Air Conditioner problems of the 2008 Dodge Grand Caravan

The air conditioning broke. After several trips to the mechanic which included several fillings of a/c refrigerant (which all leaked out in the environment), dye, and hours of labor, he was still unable to find the leak. After going to a different a/c specialist, they were able to find the leak in the discharge hose. The mechanic stated this was not uncommon for this make and model, as this hose design was faulty. More specifically, it is too short. The new discharge hose (part# 4677577ac) came directly from the dealer and is longer than the original hose. This says to me that Dodge admits the old part was faulty, as they are replacing it with a longer hose than was initially put in the vehicle. After all was said and done, the cost was nearly $600 to fix this issue, not to mention damage done to the environment, which all could have been avoided by replacing a simple hose.

Air conditioning blowing hot air. Since 09/10/09, I have had the air conditioner repaired five times. The last repair on o5/21/13 I'm tired of the expense that I can't afford anymore being a retired 73 yr. Old widow. I put minimum miles on the van . The milage to date(06/18/13) is only 29247.