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Terrible A/C

5K views 21 replies 16 participants last post by  Aussie 
#1 · (Edited)
Maybe this isn't a diesel specific item, but since I've had two Cruzen, one gas and one diesel, and the diesel A/C might be slightly different, I thought I'd post it here.

Long story short, the A/C sucks. Today was nearly 100F in Portland, the first day I've really needed A/C since owning my diesel Cruze. The car (Tungsten Metallic) sat in the sun all day, and upon startup took a solid three to four minutes to even begin to put out cool air. Even at that point, it never got even remotely "cold" until I got on the freeway and started moving at least 40 mph. As soon as I got off the freeway, the air coming out of the vents noticeably warmed up again to just barely cool. It was enough to keep the interior bearable, but just.

Just to point out a couple things for perspective:

1) I am aware there have been complaints of A/C on the Cruze over the years, most of which have been low charge from the factory. However, I felt this level of performance (or lack thereof) was notable. My gasoline Cruze, while never a freezer, was always adequate and certainly performed better than my current one. Also, I am aware that it is not necessarily the diesel that is the problem, more likely just a really poorly charged A/C.

2) With one exception (my Subaru Outback will put out cool air within 15 seconds, cold air within a minute regardless of driving conditions), every car I have owned has been very slow to cool down in extreme heat and usually required some higher speed driving to really reach full potential. That said, this one is by far the worst. Yes, my current Cruze is a dark color (Tungsten) vs. my former Cruze which was Silver, but my 2004 Impala was solid black, and while it was an oven after sitting in the sun and still didn't cool off the fastest, it was still better.

Anyway, I still love my diesel, but it's going in for a warranty check on the A/C as soon as I get a chance.
 
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#3 ·
We had our first 90 degree day today. It definitely took a few minutes to begin pumping out somewhat reasonable cold air and a minute or so more for what I would expect. Once it got there though, it was just like any other A/C. I even had to turn the thing down after a while so hopefully yours is just a charge issue.
 
#4 ·
This is probably obvious but if not:

After sitting in the sun the air inside the car is much hotter than the air outside the car. For the first few minutes make sure the AC is on outside air, not recirculate, with a rear window cracked a few inches or the sunroof up to force the hotter air out of the car. Then turn on recirculate and things will cool down much faster.
 
#5 ·
This is probably obvious but if not:

After sitting in the sun the air inside the car is much hotter than the air outside the car. Make sure the AC is on outside air, not recirculate, with a rear window or the sunroof up for the first few minutes to force the hotter air out of the car. Then turn on recirculate and things will cool down much faster.
This plus the sun beating down on the black dash heating up the vents and ducts takes into play.
 
#7 · (Edited)
One other thing I thought of; the diesel has the grill shutters which my prior 2LT did not. Would that make a difference? Aren't those open at low speed? I really doubt it would make a difference, but just curious.
 
#10 ·
Our '14 CTD has a pretty weak AC system too. In comparison my 1998 Camaro Z28 pumps out COLD ac within 30 seconds.

All cars take 15 seconds or so to get fluids moving etc. The CTD just takes quite a bit longer.
 
#11 ·
My diesel - admittedly it is a Korean-build - cools things down quite quickly, but it is lucky enough to usually be undercover when it is not moving.

It has not hand any trouble handling the 40C+ days that we have had over the last few years, if it is roasting inside I start the engine, turn the AC on high, turn off recirculate, put down all the windows, and open all the doors. Leave it like that for a few minutes, then close it up, hop in, and it's fine.

Usually I have to turn up the heat, lower the fan speed, adjust where the air is going, or a combination of the previous to keep it from getting too cold!

The most comfortable setting seems to be fan on 3/4, with the air split between my feet and the defrost, although that sometimes leads to condensation on the outside of the windscreen, if it is very humid out there!
 
#13 ·
There have been several AC issues rectified by replacing a faulty pressure switch, if I remember correctly, something to do with a corroded connector? This doesn't make much sense to me since the switch is an on/off device to keep the compressor from engaging if there's an insufficient fill. What would make more sense is, the switch was bad and was replaced, requiring the techs to purge and refill the system, and the system was under-filled to begin with.

PanJet, let us know how it goes at the dealer.

I used my AC for the first time this year yesterday. Only about 90-92F but really humid, more than enough to get the wife to complain. :) It works OK but doesn't exactly freeze you out of the car. I wouldn't be surprized if mine's low on refrigerant as well.
 
#14 ·
I have a Cruze diesel with automatic climate control and even when the outside air was 47C still worked fine and quickly. I have a 2003 Hyundai that has never been recharged and it is nearly as good as the Cruze.
 
#16 ·
I haven noticed in my day and half it does take awhile to get the air flowing. Was up over 100 here today and took several minutes to even get cold. Once there though my arms started going numb and had to turn it down. When it does it cold it really gets cold. I have noticed that on the Cruze and out Trailblazer it does help a lot to put it in recirculation. Sure you guys know that already though.
 
#17 ·
I am not sure you are allowed to complain about your A/C at a paltry 100 degrees.


That was on June 2nd. Weather has stayed pretty much that hot since. Eddy and I would really be the barometer for A/C problems in the diesel.

If she stays in the sun for a while, she is hot. Takes a couple minutes to cool down. But I've never felt the A/C get warmer in any situation. Now maybe humidity effects the A/C? We usually run single digit humidity numbers. A bad day may be 12%, so it is always nice and dry.

Anyways, just rambling here. The short of it here is, you need to have your A/C checked out. Mine will freeze me out of the car after 20 minutes. And if it works when its 115 out, then your 100 should be a piece of cake.
 
#20 ·
Humidity kills the crap out of ac units - my home one really struggles against it - you waste the energy removing water from the air instead of cooling the air itself, and less heat can be bled off from the hot condenser into the humid air.

My car has good AC when the whole thing hasn't been sitting in the sun all day. Sunshade helps, but the black interior with a black body just heat soaks like crazy.


Sent from Bill the WonderPhone
 
#21 ·
Humidity kills the crap out of ac units - my home one really struggles against it - you waste the energy removing water from the air instead of cooling the air itself, and less heat can be bled off from the hot condenser into the humid air.
YES. Here's an interesting thread full of HVAC pros discussing the impact of humidity on HVAC:

Does Humidity Affect Unit's Ability To Cool

Now consider this: these guys are talking about AC units that cycle the air inside a house, as in re-cycling (mostly) the same air over and over.

When your car's AC is working and taking in hot MOIST air from outside, it is using a considerable amount of its capacity just pulling the moisture out of the air. This is where the MAX-AC setting comes in. When you select MAX-AC, the HVAC unit automatically goes into Recirculation mode and re-cycles the air inside the car only, instead of pulling moist air in from outside. This has a profound impact on the ability of the AC system to cool the car since it will be cooling air that has already had much of the moisture removed.

Anyone considering the potential mal-functioning of their AC system should ALWAYS make sure they're using the MAX-AC setting. This does a lot to equalize the playing field between cars operating in dry and humid environments.

NOTE: In the Cruze, the MAX-AC setting is not labelled. In lower trim cars without automatic climate control, MAX-AC is selected automatically when AC is turned on and the temperature control is set to full cold. Setting the temp control to one click below full cold will disable MAX-AC, though you can activate it manually by selecting the recirculate mode.

If the recirculate mode is selected you have the benefits of MAX-AC regardless of where the temperature dial is set, ideal for cool rainy days with several people breathing in the car when keeping the windows clear is important but you don't want to freeze. It may seem counter-intuative to use the heater and AC at the same time, but this allows using the heater to maintain the interior temp at a comfortable level while using the AC mainly as a dehumidifier. This only works in ambient temps down to just above freezing, below which the AC will not function.

I'm not sure how this all works with the higher trim cars and the automatic climate controls, but I wouldn't be surprised if the car runs the AC automatically far more often than the driver is aware, in order to keep things comfortable and the windows clear. Maybe someone can chime in who has experience with it?
 
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