Rear Heating Problems, 2014 Transit Connect LWB Titanium

[mrgone]

5800 miles on my Connect. Can get NO heat or air from rear heater. Took it to dealer and was given a rather cryptic answer (which I will paraphrase): "...rear heater is an electric supplemental unit that only operates when coolant temperature is below 140 degrees..." Nope, I'm not buying that. There is NO heat or air coming from the floor under the driver's seat. With the rear center console adjusted to maximum both in heat and air, I get nothing but alot of blower noise from the "unit" under the seat. No heat. No air.

The rear heater, with its' seperate controls, should function as it does in any vehicle. My passenger's feet are cold. I cannot imagine a brand new vehicle without rear heat.

If anyone has had this problem, post it or tell me some mysterious incantations or manipulations that will make the seemingly simple system function properly.

I have called Ford customer service and I now have a case number and have an appointment to visit another dealer.

Thanks.

Mr. Gone

[mrgone]

Update on rear heater (or lack thereof) problem. I have taken my car to two dealerships for evaluation of the rear heating situation. Both gave me relatively the same answer. "...the heater under the driver's seat is an electric supplemental heater...", "...it's a crappy design...", "...I [mechanic] just told the sales staff to expect a lot of complaints about this [heating system]...", "...we test-drove your vehicle and a new one we have in stock and neither had passenger heating...", "The owner of the dealership came out and he also confirmed that no heat was getting to the rear passenger area", "...this is not right. We'll get to the bottom of this for you and us". And so on.

The dealership master mechanic said he spent an hour-and-a-half testing, trying different setting configurations and studying on-line manuals and schematics. I'll paraphrase; "It's a lousy design. There is no possible way for the supplemental heater to produce enough heat to keep your passenger's feet warm. The "B" pillar vents blow cold air and there is NO heat coming from under the driver's seat. This is a poorly designed system".

So, in conclusion of this discovery phase of my heating problem, I now know that I paid $32,000.00 for a vehicle that does not have a rear heater even thought there are controls for one on the center/rear console. When I purchased the vehicle in mid-July, was I supposed to verify that the rear heating system was adequate? In 50-years of driving every imaginable type of automobile, I never had a vehicle heating system like this.

Now will come the challenge of dealing with Ford to somehow remedy this situation to my satisfaction, or other steps will have to be taken. Stay tuned.

[carlb28]

UGH! and have you noticed that the third row vents don't fully close either?! air goes right through the hinge portion meant to close the thing. It then hits my daughter right in the forehead.

It is odd that a van designed for use in Europe where they have winters is performing so poorly.

[103west43rd]

mrgone, please keep us updated on this issue. You did the right thing taking your van to another dealer. I hope other 2nd generation Transit Connect owners add their comments on any heating issues they have.

[windguy]

@mrgone - sorry to hear you're having heating problems in the back.

I checked out the user's manual and they have much discussion about climate control for the rear.

One control is for the fan, and it seems that part is working for you.
The other control is for the temperature and vent choice, and that isn't working.

It did mention that for cold air, the front A/C has to be on. But it doesn't say that for the heater.

An electric supplemental heater system sounds very strange.

How does the heater for the rear passengers work for other minivans?

[Eazy]

This is fun, isn't it?

My daughter was in the van with me the other night and I turned the heater up in the back. She was complaining about how cold she was and that it felt like the vents were blowing cold air. I reached back and made sure it was on heat, it was, so I stuck my hand in front of the vents.

Sure enough, that noisy piece of garbage was blowing ice cold air even though the front vents were blowing heat.

It gets better though.

Yesterday, it was -3*f before windchill. I went to pick up my daughter from a sleep over and the van never seemed to get warm. I turned the heat up and moved it from defrost to vents and found out the front was blowing ice cold air as well, even though the water temperature gauge indicated the van was on the verge of overheating. After about a half hour drive and a couple calls to the stealership, it decided to start working.

I had hoped it was a fluke. Much to my dismay, it wasn't. This morning it was only 0*f and it took almost an hour for any heat of any sort to come out of the vents. So I guess my van is going back to the stealership in the morning to get it looked at. You better believe they'll be hearing at length about both issues.

I sold my '71 VW bus because it didn't have heat, I'll be damned if I'm going to just live with this 2014 Ford not having heat.

[windguy]

makes you wonder who at Ford tested this heater solution before building.

do other wagon owners have this same problem or is just a few isolated cases?

wonder how well the van heater works in the Euro diesel engine models.

my Volvo 850 Wagon has an awesome heater, The Sweds really know how to keep a car toasty.

I'll be bummed if the heater in my new TC is substandard.

maybe something like these plug in heaters would be a good temporary fix until the problem is sorted out.

http://www.harborfreight.com/12v-auto-heater-defroster-with-light-61598.html

[carlb28]

As long as the dealership pays for said temporary work around.

Did yours have the heated seats? Mine does and versus my flex, which had fewer "settings", the heaters are much less powerful in the new van.

I so wanted to like this van as my family hauler that would get better mileage and be easily towed by our RV, but the wait soured me and now all these issues.

[windguy]

Did yours have the heated seats? Mine does and versus my flex, which had fewer "settings", the heaters are much less powerful in the new van.

I so wanted to like this van as my family hauler that would get better mileage and be easily towed by our RV, but the wait soured me and now all these issues.

re heated seats, not sure who you're directing the question to but I don't have my van yet and it doesn't have heated seats. don't recall that being an available option for the cargo model, but sounds cozy.

I'd like to hear from other cargo van and wagon owners on how well their heaters work both up front and rear if they have that. It would be good to know if this is a universal design problem or just a few isolated cases of heater problems.

[Eazy]

As an update, I made a somewhat passive aggressive post on my Twitter account about the heat issues I'm having. Almost immediately, a customer service rep contacted me and created an "escalated" case with their department to get it into the dealership and looked at. I'll update as I go through this process and see what kind of resolutions I get.

Some other observations I made.

I also would like to take this chance to remind you all to check your coolant levels. My reservoir was almost empty when I first started working on this heater issue. I filled it (which is a royal pain) and this morning it was about a 1/4" below the line. While it's possible that this may be part of the problem with the heat, I doubt it. They would have to have majorly screwed up to ship a vehicle so low on anti-freeze that it can't build pressure. I'm going to the have the dealership check for leaks just to make sure. This wouldn't be the first dangerously low fluid I've found since I received my TC.

[103west43rd]

One more suggestion to those 2014-2015 Transit Connect owners having heater problems. Log onto http://www.nhtsa.gov/Vehicle+Safety/Recalls+&+Defects , the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and file a complaint. This will get your problem in front of the government as well. Twitter and Facebook may help with Ford, having the issue posted on the government website cannot hurt.

[carlb28]

Eazy, I have a case now as well, after my unanswered cabin light question on Twitter. More so because I had already scheduled an appointment at the dealerfor that and other issues, and the twitter person queried about what the other issues were, so I pointed them to my post here comparing to my Flex.

I think my mirror issue is certainly worthy of a NHTSA complaint as it is a direct safety issue. Not sure if any of the others would warrant listing there, but who knows.

[mrgone]

Happy New Year! In the past 50 years I have owned: Camaro, Saab 96, Peugot 504, 5 Volkswagens (21-Window Bus, Beetle, Type 3, Rabbit, Jetta), 2 Volvos (240 wagon, 760 turbo wagon), 2 Mercedes Benz's, Toyota Corolla SR5, GMC Suburban, Honda Element (which I still have and love) and a 1954 Dodge M-37 military truck. Among that widely diverse collection of vehicles, I have NEVER had a heating issue (except for the M-37 that has no heater). Even the VW Bus had a very capable gas-fired rear heater. My Element is completely warm in less than 1/2 mile, no matter how low the air temperature. The Transit Connect LWB Wagon Titanium is my first Ford. To say the least, I am not thrilled.

To Easy; it is quite amazing that you received an "escalated" case number because of a Twitter entry. That would illustrate that Ford is not reading its' owners' forums. Also, I just had the dealership perform the initial service and oil change and I was assured that all fluid levels are correct.

To Windguy: The heating issue of which we speak has nothing to do with the heated front seats (which work well on my TC).

To Carlb28: You mention a temporary "workaround". Again, I must stress; a $32,000 vehicle that needs a temporary workaround for what is obviously a poor design?! I'll go looking for a Honda Odyssey, even used. Ford can do all the temporary workarounds they want but I should not have to suffer their mistakes (as I continue making payments).

[carlb28]

MrGone, I am with you on this. My comment was in response to the post suggesting a product from HarborFreight, saying that if that is needed, FORD should be picking up the tab.

As to the response on Twitter versus reading this forum, Twitter is accessible and searchable by the world, but this forum is less known and accessible. Twitter they cannot easily sanitize like their Facebook page that will drop unfavorable posts like what we might ask, so it is a decent way to elevate our needs above what a local dealership will likely want to squash.

If resolutions are not found quickly, then we should bring this to the public and the Government in all forms that we have at our disposal. Barking at one or more local dealers is one thing, but we can via the internet make more noise than ever before.

[windguy]

Out of the group of Gen 2 TC owners on this forum, so far we have three posters that are having rear heater problems (easy, carlb28 and mrgone) and one case of a front heater problem (easy). All three have a wagon model and at least two have the Titanium trim level.

@easy - do you have a Titanium too?

The Titanium has Dual-Zone Front Auto Temperature Control as a standard option. All other trim levels can order this option.

@easy - if you don't have the Titanium, do you have this option?

[Eazy]

I do not have the Titanium model, mine is the XLT trim. However, I do have the dual zone controls where the rear has it's own temperature control.

Other than the case number I was given, I haven't heard anything else from Ford, my dealership, or the Ford Service twitter account. I plan on dropping my TC off in the morning with a list of issues for them to look at. If nothing else the rear heat. Hopefully, it will be cold enough for them to replicate the issue with the front heat as well.

[windguy]

@easy - thanks for the update. good luck with your service call.

please keep us posted if things get heated one way or another

[omniphil]

I have not checked my rear vents under the seat, but I certainly will now.

I had my brake fluid dangerously low when I received my 2014 Titanium, all the other fluids are fine, I have yet to have any temps around 0F, but they are coming. Will see how warm the van gets.

I have the remote start and the heated windshield.

When you remote start the vehicle if the temps are below 32 degrees the rear window defroster automatically comes on, the windshield one doesn't, Ford confirmed this is intended behavior. Seem to make the heated windshield option pretty useless.

Edited January 5, 2015 by omniphil

[omniphil]

So I just drove to work (About 35 minutes) and when I got there I put my hand under the drivers seat right down into the vents. Both hot and cold air were coming out. Very odd, I can feel to distinct temperatures of air being mixed. Outside temp was 18 degrees.

The controls behind the armrest were in fan position 2 with the heat knob at max. The front was set to auto fan 76 degrees with the middle and lower vents selected.

Those rear vents under the drivers seat are tuck way back and down, I can't even see how they'd do much good hot or cold...

[carlb28]

Omniphil, in my Titanium, there are vents in the b pillar for the passengers on the second row. The airflow there is pretty good, however the temerature of the air when on max heat is tepid at best. I will have to peek and see if I have any vents on the floor in the back.

[omniphil]

I do have those side vents as well, and it seemed to have heat coming out of it, I will double check tho...

[mrgone]

We are aware of the B-pillar vents but they only blow tepid air. Air and heat from under the driver's seat is non-existent. My rear seat passengers would like to have their feet warm. Hot air rises. Any heat from the B-pillar vents is dissipated upwards and the cold air (all of it) settles to the floor. I am considering this a very poor design. Still waiting to hear from Ford.

[carlb28]

So in looking at the ford parts site, I think I get why this is such an issue. Based on the diagram here - http://www.fordparts.com/Commerce/PartDetail.aspx?n=f5NsFA%2bmKupjuuZUY4d57w%3d%3d&id=301441789&m=2&search=true&year=2015&make=Ford&model=Transit%20Connect

The main heater core is suspended in the middle of the dash and therefore isolated from outside temps, and is a lot larger than the additional heater core that I would bet is the same size for SWB and LWB vehicles. Also the smaller heater core is closer to the bottom of the vehicle which may or may not have as much chance to overcome the thermal differences between outside temps and inside. Think peltier based cooling systems, as they can only overcome so much thermal diversity.

[gpsracerx]

We've had our TC Titanium for just 3 weeks and took it in for no heat in the back. The mechanic contacted Ford and were told that the heater could only raise the temp 12 degrees over the current ambient temp in the vehicle. They also said they were looking at a future upgrade, but we're very vague about what that meant and timeframe. In the meantime, I'm going directly to Ford to complain, and working with my dealer to find a solution. I paid too much to not have a basic/standard feature work in a reasonable manner.

[mrgone]

To CarlB28: I have already been informed by my local dealer that the diagram appears as you stated. That, however, does not get my passengers' feet warm. And in response to gpsracerx. I am with you all the way. They are "looking at a future upgrade"?! They can start with your vehicle and mine and carlb28 and all others who are suffering this ridiculous problem.m And they can upgrade our vehicles now. My question for all of you is this; Why aren't the dealers contacting Ford directly with our concerns? It will be the dealers who will bear the brunt of our complaints and run the risk of diminishing repeat business. I find it interesting that Ford is not reading this sponsored forum and contacting us directly or en masse to "assist" their customers.