I'm trying to determine if my AC is weak or the temp sensor is off. I have to turn it down to 65 in auto in order to get what in other cars give me at 70.

 

All I can tell you is we bought ours in Las Vegas and drove back home to Reno last month. My thought at the time was that it was pretty bad...very bad. We have not used it since partly because we did not need it in Reno and partly because we have only driven it 75 miles in the last 5 weeks. I hope your post is not an indicator that it really does not work well. While completely unrelated, we have a third car, a 2003 Accord, and that thing spits out ice cubes it's so cold.

 

I have the same issue coming from a Hyundai Genesis 2016. I could get frostbite set on 72. I have to set to 65 and the thing never stops blowing and it was only in 80-90. It gets over 110 here.

I did see another post saying that some of the cars were OVERFILLED with freon and if you vent off some it will get alot colder. When I take for first service Ill have them check it.

 

It'll be interesting to see what others post. When we test drove and purchased it was cold, so it wasn't till we owned it a week that the temps went back up .I have a feeling it will be an issue, but hoping not.

 

 

 

Mine also appears to be fine, but I am in So Cal and the last time I used it, it was around 85 F outside on a sunny day around noon (car was parked inside home garage). I started setting the temp to 70 (setting it lower would be too clod for me) and in no more than 5 minutes, I bumped it to 75 and this is normally what I do with my previous 2004 Toyota Highlander.

 

One of the first times we used the A/C it also was not impressive. I found that it was set to blow air only on the windshield (defrost) and the foot wells. On a hot day even cold air blowing against the glass produced warm air. Resetting the system to the center vents produced excellent A/C. We have it set at 74 degrees all the time.

 

 

Instead of wondering, take a thermometer with you, set a temperature & see if it maintains that temperature or not.

My 2019 Advance works perfectly maintaining whatever temp I set, even back in late August in 95-100 degree heat & full sun.

If yours doesn't, take it to the dealer.

 

Mine also perfect..FYI

 

Wifes car - 2013 acura rdx
My car - 2012 Acura TL

Both auto climate controls.

I have to bump hers down to 63-65 to see the same level of cooling as my car at 66-68

I think it is just an SUV can sedan and where all of the sensors are, plus it is a much bigger volume to cool.

 

One thing to keep in mind is that the RDX (and some other models with idle stop) use what is called a "cold storage evaporator" instead of a traditional evaporator. The cold storage evaporator takes longer to blow cool air because of the additional thermal mass, but allows the system to continue blowing cool air for a few minutes after the engine shuts off. Without the cold storage evaporator, the system would blow cool air more quickly after the engine is started, but the air could become uncomfortably warm and humid just seconds after the engine shut off while stopped at a red light.

Also, many Honda models with automatic climate control have a "customization function" that allows the temperature to be offset by +/-1.5°C (+/-2.7°F). I assume the RDX is the same. This is not something that is listed in the Owner's Manual, but can be found in the service information.

 

Yes...but we drove all over in Vegas for a couple days, outside temp about 90 and it couldn't keep up.A/C season is over now so we'll see what happens next year.

 

My RDX had trouble maintaining a comfortable environment during the peak times of oppressive heat and humidity. Had to have it on the fastest fan speed just to keep up. Will keep an eye on it next summer. Otherwise, I love my RDX. These vehicles use R1234 refrigerant to satisfy the environmental wackos and tree huggers, not as efficient as R134, which was not as good as the old R12 refrigerant.

 

That's simply not true. R134a and R1234yf cool just as well as R12 in systems designed for them. Running R134a in a system originally designed for R12 or running R1234yf in a system originally designed for R134a is where you run into problems with the systems not cooling as well as they should. The RDX's system was designed specifically for R1234yf.

Until 2008, A/C use was not a factor in the EPA's fuel economy estimates, so manufacturers paid little attention to A/C efficiency and used inefficient logic and oversized systems. Beginning in 2008, A/C use became a factor in fuel economy numbers. Since then, manufacturers started making A/C systems more efficient through changes in control logic such as using recirculated air more often and reducing excess capacity.

If R1234yf was "inferior" to R134a or R12 and/or the RDX's system was poorly designed, then ALL RDX's would experience poor A/C performance, but that's clearly not the case. My 2019 RDX cools just as well or better in the 100şF Texas heat as did my 1994 Ford Escort with R134a and my 1969 Buick Skylark with R12.

 

 

What ya'll are experiencing is a weak AC system. Got nothing to do with auto stop/start nor the refrigerant used. It's just weak. We are at the very tale end of summer where I live, but it's still near 90 everyday. The RDX simply cannot keep up. My GLC 300 on the other hand is a beast. When it's 98 outside, with the system set to 75 you need a sweater. When I drove the RDX home from the dealer a few weeks ago, it had a difficult time keeping the cabin comfortable.

 

Just because a system is designed for R1234, and may be efficient by lab standards, does not mean it will translate into real-world comfort levels. Comfort is subjective, what feels warm to me may be comfortable to someone else. Auto makers are under the gun to maximize CAFE. Are the system components in the RDX as robust as the ones used in a full-size pickup with a big V8, I don’t know. Is this a valid apple-to-apples comparison, I don’t know. Auto makers are shaving ounces from their vehicles, every bit helps. One can lab test all they want, but my real-world experience tells me the RDX system is weak. (It may be something simple as an over/under charged system).

 

Drove the RDX this am to drop my kid off at school. Set at 67 it was ok. Next I drove my GM(V8 Diesel), and had to turn it up to 72 because it was like standing in front of an open freezer with a fan in it. I've not a owned a 4cyl car in 15 years. Maybe it's less robust. I don't know.

Two things to consider. One is placement of the cabin temp sensor. This car has two sensors. One of which is under the steering column. The other near the base of the windshiled. If the column sensor is primary, on a warm day that'll read cooler than where you're actually seated and the system will run warmer than you might want. Second is front windshield and pano roof. Honda loves a big front windshield. This car is no exception and it slopes way back so lots of heat in the front area from that. As for the roof, you have a big piece of warm glass up there with just a shade pulled under it. No real insulation. Just shade.

​Just some ideas. Maybe I'm way off.

 

Well this (possibly) stinks. I have never had a car with a "bad" A.C. in it before, but based on my brief use of, and the experience of some others posting here, the RDX mat very well have an issue.

 

Cooling capacity is a function of system design (compressor, condensor, evaporator, etc.), not cylinder count. An automotive air conditioning compressor typically requires 5-10 HP to operate at full capacity - far less than even the smallest engines can produce. A tiny Smart car is on the smaller end of the range not because the engine is incapable of powering the compressor, but because there's very little cabin space that required cooling. A full-size SUV will be on the upper end of this range because there's more cabin space.

All 2019 RDX's have the same A/C system components, so if one cools fine on a 100°F day and one doesn't, then the reason is NOT because the system is poorly designed ("weak").

There is only ONE temperature sensor in the cabin - it's located under the steering column. The sensor on top of the dash is a sunload sensor - it's used to increase fan speed and lower outlet temperature slightly when sun is shining into the cabin to offset the effects of radiant heat. On trims with navigation, the solar angle obtained from GPS coordinates allows further adjustments to compensate based on the direction from which sunlight is entering the cabin.

 

The issue with mine was the refrigerant needed to be replaced. The system was completely flushed and recharged. After that everything is working perfectly...