2018 Civic Hatchback AC

[AgVet]

The AC in my 2018 hatch seems extremely weak. Like, it hardly blows at anything other than max. What's more is that the temperature difference from the 'Lo' setting to, say 75 or 80 doesn't seem like much of a difference at all. Is this just the car or is my AC possibly defunct? I've been very underwhelmed with the A/C now that temps are getting up in the mid hundreds.

Sponsored

 

[BarracksSi]

Well, it's hot down there in Texas, and it's going to have to work to keep the interior at a cooler temperature.

Bring a thermometer, put it somewhere in the shade (maybe the tray below the head unit; if the thermometer is in the sun, it'll always heat up), and see how cool it gets.

Might need a repair anyway, but at least the thermometer will give you a second opinion.

 

[shihabp79]

You’ve got a 1.5-liter 4-banger, it’s not exactly spinning the biggest AC compressor. Even my Type R isn’t doing so great in this miserable Dallas heat.

 

[cocoroos]

You're making sure to actually hit the "A/C On" button, right? I noticed if you turn on the air or adjust air it doesn't necessarily mean the A/C is on. You unfortunately have to manually hit the A/C On button to get it to blow cool air.

 

[shihabp79]

You're making sure to actually hit the "A/C On" button, right? I noticed if you turn on the air or adjust air it doesn't necessarily mean the A/C is on. You unfortunately have to manually hit the A/C On button to get it to blow cool air.

Not if you have automatic climate control.

 

[cocoroos]

Not if you have automatic climate control.

True--I'm not sure what trim OP has.

 

[Sticks]

This came up on another thread, indicating there may be a difference in the hatchback vs the sedan. Hatchback has more space to cool. And, if the hatchback is like the sedan, no vents off the rear of the console for back seat passengers.

We have a '18 Touring, and my wife and I agree the Civics A/C works much better than our '15 Jeep GC, and a heck of a lot better than our '16 Corvette. Living in Arizona, we understand what it means to drive on a hot day

We were surprised how well it works vs previous Japanese vehicles we've owned. Toyota, Nissan, Mazda, and early Integra. Their A/C systems all sucked, even when we lived in cooler Chicago.

Hope you find a solution and it's not just a Honda design/engineering flaw.

 

[Dicecube]

Check the condenser

 

[Stapleface]

As was mentioned earlier, the hatchback has more space to cool. Not only that, you're getting more thermal heating due to the hatch having glass (greenhouse effect) vs the glass of the sedan. Tinting the windows (if not done already) would most likely reduce the heat buildup in the car, which would make the job the AC has to do easier.
All that being said, I've owned many Hondas over they years. And on a hot day, I can't legitimately say that I thought the AC did that great of a job. It's just a Honda quirk that I've just taken as par for the course.

 

[tsupersonic]

True--I'm not sure what trim OP has.

All hatches in US have auto climate control...LX/Sport have single auto climate. EX and above have dual auto climate. So, if auto is set, then AC is automatically regulated depending on what temp. is set to & temp. of cabin.

 

[zroger73]

What's more is that the temperature difference from the 'Lo' setting to, say 75 or 80 doesn't seem like much of a difference at all. Is this just the car or is my AC possibly defunct? I've been very underwhelmed with the A/C now that temps are getting up in the mid hundreds.

If it's 100°F in the cabin and you have it set to 72°, the system is already at maximum cooling. The temperature of the air coming out of the vents in this case won't be any colder on Lo than it will at 72. Automatic climate control does what it needs to do to get the cabin to the desired temperature as quickly as possible. Turning it to "Lo" won't get the cabin to 72° any faster than leaving it at 72.

This is a common misconception with both automotive climate control systems and even thermostats in homes. I see people set them to 55° thinking it will increasing the cooling capacity of the system so that it cools to 72° faster than if they leave them at 72°, which is simply not correct.

 

[sfedai0]

Has anyone heard a whistling when their ac is on?

 

[lopcd]

Just to let everyone know, I have a 2018 Hatchback. I had my compressor replaced twice under warranty, the one from the factory and the second one were both defective. The third one works well with respect to the cold air, but the whistling sound came back after about a week, but this time around its a lot quieter. I suspect a lot of the AC's are poorly designed since they had the parts on backorder.

 

[Donuyen18]

My ac is okay but I noticed that the small driver side vent is not nearly as strong as the center vents and is very weak. My wife's sedan does not have this issue. Maybe it is a hatchback thing

 

[lopcd]

My ac is okay but I noticed that the small driver side vent is not nearly as strong as the center vents and is very weak. My wife's sedan does not have this issue. Maybe it is a hatchback thing

it's not a hatchback thing, take it to the dealer and get it fixed, that's what I did.

Sponsored