We received our new 2018 Ford Expedition today and the a/c is not blowing cold air. Had to take back to dealer to have fixed. Apparently, there is a problem with some of these vehicles and ours is one of them. Anyone else experiencing this problem? And do you know how long it takes to fix?
2018 Expedition platinum Max A/C problem
- Thread starter Dgm0rt0n
- Start date
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Spoiledhappywife
Full Access Members
Our build date was 11/17 and no issues. We have hit 100 degrees already.
Wishing you the best of luck.
Wishing you the best of luck.
powerboatr
Full Access Members
i love the statements you get from some dealers, "well if it was built between xx and xx there is a problem and no one has the answer...."
bull muffins, a problem didnt appear then magically through the change of dates fix itself.
like eveyone says, its a system with senors and valves, a good tech should be able to follow a trouble tree and fix it.
bull muffins, a problem didnt appear then magically through the change of dates fix itself.
like eveyone says, its a system with senors and valves, a good tech should be able to follow a trouble tree and fix it.
Dorzak
Full Access Members
Did they every get it figured out or is it still at the dealer?
There is an issue with Expeditions (and I think Navigators) built in that time frame. The freon in the A/C system is contaminated. If current A/C evacuaitrron equipment is used to evaculate the system, the A/C evacuation equipment is ruined and the system is not properly evacuated. In order for Ford to fix this problem, they have to devise a way to completely evacuate the AC system. Once the system is evacuated, the entire system has to be replaced (every freon line and all AC components that came in contact with the freon). Since these vehicles have rear AC, the componernts in the rear AC need replacing as well. This requires disassembly of the dash and a chunk of the interior to get the 2 cores form the AC system and all freon lines replaced.
Not a good scenario, but that is the issue. I heard about this from a friend of a friend who has one of the effected Expeditions.
Not a good scenario, but that is the issue. I heard about this from a friend of a friend who has one of the effected Expeditions.
Build dates literally define the window when a problem started with a vehicle line and when it was corrected. It could be that there was a problem with a batch of components, a deviation from a process due to trouble with a machine, a new software revision with an unknown bug or even just simple human error.
Refrigerant contaminantion, while a real thing, isn’t something that I can believe to be an issue here. While it does use the new R-1234yf refrigerant, like the transition from R-12 to R-134a, the service ports are different to prevent the wrong refrigerant from being used and if the assembly plant did somehow manage to have R-134a in equipment for R-1234yf, the two are near identical in system refrigerant weight requirements and operation that the AC would probably work without any noticeable issue.
That’s a huge window to not be sure about. If that really was the case though, it would be such a widespread problem that dealerships would have been made aware of the issue by now and this forum would be littered with ‘my AC doesn’t work’ threads given the last month of high temperatures.
Being someone who is experiencing an A/C issue in our new Expy, I'm interested in this thread. However! The only 2 people who personally said they had a problem and posted on this thread posted their 1st forum post here, then have never returned to give an update. Then lobsenza posts his first post ever on the forum in the same thread with what I consider to be a truly terrifying prospect....a serious problem, no current solution and a future solution of ripping the vehicle apart, but with pretty vague details.
So Lobsenza, if you could provide more info, that would be great. Is your friend in Texas same as you? Where in Texas? Is this person a member of this forum? Would they be willing to come on and give some additional info? The build dates affected, the dealer they are working with? Do they have a Ford representative they have talked to? Are you on the Expy forum because you own an Expy? Wanting to own an Expy? Interested in helping with an AC problem? I'm concerned you will feel defensive and interrogated which is not my intention. I have an $80,000 truck with just over 2,000 miles on it and an A/C problem and I'd like more information if you're willing.
So Lobsenza, if you could provide more info, that would be great. Is your friend in Texas same as you? Where in Texas? Is this person a member of this forum? Would they be willing to come on and give some additional info? The build dates affected, the dealer they are working with? Do they have a Ford representative they have talked to? Are you on the Expy forum because you own an Expy? Wanting to own an Expy? Interested in helping with an AC problem? I'm concerned you will feel defensive and interrogated which is not my intention. I have an $80,000 truck with just over 2,000 miles on it and an A/C problem and I'd like more information if you're willing.
Mike Wolfe
Full Access Members
Our EXPY was built 01/22/2018
Was purchased by us 5/21/2018
It was built at the Kentucky assembly plant
Has the Auto HVAC system & living in AZ it has been thoroughly & severely tested.
It has been 115 degrees for the last 3 days & still will cool so well that MAX AC is too cool in a short time after start up
As a retired engineer it is hard for me to believe the dealer could not correctly diagnose your non functioning system in a few short minutes
If the compressor is running then a check of low side & high side pressures will tell if the refrigerant is correct & what the evaporator temp is
If the evap pressures are correct then a check of the blend doors will confirm if the system is adding heated air when it should not
Not rocket science here
Really wonder about the competence of the dealer here
If I were you I would be contacting FORD directly
Their number is listed in the owner's manual
While I am not familiar with the newest refrigerant, one thing is for certain.
The low side pressure directly converts to evaporator temperatures
with R12 if the low side pressure was 45 psi then the evap temperature was 45 degrees F
I believe that 1234yf is about the same
If the ambient air is at 100 degrees F then the system pressures when stabilized & at rest should be 100psi for both the high & low sides
I am pretty sure that FORD uses a dual displacement compressor
The compressor uses full displacement mode under the MAX air setting & a lower displacement under normal cooling conditions
Just checked the AC label on our vehicle & it does use the 1234yf refrigerant
Charge size is 2.31lbs which is very small compared to the old R12 systems
It has the rear AC system as well
The statement that all vehicles built from DEC through Jan 2018 must be incorrect based on the fact that ours works very well
should not be that hard to get HVAC system issues corrected if the dealer has a competent well trained AC Tech
Was purchased by us 5/21/2018
It was built at the Kentucky assembly plant
Has the Auto HVAC system & living in AZ it has been thoroughly & severely tested.
It has been 115 degrees for the last 3 days & still will cool so well that MAX AC is too cool in a short time after start up
As a retired engineer it is hard for me to believe the dealer could not correctly diagnose your non functioning system in a few short minutes
If the compressor is running then a check of low side & high side pressures will tell if the refrigerant is correct & what the evaporator temp is
If the evap pressures are correct then a check of the blend doors will confirm if the system is adding heated air when it should not
Not rocket science here
Really wonder about the competence of the dealer here
If I were you I would be contacting FORD directly
Their number is listed in the owner's manual
While I am not familiar with the newest refrigerant, one thing is for certain.
The low side pressure directly converts to evaporator temperatures
with R12 if the low side pressure was 45 psi then the evap temperature was 45 degrees F
I believe that 1234yf is about the same
If the ambient air is at 100 degrees F then the system pressures when stabilized & at rest should be 100psi for both the high & low sides
I am pretty sure that FORD uses a dual displacement compressor
The compressor uses full displacement mode under the MAX air setting & a lower displacement under normal cooling conditions
Just checked the AC label on our vehicle & it does use the 1234yf refrigerant
Charge size is 2.31lbs which is very small compared to the old R12 systems
It has the rear AC system as well
The statement that all vehicles built from DEC through Jan 2018 must be incorrect based on the fact that ours works very well
should not be that hard to get HVAC system issues corrected if the dealer has a competent well trained AC Tech
