GenVibe - Community for Pontiac Vibe Enthusiasts

Has anyone had this problem with their a/c? I have a 2005 fwd Vibe, 32,500 miles.Friday I was driving home with the a/c on, no problems. I was within a mile of home so I turned the a/c off by pressing the a/c button. The green light went out. I left the fan on. I noticed that cold air kept coming out of the vents. I could not shut the a/c off.The next day I tried to turn it on by pressing the a/c button. The green light went on. I turned the fan on. All I got was hot air for about 10 minutes and then viola! Cold air! When I reached my destination I tried to turn it off again by pressing the a/c button. Same as Friday. The green light went off but the system was still blowing cool air. I shut the fan off and held my hand to the vent while driving (normal position) and I still felt some cold air. I don't know if the system was still running or if it was residual cold air coming from the ducts. I bet it was still on.As my luck would have it, I just went off warranty a month ago and I expect no helo from the dealership other than a huge bill.Anyone have any ideas?Thanks!

There is post regarding this, something about the diverter in the airbox gets hung up...

I am not aware of what Sublimewind says but you may want to check into it. As far as the cold air continuing to come out of the vents when the button is off, I say this is residuel cold air. That button turns on and off the compressor, so unless it is malfunctioning and not turning the comp off, I think what you are experiencing is normal.

I looked for the post Sublimewind mentioned and it deals with complaints of inadequate cooling. I found a couple service bulletins covering the problem but they're for the 2003 and 2004 models. Presumably it was fixed for the 2005 model.I think it's a switch problem. When I got home I listened to the engine and it sounded like it was under a load as if the compressor was still running. We're in a heat wave here so the car gets hot fast. Any residual cool air in the duct won't last too long. I was getting really cold air even though the a/c button was off. I know that the a/c button and the fan switch work together to activate the compressor so it could be either one.Thanks for the replies. I had hoped someone else had a similar problem (misery loves company...) and had figured out the solution.

Here in CT we have had some 90 plus days so far, I drive with the A/C on sometimes on my way home from work and I hate A/C. When I turn it off even with the windows open I can still feel cool air from the vents. I really believe it is the residual for you. The compressor makes it's own noticeable sound under the hood.And regardless if it is really warm, you will still get cold air for a bit from the vents, they are insulated and the air coming right off the compressor is much colder than what you get from the vents, so it is expected that the normal air moving through the vents would get chilled a bit.

Even if I accept that premise it doesn't explain why it took 10 minutes for the compressor to kick in after I turn the a/c on yesterday. I've had the car for over 3 years and it's never behaved this way before.

I have more information if anyone is still following this thread.I took the car to my local mechanic since I'm off warranty (by 2 months). He agreed that the problem is electrical and he ordered a new a/c switch which comes with a circuit board. However, he spent more time checking the circuit and calling his dealership friend, and he's now thinking that the new switch may not solve the problem. He's very suspicious of the computer that's tied into the a/c and he's recommending letting the local dealer take over. The dealership charges $100/hour for "diagnosis" while my guy doesn't charge unless he makes an actual repair. I can see this running up a huge bill.Doesn anyone know anything about which computer module is tied into the a/c? My mechanic thinks it's located behind the glove box. Is this the PCM module that's also responsible for the mysterious warm starting problems affecting the 2005s? I already had that replaced, and like others on these forums, I haven't seen much of a change.Thanks.

The car is now repaired. The dealer replaced the PCM module which apparently shorted and created an electical problem affecting not only the a/c but also the fresh air circulation switch and something else. This was the 2nd PCM module in the car. The first was replaced at 6000 miles because of the infamous starting problem affecting the 2005s. I was told that the all the PCMs are rebuilt and no one actually gets a "new" part. So I guess it's possible this one can fail too in the future.The good news was that the PCM is covered by the emissions warranty which runs 8 years/80,000 miles. The repair was free and I even got a free loaner car.So after 32,000 miles, I wonder what will break next...