone

obviously the Town Car is a whole different ride compared to the TC. There's a reason they use it for limos. The Element is pretty similar in terms of function. never rode or drive one though.

cool that you got your warranty extended, but would be nice to get those irritating problems fixed. In the transmission leaking thread, I mentioned about the 3 levels of service alerts that Ford uses. I'd be curious if there was an SSM for this rear heater problem, which would imply that there is some type of remedy. I wouldn't wait for Ford to contact you on these problem issues. Time to take it up a notch and press them harder. You have nothing to lose in being persistent given the nature of the problems. It's going to get cold soon and that 90 year old mother needs some heat. If I had a wagon model I'd join forces with you. Did you try checking the ducting like GBL suggested?

understand about your Forum comment. please keep us posted and start barking louder! woof woof woof

Edited by windguy
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I did more digging into the rear heat ducting . On my TC the air flow on the right rear heat duct is not as good as the Drivers side. I am going to find out the cause, The parts diagram shoes them to feed off the same source.
The left duct feeds warm air to the intake for the rear heater fan which feeds the vents on the door posts and the third seat vents .The location of the fan intake is forward of the heat duct outlet. this is a problem for the heat getting into the rear distribution fan and the booster heater. Working on a solution for this
One more thing the air filter on the Rear heater fan is on the floor and will need to be changed often.
The rear fan is still loud .
The duct routing is the reason for the area around the shifter becoming very warm.

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The duct routing is the reason for the area around the shifter becoming very warm.

that makes sense but mine is more than warm. I'd call it pretty hot, too hot to leave your hand on it for too long, unless you live in some crazy cold place like Vermont ;)

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that makes sense but mine is more than warm. I'd call it pretty hot, too hot to leave your hand on it for too long, unless you live in some crazy cold place like Vermont ;)

I live next door to where it's crazy cold like vermont , in NH !

and I can't touch the side of console with bare skin when the air is on heat and floor vents , it's really friggin hot !

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I live next door to where it's crazy cold like vermont , in NH !

and I can't touch the side of console with bare skin when the air is on heat and floor vents , it's really friggin hot !

I thought Vermont and NH joined as one state a few years back :confused:

I was in NH last April visiting family and it snowed 4", which stuck around all day too. crazy winter.

I guess I don't mind the console getting that hot as long as there's some type of thermal blanket protecting the parts above it, like the radio. somehow I kind of doubt something like that is in place. Still think it's a bit of a liability having it be that hot in the cabin area.

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