AC not that cold

I have an 11 base model 2.5i legacy. I love the car but the only thing that I think is lacking is the coldness of the AC. Don't get me wrong, it does get cold but not as cold as I'd liked/expect it should be.

 

Usually on a hot day, when you get inside a hot car, you turn on the AC full blast. Depending on the car, it will get cold after 5 mins or so, then you can turn it down to the first level. On this car, when I turn it up full blast, it does get cold a little but not really cold like you would expect a brand new car. If I turn it down to the first level, I need to turn it back up to the 2nd or 3rd level to keep me cool.

 

I compared it to my 1999 Honda prelude with 160k miles on it. The AC on that car is colder then my brand new Legacy.

 

Does anyone else thinks the AC on our car sucks or is it only me?

The AC on my 05 sucks too. Had the body shop swap out the refrig and oil then put in new stuff. Still no better, maybe even worse. I have to use the recirc on hot days just to get it cold as I have a black int that holds the heat in....

Bump. you're not the only one.

Because of changes mandated by the EPA for coolant types used in AC systems in order to reduce emissions (not exhaust, think vapors), modern AC systems simply will not get as cool as older ones. Simple as that; blame the EPA, not the car.

Maybe I'm nuts but, on real hot days I find the AC works better if you turn the fan speed down a few clicks. My theory is that you push too much warm air across the cooling fins and their size can't handle the volume of hot air.

 

So, I begin with the fan on high, then when I feel it getting cooler than outside air, drop the speed down. See if this works for you.

Well in a way you're right. The compressor is going work as hard as it can whenever it clicks on, so a higher fan speed means less conditioned (cooled) air per volume of air coming out of the fan. If you turn the fan down, the volume of air moving receives the same amount of cooling, but it is "spread" over a smaller volume of air, so the air coming out feels cooler. In terms of the physics of cooling the car down, I do think there is a certain point where turning the fan up higher will not yield a cooler air space; however, the increased moving air across your skin will increase your body's evaporative cooling effect (if you have the vents aimed at you), so there is something to be said for increasing the fan speed.

Because of changes mandated by the EPA for coolant types used in AC systems in order to reduce emissions (not exhaust, think vapors), modern AC systems simply will not get as cool as older ones. Simple as that; blame the EPA, not the car.

 

How "old" are the older one?

 

I have an 08 CRV and my friend has a 2010 Corolla and both of them gets cold really fast.

Older being 90's and prior. Anything after 2000 is definitely using the new refrigerant.

I have a base model 2010 Legacy and the ac stopped working...the air blowing out of the vents wasn't cold and the car never got cool inside. I took it to the dealer and they replaced the actuator motor under warranty. I just picked it up yesterday but I can already tell a huge difference.

I wonder if I should have the dealer take a look at it as well. KCW, does the AC blow cold air after 10-15 min of driving?

 

It just takes a long time for my car to blow cold air, and this is the only car that I've ever owned that I need to put the AC at level 2 to keep it comfortable to drive. Ever car that I've driven and owned, I can leave it at the first level and be fine.

I took my car on a 6hr road trip and the air never got cold. I had the ac on the highest level with the recirculate on and it didn't make a difference...still warm air blowing out the entire time.

Actually, the switchover from R12 to R134a happened in 1994 or thereabouts. R134a is less efficient than R12, but newer systems should get as cold as old R12-based ones.

 

FWIW, the AC on my Legacy works great, as does the AC on my dad's 2010 Outback.

 

Right....I think "1994 or thereabouts" falls under "90's" .

 

R134a is less efficient than R12, and that "should" word there is the problem. It "should" get as cold as with the old refrigerant, but it doesn't much of the time, especially with a cheap A/C system to start with.

"According to him" is the operative subjective term there.....people can have very different definitions of what is cold enough.

 

According to me, my A/C is plenty cold. Is it anywhere near as cold as my '95 camry was? Absolutely not. My '98 camry's A/C was great too. My Acura RSX-S was the most worthless A/C system ever for a tiny car that only weighs 2700lbs, you'd think it would cool down easily, but I could have it on full blast when it's 90 out and the car would barely get cold. My Lexus GS300, great A/C.

 

So a lot of it too has to do with so many other factors like the build quality of the car and its materials, the colors and materials of the interior, even the type of glass used. All of these will affect how well a car can cool down. I'll bet dollars to donuts the OP's prelude had better materials and insulation than the cheapo stuff Subaru uses. Hell we hardly have any insulation in our cars.

 

So is it all because of the R12 ban? Probably not. Did the switch to R134a affect how cold (not how efficient, very different idea, because by definition, yes, R134a is more efficient) modern A/C systems get compared to R12 systems? Probably.

use recirc. customers come in complaining of this issue all the time. ac systems are only meant to cool the outside ambient air by roughly 20 deg so if you want colder air put it on recirc. if you notice vehicles that have a max a/c setting sets the car into recirc mode to make to air as cold as possible.

 

and yes if thats not cold enough blame the epa as stated. i think its all a hox. if r-134 is supposed to be the safe alternative to r-12 why are we still required to capture the freon. its all bull.

my 2000 civic was cold. i think honda makes the AC well all hondas ive been in had nice cold air come out really quick. my 350z AC sucked ass, 08 lgt not bad it gets cold but on long drives its ok.

 

+1 dont turn your AC to auto or full blast it doesnt get cold just cool air. no matter how hot it is the highest i go is level 3 or 3 clicks. after it gets cold i turn it down to 1 click. my temp is on 68 not 65 unless its super duper hot.

 

oh and few issues back on import tuner or super street magazine (forgot which one) they did a AC test using a 08 subaru. subaru has a automatic AC kill switch if the car needs more power. they somehow disconnected that and did the AC test.

my 2000 civic was cold. i think honda makes the AC well all hondas ive been in had nice cold air come out really quick.

 

I agree except for the Acura RSX-s, which evidently had a short production run of a few years anyway and is now the Honda Civic SI, which probably has better cooling .

 

They should never have gotten rid of the Integra IMHO (awesome car), but I can see why they did (they wanted to market luxury for the Acura brand, and the Integra didn't fit the bill anymore).

+1 bring back integras with super i i v-tech yo!

OMG...I thought I was the only one with this issue!

 

http://legacygt.com/forums/showthread.php/c-problem-169559.html

Yup, I have the same thing. Never gets very cool. Have to click it to 3 to enjoy anything.

Did you take it to the dealer? what year is your car? mine is 11 and only 2 weeks old.

 

391 miles on the ODO. I will not stop complaining till this is resolved. I am shock no one has complained about this issue. This may be perhaps a recall.

 

No AC should stop being cold. My loaner they gave me to drive did a better job!

use recirc. customers come in complaining of this issue all the time. ac systems are only meant to cool the outside ambient air by roughly 20 deg so if you want colder air put it on recirc. if you notice vehicles that have a max a/c setting sets the car into recirc mode to make to air as cold as possible.

 

and yes if thats not cold enough blame the epa as stated. i think its all a hox. if r-134 is supposed to be the safe alternative to r-12 why are we still required to capture the freon. its all bull.

To everyone who has this problem -- put the AC on recirc and report back. AC blows cold on my 2005 LGT with 102k and on my dad's 2010 Outback 2.5i with 15-20k, but I use it on recirc most of the time. It's not nearly as cold in my LGT if I have it on the fresh-air setting.

 

its been said but no one reads anything they just post away:spin: