This afternoon when I got in my 2 week old TL (1100+ miles already...damn it!), it was baking inside. I set the thermostat to 66 (Auto) and off I went, but the air out of the ducts never felt really cold.

I'm coming from an '02 Taurus (company car) that would throw freezing cold air at you within 15-30 seconds of turning on the air with a "cold" engine. I realize this is all a bit subjective, but is this normal that the air wasn't freezing cold, even when set to "Lo?"

 

yep...the Tl ACs aren't really that cold compared to other cars. my ac for one is no where near cold when i blast em. the only time i think the tl's ac is cold is at night. but in the heat.. it's cool air....not cold...

 

Well which is it? 66 or Lo? Big difference.... On mine, when it's baking, I set it to Lo, cold air comes out in short order.

As far as how cold is cold... It depends on the A/C design. In most cars we've owned, the air coming out of the A/C would never drop below about 45 degrees o so. (Car standing still with a constant flow of water on the condensor coils) However, in my 68' Chevy, I was able to get the air to be 24 degrees. This was only possible, because the Chevy didn't have a thermostat. So if you kept it blowing cold like that for too long, the pipes under the hood would freeze over, then it would start blowing warm/moist are out the ducts.

With that being said, I've found some manufacturers to have more conservative thermostats than others. For example, I had a buick that would not blow air colder than 50 degrees out the ducts.

But back on topic... The air out of our TL is plenty cold when set to Lo.

 

Lo or 66? The only difference would be the fan speed, but it was maxed out on both settings.

 

Yeah the TL doesnt put out that cold of a air temp. Plus it depends on the temperture outside too.

 

Having driven a TSX as a service loaner and a TL I can testify that the TSX gets much colder, much faster. However, this is because the TSX engine runs at generally higher rpm. With all my Honda products (this is my sixth) I can say that the AC is not the coldest in the world on Hondas until you get the rpms in the car up or get on the highway at higher speeds, then the temperture will drop considerably.

If I want colder temperatures faster I just put the automatic tranny in the manual mode and run at higher rpms (lower gear) than the auto would on its own. The temperature will drop quickly.

Mike

 

I noticed this myself. Making sure the recirculation is on really helps. But the AC does suck. The AC on my 380SL works better, and it is 22 years old.

 

Mine '04 TL blows freakin' cold air and my wife's '05 TL does, too. So much so that I generally find myself raising the temperature to between 69 and 72 to offset the cold. Frankly, I prefer this because it gives me the choice of having VERY cold air or air which is not nearly as cold (also raising the temperature forces the Auto setting to prematurely exit the recirulate mode for that of fresh air).

 

The TL (and my Honda Accord) can only spit out a temeprature difference of about 30-35 degrees from the outside air. So if the outside air is at 100, the coldest you're going to get inside is about 65-70 degrees. This is why when you first turn on the car the car recirculates the old inside cabin air for a little while. It's getting the inside temperature down first, and then it switches to the outside air.

 

Normal Conditions In Controlled Environment Should Read About 40-45 Degrees On Coldest Setting (not In The Sun) With Thermometer Stuck In The Center Vent On Full Blast. Generally, Anthing Above 50 You Should Have An Ac Performance Test Done.

 

I think it is also what each of us is used to for temperatures. My temperature in the car is usually set around 78 degrees. I may lower it to get an initial quicker cool down, but then it is usually back to 78. My house thermostat in the summer is also around 78 degrees. I know people who have their house set around 69 in the summer - that would be my definition of an ice box.

 

Is there a factory specification for the lowest temperature that should be coming out of the air vents with the AC on?

 

I must be in the minority, the air in my TL is the best I have ever had in a car. I have owned lots of Gm cars and 2 Saabs. After the initial cool down, I have to set the temp at 78 or I will freeze.

 

TLinPHL: I used to drive an F-150 and can say that Ford really knows how to make an A/C. That said, the one in the TL isn't that bad (beat's my brother's 525i). With 100deg temps, I had to increase the setting from 66 to 70 on my way down to Austin the other day.

I concur that low RPMs result in lower cooling effectiveness, especially when the car is recovering from sitting in the sun.

Does anyone know if the fly-by-wire throttle sysytem can temporarily dis-engage the compressor? (the S60 does/did this) I floored it the other day to get on the interstate and noticed warmer air coming out the vents (for about 20sec). I initially freaked, but then it cooled down again.

 

Well, if it makes you feel better. Thru-out college I drove a 1992 Chevy Caprice which was a police packaged vehicle. The AC was immediately cold right when I turned it on. The Acura TL doesn't get cold after 5 minutes or so but it does get freezing. I usually set mine and leave it at 60 and after 5 minutes, believe me..... I'm freezing my butt off at 95 degrees outside temp.

It's no R12 unit, but it's pretty good for what it's worth.

 

My '04 TL is plenty cold, even when it's 98 degrees outside. I usually set the air to around 65 or 66 degrees during the summer, although I sometimes run it colder if I've been out on the golf course or some such. Every once in a while I put on my driving gloves when my hands get cold.

(My air at home is at 78 when I'm not home, 73 in the evening, and 71 for sleeping.....I would rather not run it that low, but it just gets too stuffy upstairs if I don't set it that cold.)

 

Has anyone who have this A/C problem changed the OEM Cabin Air Filter? This is usually suggested at 15,000 for most "polluted or pollenated" areas and 25,000 miles for "less-polluted/pollenated". I intend to change mine as well, as it is an inexpensive way to keep the cars A/C flowing cleanly.

 

I usually have mine set to 68 degrees and when its 100 degrees outside its very hot in the car. I noticed it doesn't cool as good but well at that setting compared to 70. I tried today and put it on LO and bumped the fan up all the way since it didn't turn it up to full blast. It cooled faster and got freezing.

 

If your comparing the TL to older car's AC then it might not seem as cold because Honda products were one of the first in the automotive industry to go CFC free years back. That said, They do tend to have weaker AC as in blower capability for some reason compared to some other brands ( not neccessarily air that's not as cold though IMO)

 

It should. My pontiac, which doesn't even have throttle-by-wire does this. I thought everyone did. Though in my case, it only disengages the A/C for the duration you are at full-throttle.

On a side note, one thing I disliked about Honda's climate control system is their non-use of a variable-speed clutch like GM uses. This makes for an easier time maintaining the temperature.

Our TL's climate control seems to always oscillate between being too cold or too warm. On my Grand Prix, the ECU can run the compressor at a constant speed regardless of engine RPM, instead of constantly adjusting the temperature or engaging/disengaging like our TL does. But that's just a minor rant....

 

Two of the 4 Fords I've owned have had outstanding A/C units. My 1996 Contour SE and my currently still owned 2001 Ranger pickup.

My previous car, a 2002 Altima SE had a superior A/C unit but strangely, the man who bought this car from Pohanka's used lot told me that Pohanka had to replace the compressor (at $700) because it bought the farm just before he bought the car. Lucky for me.

My '04 TL, and my wife's '05 TL, both have superb A/C units. They work like you would expect them to work and do an excellent job of cooling the cabin and keeping it comfortable. Neither of us have any complaints.

 

Ok, that is the opposite of what you should be doing. When you get in your car, with windows being up, and turn it on...you don't want to recirculate the air. The outside air will be cooler than your inside air ( e.g. 98 vs. 145 degrees ). It will blow colder air when it is trying to cool 98 deg. outside air than 145 deg. air. As the cabin air begins to get cooler than the outside air, you then push the recirculate button because now the cabin air is easier to cool than the outside air.
Trust me, this will cut down on running fan on high and temp down on 66 or LO.

Hope this made sense

 

huh... i like me but i spoil my AC

with 100 degrees out, i keep it @ low and 1 fan speed before it gets colder

 

Makes sense, but you'll actually cool your car faster by recirculating from the start. Because when you blow outside air in, you don't have very much positive displacement of the air in the cabin.

When you recirculate, you are are removing thermal energy from the cabin as it sucks in the hot air and cools it. When you blow in air from outside, you remove thermal energy from the outside air, blow it inside, where you try to displace the inside air. They'll both accomplish the same thing, but one is more efficient than the other. (At least that's how I remember it being explained in one of my physics classes back in college)

I just open the sunroof for a minute or two while I do all this, to exhaust all the really hot air.

 

I've actually timed my AC unit using recirculate or outside air. It wasn't exact science, but I tried to let the car sit long enough between tests so the interior was the same temp. Yes..I let the car "heat soak". The recirculate mode always won. I did the test several times, reversing the order with the same results. Also, it removes the humidity faster using recirculate.

 

My '05's A/C unit is pretty decent and about equal to what my '03 could do. My '97 seems to have COLD air rather than just cool. Not sure why its better.

 

On my 05 TL, I noticed my passenger side AC was horrible, but my drivers side was ok. I took it to the dealer and told him, he looked, and I have some valve that controls the flow of air was sticking, so they are going to replace it. I hope that solves the problem, because once it is above 85 outside, I can't get a real comfortable temp inside.

 

Thanks for all the replies. I only noticed because I had to take the company Taurus to the shop one last time. The Auto feature in the TL works fine and keeps the cabin comfortable. It's just dissappointing that it can take so long for the cabin to cool off.

 

My TL gets cold real quick and real cold. But it all depends on where we started. My old car was a 2000 Nissan Altima. Now that AC sucked.