MikeElmendorf

Just got back from a 40 minute drive. It isin the high 80's today. Car was psrked outside (I am away on business) so it was warm. It never got cool or even comfortable on the whole drive, with AC on auto and set to 62. In my 09 I would have been freezing.

My local dealer was not successful in diagnosing and fixing. My selling dealer (2hours away) suggested letting them have a crack at it and Client Services agreed. Now that dealer says they have had another car with the same issue and did not diagnose it, so a trip there would be a waste unless the factory rep can be there.

I am very frustrated and unhappy with the car at this point and it looks like my 5th new TL will be my last. Should have gone with the BMW...

HNL, let us know how you make out. Thanks.

eddean67

With the temp. at 107 today in PHX I am quite impressed with the AC in my 12 TL Advance. Not to mention the ventilated seats and remote start to get a head start on the cooling! I was a little concerned about the black interior but no longer.

denvrfan

This is my first posting on this site. I am scheduled to take delivery this Saturday on a very recent build TL Tech. My vin number ends in 8000+. Since it's apparent that not all '12 owners are unhappy, I wonder if there is ANY correlation between "problem" AC's and when they were built (in case they did indeed have a batch of bad compressors). We haven't driven this particular car yet (drove one locally and then found a much better deal out of town). We are supposed to have heat indexes approaching 115 this Saturday. I guess I'll find out soon enough!

BT9

Until some dealership somewhere comes up with a fix for one of the TL's with weak AC, and then several other dealerships find the same thing fixes the problem, we're a long way from tracking it down to particular problem parts and saying it affects a VIN range and issuing a recall.

I'd recommend going for a drive with someone at the dealership when you pick up the car, and see how the AC in your car performs. If you find it cools well, you probably don't have to think about it again.

denvrfan

Now that I am sufficiently concerned, I took a digital thermometer out to my Honda Ridgeline. I stuck it in the air vents and set my temp to 72 (which is lower than I usually keep it). The reading bottomed out at 55 degrees. Central VA in the summer is no picnic but 55 degree air has no problem keeping me comfortable during the summer.

MikeElmendorf

Denvr - 55 is not cold enough for AC. It should be cooler than that. My TL was blowing at 50 at the dealer and they said that was not cold enough.

Our company car is a 4-5 year old Chevy Impala and its air conditioning puts the AC in my new TL to shame. It's pathetic. And Acura seems to have no solution in sight.

I'm going to try again with them, and then I'm likely going to unload this thing if they can't fix it. It is unacceptable.

Stew4HD

I am still surprised to see this.. mine literally freezes me out at 70 on auto with outside temps in the afternoon at 97 and 70-80% humidity. I have not tuck a thermometer into the vents to see the temp but I know it's cold where I sit!

omaralt

+1 and we're experiencing some crazy heat here in FL. when i get in my car after work (parked outside in the sun) it's over 100 degrees. i put it on auto and LO and within a few minutes i'm pushing the temp up to 65 which is a comfortable setting for me. another couple mins and it's at 70... maybe there is a bad batch? is there a way to know when our cars were built?

ib_jimmy

Every since I got my car its been 100+ degree here everyday pretty much and the TL keep a 72 degree temperature quite well. Plus I got tints.

Jimmmer

Interesting thread! The dealer tells me that my car will be built a week from today with estimated delivery the week of August 15th. I'll report my findings then!

JPSMAN

I wonder if any of this is related to the improved fuel economy ratings for the 2012's (every bit helps I guess). Although, I'm not sure if AC is used in the EPA test cycle though.

Stew4HD

If that was the case then my car wouldn't be blowing cold air... actually the new 6 speed AT accounts for much of the improved Msuch PG

MikeElmendorf

Believe me, I was surprised, too, as my 09 TL had exceptional AC. Something is wrong--I do not think it is a design change. I don't see any evidence of anything different with the climate control system.

Glashub

Mike, don't you think getting rid of the car is extreme? Maybe more prudent to get a new a/c unit? Even if you had to pay for it your loss is less than depreciation. Or take it back 3x and if they don't fix it invoke lemon laws?

Stew4HD

I'd get me a cheap pocket thermometer and test out other TL the dealer has on his lot to compare to. I am surprised the dealer doesn't see anything wrong when clearly there is. If it was me, they would still be working on it until I was satisfied and I'd be in a loaner with COLD air

BT9

Yep, this is a strange one. Both of the 2012 (FWD) TL's I test drove had weak AC. The salesperson didn't offer up "I'll have service take a look and get back to you" and it was just "yeah that's weird" and I left the dealership.

It's sort of a moot point in my case since I'm only interested in an AWD Advance and no local dealers have any and none expected in for the forseeable future. They claim there's no demand since it doesn't snow much in the region, but how could they know if they don't have the cars in inventory for people to look at and test drive? Plenty of other AWD cars/brands sell in the region, and besides the SH-AWD is a performance AWD, not a more basic "snow AWD."

2010 TL Tech

I am taking my 2011 tl to the dealer tomorrow again because the a/c drops to 48 degrees. Totally unacceptable . I am calling Acura Corp today to have them open a case file. I am sure they will say everything is within specs because it's warranty work . Out of warranty and they would change every part and give me the bill

Stew4HD

Your AC drops to 48 degrees? You could keep your beer cold in your car!

MikeElmendorf

Stew - It should be blowing colder than 48 degrees.

In the case of my car, it is not just the temperature of the air coming out, but also the general behavior of the system. For instance, I got in the car this morning in my garage. It was on auto at 58 degrees. The temperature on the thermometer in the car was 87, quickly rising to 90 once I hit the road on the way to my office. It's about a 15 minute drive. The fan speed never went above medium, even though the interior temperature of the car was nowhere near 58. At one point the air blowing out was fairly cool, but then it changes to being nearly ambient. Fan speed goes up and down, without particular rhyme or reason (no, it is not the solar sensor or the fan speed lowering for voice commands; this is my 5th Acura and my last one was an 09 that was essentially identical in this regard, so I know how it SHOULD work). In my previous cars, it would have blown at full speed for a while and quickly you would have been freezing, especially with the car coming from the garage.

Something is definitely wrong here. I'm less convinced it is an actual mechanical problem with the system, and rather believe it is an electronic/control/sensor issue. Of course, that's likely going to make it harder to successfully diagnose.

I appreciate the suggestions some have made about fixing it at my expense. No thank you. This is Acura's problem. A new car should work--and work at least as well as my old car that was basically the same, except being 2.5 years old and having 50k miles on it. In retrospect, I wish I had kept it. It ran great, and the addition of the few toys and upgrades on the Advance, while nice, are nowhere near worth the total aggravation of dealing with this AC problem. If I'm going to incur an expense, it is going to be to have a new vehicle that works properly--and if I have to do that, it is NOT going to be an Acura, unfortunately.

If they can't/won't fix it, which is absolutely my first preference since, given my record of ownership here, I clearly like the product, I'll consider all my options.

I'm just hoping it can be figured out and fixed, but my patience and hope are growing slimmer every day.

gibjer

Not that I have a whole lot to add to the conversation but my AC seemed to work just fine this morning.

I really hope they don't just give you the within specs BS.

Good luck

ib_jimmy

so who's gonna make the call to Acura and get this recall rolling.

2010 TL Tech

Called Acura today and got a case#. they are a call center and I doubt this will go far. Next is a letter to the CEO of the company. Everybody must call then follow up with a letter of complaint.

ib_jimmy

Will do.

Stew4HD

I thought you said yours is working as it should??

ib_jimmy

It does work...i'm not sweating a storm or anything, but I do agree it should be colder like my old CL and GS300.

potmilkz

add better freon...

2010 TL Tech

Beer should be on ice. 32 to 35 degrees. maybe you like warm beer

krusir

I have 2012 TL SH-AWD M6. I do feel the auto setting is not aggressive as other car. e.g. at hot day, when you get into the car and start engine. Most of other car will blow MAX fan speed to get you cool. This TL just took steps and time to increase the fan speed.

Personally I feel this is kind of good also. Other car's MAX is annoying.

To test AC efficiency, set it to MIN temp, and manual control the fan speed, you should see the VENT has around 40 output.

Eli

This whole thread sounds like nit picking and whining. It's probably just a smaller compressor or variable speed considering the MPG improvements made on the 2012 model. Just set it to 70 degrees and let it do its job.

MikeElmendorf

Eli - What model and year TL are you driving?

This is my 5th new Acura in 9 years. When you spend more than $40k on a new car and the AC doesn't work well enough to keep you or passengers comfortable--or as well as cars half the price or many years old--I am sorry to inform you that it is not "nit picking or whining."

lji

I agree... something like the AC not blowing cold enough, especially with the heat wave over the northeast is not a pleasant experience.

jasonwdp10

eli is from seattle, he wouldn't know much abt hot weather

BT9

or about reading comprehension.
Just ignore him. It was a lame comment.

This thread is certainly useful to me, since I would definitely not buy either of the 2 TL's with weak AC that I test drove. I'd call that far more than a nit.

There's enough information in this thread on TL's working OK for me to want to give Acura a chance to resolve it. Fortunately I'm not in a hurry to make my car decision (and I'll also have to wait for AWD-Advance cars to come in, which is a separate oddity).

Carry on...

draph

I hated thermodynamics in college, but I'm thinking the difference between 48 and 40 degrees output recirculating the same volume of air starting with a 120 degree cabin on a hot summer day at the same cubic feet per minute volume would only make a few minutes difference to get to a 70-75 degree ambient temperature (however, I suspect the equation isn't linear - the lower you want your ambient temperature, it will take a greater ratio of time related to desired temperature drop to get there). To squeak out a little more fuel economy, it is quite feasible for car companies to re-spec their a/c units, accepting the cabin cooling performance trade-off. Of course, engineers doing their homework could do some things to make up for this trade-off, like add more heat reflection to the glass, especially the windshield.

That said, the fans not running at full speed and outlet temperature fluctuating before the system gets to the desired cabin temp does sound strange. It may not be the A/C unit/capacity at all, but a faulty cabin temperature or humidity sensor.

OP, I'm thinking you really don't want the cabin at 58. Have you tried the "set it and forget it" method like the thermostat in your house? I put my 2010 on 74 in the summer and 68 in the winter just like my house. The system runs at max recirculate until it hits the desired temperature (with exception in winter - doesn't start blowing at max until car is warmed up). With it set at 59 on a hot humid day, you'd have fogging problems at that temperature unless/until the system was able to remove most of the humidity from the ambient air. When the system is acting up, does it ever go out of recirculate mode? I don't think it could, or it would find itself in an endless "do-loop" pulling in fresh, highly humid air from outside from which it can't get rid of enough humidity to ever try to get the inside temp to 59 without condensation problems in the cabin (it would take several passes over the condenser coils to get enough out). I also wonder if the software is programmed to only recirculate for so long, because of safety implications (not sure how well sealed these cars are). In the case of setting at 59, the humidity algorithm could be fighting the safety algorithm, and you wind up with fan speeds slowing down and outlet temperatures fluctuating. Is it the fault of you turning it to 59 on a 95 degree day at 80% humidity? No - the designers should have accounted for that situation and written better software to anticipate that scenario. ...if that is anything close to what's going on. I suggest setting your temp in the 70-75 range and see if the system still acts flaky.

Not to sound judgmental, but I always get a kick out of people setting automatic climate systems to the lowest setting, or some really low temperature in the summer when they first start it up, thinking it will get their car to cool off faster. Automatic climate control software is a wonderful thing when it works correctly. All the systems I've used (4 vehicles now) appear to be programmed to get the inside temp to the desired temp as fast as possible. Turning the desired temp from 72 to 59 or "Lo" does not make it get to 72 faster, and may actually screw things up if my theory on the addition of a humidity control algorithm to prevent fogging makes any sense...

MikeElmendorf

Draph -

Thanks for the thoughtful reply.

Typically I would do exactly what you described. My 09 TL was always at either 68 or 66 depending on the time of year and temperature (I like it cool). Rarely did I ever touch the system, and when I did generally only to turn it up a few degrees when it got too cold.

Leaving it at those settings in this car does not work. Between the low blower speed and the air not being cold enough, it will not cool the car adequately at all.

And, for what it's worth, this problem was apparent well before the current heatwave. There was one trip on which the AC seemed to be working as well as my 09, so the problem is definitely intermittent--although most of the time it is not working properly.

Edward'TLS

This "AC not as cold" problem seems to be inherited into the AC design, and so is not likely to be easily resolved even by Acura. You should start looking for alternatives.

2010 TL Tech

Went to the dealer today to try to resolve the A/C problem. The service advisor agreed that the temp in the center vent should be between 40 and 42 degrees on it's coldest setting. Also he agreed that my recirculating switch was not working. The mechanic put his instant read thermometer next to mine and his read 42. Mine reads 50. He tells me that mine is wrong, but i said this thermometer was in my 06 tsx and it goes down to 42 and it is not on the coldest setting. Also if mine was wrong the temp in the 06 tsx would be 32 degrees according to his thermometer which is impossible. They evacuated the system, added a dye to see if there is any leaks (which I doubt they did that)and recharged the a/c. a/c now reads 48- 50 degrees. We agreed that I would bring back the car on Tues. to check the recirculating switch. Stay tuned. For those who say this is not a big deal or whining, I can give you 38,000 reasons why it should be colder

AcuraHNL

Got the TL and the A/C blows cold! I set it to manual and Lo and it cooled down the car in no time. Love my ride and now with no worries. Thanks to everyone for their feedback.

draph

OK, back to my theory of a faulty sensor. I would be very frustrated given it appears the dealer techs only know how to diagnose an automatic climate control system problem by looking for leaks and recharging the compressor.

Blower speed changing combined with lower outlet temp at the same time tells me the software "thinks" the cabin is getting to your desired temperature when it really is not. If it's readily apparent there's no refrigerant leaks and charge is holding, then they obviously need to look into the control system and related hardware. Given this sounds like a new or rare problem with Acuras, I suspect the shop manuals contain no detailed troubleshooting procedure for problematic climate control system (or your particular service techs are lazy/busy and just trying to get you to move on). I doubt there's a built in test to check the software/hardware, and OBD II is likely not hooked into climate sensors (only emissions control related equipment).

Good luck - Service Managers who are on the ball and believe/respect your predicament will do the right thing. If yours don't, elevate.

imnghia

I have an 09 TL Tech and my AC is also giving out on me. I brought it into the dealership yesterday (7-23) for a check up. Wait for about an hour and was told nothing was wrong with. He also said that the AC is so cold, it could blow off my fingers. Being told so, I was very secured about the whole situation. Today, my GF and I went on a hiking trip. On the way there, the AC blew perfectly fine. We got there and hiked up our trail and back. When we got back to my car to head over to the other side of the mountain, my AC was slowly getting warmer. It was initially set on 65 with fan speed 3. I then lowered the temp. to low and turned it to auto. Still nothing. The cabin was hotter than it was outside. I tried turning on and off the AC, then the recirculation button. EVERYTHING! I tried it all. It would get really cold, then it'll slowly get warmer, then eventually just hot air. The cold air would only last for about 1-3 minutes. Then it would get warm/hot as hell. It was a TERRIBLE 2 hour trip back to my house. Oh yeah, i forgot to mention, the temp. was about 104+ outside. So driving home in a bipolar temp. car was shitty as hell.