Air Conditioning

[2018ExpyPlatinum]

Greetings...How cold is your AC? My wife's, going on 7 year old, RAV4's air is amazing. We were out shopping over the weekend. Returned to her car in our now 100+ temps in AZ. Starts the car, immediate COLD air. Cooled the car down super fast. She keeps it set at 75-77 and it's cold. No rear AC. My 2018 sits out in a parking lot for the same time, set at 70 (rear set at 70 too) and it takes a long time to cool and the air is never COLD. We both have sunroofs that are closed along with the sun screen, both black interiors. I have tinted windows, she doesn't.

Does size really matter? And if it does, shouldn't Ford account for that? Should I take it back to the dealer who will tell me it's "normal" or "ok"? Do I want to waste half a day at the dealer to hear that answer? I've never been impressed with my AC, and really don't think about it because of it's size until I get in that RAV4.

How do yours feel? Thoughts?

 

[Deadman]

The older vehicles might have better refrigerant in them, before the EPA F'd that up as well. I know my 2007 the factory AC is the coldest AC vehicle I own. All this new ECO BS is junk and doesn't cool effectively. Plus I'm sure they scaled down the size of the compressors and everything else trying to make more MPG to keep the EPA happy. $hit just can't work well after they neuter all the good parts out.... Mines fine on my Expedition, but its not that impressive. I'm in WI tho....

 

[Buda Max]

Have the dealer check your AC service ports. I took my 2018 in several times for AC concerns on top of every other issue I had throughout last couple years. I had enough and had a different dealer check it and they fixed it along with a bad fuel injector for a misfire. Original dealer said they had their best tech on it and he could not figure out the AC cooling issue. No code , is usually their response outside of unable to duplicate.

 

[Going_Going_Gone]

I could not be happier with the AC in the Expedition. My previous two vehicles were a 2003 Super Duty and the discharge air would get so cold that your left hand would hurt if you had the vent directed towards it for long. I had a job where the parking lot had been repaved and coming out of work the overhead thermometer would read 120° or more and the AC still got cool by the time I exited the property. Next vehicle was a 2010 F-150 and that had the absolute worst AC imaginable. It took a fifteen minute drive to cool the cabin down in the summer. I believe that it could have been capable of cooling much better, because the discharge air would just start to feel cold and the AC compressor would instantly cycle off. My theory has always been that Ford established a "tolerance" for the AC electronic controls...the sensor that triggered the compressor clutch on/off could be within tolerance, but at the poor end of the range and therefore considered to be working. After that experience, I worried about ordering another Ford, but it seems that their controls evolved.

 

[Calidad]

Cold in 100+ temps. More efficient / faster cool down than my Sequoia. If the condenser fan is caput they don’t cool when not getting air flow. Any vehicle can have the fan issue

 

[aggiegrad05]

Greetings...How cold is your AC? My wife's, going on 7 year old, RAV4's air is amazing. We were out shopping over the weekend. Returned to her car in our now 100+ temps in AZ. Starts the car, immediate COLD air. Cooled the car down super fast. She keeps it set at 75-77 and it's cold. No rear AC. My 2018 sits out in a parking lot for the same time, set at 70 (rear set at 70 too) and it takes a long time to cool and the air is never COLD. We both have sunroofs that are closed along with the sun screen, both black interiors. I have tinted windows, she doesn't.

Does size really matter? And if it does, shouldn't Ford account for that? Should I take it back to the dealer who will tell me it's "normal" or "ok"? Do I want to waste half a day at the dealer to hear that answer? I've never been impressed with my AC, and really don't think about it because of it's size until I get in that RAV4.

How do yours feel? Thoughts?

There were several folks on here that had ac issues with the 2018s early on. There’s actually a TSB on it that involves flushing the entire system of some bad refrigerant and replacing all the lines…it was a pain in the butt. I would think if you’re driving an ‘18 that problem would have manifested by now…but maybe not.

 

[aggiegrad05]

Greetings...How cold is your AC? My wife's, going on 7 year old, RAV4's air is amazing. We were out shopping over the weekend. Returned to her car in our now 100+ temps in AZ. Starts the car, immediate COLD air. Cooled the car down super fast. She keeps it set at 75-77 and it's cold. No rear AC. My 2018 sits out in a parking lot for the same time, set at 70 (rear set at 70 too) and it takes a long time to cool and the air is never COLD. We both have sunroofs that are closed along with the sun screen, both black interiors. I have tinted windows, she doesn't.

Does size really matter? And if it does, shouldn't Ford account for that? Should I take it back to the dealer who will tell me it's "normal" or "ok"? Do I want to waste half a day at the dealer to hear that answer? I've never been impressed with my AC, and really don't think about it because of it's size until I get in that RAV4.

How do yours feel? Thoughts?

Here’s one of the threads, although the OP in that had a worse experience than most.

https://www.expeditionforum.com/threads/contaminated-refrigerant-issue.37306/

 

[vincentrose]

Well in my 2014 Expy, today is was 90 outside, discharge air was around 60 at idle sitting still, but when moving down the road 50-60 mph, discharge air was around 45.

 

[Deadman]

Well in my 2014 Expy, today is was 90 outside, discharge air was around 60 at idle sitting still, but when moving down the road 50-60 mph, discharge air was around 45.

Thats impressive...

 

[2018ExpyPlatinum]

Thanks Aggie. I remember that post. Mine was built in April I believe and 2018's that had issues were built prior. I'm going to call or stop by the dealer Monday or Tuesday. I'm sure I'll have to make an appointment, blah blah blah. To me, it's not right.

 

[Expedition Dave]

Since new of the lot, and living in high-heat areas like Texas & Florida (despite quality ceramic tint on all windows and even the front windshield) the A/C always felt a bit below par.
Of course, if you think 80-85 degrees is hot where you live, maybe it works well for you but my Expy always seems to be blowing a fan level higher than I would prefer.
Also takes quite some time to cool down despite it being a light color.

It is why I always leave it running for short errands and start it 5 minutes before I leave for the day.

Makes you wonder, if Ford put more thought into rapid cooling/heating, how much more fuel they (or really ME) could save?
But Ford's like, "Naht'llbefine" b/c the EPA doesn't measure that.

 

[Jim Fiers]

Still have an issue with mine freezing up while towing the camper. Service guy says low coolant but even when topped off it freezes up after an hour on the road, let it sit for 30 min and it works for a little while until it freezes up again. Basic answer i get is I can't fix something until it breaks...

 

[Thurston C Munn]

A few things you might check and try. 1st lower your temp setting. Remember these auto temp settings blend warm air with cool air until the lowest setting is selected. 2nd make sure you have it set to the recirculate position not the outside air position. It's much harder to cool incoming ambient air than it is air that has already been conditioned. The rear unit is recirculate only. One other thing to check, if the compressor is short cycling it's an indication of low refrigerant.

We have 17 EL and it will freeze your butt off.

 

[Dustin Gebhardt]

My '07 will get below 30°F at the vent while on the highway, and roughly 40-45°F at the vent while idling. Even with this, it does take awhile to cool the interior of my EL. I planned on getting ceramic tint this year, but that hasn't happened yet. However, I've made some modifications to my system to get these results:

• There is a temperature sensor inside the heater core/blower box, behind the glove box. My sensor stopped working. It senses the temperature of the evaporator and controls the on/off duty cycle of the compressor. Replacing the sensor requires you to remove a lot of the dash, but the part appears to be fairly inexpensive. It's on my to-do list, but only when I need to pull apart the dash for something else. In the meantime, I've been using a simple resistor, with each lead plugged into each side of the sensor, to fool the system in thinking that the evaporator temperature is warm. I think I'm using a 151k ohm resistor. I discovered this issue when my AC stopped working and the compressor would only cycle on for a few seconds. I traced the compressor signal wiring from the compressor backwards and found that this temperature sensor was faulty. So, if your compressor is short-cycling or this sensor is faulty, you can band-aid it easily. It takes me about 3 minutes to change out the resistor; I just open the glove box and drop it all the way down, pull the connector off of the sensor, remove and reinstall the resistor, reconnect the connector to the sensor, and put the glove box back in place. Note that a higher-ohm resistor equates to a "colder" sensor reading, so the compressor cycles off more frequently. The only downside of this is that my evaporator will freeze up on long drives. I have to turn the AC off for 1-2 minutes and let the evaporators de-ice. I can usually tell when it's time to do this when the velocity of air from the vents starts to slow down. Also note that using a single-value resistor, along with a faulty sensor, means that you generally get an "always-on" signal.
• I installed 2 electric fans in from of the condenser/trans-cooler/radiator. I used to work in Mexico, and crossed the border daily. Waiting in line for hours, in Mexicali and Nogales where the summer temperatures can routinely get above 110°F, would cause any cooling system to struggle. While the engine never overheated, the stock fan wasn't great at keeping the condenser happy and cooled. A couple of relays and fans later, and my AC vent temperatures were much, much improved. Of course, these fans don't add much to the cooling performance when at highway speeds. I have the fan relays wired up to the compressor signal wire. When the compressor is signaled to turn on, then the relays for the fans turn on and the fans spin up.

I bought a set of AC gauges and I check the system performance frequently. I have a small leak somewhere that I haven't identified yet, so I go through a couple of cans of R-134a each year.

 

[wakeboarder]

Since new of the lot, and living in high-heat areas like Texas & Florida (despite quality ceramic tint on all windows and even the front windshield) the A/C always felt a bit below par.
Of course, if you think 80-85 degrees is hot where you live, maybe it works well for you but my Expy always seems to be blowing a fan level higher than I would prefer.
Also takes quite some time to cool down despite it being a light color.

It is why I always leave it running for short errands and start it 5 minutes before I leave for the day.

Makes you wonder, if Ford put more thought into rapid cooling/heating, how much more fuel they (or really ME) could save?
But Ford's like, "Naht'llbefine" b/c the EPA doesn't measure that.

One large factor that people forget is the humidity when talking about AC systems. It takes a lot of energy to cause a phase change of H2O from vapor to liquid.

This wouldn’t need to be considered if comparing different vehicles in the same region. It would need to be considered if comparing performance in Arizona vs Florida.

 

[Expedition Dave]

I have lived in both nosebleed dry areas and sea level swamp land with my Expy. Found the Ford system to be less than satisfactory in both.
My Dodge (2011) 2500 was also not up to task IMHO.

I also recognize the bigger the vehicle and larger the windows also play a big factor--but I think companies should take this into account--which they may do--but I feel they are not. If that makes sense.

 

[Teasip]

Gen 4. Early 2018 Expeditions AC was defective from factory. Depends on manufacture date. Typically just blows hot ambient air then perhaps after awhile the compressor may kick in. The refrigerant used for a certain period got contaminated. Basically everything that comes in contact with the refrigerant needs replaced with new factory parts for a certain manufacture date. New compressor, new evaporators, all new tubing etc. Basically the entire system. Due to the contaminant the system cannot be flushed. Dealer won't tell me or didn't know the contaminant, but I was guessing metal flakes and powder that can't be flushed. There are some other treads on this somewhere on this forum.

 

[99WhiteC5Coupe]

Gen 4. Early 2018 Expeditions AC was defective from factory. Depends on manufacture date. Typically just blows hot ambient air then perhaps after awhile the compressor may kick in. The refrigerant used for a certain period got contaminated. Basically everything that comes in contact with the refrigerant needs replaced with new factory parts for a certain manufacture date. New compressor, new evaporators, all new tubing etc. Basically the entire system. Due to the contaminant the system cannot be flushed. Dealer won't tell me or didn't know the contaminant, but I was guessing metal flakes and powder that can't be flushed. There are some other treads on this somewhere on this forum.

https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/tsbs/2018/MC-10149783-9999.pdf

 

[FlyBry]

Dang, that Customer Satisfaction Program 18N01 almost replaces the entire AC system, and looking at the parts list, looks like they lower the transmission.

 

[2018ExpyPlatinum]

Sounds like a nightmare. Like I said, I don't think that is my issue. My build date is 6/18. I need to go to the dealer and pick their brain. I'm sure I'll get nothing resolved. It will be the usual "no issue found" or whatever line they use.