My automatice climate control has always worked but it does not always turn on the A/C correctly, the way it used to. It's been hot in Houston, but I don't see that as the issue. When I turn the car on, the A/C used to start blowing cold air. Now it usually does not in the temp control is set around 69 (it's 100 outside). It blows cool air, but not enough to cool the car down. If I keep knocking the temp setting down, eventually it will blow very cold air when I get down to 64, but even then it take a minute or two before the really cold air starts to blow. Soon, it is TOO COLD. I move the temp control up slowly, a degree at a time, and somewhere around 68, I get cool air again, and the car gets warm.

I searched, did not see anything like this. Any ideas?

I haven't been around much, haven't driven much the last 2 years due to covid.

 

Here's what you can check:
1) The cabin air filter - may be dirty / clogged
2) The air intake of the "In-Car Temperature Sensor" - it's a small grille located on the dash near the engine start/stop button. You can try blowing compressed air from one of the air duster cans into the grille to clear out any dust that interferes with the sensor.
3) The sunlight sensor - located in the center of the dash close to the windshield
4) And finally, the AC may be low in refrigerant, so you will need to take it somewhere to check / refill as needed.

 

Hoses are porous and the refrigerant can leak out over time. A recharge should fix the issue.

 

Thanks for the ideas guys!

 

One other thing I’d check as well is making sure you’re not in eco or sports modes. When you’re in eco/sports/+ it will be less aggressive with the ac fan than in normal.

 

An update: My son teaches auto tech in high school and he has always had an interest in cars. I spoke with him and he said there is a relay in the fuse box that controls the A/C. He picked one up at the parts store, poped it in, and on one test drive it is working fine. The relay cost $10. There is a schematic inside the cover of the fuse box, and one of the boxes on the schematic had a little picture of a snowflake, and that was the relay. The plug on the relay is odd, so I think it will only go in the correct spot, you just have to locate it. I will try to remember to update this after a couple of weeks.

I'll take a driving vacation to Fla. in a week, so it will get a good test then.

 

After 3 days driving around in 93 degree afternoon temp, this fix is good. I had one instance where I started the car, the temp was set to 70, it started blowing air, but it was not cold. I waited about 2 minutes and no cold air. I tapped the a/c temp down to 69, cold air started coming out and it ran flawlessly for the duration of the drive. I can't declare it is perfect, but I consider it fixed. I don't plan to update this again unless there is a big change that occurs.