Air Conditioning

[de387]

Hi..I purchased a Vibe a month ago and have noticed that the A/C does not cool the interior well. The air coming out of the vents is *cold*, but it never gets the temps down inside the car well like other cars I have had. People in the back set don't ever feel cool. I've never had a 4 cylinder car before, maybe it is just that the tiny engine coupled with a tiny a/c unit just can't cool the interior when it is above 85 degrees. I have tried the max a/c button and without too. Naturally, I have it on cold temp and have all the vents open. Thanks for any help.

[joatmon]

did you try http://forums.genvibe.com/zerothread?id=1315?

[JohnC]

I am not too impressed with the a/c system capacity in the Vibe either. Joatman definatly pointed you in the right direction. You may also want to get a hard number as far the actual air temp coming out of the ducts, use an accurate thermometer, also record the outside air temp and humidity. this will be enough info for an auto a/c shop to tell you over the phone if the system needs to be charged or there is a damper problem. You should take the reading while the car is moving at least 40 mph to ensure there is good air flow thru the condenser.I believe the system is just undersized for the volume and window area, especially when temeratures are over 110. We had the max reflective tint installed and my daughter plugs in a little 12vdc fan for the backseat area. This has greatly improved conditions. I am sure there are members of this site that are going to come up with other ideas as the summer continues. Here is another idea...[http://forums.genvibe.com/zerothread?id=10573]Update 8/26/04 now that summer is winding down. I no longer have any complaints with the A/C system. Since the tint was installed and by removing the control cable to the damper door (it goes open slightly with cable installed) the interior gets cool fast and stays cool. My daughter even gave up her rear seat portable 12v fan.

[ragingfish]

Not sure if you've ever owned a wagon before -- but if not, it's a different experience. As stated, there's signficiantly more cabin volume for the system to cool, and not enough well-placed vents, nor enough capacity to do it. I often find myself driving with the fan speed on at least 3...and i crack open the moonroof (if equipped) to let the heat out...never rode in the backseat before, so I can't say I've endured that...

[philndz]

IT DOES SUCK.....AND THATS THE WAY IT IS TO GET USED TO ITBUT....its not too bad...i mean you wont get it really cold unless your doing fast highway speeds (More air-cooling + more RPM's to help run the a/c compressor and a long enough drive to actually fill the cabin w/ cool air) but just around town it is good enough to be bearable.Close your sunroof shade.....tinted windows will make a difference too.My old Volvo wagon could chill the cabin to the point of seeing your breath.....it was really cool!I did two modifications to the a/c system on the vibe....firstly i took care of the mis-adjustment of the temp dial (i think someone posted a link to that "fix" above)I also insulated the a/c line in the engine bay so that it is protected from engine heat and therefore doesn't lose as much of its effectiveness as it makes its way to the cabin. (theres a thread describing how to do it somewhere on the site...i think i had trouble finding it the last time i looked for it)

[joatmon]

Quote, originally posted by philndz » (theres a thread describing how to do it somewhere on the site...i think i had trouble finding it the last time i looked for it)http://forums.genvibe.com/zerothread?id=4914 ?

[de387]

HI, de387 here. Thanks for all the help. I will try what was suggested in the posts. I am going to start with window tinting since I was planning on that anyway. The temps coming out of the vents seem real cold, but as I told my wife, it would be like standing directly in front of a house window a/c and feeling cold air, but the house never getting cool enough since the one window a/c is not large enough to cool an entire house. It is probably, as one person suggested, that the interior of the Vibe is larger than most cars due to having more cabin space than cars with a trunk and then having smaller a/c unit. I drove the Vibe out of town yesterday and had to leave the fan on next to the highest level the entire trip. I *love* my Vibe, but may just have to drive my Chevy Venture Van more when the temps are above 85 in this humid Indiana weather. I think the black interior probably increases temps inside the car too along with all the windows. Window tinting should help a bit. I leave my a/c on the MAX setting, isn't that the setting that cools the best since it is recycling/cooling the cabin air rather than outside air??Thanks!! Jeff

[ragingfish]

Yes, recirculation will provide a quicker cooldown, but you should not leave it on recirculate the entire trip. As you know, it recirculates air in the cabin. It's unhealthy to breathe continuously recirculated air. You should, after the cabin has come to a more reasonable temperature, reset it to normal mode.

[russ257]

its only unhealthy on an airplane full of people and their germs. in you car it doent matter that much

[ragingfish]

It does matter.Recirculated air has less useable oxygen. Also, if, for example, there's some sort of exhaust leak, reciruclating cabin air keeps that exhaust in the car, and can eventually kill you. Normal mode has fresh air come in, go through the car, and back out again.According to the owner's manual:Quote »You should switch to outside air once in a while to avoid stale air and fogging windows.Stale air, by nature, is unhealthy air. Unhealthy doesn't have to mean full of allergens or germs.The OM also says:Quote »It can be dangerous to drive with the liftgate/liftglass open because carbon monoxide (CO) gas can come into your vehicle. You can’t see or smell CO. It can cause unconsciousness and even death.If you must drive with the liftgate/liftglass open or if electrical wiring or other cable connections must pass through the seal between the body and the liftgate/liftglass: Make sure all other windows are shut. Turn the fan on your heating or coolingsystem to its highest speed and select thecontrol setting that will force outside airinto your vehicle. See “Comfort Controls”in the Index.

[joatmon]

I haven't used the recirc yet, other than to turn it on just to watch it get turned off automatically when I go to defrost mode. I like to have the fresh air coming in. helps keep me awake, which is useful since I never seem to have any short drives. My AC seems to do ok, not a "see your breath when it's 120 °F out" but tolerable enough. I do need to recheck my temp cable adjustment, been a while, and I wonder if it is still ok. Seems like turning just a tiny bit off max cold warms it up pretty fast.

[Sputnik]

I never use recirculate. It fogs up the interior too much for my liking and its not fresh. This is a personal thing. I prefer fresher air if I have a choice in the matter.

[ragingfish]

Ya know what, I really don't give a sht what everyone else does!Y'all can do whatever the you want. Recirculate, don't recirculate, doesn't matter to me.I prefer unstale air, I've been told by every owner's manual of every car I ever owned that it's not healthy to use it for an extended period of time. But if you're the stale air type, then be my guest, go breate your damned stale air!I gave you my interpretation of the OM. If you don't like it, then don't take it. I could care less.

[joatmon]

Quote, originally posted by silverawd26 »Also, there are vents located in all cars to keep the cars having fresh air and pressurized that look like this: My dads 99 truck have them and so does the Vibe. lol that looks like a clothes dryer vent.the vibe has two vents, one in each back corner. They provide a relief so that their is no ear popping pressure wave when you shut the doors. They also provide an outlet for air when you have the windows closed and the HVAC set for fresh air..They seal with some lightweight rubber flaps, You would have to plug them before you could pressurize the car.http://forums.genvibe.com/zero...t.jpg(a curse upon the forum bug that prevents showing uploaded pix in line ) There are a couple of things about the HVAC system in the Vibe that are less than perfect, at least for me. I don't like how loud the fan is when set on the higher speeds, the way that the heat position blows air on the front of your shin instead of at your feet, the limited amount of air that comes out of the back vents (the ones under the front seats. I drive with the sunroof open if it's not raining, doesn't matter what the outside temp is. I never use the recirc. Still average 36 mpg over 47K miles, so I don't think the recirc could have much of an effect on mpg's. Maybe make the car a bit cooler, I prefer fresher air over the bit cooler that recirc may offer.I guess since I have rarely ridden in the back of the car on a hot day, I haven't noticed the problem. Gets plenty cool in the driver's seat, (especially when I'm in it )

[ragingfish]

Quote, originally posted by joatmon »I guess since I have rarely ridden in the back of the car on a hot day, I haven't noticed the problem. Gets plenty cool in the driver's seat, (especially when I'm in it )Agreed!I was driving home in the 100ºF+ heat index weather yesterday, and found myself turning the air towards the warmer side because I was cold! No recirculate either.

[cbetts]

Looks like I came to the right place. My A/C seems to be a little weak. I actually checked the temp of the air coming out of the vents. On the road, it sits at 40 degrees. My problem is when I am parked. It will ony get down to about 55 degrees. Its almost as if the cooling fan cant pull enough air through the condenser. I live in high desert. Temp is about 110 with relatively low humidity (10-20%). I already did the limo tint in the back and a touch on the front windows (illegal in California, but this is the Mojave desert and the cops dont seem to mind).I would be very interested to hear from anyone that made mods to improve their A/C. Keeping the cabin temp around 85 is only just tolerable. I love my Vibe and want to keep it!

[ragingfish]

I've never had a car where the A/C performs as well at idle as it does when moving. It's an unfortunate drawback of this type of system designThe faster the engine moves, the more power it can generate, and the better the A/C worksBest advice I can offer is next time you have it in,ask them to adjust the temp cable per the TSB...that might be your soluition...Also keep in mind, unlike your traditional sedan, the cabin is bigger in the vibe because of the lack of a trunk. Since the entire car is one big open area, the A/C has to work harder to cool it off...

[ToolGuy]

What do dryer vents have to do with this? Anyway, outside air does just that, lets air in from the outside and if it is warm outside, it lets that in mixed with the cool air from the AC. It also lets fumes in not necessarily from your car but others and trucks etc. It does not let dust in like others due to the filter. Try it, you think the air is not cold now, drive around in outside mode with the air on. With my PT, if I move it to defrost, the dial automatically moves the recirc dial to outside air manually. To get it out of outside mode I need to move it back. Chrysler did that because too many people do not read the OM and were driving around with the defroster in recirc mode and foggy windows. Also, the AC will never be it coldest sitting in traffic. The fan can only suck so much air through the AC condenser at idle. To get the most air through the condenser the car has to be moving. True for any car, V6 - V8 does not matter.If it is not cold enough I would have the dlr check it out and being that we sell the ACR 2000 AC machine to all the GM dealers, a skilled tech can add a bit more refrigerant to the system to help the cooling ability.

[ToolGuy]

Oh I did thank you and it is still a 3-4" dryer vent in the pic not a body vent that usually have fixed louvers, usually black plastic and a rubber flap in the back for water... Here is the Vibe pic, two in the rear of the car...I do not claim to be a "know it all", just post the proper stuff and that is not what this post is about anyway

Attached files

[ToolGuy]

No you are right about the pressure thing and right again on the flap not letting water in. You know what you are talking about...

[kcinmi]

ANother thought, Interior color also plays a role. The dark interior of the vibe will make the A/C have to work that much harder to not only cool the air, but also the dark surfaces before it "feels" cool in the car. I did the insulate the A/C line. Using rubberized pipe insulation from Lowes, I went from the Compressor to the firewall. It does have sticky stuff but the heat under the hood makes it not work to well, will be wrapping with foil tape soon.

[VibeGT_2003]

Doesn't the vibe have a cabin filter? Is that just for the air coming into the car from the outside?or recirculating too?

[jcarvibegt]

LOL Well I just read thru this hole thread from when it started awhile ago. I live in South Florida with lots of heat all year round( no, i don't mean the miami heat, ba dum pish!). And my Vibe is Abyss so it gets really hot inside with the charcoal interior. I've never had any problems with the AC. It's always been more than sufficient . I have gotten limo tint and did the additional A/C line insultaion to help along. But I have to say my A/C freezes. Even while idling!

[defcon1]

Quote, originally posted by de387 »Hi..I purchased a Vibe a month ago and have noticed that the A/C does not cool the interior well. The air coming out of the vents is *cold*, but it never gets the temps down inside the car well like other cars I have had. People in the back set don't ever feel cool. I've never had a 4 cylinder car before, maybe it is just that the tiny engine coupled with a tiny a/c unit just can't cool the interior when it is above 85 degrees. I have tried the max a/c button and without too. Naturally, I have it on cold temp and have all the vents open. Thanks for any help.all dealers know about this problem and will fix it under warrenty they did mine it took them about 20 min.