I've developed a vibration when I turn my AC on and the air temp coming out has gotten warmer. Could this be a bad compressor, compressor clutch, or low charge? It's 115 today and I really don't want to take the dang thing out if I don't have to...

 

motor mounts maybe

 

yea check your engine mounts first

 

Motor mounts? Even if their isnt a vibration with no a/c. Hmmm note setting. I'm going to look when I get off work tonite.

 

When it's 115 outside, you shouldn't expect your A/C to blow that cold air as it would if it was 85 outside. It's been 100-110 here the past 3 weeks and I had the AC system checked by my dealership to see if there was any problems because I told them it does cool as much as it should.... They gave me a 2012 TL w/ Tech as a loaner and I noticed the AC system in that 2012 was no better than my 08... They were the same.

If you run it for 5 minutes consecutively and driving, the inside of the car should be cool by than. If not than I think you do have a problem with the cooling system.

 

It takes about 30 minutes of my 45 minute drive to cool the car down. I thought my cabin filter was clogged so I switched it. I'd been using the charcoal filters but went with a standard paper filter this time and saw a significant increase in flow. I am going to try a few other materials to see if anything flows better. I will take temps and pressures tonight to see what's going on. I ran the HVAC electrical diagnostic and did not get any codes back. My biggest concern is the vibration since it is only noticeable at idle with the air on. Once the it goes off or the rpms increase the vibration goes away. I'm thinking that the charge is low enought that at idle the compressor is kicking on and off rapidly but when the rpms increase the pressure builds and the problem goes away for the moment. I'll know more tonite once I get some gauges on it.

 

I've noticed that "check the motor mounts" is a default answer around here.

OP - do you park your car outside? I ask because my car (it's 100 here in LA) was parked outside overnight, and took a much longer time to cool down than usual. (My car is usually always garaged.) If so - I think your problem is happening just because it's so hot where you are.

 

Pretty sure the compressor is shot. 5 mins into my 45 minute drive today it quit working entirely... Felt like I was sitting in front of a hair dryer. Looks like I'll be dropping 350 on a new Denso unit

 

just throwing it out there....i had small rpm spikes/vibration at idle with load on the engine (ie. a/c on). Turned out to be a bad coil pack. If your a/c is not working now...then the coil pack probably isn't the issue.

 

How did you troubleshoot the problem?

I'm having similar vibrations in the cabin. They are bearable with no A/C, but when I turn the A/C on it feels like I have racing motor mounts in the car (lots of vibration in the steering wheel...enough to make my keys rattle).

I checked my motor mounts several times and they appear to be good (looked for the leaking oil on the side and front mounts).

I'm wondering if I have a similar issue.

BTW...sorry about the threadjack.

 

YA mine was a blown out clutch on the Unit. I replaced the unit with a cheaper aftermarket to get me by while I rebuild the OEM Delphi Unit. Once the vibrations started with mine I got 2 days out of it before it let go.

 

I'm pretty sure your motor mounts are bad it's common in these cars. And you say only low rpm at idle which is EXACTLY the symptom of a bad motor mount. My guess is the rear motor mount.

 

check partsgeek.com thats where I got my last one. you should replace the accumulator as well and check the condensor for metal shavings.

 

I seriously do not believe that his motor mount is causing the AC system not to cool!

 

So I have had the aftermarket compressor for less than a year now. since day one I have had a wine and the car is sluggish with the A/C on. I ordered the gaskets and seals to rebuild the unit from CenturyAutoAir.com. On my OEM unit the clutch went out. The unit was cooling great and not leaking. I'm wondering if my compressor wine is coming from the clutch assembly or from inside compressor itself.