Strange AC issue

[mis3]

i noticed something strange with my AC when I first turned it on this year. Out of the 4 front vents in the dash, the air from the 2 right vents (passenger side) is significantly colder than the right vents. ???
Last year the dealership did replace the suction hose, condenser, compressor and evaporator of my Civic in the course of 2 months. By the time they finished all the repair, it was already late September and I did not turn on the AC until now.

Sponsored

 

[colezalusky]

im also having the same issue, ever since the motor swap, i took it to a shop to get the ac recharged and its never been the same, passenger vents are significantly cooler then the driver side

 

[mis3]

So I am not the only experiencing this issue.
When the dealership replaced the evaporator last year, they had to remove the whole dash. I wonder if something went wrong when they put everything back together.

 

[Big E]

I have the exact same issue! Wow, interesting.
It‘s actually at the dealer right now - they made it sound like they’re doing whatever they do when they fix the compressor under warranty. That’s actually why I’m on here right now: to look up what they fix under warranty.

 

[mis3]

If the compressor is defective, there won’t be cold air at all, right? This goes the same for the condenser and evaporator.

How about the dual-zone climate control? This is the module which controls and differentials the temp of the driver/passenger sides.

 

[fenix-silver]

This spring once it started getting warm out I noticed my driver side vents were pretty much ambient temp while the passenger side were cool (not as cold as I would expect, but way cooler than the driver side). I have dual zone controls. From my research this was a sign of leaking refrigerant, so I took it in and they diagnosed and replaced the condenser. Apparently the passenger side air passes through the upstream part of the evaporator while the driver air passes through the downstream section, so once you start loosing refrigerant that downstream side has little cooling capacity. So obviously as you lose more and more, that cooling capacity will drop further to the point that the upstream section wouldn't even be sufficient to cool the passenger side air. At that point you risk compressor damage.

 

[BrandonSmith]

What about the auto climate not keeping consistent temps in general? When it's really hot outside, setting the climate to 70*F is comfortable. But, when it's mild outside, setting the climate to 66*F feels about the same as when I have it set to 70*F on a hot day.

 

[TheCanadian]

The drivers side A/C is downstream from the passenger side. The air flows through more pipes in the dash to get to the driver side. If the A/C is not working properly the drivers side will absorb more heat and be warmer. Likely you have an A/C leak somewhere.

 

[bluzfanmr1]

What about the auto climate not keeping consistent temps in general? When it's really hot outside, setting the climate to 70*F is comfortable. But, when it's mild outside, setting the climate to 66*F feels about the same as when I have it set to 70*F on a hot day.

I have the same issue. There doesn't seem to be any consistency to how it maintains the interior temp. I go back and forth between auto and manually settings but I've never been able to find a setting that I'm happy with. My '07 EX Coupe did a much better job with the interior climate control.

 

[mis3]

They did change the suction hose, condenser, compressor and evaporator last year.
They replaced them in sequence, ie: they changed one thing, the AC would work for a while and failed again. Took them 4 trials and the whole ordeal lasted 2 Months. The last thing they changed was the evaporator and they did sent a picture of the leaking evaporator. By the time they replaced everything, it was September and I did not turn on the AC until last week.
They did refill the coolant every time.

 

[mis3]

Went to the dealership.
They replaced the expansion valve and seal. Local weather is cool these days so I can only check it later.
At the same time, there was a recall of the compressor shaft seal which they replaced.

 

[mis3]

** Update **

Local temperature has been over 30C these days and my AC is working fine, both left and right vents are blowing cold air In equal volumes.
They changed the extension valve/seal and the compressor shaft seal under warranty. Not sure which did the trick.
Also, according to the invoice, they added “0.3” of refrigerant (not sure if this means 0.3 LB ).

 

[mis3]

Guess what. My AC fails again. Same symptoms as last time back in June (see post #1).
I went to the dealership and they did the dye test and found a leak at the compressor seal again. They opened a work order and ordered this part. They told me that this seal is in back order. Guess it is in high demand now.

Sponsored