# Terrible A/C



## Merc6 (Jun 8, 2013)

Hope it is just a low charge, that was something I went in for a month into ownership. Even then I did notice the A/C in this 13 Elantra is super cold. only reason I would turn down the A/C in the Cruze is to conserve gas.


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## VtTD (Nov 5, 2013)

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. 



PanJet said:


> 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.
> 
> ...


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## q2bruiser (Jun 8, 2014)

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.


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## Merc6 (Jun 8, 2013)

q2bruiser said:


> 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.


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## PanJet (Jun 18, 2013)

q2bruiser said:


> 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.


Yup, common practice of mine.

The only two differing factors between my previous Cruze and this one are the powertrain (formerly 1.4L gas, now diesel) and the exterior color (formerly silver, now tungsten grey). All other factors, including my operating style, are equal. Besides, I shouldn't have to trick the A/C, if you will, into giving me cold air with minor details. My Subaru will pump out cold air within seconds after pressing A/C, regardless of what vent settings, etc. are. Also, the fact that the A/C on the Cruze actually _warmed_ when slowing down off the freeway a good 20 minutes after first startup leads me to believe it's not operating at max, for whatever reason.

I'm sure this is just a case of a poor charge.


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## PanJet (Jun 18, 2013)

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.


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## Eddy Cruze (Jan 10, 2014)

It was 114 today, 110 yesterday and I had to turn down the fan because it was blowing too cold! I would be the first to say the CRUZE A/C is horrible, and yes it does take a minute or two or three to start to cool down but it is fine on my 2014 LT!


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## Merc6 (Jun 8, 2013)

PanJet said:


> 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.


They are always open except the freeway and when it's like 40 degrees F out in the winter.


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## nascarnate326 (Jun 9, 2014)

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.


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## grs1961 (Oct 23, 2012)

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!


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## Vetterin (Mar 27, 2011)

While adding freon to my wife's and daughter's car last weekend I decided to check mine also. Being just a little low, I added maybe 3-4 oz at the most and my vent temps went from 58 to 51.
I've never had a complaint about my AC but now it's almost too cold with the fan on 2.


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## Blue Angel (Feb 18, 2011)

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.


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## Aussie (Sep 16, 2012)

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.


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## CHEVYCRUZE RS (Mar 29, 2011)

I have a gas 2011 and on extremely hot days the ac suffers....regular days shes a beauty tho


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## Roadburner440 (Dec 29, 2013)

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.


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## Danny5 (Dec 22, 2011)

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.


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## MilTownSHO (Oct 9, 2013)

Haven't had any issues with mine yet.

Why not remote start it and run the A/C for a few minutes before you get to the car... just a thought.


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## KpaxFAQ (Sep 1, 2013)

Mine is ice cold, takes as long as any other car ive owned sitting in the sun all day


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## jblackburn (Apr 14, 2012)

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


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## Blue Angel (Feb 18, 2011)

jblackburn said:


> 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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## Aussie (Sep 16, 2012)

Blue Angel said:


> 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?


I am not sure how it works but I just set the temp to 22C and I never feel uncomfortable summer or winter. The only way I can pick when the A/C is running is a slight increase in turbo lag when the lights turn green. Once moving you never notice when it is on, I suppose the torque of the diesel hides it as max power is seldom needed.


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