Air Conditioning PSA

[zeroping]

Like many on the F15/F85 platform, I've been concerned with the performance of the AC system. This my my second summer on my 2018 and even early in the season I was concerned about staying cool as the cabin was taking a considerable amount of time to get cool.

I've read about some people simply having the AC system evacuated and recharged. I decided to have mine done by my local dealer and noticed an immediate improvement. Vents are a constant ~35 degrees F below exterior ambient and humidity removal is better also.

AC still isn't as cold as my wife's 2020 A3 or even my 100k mile 2006 GTO but better then it was so I figured I'd share my experience.

[ArthurMorgan]

I took mine in earlier in the year when the driver's side was not as cool as the passenger side, and it was freezing the evap - all classic signs of a low charge.

The dealer replaced two o-rings and recharged the system, although I do not know where the O-rings are - but the service advisor did mention that the F15s are "prone to refrigerant leaks". Take that for what it's worth, as I have no personal hands-on experience working on this system.

With the rear HVAC disabled (I mapped this shortcut to the "8" preset so I can turn it off whenever I get in), the front A/C will freeze you out of the car.

[Qsilver7]

Just curious because it wasn’t mentioned…but where do you have your stratified air dial set? The stratified air dial is the dial built into the dash’s center vent…it has a dial that you can move to temper the air from the dash vents warmer (red area) or cooler (blue area).

If the air doesn’t feel cool enough for you….always check to see if that dial is in the neutral to red area of the dial. If it is, you can move it toward the blue area of the dial and the air from the dash vents will immediately become cooler.

And vice versa if you feel too cold and would like the air to be a bit warmer. The temp of the air from the dash vents will immediately turn warmer…and all of this occurs without having to readjust the temperature set on the IHKA display. The temp set on the display will still remain the same so the system doesn’t have to recalculate to change the entire temp inside the cabin. Only the air from the dash vents will change to give immediate relief of too much heat or to much chill.

[zeroping]

Originally Posted by Qsilver7

Just curious because it wasn’t mentioned…but where do you have your stratified air dial set? The stratified air dial is the dial built into the dash’s center vent…it has a dial that you can move to temper the air from the dash vents warmer (red area) or cooler (blue area).

If the air doesn’t feel cool enough for you….always check to see if that dial is in the neutral to red area of the dial. If it is, you can move it toward the blue area of the dial and the air from the dash vents will immediately become cooler.

And vice versa if you feel too cold and would like the air to be a bit warmer. The temp of the air from the dash vents will immediately turn warmer…and all of this occurs without having to readjust the temperature set on the IHKA display. The temp set on the display will still remain the same so the system doesn’t have to recalculate to change the entire temp inside the cabin. Only the air from the dash vents will change to give immediate relief of too much heat or to much chill.

Thanks but this isn't a factor. Before the recharge, even all stratified dials being on blue were resulting in poor AC performance.

[Qsilver7]

Originally Posted by zeroping

Thanks but this isn't a factor. Before the recharge, even all stratified dials being on blue were resulting in poor AC performance.

[ekological]

Do you have the invoice? It should have part numbers and looking up by part number should narrow down where it is.

Originally Posted by ArthurMorgan

I took mine in earlier in the year when the driver's side was not as cool as the passenger side, and it was freezing the evap - all classic signs of a low charge.

The dealer replaced two o-rings and recharged the system, although I do not know where the O-rings are - but the service advisor did mention that the F15s are "prone to refrigerant leaks". Take that for what it's worth, as I have no personal hands-on experience working on this system.

With the rear HVAC disabled (I mapped this shortcut to the "8" preset so I can turn it off whenever I get in), the front A/C will freeze you out of the car.