Mike_TX

I've posted elsewhere in the site that I didn't think my A/C was cooling the car down as quickly as it should, and as a result my car has been at the dealership for 7-1/2 days (finally got it back this afternoon).

I was told early on that it was a defective expansion valve that was sticking. Today the service advisor explained:

It seems the expansion valve has a protrusion on one side that has to move outwards and back from the main valve body as the valve opens and closes. On my car, there was a sticky black substance that the dealer thought had been sprayed onto the valve body, perhaps as part of the soundproofing/undercoating process. That tarry goop was interfering with the movement of the piece that has to move in and out and causing it to stick instead of moving freely. They ordered a new expansion valve assembly to replace it.

It turns out that the new part also had the black tarry stuff on it, too.

The tech cut and cleaned out a channel for the moving part of the valve assembly to move in, and otherwise cleaned up the goop interfering with its movement.

The dealer has photographed the part and is sending the pictures to Honda/Acura to notify them of the problem. The assumption, though, is that many RLX's (and possibly other Acura models) have this coating on the expansion valve, interfering with the operation of the valve.

Just a heads up.

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neuronbob

I don't have words for this.

Thanks for sharing, Mike.

holografique

I'm curious if this is possibly related to the on-going "moan/groan" issues with the A/C system. It still by the far the nosiest A/C I've had in any car. I had the TSB performed on my RLX that is supposed to specifically address this problem, but the problem came back within a few days and still happens to this day.

http://techinfo.honda.com/rjanisis/pubs/SB/B13-026.pdf

Mike_TX

Don't know about this one.

My RLX doesn't seem to have the moan, but the 2011 Infiniti M56 I had moaned like a sick cow, and they never isolated the problem - even after replacing my A/C compressor.

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Mike_TX

I've decided the main "issue" I have with the A/C system in the RLX is the fan speed. I like to put the system on Auto and just jigger with the temperature setting as needed. But this keeps me jiggering a lot in the RLX, and selecting temps like 64 to get an adequate flow of air.

Then I recalled that the Lexus LS460 I had was the same way, and the explanation was that it was considered more refined and "luxury-car-like" for the blower fan to be quiet and reserved, instead of roaring and blowing. So they purposely tuned the system for the fan speed to be low.

I'm convinced they did the same thing for the RLX. The air coming out of the vents is cold enough now that they've fixed my A/C - there's just not enough of it to quickly bring the temperature of the cabin down on a hot day. So I resort to "LO" to get it cranking out a lot of air, then keep it at an abnormally low setting to keep up the flow. The RDX loaner I had, on the other hand, blasted out a LOT of air, and I could use higher setting to keep cool.

The bottom line is that I will probably resort to manual control of the fan on hot days. It may not be refined, but it's more comfortable!

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NWRL

I recently discovered a Max Cool Mode that I have started using. I'm not sure what the difference is between it and Lo but it is further to the left on the scale that is displayed on the touch screen. To access it you have to touch the temperature number or the Lo setting. Not sure if it is any colder/higher than the Lo setting but it can't hurt.

holografique

I was just going to say the same thing. Anytime my car is extremely hot from sitting in a parking lot on a sunny day, I immediately set the A/C to "Max Cold" using the dedicated soft button on the touchscreen. It immediately sets the A/C on to the lowest temp, recycle air mode, fastest fan speed possible and leaves it there indefinitely until you adjust the temp or manually tell the system to do otherwise.

My RLX usually cools down to moderately comfortable temp within 2-3 min in this mode from a blaring unbearable heat.

JM2010 SH-AWD

Won't the RLX do this automatically if there is a big delta between set temp and interior temp? My TL's system is seamless. On cold days it stays off until the heater warms up, then it automatically blasts hot air on recycle until the desired temp is reached. Similarly, on the other end, when it is really hot in the car, it will automatically blast cold air on recycle then automatically reduce fan speed and turn recycle off as the desired temp is reached. If they could do it on the TL, I can't fathom why the RLX wouldn't be designed to do this without having to hit a special button.(???)

George Knighton

It is indeed designed that way, but there seem to be a couple of people in the thread with a particular problem.

holografique

it also can be slow to respond sometimes to the delta in the ambient temp and the set temp.

when the car is flaming hot, you don't want to wait for the lag time it takes for it to detect the delta. that is where using the "max cool" option allows you to instantly set it from the moment you enter and turn on the car.