Does you air conditioning suck bad?

[Adonis BHK]

It was 98 degrees up here in the Okanagan today, and as I was driving home on the highway at about 100km/h, my airconditioning would cut in and out. It would blow cold for a little while, then once it just started to get comfortable, the vents would start blowing warm air for about 15-25 seconds. As such, it never cooled down, and was almost so hot I had to roll the windows down instead.

What gives? Why is the air not staying on?

I've tried both auto temp control set to the lowest setting, as well as high speed fan, coldest setting, face setting, air on, and recirc on and it still does the same.

This is totally unacceptable, I'm thinking about taking it to the dealer to see if there's a fix, but I'm pretty sure I already know the answer.

Anyone else with this prob?

 

[2003KJ]

I doubt it's low.....not saying it's not possible, but i'd have a hard time believing it....unless it didn't get charged all the way from the factory.

Just have to realize that when it's almost 100 degrees, nobody's AC is going to work as good as normal....even more so if you live in a climate where there's generally a good amount of humidity to go along with the heat.

 

[Adonis BHK]

its not even the least bit humid here, dry dry dry.

It's not that it doesn't keep up, it's that it keeps shutting off. I can instantly feel when the compressor cycles off because the air suddenly gets warm.

It does this constantly, so it never gets cold. It's even done it when its not that hot, but with the weather this hot, its unbearable.

 

[tjkj2002]

Where do you live? What kind of terrain(hilly or flat)? Passing traffic often,flooring the pedal or close to it?

Newer A/C systems have a cycling clutch set-up,when the evaporator reaches 33-34 degrees it kicks the A/C pump clutch off to prevent the evap from freezing,also when close to WOT(wide open throttle) or WOT is detected it also kicks the A/C off to give max HP.

Or you may have a bad auto system or a over/under charged system or a bad low/high pressure switch.It's under warrenty take it to the dealer.

 

[Adonis BHK]

Flat terrain mostly, slightly hilly in some areas. Driving at nice cruising speeds, and some in city driving, nothing seems to make a difference.

I'm definatley going to take it in. I have all my windows tinted and even a strip at the top of the windshield and we were baking all the way home - not good.

I'll let you guys know the prognosis.

 

[Adonis BHK]

Oh, I live in Kelowna BC

 

[2003KJ]

Also take into account things such as the exterior color and interior color....obviously the darker the more heat they're going to hold in. Also, if you have a base model that didn't come with any factory tint on the windows, that certainly won't help the greenhouse effect, and making the AC work harder to cool you off.

 

[tjkj2002]

2003KJAlso take into account things such as the exterior color and interior color....obviously the darker the more heat they're going to hold in. Also, if you have a base model that didn't come with any factory tint on the windows, that certainly won't help the greenhouse effect, and making the AC work harder to cool you off.

Not true,darker colors of newer 2 stage paint jobs do not increase the interior temps at all since from the high gloss surface reflects just as good if white or black,and since the clear coat stage has alot of UV protection in it already.My KJ has a UV protected black spray on bedliner sprayed on it and it stay's cooler then a lighter colered vehicle.

 

[Adonis BHK]

werd, what he said.

Mine's black, but it's got the UV protectant and ALL windows tinted.

 

[nchorselover55]

We live on the NC coast and have been having temps running around 100degs. The humidity here is legendary, usually running above 80% and 100% at times (often). Anyways, we have not had a problem with the ac keeping the liberty cool... though we do close the sun shade on the sunroof when sun is at its worst.

 

[LibertyOrDeath]

Keep in mind the tinting on the windows allows less sunlight in hence less UV rays and Infrared heat.

 

[therock2]

Adonis BHK,

I just got my '08 Liberty back from the dealership for this EXACT SAME PROBLEM. I live in Arizona and this is the first vehicle I have owned that has done this. I had the temperature on as cold as it would go, the fan on high, and the recirculation button turned on. It would blow cold for about 20-30 seconds and then blow warmer for the same duration. My service advisor informed me that have been taking in many new Libertys due to this issue. Their fix is to replace a $15 valve that is causing some issues with pressure in the system. The next day after picking it up I had the same issues with the AC and had to take it back in. They then evacuated the lines several times and recharged the system and so far everything seems to be working alright. (2 days later). This is definitely an issue that you need to look into because it is NOT a matter of what color your Liberty is or how dark your window tint is as other members here have stated.

 

[daveb]

It has been in the upper 80's to mid 90's all week, my A/C will freeze you out of the truck. I have noticed most of the posters on this thread have Sport models not with auto climate, could this be why mine works?

Dave

 

[JeepJeepster]

Im a little surprised by the fact that it was said that black paint will not be hotter than a lighter colored car. I find that hard to believe since Ive been to a meguiars detailing class and I read non-stop on detailing forums. I seen many pictures of Mike Phillips holding a temperature gun on a car with black paint then on a car with a lighter color.... The difference is amazing... Black paint gets upwards of 170F in direct sunlight.

http://meguiarsonline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=24930&highlight=working+sun

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Since we own many jeeps, with colors ranging from black to red, I can tell a huge difference in the A/C's ability to cool the interior.

 

[Adonis BHK]

Adonis BHK,

I just got my '08 Liberty back from the dealership for this EXACT SAME PROBLEM. I live in Arizona and this is the first vehicle I have owned that has done this. I had the temperature on as cold as it would go, the fan on high, and the recirculation button turned on. It would blow cold for about 20-30 seconds and then blow warmer for the same duration. My service advisor informed me that have been taking in many new Libertys due to this issue. Their fix is to replace a $15 valve that is causing some issues with pressure in the system. The next day after picking it up I had the same issues with the AC and had to take it back in. They then evacuated the lines several times and recharged the system and so far everything seems to be working alright. (2 days later). This is definitely an issue that you need to look into because it is NOT a matter of what color your Liberty is or how dark your window tint is as other members here have stated.

Thanks for the info dude. Im taking it in this thursday to have it checked out. I know this isn't normal because I just took a ride in my fiance's civic which has no tinting, and the a/c was VERY cold. After 30minutes running, I had to put the fan to the lowest setting because it was SO cold. The Jeep just starts to get cold, then it goes warm again. NOT acceptable.

 

[hyde]

Black Jeep = Heat Trap
My A/C is limping too.

 

[tjkj2002]

All black roof,largest body panel,and it's spray on bedliner,my A/C will freeze you out after about 2-3 min though the bedliner I used has alot of UV protection/blocker and does my clearcoat..I have never touched my A/C system,all original and I have a build date of Feb 14th 2002(bought Feb 28th 2002).Even when my KJ was still all black(only first 6 months of it's life) the A/C kicked but,the best R134A system I have ever owned,still not up to par with R12 systems though,my '84 F150 would form icecycles on the vents after 3 min of use.

 

[MarkB]

its not even the least bit humid here, dry dry dry.

It's not that it doesn't keep up, it's that it keeps shutting off. I can instantly feel when the compressor cycles off because the air suddenly gets warm.

It does this constantly, so it never gets cold. It's even done it when its not that hot, but with the weather this hot, its unbearable.

Our's did the same from the time we drove it off the lot till I took it back and had the system charged. Haven't had trouble since. My opinion is they didn't fill it completely at the factory.

 

[Walt]

Mine too

Dealer said there was a service bulletin out on the issue. He said that it’s a faulty sensor that measures pressure and shuts the system down when the pressure gets to high. On a hot day in Arizona 110-112 the air will come out of the vent around 60 degrees. The air comes out my 97 Wrangler at around 40 degrees. I traded a 2002 Liberty 4x4 sport in on a 2008 4x4 Sport and the air was colder in it also.

 

[Adonis BHK]

I just got back from the dealer.

They had my jeep for three and half hours...

Verdict....

Couldn't find a problem.

If someone could find this TSB and post it, it would be really helpful because my dealership doesn't believe me.

Nuts!