Just purchased a few weeks ago. AC doesn’t work
all the time. Temperature outside is in the sixties and low seventies
Seller insists the outdoor temperature must be hotter or the AC won’t work.
is that true?
in every car I have ever owned or driven, the AC has worked on the coldest days of winter (I am in Northeast US

 

Have you tried to set the AC to its lowest setting and put the fan speed all the way up? That's a good way to see if your AC has enough freon in it.

 

Ask the seller how they defrost / dehumidify during the Winter.

 

For reference my A/C was working today when the outside temperature was 59 (inside car temp warmer) and working even in AUTO mode. Not true the outside temp needs to be hotter for A/C to work. In LO mode the A/C air temp will be regulated only by the evaporator sensor which just keeps the air flow temp through the evaporator above freezing (so the evaporator doesn't freeze up), usually around 40F.

 

If the A/C does cool under some conditions, low freon is quite likely to be the cause when it doesn't. There are youtube videos about how to do it yourself, or it should cost $120-180 to have it done by a competent shop.


RFT!!!
Dave Kelsen
--
Puritanism: The haunting fear that someone, somewhere may be happy.

 

I went through this with my 2017. I had a piece of metal punch a hole in the compressor and I loss all the freon. My mechanice installed a new compressor. It came to $600 or so, which included the freon.

Likely cause is a blown relay or a low freon, which means you have a leak and likely need a new compressor. If you do a search on Youtube, you find videos discussing which relay controls the AC.

 

yes, the seller insists that compressor will not kick on if outside temp is cold. I never knew this to be the case.
**I just purchased and the seller provides a 3 month warranty.....so by the time summer rolls around again, it will not be covered

 

The used car dealer provides 3 month warranty.
The compressor does not always kick on. I brought it in twice and whatever the mechanic did, he got it working. But after 2 or 3 days it stops working.
The dealer insists it won't work if outside temperature is cold which I never knew to be the case.

 

Have your mechanic write up an invoice stating the issue. I'd raise the issue for the warranty as much as possible. Say you tried to manually put on the AC to its lowest setting since it was hot inside from the sun for example. Look into your state's lemon laws and threaten that you will lawyer up if it gets to the point where they won't resolve the issue.

 

YOu have to find out what the mechanic did to get it to work. Yes the AC will work when it's cold outside. It turns on when you use your defroster. Put your temperature control in manual mode and lower the temperature as low as it will go.

IN the meantime, do a search on Youtube and see if anyone has a video diagnosing this issue. If nothing else, you can educate yourself.

Good Luck.