GenVibe - Community for Pontiac Vibe Enthusiasts

05 base Vibe. about 179,000 miles. It,s 85 degree,s at 9 a.m. here now. When I start the car it stays hot until I drive a some distance along the road. In parking lots it,s same thing. Once I get going it cools nice, but if I stop for a red light,etc, it blows warm air. Any suggestions will be appreciated as always. Jim

Could be a multitude of things. Can you hear the compressor kicking on when you hit the A/C button? If so, it could just simply be low on refrigerant. If that's the case, then you likely have a leak at one of the ports. If you don't hear the compressor kicking on, might be a relay, or could be the compressor has gone bad.

I often hear people say they need to add some freon every year .

On my 2004 Vibe GT I now have to top it off every year. Not a big deal just yet as it only gets used 6-months max out of the year.

I've had vehicles that required a periodic boost of refrigerant.

I know "freon" is one of those generic brand name references, like Kleenex is for "facial tissue", but the 05 Vibe uses R-134a refrigerant, not an ozone killer like real freon