Well, it happened. Two weeks ago while driving thru some heavy rain
in South Carolina, the DCCV failed, driving the interior temps to sauna
level. This is in an 06 4.2 S with 113,000 miles. I immediately started
kicking myself in the derriere, since before I left the Seattle area, I
changed and flushed the cooling system and that would have been a
perfect time to change the valve since I had the time and tools.

With little time and no tools, I took it into a Jaguar dealer in South
Carolina. Then the fun began. If you want to know what it feels like
to drop your soap in the shower at a federal prison, visit a Jag dealer
with out of state plates. Yes, said they, the DCCV is bad, and, it
probably took out the CCM, but we won't know until we replace the
valve. While waiting in the lounge, a very nice lady (with a degree in
engineering she later told me) with the exact same problem I had.
Her car was an 05 with Nav. Fortunately, the lounge had a computer
and I took her to Jaguar Forums and the Jaguarclimatecontrol site.
Unlike most women (I'm being sexist here) who look at their car like
an appliance, she was most interested in the information the forum
had to offer. Oh yeah, the poor lady had the 'drooping headlight
syndrome'.

About an our later, the service manager comes out and tells her...
folks, I AM NOT MAKING THIS UP...that yes, she needs the DCCV
and the module, and, by the way, the climate control module is
part and parcel of the center console/nav/radio and must be
replaced as a unit for $7,500 dollars plus labor. Those lights?
They can be replaced for around $3,000 dollars.

She paid the diagnostic fee, came back to the lounge and told
me her local mechanic would replace the DCCV and that she would
pull the CCM and send it off to Jeff in California for upgrade and
repair. Indicating she was handy with a drill, she was prepared
to try Brutal's headlight fix.

Now it was my turn in the barrel. Out comes the service manager
with the exact same story; I had told them to go ahead and replace
the DCCV, they did, but the problem persisted since the valve burnt
the CCM. And yes, for just $7,500 plus labor they would be pleased
to replace the CCM. When I took the manager over to the computer
and showed him where the module was located (about the glove
compartment) his response was, "you can't believe everything you
read on the internet"

I paid the bill, over $900 for the DCCV replacement and left. When
I got back to Atlanta, I ordered a replacement module from Jeff,
swapped it when it arrived, and Jeff returned the core charge. All
as planned, and every aspect of the climate control is working as
new.

Moral of the story? If you're getting up there in miles, I suggest
changing the valve; if you're not going to do that and wait until
it fails, at least send the CCM to Jeff and have him install what it
is he installs to protect the module from burnout.

The lady who I talked with at the dealership had the same opinion;
we liked our cars to a great degree, despised the dealerships. I do
know that my next car will probably not be a Jaguar, and, when my
friends ask me about the car and whether or not I could recommend
purchase, I just lay out the facts regarding the dealers and urge them
to consider another marque. Tata has its work cut out for it and
should make dealership service its first priority.

In the not too distant future, I believe I'll start a thread called
'Dealer Wall of Shame'. I'll start with the SC dealer above, then
go on to the dealer in Atlanta that changed my oil and refilled
the crankcase with 8qts of oil. When I questioned why they
put 8 qts. in a 6.3 qt sump, his reasoning was (ONCE AGAIN,
I AM NOT MAKING THIS UP) "these cars burn oil so we put in
extra". When I told him that was pure unadulturated crap, he
then carpet danced around and said, "but you see, oil expands
when it gets hot and then it burns and that's why we put eight
quarts in." I asked to speak to the service manager, demanded
that they remove the extra two quarts (actually 1.7) and
adjust the bill. You don't always get what you pay for at a
Jaguar dealer.

If it wasn't for this forum, I would have sold my car 2 or 3
years ago. Can you imagine driving thru South Carolina and
being billed over $8,000 dollars to fix your climate control
system??? I'm sure some uneducated folks would fall for this.

In summary, I can recommend Jeff's CCM services; I did open
the module (four torx3 screws) and even using a magnifying
glass could not identify any burnt traces. In any even, Jeff
did exactly what he said he would do at a price that I feel is
fair and justified.

 

What an incredible journey through Jag Dealer Land...friggin rip-off artists. Happy she's all straightened out. The DCCV can be purchased from Rock Auto for $80 and installed for an hours labor. How may we contact Jeff? Happy Holidays!

 

Plugging this in will get you to Jeff; his site has a wealth of info
re: the valve and module. I think the most reasonable way to
proceed is to remove your module and ship it to him for about
a two day turnaround. If you do the core charge program,
it costs a bit more.

Cliff

 

Vehicle (2003 s-type jaguar v8 4.2l)

Hello i have been having a engine coolant leak and hot air blowing
through my driver and passenger side vents, I changed all the hoses
and resavoir tank..Finally I found out there was coolant leaking
through heater valve..I bought new one and had it replaced along
with a coolant flush..as soon as I started the car the a/c started
working again blowing cool air from all the vents, as I was driving
it started to blow hot and cool air again through the vent, and the
engine coolant came on...Also while a/c is off I can feel hot air coming
through the vents..How do you know if the ccm is damaged? Can you help?

 

My cat did the same, likely the CCM was damaged when the DCCV went south...ship it off to Jeff.

 

Cliff, how much was the CCM repair with out core?

 

All I can suggest is that you make sure the air compressor is off,
then dial the temperature down to 61F. Within a minute or two,
the air flowing thru all dash vents should be close to outside
ambiant air; i.e., no additional heat. Now dial the heat up on
both sides to about 86F, once again ensuring the compressor is
off. All vents should be blowing air that is nice and hot.

Take the temperature down to 61F again, wait for the air to cool
to ambiant, and turn on the air conditioner. Within a minute or so,
you should have chilled air thru the vents; then dial the temp up
to about 70F and the Module should make the appropriate adjustment
and bring the temp to about 70. In other words, if all the systems
are working as they did when the car was new, you were probably
lucky and didn't damage the climate control module. You might
want to spend time reviewing the information on
www.jaguarclimatecontrol.com . It sounds like your system is
operating normally.

Cliff

 

My response would of been "or everything you hear from a service manager"

 

Thanks for posting this very sad story, Cliff. I'm sitting here still shaking my head. There's no way I would have been able to control my temper to the degree you did....

Check your DCCV on a weekly basis, folks. Make it a part of your oil level and tire pressure checks. Wipe it with a clean white paper napkin, and look for orange coolant stains. It only takes ten seconds to do so....

 

FYI...If anyone wants to experiment...If you put a waterproof fuse holder on both sides of the DCCV then you stand a chance of saving the CCM...Will be trial and error with the fuse amps and whether a fast acting, normal or slow blow...

 

Unless you have an STR, in which case...... good luck!

(Especially if you live where rust is an issue!)