2012 TL: AC not as cold as '09?
07-24-2011, 08:12 PM
#81
Three Wheelin'
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.
If you turned the AC off for awhile and thenturned it back on and the air was cold, you have a restriction in your ac line somewhere. It sounds like the evaporator is freezing up. This can be easily diagnosed with an ac gauge .
07-27-2011, 02:58 PM
#82
Racer
Thread Starter
Interesting post, DWest, given the update on my situation:
Saturday the AC started working quite well--comparable with my 09 TL--without any external intervention. That continued, more or less, until today when during my ride back to my office the temperature of the air blowing suddenly increased and returned to its prior anemic state.
This, of course, is going to make diagnosing the problem way more problematic. It had been working poorly consistently for weeks, despite initially seeming fairly good on my 2 plus hour drive home from my selling dealer.
I was hoping to make it back down to them tomorrow for them to attempt to diagnose it, since my local dealer's efforts were not successful. However, there is too much else going on for me to be able to make the trip this week.
Saturday the AC started working quite well--comparable with my 09 TL--without any external intervention. That continued, more or less, until today when during my ride back to my office the temperature of the air blowing suddenly increased and returned to its prior anemic state.
This, of course, is going to make diagnosing the problem way more problematic. It had been working poorly consistently for weeks, despite initially seeming fairly good on my 2 plus hour drive home from my selling dealer.
I was hoping to make it back down to them tomorrow for them to attempt to diagnose it, since my local dealer's efforts were not successful. However, there is too much else going on for me to be able to make the trip this week.
07-27-2011, 04:14 PM
#83
Suzuka Master
I know the TL have some kind of sensor that know where the sun is located. I'm pretty sure it work too, because I can feel the AC not blowing as cold when I took a turn. Even tho it work it doesn't work very well. AC weaken it self when it suppose to stay at 72.
07-27-2011, 06:10 PM
#85
Three Wheelin'
There is also a series of buttons you can press that will run test on your Ac. such a the evaporator tempt. dwell angle of the blend doors etc. All of this was available on my 2006 TSX. I have do dig out my TL manual and look up the buttons you have to push to run the test.
07-28-2011, 03:37 PM
#90
Cruisin'
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07-28-2011, 08:03 PM
#91
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i dropped off my tl tonite at the dealer and picked up a loaner zdx. There was a 2010 tl loaner on the lot so i went with the service advisor to check the a/c in the loaner vehicle. It worked exactly like my car.The a/c only went to 48 degrees and the recirculating button did not change the air flow. Next was the zdx. It too worked the same. So they probably will tell me my car is working fine. Either all are defective, or this is something we have to live with. Nobody is going to check every sensor and or relay pertaining to this problem.
07-29-2011, 08:21 AM
#92
Three Wheelin'
i dropped off my tl tonite at the dealer and picked up a loaner zdx. There was a 2010 tl loaner on the lot so i went with the service advisor to check the a/c in the loaner vehicle. It worked exactly like my car.The a/c only went to 48 degrees and the recirculating button did not change the air flow. Next was the zdx. It too worked the same. So they probably will tell me my car is working fine. Either all are defective, or this is something we have to live with. Nobody is going to check every sensor and or relay pertaining to this problem.
That is strange that the airflow did not change when you went to recirculate. Also you must drive the car in recirculate to get the air tempt down to 40. The temp probe needs to be down the center vent. I'm not sure about the airflow, but when you push the recirculate button in the ac should be more noisy and quite with outside air.
07-29-2011, 09:28 AM
#93
Suzuka Master
i dropped off my tl tonite at the dealer and picked up a loaner zdx. There was a 2010 tl loaner on the lot so i went with the service advisor to check the a/c in the loaner vehicle. It worked exactly like my car.The a/c only went to 48 degrees and the recirculating button did not change the air flow. Next was the zdx. It too worked the same. So they probably will tell me my car is working fine. Either all are defective, or this is something we have to live with. Nobody is going to check every sensor and or relay pertaining to this problem.
07-29-2011, 09:06 PM
#94
Cruisin'
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Today i received a phone call from a field rep from acura corp discussing my problems with the a/c. Told her of how poor the a/c was and that my vehicle was at the dealer. She said that she will follow up with the servic dept. to see what if anything they did to pin point the problem. I picked up the car today and the service advisor said that they found nothing wrong with the a/c, no leaks and everything was in spec. Surprise surprise. However the service mgr. did say that he received a call from acura corp about the a/c problem I was having and why did I call them. I said why not. I wanted acura to be aware of this problem and how unhappy I was. I will speak to the field rep on Monday and tell her how the dealer probably did nothing to fix the problem.I am sure nobody opened the service manual or called their own tech support hotline asking for help.This was a waste of my time
Last edited by 2010 TL Tech; 07-29-2011 at 09:10 PM.
07-30-2011, 01:17 PM
#95
Instructor
Sorry you are having issues with the A/C system. I would like to offer you some advice when dealing with the factory service advisor. I do have experience in this area. For more than 25 years, I worked in automotive dealerships, including an Acura store. By involving the factory, you are dealing with "last resort" help. Here are some pointers, remember that factory service rep is you last chance to resolve your issue. Under no circumstances be rude. I know you are angry that your new car is not meeting your expectations, but being rude does nothing to help your cause. Remember you are dealing with a person that can help you. Only state the facts of how the A/C is working and what, to your knowledge, the dealership told you they did. Be sure to provide all documents to the FSA that the dealer gave you at the time of repair. Do not point the finger of blame at anyone. If at all possible, get the FSA to ride with you in the car and show them first hand what the car is doing. This step is the most important! Be sure you get the Rep in the car and show them what you are talking about. Sort of like a picture is worth a thousand words. Another note, before meeting with the FSA, make sure your car is clean inside and out and devoid of interior clutter. I know this statement seems odd, but a clean car shows the rep that you take care of your car. Believe or not it makes a difference how you come across to the rep. I can't stress enough, to keep your opinions about the car or the dealership to yourself. I hope the FSA can get your A/C problems resolved once and for all. Acuras are outstanding cars and I'm sorry this problem has soured your experience.
07-30-2011, 06:18 PM
#96
6G TLX-S
I'm confused. Is this weak AC problem a climate-control normality or simply faulty sensors/actuators ?
07-30-2011, 09:12 PM
#97
Cruisin'
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Sorry you are having issues with the A/C system. I would like to offer you some advice when dealing with the factory service advisor. I do have experience in this area. For more than 25 years, I worked in automotive dealerships, including an Acura store. By involving the factory, you are dealing with "last resort" help. Here are some pointers, remember that factory service rep is you last chance to resolve your issue. Under no circumstances be rude. I know you are angry that your new car is not meeting your expectations, but being rude does nothing to help your cause. Remember you are dealing with a person that can help you. Only state the facts of how the A/C is working and what, to your knowledge, the dealership told you they did. Be sure to provide all documents to the FSA that the dealer gave you at the time of repair. Do not point the finger of blame at anyone. If at all possible, get the FSA to ride with you in the car and show them first hand what the car is doing. This step is the most important! Be sure you get the Rep in the car and show them what you are talking about. Sort of like a picture is worth a thousand words. Another note, before meeting with the FSA, make sure your car is clean inside and out and devoid of interior clutter. I know this statement seems odd, but a clean car shows the rep that you take care of your car. Believe or not it makes a difference how you come across to the rep. I can't stress enough, to keep your opinions about the car or the dealership to yourself. I hope the FSA can get your A/C problems resolved once and for all. Acuras are outstanding cars and I'm sorry this problem has soured your experience.
I agree 100%. I was not rude with the fsa. Clearly stated the facts and made sure she understood that my other 4 acuras a/c were colder as by my instant read thermometer placed in the center vent. I was asking for help and not placing blame on anybody. The company has to understand that during these hard economic times, we are buying high end cars and paying high end prices for them. If not for us buying their products,they would be in trouble.
08-17-2011, 02:54 PM
#98
Hey everyone, this is my first post (registered just for this thread)! 
Any update on this? I'll be getting a 2012 TL soon and I'm curious if this is an ongoing issue or just something wrong with your individual car.
Thanks!
Any update on this? I'll be getting a 2012 TL soon and I'm curious if this is an ongoing issue or just something wrong with your individual car.
Thanks!
08-17-2011, 03:20 PM
#99
Suzuka Master
I do not have an issue with my '12.. down here where it's been 100+ for 15 straight days... it's 100 + when I go to get in my (already cooled car via RS) and keeps me cool all the way home.
I know other have said theirs works fine and others say it doesn't... no clear answer to why some don't other than the auto climate control thinking the sun isn't shining in the car when pointing a certain direction!
I know other have said theirs works fine and others say it doesn't... no clear answer to why some don't other than the auto climate control thinking the sun isn't shining in the car when pointing a certain direction!
08-17-2011, 03:26 PM
#100
Instructor
I sure would like to see how cold my 12 gets if I ever get it... I feel the dealership motto is "lets see what rolls off the truck today" to determine if the car has been built or shipped for delivery... Insane, I was told 8/7/11 on production and that date has come and gone... With the electronic society we live in today you think we could get better answers than this... Sorry for the rant... Good luck to all with the A/C issues or possible non issues...
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08-22-2011, 10:17 AM
#105
Be sure to check the accuracy of the thermometer first. Many cheap thermometers are not accurate, or become inaccurate over time.
Here's a video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VpJULQICiGM
Here's a video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VpJULQICiGM
09-03-2011, 09:04 AM
#106
I finally test drove an AWD (2012) and advance package. Impressed with the handling, but same issues with the AC (takes too long to initially cool when the car has soaked in the sun all day, never gets sufficiently cool for my tastes) as my other 2012 TL test drives.
Since the salesperson didn't think it was a problem and it's how they are, I guess it's time to take the 2012 TL off my list of candidates.
It's a shame really. So much to like about the car, but a strong AC is too important. Heck, I'd even consider paying for an optional upgraded AC system as long as it was covered under the warranty, but they don't offer such a thing.
Since the salesperson didn't think it was a problem and it's how they are, I guess it's time to take the 2012 TL off my list of candidates.
It's a shame really. So much to like about the car, but a strong AC is too important. Heck, I'd even consider paying for an optional upgraded AC system as long as it was covered under the warranty, but they don't offer such a thing.
09-03-2011, 01:35 PM
#108
I'm thinking it has something to do with the GPS linked temperature control (not saying there's a problem, but maybe user confusion). From the manual:
"The system also regulates each temperature based on the information of the sunlight sensor and the sun’s position which is updated automatically by the navigation’s global positioning system (GPS)."
09-03-2011, 02:56 PM
#109
Yes the weak AC has been noted on non-Advance cars (see earlier in thread)
The vented seats don't have any direct connection to the AC system. They are vented with fans, not air conditioned. Some cars do connect to the AC ductwork for their vented seats but not this one.
09-04-2011, 07:06 AM
#110
The ridiculousness of even putting stuff like this into a cars AC controls takes Acura down a notch in my estimation. Talk about needless complication. What else can they do to add possible failure points to a system? The car must have a mental breakdown everytime you drive around the block! Where's the sun? Over there, no no now it's over there...quick get me some GPS data I think we are in the shade of a building..can't see the sun...oh no!!! Turn the ac up on the passenger side no wait he turned, turn it back down but turn it up on the driver side, etc etc.
11-06-2011, 08:30 PM
#112
Cruisin'
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Well here is the end to my story. Took a trip to florida and the a/c was at 46 degrees. sometimes it would drop to 44 then move to 46. The car was comfortable, but it could have been better. It's a lease vehicle and I will give it back. Such a shame because the car is a very nice and rides great. If i lease another acura i will check the a/c temperature prior to purchase
11-07-2011, 07:40 AM
#113
Burning Brakes
I have the opposite problem in my G, setting the temperature to 70 during the summer when the temp was near 100 and the car baked in the sun all day, the car was an icebox after a few miles. I couldn't believe it.
11-07-2011, 09:28 AM
#115
Something of interest. I was reading through the September 2011 service bulletin and it states there that poor A/C performance could be tracked down to a faulty compressor clutch relay.
https://acurazine.com/forums/3g-tl-2004-2008-93/acura-servicenews-bulletins-588838/
https://acurazine.com/forums/3g-tl-2004-2008-93/acura-servicenews-bulletins-588838/
05-28-2012, 02:27 PM
#116
Racer
Thread Starter
Well, the summer weather is back....and so is my 2012 TL's very anemic AC. Works fine if it isn't actually that warm out--once you get to 80 or above, it is awful. I was back and forth to the dealer a number of times last year trying to get it fixed. It is awful compared to my '09. The dealer finally concurred that it wasn't quite cool enough and added some coolant, but by then it was nearly the end of the summer and with lower temperatures it was no longer an issue.
Has anyone else who has had this issue had any success in getting it diagnosed and resolved?
Thanks.
Has anyone else who has had this issue had any success in getting it diagnosed and resolved?
Thanks.
05-28-2012, 03:38 PM
#117
have to chime in. My new '12 TL has a terrible A/C. It was 90 degrees here in MD last few days...was driving home from work and wondering why I felt so 'warm' with sweat on my backside. The damn A/C blows warm air on acceleration and honestly does NOT cool the interior even on the "LOW" setting on the auto temp.
Grrr..this is frustrating. This is my first Acura and little things like this are pissing me off. The German cars I have owned have always had ice cold A/C. My wife's Lexus RX feels like a freezer with auto temp on 73!!
Anyone know if the dealer can solve this?
Grrr..this is frustrating. This is my first Acura and little things like this are pissing me off. The German cars I have owned have always had ice cold A/C. My wife's Lexus RX feels like a freezer with auto temp on 73!!
Anyone know if the dealer can solve this?
05-28-2012, 03:45 PM
#118
Mike...Its a real shame you seem to have issue with your AC. I have a 2012 and never had a problem with mine but then again, I am in Canada and it never get that hot for extended amount of time so its hard to say if mine is inadequate. That being said, the desired level of coolness will vary from one person to another. Myself, I hate extremely cold temperatures. When I get in the car and its been super hot, I just drop the windows and all the car to cool off a bit before turning the AC. For me, I don't have any problem with the way my TL is behaving....Its too bad some are having problem but is this really worth overlooking the TL because of this?
05-28-2012, 03:45 PM
#119
Three Wheelin'
Well here is the end to my story. Took a trip to florida and the a/c was at 46 degrees. sometimes it would drop to 44 then move to 46. The car was comfortable, but it could have been better. It's a lease vehicle and I will give it back. Such a shame because the car is a very nice and rides great. If i lease another acura i will check the a/c temperature prior to purchase
44 AND 46 is not good. Is the AC in recirulate? if so, you should see at least 40. All 3 of my cars do 40 in recirulate. I would go to an independant shop or ask your Aura dealer to to a compelete ac vaccum and recharge. That should fix things unless there is a mehanical issue.
05-28-2012, 04:47 PM
#120
I'm in Florida and its already in the 90's and I have no problem. The first thing I would do is take one of their cars out for a test drive and see if you notice that it's cooler. If not then your expectations may be unrealistic. However if it is cooler have them measure the temp of that car and your car side by side. If yours is noticeably lower insist on keeping a loaner until they can fix it. That's how I would handle it. Good luck