2016 Legacy A/C cool but not cold

This has been the first summer with my Legacy. I have dual climate control and typically use the auto function. On 85+ degree sunny days, the car takes a long time to get the inside temperature close enough to my 71 degree set point to where it's not using fan speeds 5 or higher (out of 7). The past cars I've had would just need a really low fan speed after 10-15 minutes running on high.

 

What's other peoples' experiences here? On those hot sunny days, does your Legacy get down to a low fan speed in a reasonable time? I'm trying to figure out if what I'm experiencing is normal or not before I spend time figuring out if I'm low on refrigerant or anything like that.

Are you using the max a/c function? If not are you using recirc?

 

Also check your cabin air filter, make sure it’s clean and facing the correct direction.

Not exactly the max A/C function. Using the auto function that will start out the fans on full blast when it's really hot in the car and gradually reduce the fan speed as it gets the temperature down closer to the set point. This mode does enable the air re-circulation when trying to cool the car.

 

Just checked the Cabin air filter. There was a small amount of dirt/debris. Not really enough to warrant changing it IMO, but I might do so just to help narrow down the issue.

Do you have an AC thermometer to put into the vents? They are not expensive and will tell you what the AC is blowing. If you are talking about a hot day, the temps in the plenum are very high and could take a bit of time to start cooling.

 

In our driveway on a hot afternoon, when I get in the car the temp will read into triple digits and imagine how hot it is under the dash. The unit has to move that hot air out from under there and even though it may seem the unit isn't cooling, it is moving but it is blending with that very hot stuff. On auto climate controlled maximum air may blow for a bit while it tries to get that very hot humid crap out of the car.

 

So when it does reach your comfortable temp, does it keep blowing that comfortable temp at a stop light or must you be moving to get that temp? Fan under the hood should come on when the AC is turned on.

 

Just keep in mind that AC is just a dehumidifying machine, removing humidity and dripping that water vapor under your car. The more humidity / heat the longer it may take to hit your comfort zone and the fans to slow down.

 

Not exactly the max A/C function. Using the auto function that will start out the fans on full blast when it's really hot in the car and gradually reduce the fan speed as it gets the temperature down closer to the set point. This mode does enable the air re-circulation when trying to cool the car.

 

Just checked the Cabin air filter. There was a small amount of dirt/debris. Not really enough to warrant changing it IMO, but I might do so just to help narrow down the issue.

I'll look into getting one of those thermometers. Earlier this summer, I went for a 90 minute drive on about a 90 degree day; mostly country roads and interstate driving. During that drive, it was on fan speed 4 most of the time, went down to speed 3 with patches of cloud cover.

 

The AC temperature seems about the same whether I'm stopped or moving and the fans under the hood are successfully blowing a lot of air.

 

The car is about 27 months old. Is that long enough to where it could be short on refrigerant?

Auto worked for me today. Dropped fan speeds quickly. It was only a 12 degree drop but it slowed down after it cooled car.

This has been the first summer with my Legacy. I have dual climate control and typically use the auto function. On 85+ degree sunny days, the car takes a long time to get the inside temperature close enough to my 71 degree set point to where it's not using fan speeds 5 or higher (out of 7). The past cars I've had would just need a really low fan speed after 10-15 minutes running on high.

 

What's other peoples' experiences here? On those hot sunny days, does your Legacy get down to a low fan speed in a reasonable time? I'm trying to figure out if what I'm experiencing is normal or not before I spend time figuring out if I'm low on refrigerant or anything like that.

 

A trick when its extremely hot out, open the moon roof and open and close the doors a few times. It'll get the hot air trapped inside out and the ac will have to work less hard.

Also, one think to keep in mind, if you are starting up the car after a few hours after being parked, the a/c doesn't actually kick in until the engine has reached operating temp (believe its 6 minutes). Its just the fans blasting air.

I'll look into getting one of those thermometers. Earlier this summer, I went for a 90 minute drive on about a 90 degree day; mostly country roads and interstate driving. During that drive, it was on fan speed 4 most of the time, went down to speed 3 with patches of cloud cover.

 

 

 

The AC temperature seems about the same whether I'm stopped or moving and the fans under the hood are successfully blowing a lot of air.

 

 

 

The car is about 27 months old. Is that long enough to where it could be short on refrigerant?

 

 

 

To answer the “short on refrigerant” question... no, unless it’s leaking. Cars don’t use freon like oil or some other fluid. It’s a contained system. So the only way the Freon would be low is if there Is a pinhole leak.

 

What a lot of people do when they think the car isn’t cold enough is go buy those self service refrigerant bottles. They’ll keep adding Freon, overcharging the system until something blows or fails (usually the pressure release valve would counter this though). Most issues can be a condenser fan failure or something.

 

In your case, so many factors can come into play like sun beaming through the windows or like heatsink was mentioned. Interior and exterior colors also matter.

 

I’ve heard and experienced one thing many times though, American cars have some of the coldest a/c.

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

A 27 month old car should not need any refrigerant.

 

How satisfying is the AC if you don't use auto and just set the fan speed to where you would like it to be?

 

I'll look into getting one of those thermometers. Earlier this summer, I went for a 90 minute drive on about a 90 degree day; mostly country roads and interstate driving. During that drive, it was on fan speed 4 most of the time, went down to speed 3 with patches of cloud cover.

 

The AC temperature seems about the same whether I'm stopped or moving and the fans under the hood are successfully blowing a lot of air.

 

The car is about 27 months old. Is that long enough to where it could be short on refrigerant?

To answer the “short on refrigerant” question... no, unless it’s leaking. Cars don’t use freon like oil or some other fluid. It’s a contained system. So the only way the Freon would be low is if there Is a pinhole leak.

 

What a lot of people do when they think the car isn’t cold enough is go buy those self service refrigerant bottles. They’ll keep adding Freon, overcharging the system until something blows or fails (usually the pressure release valve would counter this though). Most issues can be a condenser fan failure or something.

 

In your case, so many factors can come into play like sun beaming through the windows or like heatsink was mentioned. Interior and exterior colors also matter.

 

I’ve heard and experienced one thing many times though, American cars have some of the coldest a/c.

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

 

Yeah, I knew the A/C systems are really sensitive like that so I wasn't about to add any.

 

 

How satisfying is the AC if you don't use auto and just set the fan speed to where you would like it to be?

 

Usually this works ok, but on the hottest days this summer I was still pretty warm after several minutes on the top two fan speeds.

 

One thing I thought of today is to manually change it from using just the blowers on the dash to using the blowers on the dash and the foot well blowers. It doesn't help it feel any cooler, but the noise from the blowers isn't so loud and theoretically about the same amount of cool air is coming out.

 

All of this isn't a huge deal to me (the summer is over before you know it in Wisconsin usually), but it is one downgrade from my previous car (2009 Nissan Altima). It doesn't sound like anyone is shouting that what I'm experiencing is really odd. The AC in my Altima was cold enough to cool down the car in under 15 minutes in any temperature, and required very little fan speed to maintain the temperature.

I noticed the same problem with my car the other day. It was hot and humid, and the car had been in direct sunlight for some hours. I opened all 4 doors to air out the passenger compartment for a few minutes before starting the engine, and I lowered the front windows for the first mile, but it still took a long time to reach the set point, even at highway speeds. On Monday, I'm having the dealer check for low refrigerant.

My son has an old 1999 Taurus SE with low miles. That thing has a great HVAC. In summer I swear it is blowing cold in less than 30 seconds and in the winter you can get it so hot inside you could BBQ.

 

Just seems that some cars take longer than others to get to the comfort level.

 

I noticed the same problem with my car the other day. It was hot and humid, and the car had been in direct sunlight for some hours. I opened all 4 doors to air out the passenger compartment for a few minutes before starting the engine, and I lowered the front windows for the first mile, but it still took a long time to reach the set point, even at highway speeds. On Monday, I'm having the dealer check for low refrigerant.

Big difference between some Subaru models as well....we have two 5th Gen Legacy's.... a 2.5i and my 3.6R....the AC in the 2.5i is like opening the freezer section of your fridge and the car is COLD in no time...........The 3.6R is more like yours....cool but never really cold

Before my 2016 Legacy, I had a 2004 Forester XT. Unlike the Legacy, the XT's AC cooled very quickly under all conditions.

Sure would be nice to roll the windows down remotely, along with Remote Start... I quit using the Remote Start cause I can't roll down the Windows too... Doesn't make much difference with the Windows up because I don't want ti Idle the car for 15 freakin' minutes...

 

I did check my Vent Temps though... Auto Set at 70deg....

 

My 2017 Honda Accord V6 would go no lower than 40 deg. middle and drivers side vents at best...

The 2018 Legacy 3.6R will go below freezing, on middle and driver's side... It's usually in the mid 30's...

 

Same Temp Gauge, 90deg. plus outside temps...

 

I'm happy with the A/C, but the fan stays on High for a long time... I'll probably raise the Auto Temp next month and see what difference that makes... It's HOT down here...

I did check my Vent Temps though... Auto Set at 70deg....

 

The 2018 Legacy 3.6R will go below freezing, on middle and driver's side...

 

That's not normal, and it may indicate either low refrigerant charge or insufficient airflow through the evaporator coil, possibly due to an obstruction. Evaporator temperatures below 32 F will eventually result in it icing up. Due to the potential for icing, no automotive A/C system is designed to work at evaporator temperatures below freezing.

 

Given the temperatures you''re seeing, I'd ask the dealer to check it out under warranty.

That's not normal, and it may indicate either low refrigerant charge or insufficient airflow through the evaporator coil, possibly due to an obstruction. Evaporator temperatures below 32 F will eventually result in it icing up. Due to the potential for icing, no automotive A/C system is designed to work at evaporator temperatures below freezing.

 

Given the temperatures you''re seeing, I'd ask the dealer to check it out under warranty.

You are correct... I'll have em' look at it on the next Oil Change... I'm not really worried about it...

 

I noticed it doesn't use 134R refrigerant, so I figured that may have something to do with those readings...

2016 Legacy uses PAG 46 Oil and R-134a refrigerant

2016 Legacy uses PAG 46 Oil and R-134a refrigerant

Apparently the 2018 does not...

 

From the Owner's Manual:

 

Your air conditioner uses ozone friendly refrigerant HFO-1234yf. Therefore, the method of adding, changing or checking the refrigerant is different from the method for CFC12 (freon) or HFC134a. Consult your SUBARU dealer for service.

 

Repairs needed as a result of using the wrong refrigerant are not covered under warranty.

 

Took me by surprise I must say...

yeah 18 is the switch over year, that stuff is stupid expensive.

People on other car forums have similar complaints about inadequate A/C in recent models. I suspect it has something to do with energy efficiency. Less energy diverted to the cooling system means less effective cooling.

I don't know much about AC systems, it's something I've tried to learn more about this year.

 

I wonder what the AC sticker says the total refrigerant capacity for the 6th gen legacies is?

 

The AC in my 4th gen has never been great, and I've kind of wondered if it's because the system holds what seems to be a low amount of refrigerant, at 13-15oz? I remember hearing that the 4th gen compressor is kind of small too, but maybe that's because of the low refrigerant capacity.

I had an appt this morning for the dealership to check out my A/C system. They added some dye and didn't find any leaks, but the refrigerant was "slightly low" so they recharged it.

 

Unfortunately I don't know if we'll get any hot enough days here in WI the rest of the year to know if this actually makes a difference, but I'm glad something was found that might be the issue at least.

The 2018 model had better A/C cooling listed as an improvement over the 2017 model. I doubt this is just you.

Ah yes, years ago I remember reading about this new refrigerant coming and I guess it has arrived.

 

From what I've read, the new refrigerant needs a stronger compressor and some new parts had to be added to OEM AC systems. It is more costly to service, the OEM AC system itself will cost more and it is more flammable than 134a (not by much).

 

For some reason I haven't found any articles about the cooling efficiency compared to 134a or R12. Because of their vested interests, I pass on the articles presented by Dupont or Honeywell.

 

"R-1234yf is classified as a mildly flammable gas — should technicians be concerned about servicing these automobile A/C systems?"

 

What about the cost of the new refrigerant?

 

"R-1234yf will be substantially more expensive. The manufacturers of the refrigerant have not quoted a price publically, but estimate ranging from $40 to $60 a pound has been circulating in the industry."

 

Compared to 134a, I believe the new refrigerant will need higher head pressures to effectively cool and 134a needed higher head pressures than R12.

 

"R-134A has a slightly lower pressure at evaporator temperatures (30-40 degrees), but R-134a also has a much higher pressure at condenser temperatures (120-150 degrees)."

 

Buy a AC vent thermometer, they are cheap and I have own several (keep misplacing them).

 

https://forum.aircondition.com/forum/reference-and-resources/111-r-134a-vs-r12-temp-pressure-chart

 

https://aircondition.com/tech/

 

https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/rcl/2012/RCRIT-12V478-9042.pdf

 

"Looks like there is a Mercedes recall over the refrigerant. To judge by the recall and the flammability of the refrigerant, there seems to be some resistance in the US to the use of the new coolant.

NHTSA Campaign ID Number : 12V478

Manufacturer : MERCEDES-BENZ USA, LLC.

Make / Model Years : MERCEDES BENZ / 2013

Subject : A/C Refrigerant May Ignite In A Crash"

 

"At this point, you’ll still need to buy 1234yf through the OE, as there is little to no aftermarket distribution. Have you prepared yourself when your customers ask, ‘My old car was only $xx to service the AC system, why is this double (or even triple) the cost?’

 

You’ll need to be ready with answers for your customer."

 

 

Apparently the 2018 does not...

 

From the Owner's Manual:

 

Your air conditioner uses ozone friendly refrigerant HFO-1234yf. Therefore, the method of adding, changing or checking the refrigerant is different from the method for CFC12 (freon) or HFC134a. Consult your SUBARU dealer for service.

 

Repairs needed as a result of using the wrong refrigerant are not covered under warranty.

 

Took me by surprise I must say...