# AC Sucks!!!



## Mrhawaiibound (Jan 12, 2014)

I'm not really sure if this is an issue or not but the AC in our cars are suckish at best.. Has anyone tried completely evacuating their AC system and recharging it to see if it gets colder? My sisters 98' 4runner as far as I know still has the factory freon in the system still and the AC gets way colder then in my Cruze. I can have a buddy of mine cut me a deal to recharge my AC but I wanted to make sure it will actually help if I do so. Any input will be greatly appreciated.


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## spacedout (Dec 7, 2010)

My cruze AC was poor when I first bought it, do to some issue I had the dealer needed to recharge my AC system. MUCH MUCH colder when I got my car back.


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## Mrhawaiibound (Jan 12, 2014)

That sounds like good news!! Hopefully I can expect the same results when I have my system recharged. Would you happen to know if this is a warranty thing? It's pretty lame that they come like this from factory. I shouldn't have to recharge the AC on a two year old car!


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## Gonzo74 (Mar 1, 2014)

My car has 58,000 on it and the a/c is still frigid. I guess I am one of the lucky ones. My compressor will probably take a dump in the middle of july.


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## Mrhawaiibound (Jan 12, 2014)

I only got 23,000 on the odo and my AC sucks! It's been like this since day one of owning the car and I bought it brand new. I just thought it was normal..


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## Blue Angel (Feb 18, 2011)

Someone on the forum had an issue with poor AC performance and their dealer (I think) found an issue where a connector or sensor in the system had been compromised by water and/or corrosion. I can't remember all the details, but if I remember anything correctly I seem to remember the AC system went back to operating normally and very well after the fix, and it didn't require a recharge. Sorry I'm not much more help, can't remember... try searching.


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## Patman (May 7, 2011)

Use recirculation and the cold gets colder instead of drawing in outside air.


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## Mrhawaiibound (Jan 12, 2014)

I'm always using recirculation mode. Even though it's a hassle to turn it on every time I turn the AC on lol. I thought I was being paranoid but when my girlfriend asked me why it's not "that cold" it really made me think there's something wrong here. Especially since she knows nothing about cars!


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## Chevy Customer Care (Oct 29, 2011)

Hey Mrhawaiibound,

I’m sorry to hear that you feel that the air conditioning in your Cruze is not functioning properly. I cannot guarantee anything, but I will be glad to look further into this for you. Please send us a private message referencing your concern if any extra assistance is needed. Thank you.

Kristen A.
Chevrolet Customer Care


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## obermd (Mar 3, 2012)

Blue Angel said:


> Someone on the forum had an issue with poor AC performance and their dealer (I think) found an issue where a connector or sensor in the system had been compromised by water and/or corrosion. I can't remember all the details, but if I remember anything correctly I seem to remember the AC system went back to operating normally and very well after the fix, and it didn't require a recharge. Sorry I'm not much more help, can't remember... try searching.


That was me. One of the pressure sensors was wet inside and not reading the coolant pressure properly. I don't know if it was the high side or low side pressure, but the BCM didn't think there was sufficient pressure to safely turn on the condenser.


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## Merc6 (Jun 8, 2013)

Yep I also had low charge less than a month of ownership. Been fine since recharged by weight. 


Sent from my iFail 5s


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## Mrhawaiibound (Jan 12, 2014)

obermd said:


> That was me. One of the pressure sensors was wet inside and not reading the coolant pressure properly. I don't know if it was the high side or low side pressure, but the BCM didn't think there was sufficient pressure to safely turn on the condenser.


If this is the problem would it throw a code in the DIC? I really feel like my car has a lot more potential.


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## jblackburn (Apr 14, 2012)

Mrhawaiibound said:


> I'm always using recirculation mode. Even though it's a hassle to turn it on every time I turn the AC on lol. I thought I was being paranoid but when my girlfriend asked me why it's not "that cold" it really made me think there's something wrong here. Especially since she knows nothing about cars!


Lowest temperature setting on the dial is automatic recirculate. 

But yeah, it's not amazingly cold. It'll get cold on the highway but around town = meh. 


Sent from AutoGuide.com App


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## Aussie (Sep 16, 2012)

I don't know if we have the same a/c in Australia but I just set mine to 22C and it is great in summer and heats the car in winter. Even at 22C it still sometimes feels too cold.


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## spacedout (Dec 7, 2010)

Mine also gets to cold at times, especially on long drives. 

I'm not gonna say GM is intentionally under filling the AC system, but it would save them millions.


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## Mrhawaiibound (Jan 12, 2014)

jblackburn said:


> But yeah, it's not amazingly cold. It'll get cold on the highway but around town = meh.
> 
> 
> Sent from AutoGuide.com App


I can totally agree with that! It always gets nice and cold on the highway but in town it lacks so much. I do about 90% of city driving so I have to deal with this everyday. 

Maybe the AC in your diesel is better because it's from Australia lol. It's more of a hit and miss because some people have this issue and some people don't. 

It sounds like maybe you're right about GM undercharging out systems to save them money. Considering I'm not the only one who has this problem.


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## obermd (Mar 3, 2012)

Mrhawaiibound said:


> If this is the problem would it throw a code in the DIC? I really feel like my car has a lot more potential.


No code. This is where it pays to have a good relationship with your service adviser. The tech went the extra mile to find this.


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## CruzeTech (Mar 23, 2012)

Ive had 3 cruses, so Im a pretty good gauge of how cold the A/C should be and the only time I've ever had an issue with the A/C is when my second Cruze lost the condenser to a rock. Other then that, the A/C gets so fn cold I could hang my car keys on my [email protected] I never turn my dial past 3 with my 6 speed fan, and thats just to cool the car down a little, I drive on the highway with it at 1-2.


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## Dragonsys (May 27, 2013)

never had a problem with mine. Even in the summer with over 100 degrees outside the a/c gets pretty cold


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## Mrhawaiibound (Jan 12, 2014)

85 degrees here and it's still sluggish. Really glad that it doesn't get up to 100 degrees here. I think I'd go crazy!!!


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## jblackburn (Apr 14, 2012)

Mrhawaiibound said:


> 85 degrees here and it's still sluggish. Really glad that it doesn't get up to 100 degrees here. I think I'd go crazy!!!


I wonder how much the humidity has to do with it.

On a really hot, humid day, my home AC struggles like crazy. 

Never been to Hawaii (I want to!), but if it's anything like the Caribbean...I can't say I'd blame it either!


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## Mrhawaiibound (Jan 12, 2014)

jblackburn said:


> I wonder how much the humidity has to do with it.
> 
> On a really hot, humid day, my home AC struggles like crazy.
> 
> Never been to Hawaii (I want to!), but if it's anything like the Caribbean...I can't say I'd blame it either!


Its not that humid here. It can get really humid when the Kona winds come in, cause of the volcano but other than that it's perfect. You should come visit. It's paradise here!! It's never too hot or too cold. It costs an arm and a leg to live here but it's worth it lol.


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## Aussie (Sep 16, 2012)

It gets really humid in Sydney, although the further North you go the worse it gets and this is where the a/c really shines as it removes the moisture from the air and even at 117F (47C) both my home and car a/c worked flawlessly. My car has tinted windows which helps and the house is insulated.
View attachment 73985
House a/c is not that energy efficient but it works well.


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## Mrhawaiibound (Jan 12, 2014)

:question: Say whaaaaat?! If my AC can't perform as good as yours at regular temperature here(89F) then I'm almost certain something must be wrong with my Cruze.


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## jblackburn (Apr 14, 2012)

Mrhawaiibound said:


> :question: Say whaaaaat?! If my AC can't perform as good as yours at regular temperature here(89F) then I'm almost certain something must be wrong with my Cruze.


Sounds like you should have the pressures checked.

When I first got mine, it was really pathetic unless on the highway. 

They checked the pressures and found the high side was skyrocketing past what it should be and replaced my expansion valve. The compressor later blew up...but after all that was said and done, it's not what I'd call fantastic, but it's a heck of a lot better than it was.


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## Aussie (Sep 16, 2012)

We are less than 6 weeks from the start of winter and today it is 24C (77F). Nights get down to about 13C (55F).


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## Mrhawaiibound (Jan 12, 2014)

I hope my compressor doesn't blow up! haha. I'm gonna make an appointment with my dealer and I hope it's just a little bit low or something. Crossing my fingers that they don't give me the run arounds and say it's "normal" like that because I only have one dealer here. You know, being on an island and all. 


I'm really glad the coldest it gets down here is about 58F, which is the lowest I've ever seen it. I can't do cold. Or too hot :sad010:


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## jblackburn (Apr 14, 2012)

We were teased with 70-80s last week and the week before. Then it was 24 this morning...

Good luck!


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## Aussie (Sep 16, 2012)

Mrhawaiibound said:


> I hope my compressor doesn't blow up! haha. I'm gonna make an appointment with my dealer and I hope it's just a little bit low or something. Crossing my fingers that they don't give me the run arounds and say it's "normal" like that because I only have one dealer here. You know, being on an island and all.
> 
> 
> I'm really glad the coldest it gets down here is about 58F, which is the lowest I've ever seen it. I can't do cold. Or too hot :sad010:


My wife has visited a couple of times and said how cheap things were there, so I guess cost is what you are used to. Don't forget Australia is an island too, it just happens to be a continent as well and is about the same size as the main part of the US, with just 23 million people.


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## warplane95 (May 29, 2013)

Aussie said:


> We are less than 6 weeks from the start of winter and today it is 24C (77F). Nights get down to about 13C (55F).


You cant call this winter xD


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## Mrhawaiibound (Jan 12, 2014)

Aussie said:


> My wife has visited a couple of times and said how cheap things were there, so I guess cost is what you are used to. Don't forget Australia is an island too, it just happens to be a continent as well and is about the same size as the main part of the US, with just 23 million people.


:signs053: Well I was comparing to how cheap things are on the mainland compared to here. Especially gas prices. We're up to 4.47 per gallon for unleaded. It's still going up too!


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## Aussie (Sep 16, 2012)

Mrhawaiibound said:


> :signs053: Well I was comparing to how cheap things are on the mainland compared to here. Especially gas prices. We're up to 4.47 per gallon for unleaded. It's still going up too!


Our standard ULP 91 which has 10% ethanol is $5 per US gallon on the cheap part of the cycle. Diesel is close to the 98 premium that I use in my other car which equals about $5.45 US gallon. Although I believe our diesel is a higher quality at 50 cetane minimum.


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## jblackburn (Apr 14, 2012)

Aussie said:


> Our standard ULP 91 which has 10% ethanol is $5 per US gallon on the cheap part of the cycle. Diesel is close to the 98 premium that I use in my other car which equals about $5.45 US gallon. Although I believe our diesel is a higher quality at 50 cetane minimum.












When gas gets that high, I'll start riding a bike a lot more.


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## Aussie (Sep 16, 2012)

jblackburn said:


> When gas gets that high, I'll start riding a bike a lot more.


It is amazing how you get used to high fuel prices and yet people will still buy their V8 engined cars that they can't drive legally to their potential.


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## Mrhawaiibound (Jan 12, 2014)

Haha^ True that!! I'm not paying that much for gas. I'll buy a moped or something. A bike would be too dangerous for me because I leave for work at 4AM and I have to drive on a highway.


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## Merc6 (Jun 8, 2013)

Aussie said:


> Our standard ULP 91 which has 10% ethanol is $5 per US gallon on the cheap part of the cycle. Diesel is close to the 98 premium that I use in my other car which equals about $5.45 US gallon. Although I believe our diesel is a higher quality at 50 cetane minimum.


Yep I remember what a hassle it was to Fill a Diesel RHD Golf in the UK. The conversion rate when you use a credit card is not fun and even worse for a US debit card. By the time you catch the conversions you already overdrafted and takes forever to reverse charges.



Mrhawaiibound said:


> 85 degrees here and it's still sluggish. Really glad that it doesn't get up to 100 degrees here. I think I'd go crazy!!!


119*F is how I knew it was undercharged. High 70's is normal summer temp here. As of right now we can't decide if we want sunny 66*F or snow at 33*F. If mother nature was a woman, oh wait N/M!


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## Mrhawaiibound (Jan 12, 2014)

Lately it's been averaging about 85-89F And it rains on and off, like ten minutes apart. It's usually sunny and bright around this time. Something funky is going on with this weather for sure.


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## Aussie (Sep 16, 2012)

Mrhawaiibound said:


> Lately it's been averaging about 85-89F And it rains on and off, like ten minutes apart. It's usually sunny and bright around this time. Something funky is going on with this weather for sure.


Don't worry the previous aussie government had the solution to climate, by putting a carbon tax on they made no difference to the climate and sent many businesses overseas at the same time.


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