Do anyones elses A/C suck?

[toucci]

Mine takes a while to cool the interior, with recirc and blower on 4. So sounds like it's weaker than some here.

Is this covered under the warranty?

mine has a problem that has a TSB released for it I think where the A/C light flickers on and off. Just went out of warranty a couple months ago... doh! (omg)

 

[mpf1v3]

i never had a problem with mine, i got mine stock, and on a hot day just sitting in traffic it'll take about 2-3 min to cool down the whole car on 4 plus it blows pretty cold air, all is stock.. no fluid change or anything.. so i dunno.. just saying that i'm happy with the way mine is

 

[P5w3kids]

I've never thought mine felt very cold, so with a push from this thread I dropped by the dealer today. At first the guy thought it needed a recharge, but after a couple of minutes on recirc and fan on 1 it the thermometer made its way to 40. So apparently mine just takes its time.

 

[Protege52003]

my AC has been great for the past 3 summers. i try not to use it that much though.....we will see this year?

-R

 

[jophus14]

I hate how sometimes the light for the AC doesn't even light up.Super irritating

 

[Huascar82]

after reading through this thread, I noticed that mine does the same, less cold while idle, more cold while pressing gas. Would pep boys recharge it for me? or should I take it to the dealer? Does anyone know how much it would cost?

 

[santisurf]

after reading through this thread, I noticed that mine does the same, less cold while idle, more cold while pressing gas. Would pep boys recharge it for me? or should I take it to the dealer? Does anyone know how much it would cost?

i would also like to know that... thanks

 

[NoRotorNoMotor]

my a/c kicks ass

 

[Stealth5]

my a/c suck and does something weird, sometimes, when i have it on vent mode, fan level 2, the little light will just turn off on the a/c button, when i switch fan speeds or to recirculate, it comes back on. wtf

 

[nate0123]

^^ I think there's a TSB about that exact issue, it's actually pretty common

 

[VP222]

because modern cars like the protege uses a high efficency "low refrigerant charge" system... the system MUST be charged EXACTLY to the correct weight or the system will NOT operate efficiently (in otherwords, it won't cool worth s***)... "topping off" a system will result in an incorrect charge regardless of who does it...

furthermore, those DIY "kits" usually contain sealants in the cans which are NOT recommended additives for an A/C system, it WILL clog the expansion valves further increasing head pressures and reducing cooling efficiency.. not to mention those kits ONLY have a low side gauge which means if your system is fubar to begin with (high side restriction for example), trying to recharge/top off the system may result in blowing a refrigerant hose or releasing the overpressure poppet valve on the compressor, venting all the money you spent on refrigerant away (which is also a greenhouse gas) as well as most of the refrigerant oil! as I said, even if everything "goes OK", you still won't have an accurate charge

the PROPER way to top off a high efficiency system (which many modern cars do) is to recover ALL the refrigerant in the system, notating the amount that was recovered, and then recharging the system from empty to the proper weight (which is 1lbs 5oz IIRC)..... then the person performing the system recharge can charge the customer accordingly to the amount of refrigerant topped off (for example, if only 0.5lbs came out, then you are billed for 0.81lbs of refrigerant PLUS labor)

1lbs 5oz is NOT a lot of refrigerant... that's just basically a little over 1 can of R134a.... overcharging will result in higher system pressures, and that mean higher heat exchanger temperatures which means you'll be sweating longer!

Wish I could have read your advice before I put in 1.5 can of R134 freon in my car. I had same problem where car (2002 Protege5,135000miles) was taking too long to get cold so I decided to add freon in the system. Now I notice yesterday that car is not getting cold again. So I looked under the hood for any leak of the freon and I found lots of freon was leaking from the small metal pipe located at the firewall (right next to big wire connector). Then I looked at the service manual and it looked like that metal pipe is connected to expansion valve. Now I am worried that expansion valve might be damaged. Can you please advise if this is true. and if it is than how to correct this. Thanks

 

[Clarkbug]

You added 1.5 cans of freon to your system?

Freon is typically a gas at room temperature, and it only turns into a liquid when its pressurized. (thats how AC works) So if you have a leak, were you seeing a gas cloud? If you saw any actual liquid, it was most likely the oil for the compressor that you saw leaking, or it was condensation from a pipe that was cold. You wouldnt see liquid freon leaking out.

There is a chance that you added too much refrigerant to the system, and blew a hose loose. If the refrigerant you added contained oil and stop leak it could have been too much for your expansion valve and caused the system to vent.

I know there are a lot of "ifs" in my response, but the best thing would be to take it to a shop that specalizes in A/C repair. They should be able to tell you what is going on with the system, if you have a leak, and if your TxV is shot.

 

[sethro_GT]

1.5 cans! my completely vacated system took just less than 1 can and blows ice cold. I'd take that to someone to get evacuated, fix the leak and fill it with proper amount. Or at least have someone reclaim it so you can fix it.

 

[br289165]

When it was real hot out the ac light flickers on/off on mine.

my a/c suck and does something weird, sometimes, when i have it on vent mode, fan level 2, the little light will just turn off on the a/c button, when i switch fan speeds or to recirculate, it comes back on. wtf

 

[metalbeater]

7 years with warm air, switched to recirculate and all's well.

 

[Steel]

Mine's always sucked. IT sucks extra bad in this part of the country (Tucson). Stupid black interior.

 

[flash75]

As mentioned by another poster ac will not cool as well at idle speeds as it will at higher engine rpm. In the shop manual the performance test is run at 1500 rpm with ac in recirculate, temperature at max cold and fan set to 4th position.

The manual has a shaded outlet chart giving the temperature range for various ambient temperatures. The range varies from less than 36 degrees to a little above 39 degrees.

Clifton