A car will occasionally cycle the compressor off to melt any ice on the evaporator
Best/Worst A/C Performance in a car?
- Thread starter Nick1994
- Start date
Can confirm, love my 05 yukon. Apparently these have unreliable compressors that always leak and such but mine is original, dry, and untouched after 341k miles. Maybe I got lucky or it's some updated part I don't know about. Same with the rest of the ac system. Haven't done the dreaded evaporator which if I ever have to do I think I'll just cut it out.
Wife had a '14 Fusion and it would give you goosebumps and as well as make (2) pokey parts hard 
Turning down the fan speed didn't make much difference either and I eventually would have to turn the AC off entirely and just blow "warm" air.
Turning down the fan speed didn't make much difference either and I eventually would have to turn the AC off entirely and just blow "warm" air.- Joined
- Jul 18, 2022
- Messages
- 394
My 2017 crew cab F150 has really good AC. It's a XLT without rear vents. Have to turn it down it runs so cold. Cools the big cabin fast and easy even just idling.
Our subaru seems the have worse performance at idle vs. Driving around I'm assuming this is from airflow over the condenser.
Our subaru seems the have worse performance at idle vs. Driving around I'm assuming this is from airflow over the condenser.
My 2005 base Caravan's A/C has been mediocre since new. Outlet temps are consistently in the low-40s; however, the cabin cool-down process takes at least 10-15 minutes on these hot Texas days. After a while of driving it's just fine...and I even have to turn it down a bit. At night the system functions much better.
I attribute this to 1) On a hot day, over 140 cubic feet of hot air needs displacement, and this is difficult without the power rear door and rear quarter windows to aid in venting; 2) front-only A/C on short-wheelbase models just isn't that effective in a van
There's nothing I can do...it's just something I've learned to live with over 20 years.
I attribute this to 1) On a hot day, over 140 cubic feet of hot air needs displacement, and this is difficult without the power rear door and rear quarter windows to aid in venting; 2) front-only A/C on short-wheelbase models just isn't that effective in a van
There's nothing I can do...it's just something I've learned to live with over 20 years.
For our current fleet, the 2003 Corolla has surprisingly good A/C. The CX-9 is one of the worst i've experienced. As soon as the temps reach 105 or above, it really struggles. It also doesn't push the air out hard enough. I recall one day 2 summers ago it was about 113 outside and it just quit blowing cold air completely. Had it checked by Mazda with no issues found. Hasn't done that since luckily, but continues to underwhelm in the Phx summers.
Not happy with my '21 Corolla a/c, am hoping they had to open up the system for the body work it's receiving (deer strike, radiator core support needs replacing, fingers crossed they found something--but low hopes, it's been the same mediocre a/c for the 2 years I've had it, and it was the same mediocre performance after the deer strike).
My '04 VW seemed mediocre too, but that was a wagon. Air coming out was cold, just not enough throughput I guess.
Our Camry's seemed pretty good though.
What annoys me is that I try to turn off a/c a couple miles from home but that doesn't seem to ward off the smell that they all seem to pick up.
My '04 VW seemed mediocre too, but that was a wagon. Air coming out was cold, just not enough throughput I guess.
Our Camry's seemed pretty good though.
What annoys me is that I try to turn off a/c a couple miles from home but that doesn't seem to ward off the smell that they all seem to pick up.
Dang, need to get my 01 f150 checked. Its cold but not anything special
Propflux01
$100 Site Donor 2025
Best A/C ever: 1979 Chevy pickup.
Very close second and third: 2014 Elantra, 2021 Tucson
Average: 2024 CX5
Worse: 1982 Dodge Colt.
Very close second and third: 2014 Elantra, 2021 Tucson
Average: 2024 CX5
Worse: 1982 Dodge Colt.
Fine with me!
Newer Tacoma blows ice cold, but the ducts are small and loud and the system struggles against a poorly insulated cab. Probably on the side of less effective air I’ve had since … driving a vehicle without functioning AC. Infrared coming down from the ceiling and in from the door is very obvious to my bald head and arm. I’ve got to blast on high fan to get enough coverage on warmer days. Not used to that. However, it’s also the hybrid with electric AC, which is consistent whether rolling or stopped. It takes it longer to stabilize, but once it balances out, it’s very nice and I like it. I wish it had back seat vents, as I can feel hot air behind me even after the front is cool.
2018 F150. Ice cold, pretty quiet under operation, as long as you let it default to recirc. On fresh air, it was poor above 82F outside. Let it operate as designed and it never struggled, unloaded or towing, all good. Effective cabin insulation so the air didnt work as hard. The recirc blend servo is $96 for the part but full dash removal to access. The system won’t operate well at all unless it’s in recirc.
P2 Volvos. The most intelligent AC I’ve known. They knew when to run fresh air. When to recirc, had the perfect balance of fan speeds, and nicely insulated cabin.
2014 Lexus GS. The programming of this car prioritized AC. It would slightly modify shift points to hold one gear lower when the compressor was spinning. The car made sure you were comfortable. There was a notable 2mpg gas mileage hit to run the air in august. The Volvo handled it more elegantly, but the Lexus was set and forget.
CRV, MDX, Jeep grand Cherokee WK, 2018 civic, all seemed to be on some par as average and effective.
2018 F150. Ice cold, pretty quiet under operation, as long as you let it default to recirc. On fresh air, it was poor above 82F outside. Let it operate as designed and it never struggled, unloaded or towing, all good. Effective cabin insulation so the air didnt work as hard. The recirc blend servo is $96 for the part but full dash removal to access. The system won’t operate well at all unless it’s in recirc.
P2 Volvos. The most intelligent AC I’ve known. They knew when to run fresh air. When to recirc, had the perfect balance of fan speeds, and nicely insulated cabin.
2014 Lexus GS. The programming of this car prioritized AC. It would slightly modify shift points to hold one gear lower when the compressor was spinning. The car made sure you were comfortable. There was a notable 2mpg gas mileage hit to run the air in august. The Volvo handled it more elegantly, but the Lexus was set and forget.
CRV, MDX, Jeep grand Cherokee WK, 2018 civic, all seemed to be on some par as average and effective.
Bet I ever had was my old 2012 Ford transit Connect. When I sold it was ice cold like day one. A friend complained that when he borrowed it it gave him an ice cream headache lol.
Worst I’ve owned were the three Hondas I’ve owned.
Worst I’ve owned were the three Hondas I’ve owned.
Worst- 2013 F150
Best- 2012 Nissan Altima
Best- 2012 Nissan Altima
All my Toyota/Lexus vehicles have had ice cold AC
from 1998 Toyota Corolla to 2018 Lexus ES350, all ice cold but the coldest was probably the 2008 Lexus ES350 yes it was low miles (54k miles) but my other ES350s are also low miles but the 2008 was COLD, in the summer I had turn it down a few times because I was freezing within 10 minutes.
from 1998 Toyota Corolla to 2018 Lexus ES350, all ice cold but the coldest was probably the 2008 Lexus ES350 yes it was low miles (54k miles) but my other ES350s are also low miles but the 2008 was COLD, in the summer I had turn it down a few times because I was freezing within 10 minutes.
Nick1994
$100 site donor 2024
I stuck the thermometer in the vent today, it hits 46* at 110* outside. Thats on speed 2. On speed 4 it’s 50*.
2000 Taurus I owned , Air out of vents was 34 degrees all the time would freeze your ass off in that car
1979 dodge pick up was the worst always lame , was fully charged it just sucked
Once a factory system has issues and is repaired its never ever as good
1979 dodge pick up was the worst always lame , was fully charged it just sucked
Once a factory system has issues and is repaired its never ever as good
Interesting that you write this about Ford products.
The '97 Aerostar we bought new would heat or cool the entire large interior volume just great and did so through the life of the vehicle.
- Joined
- Jul 3, 2025
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- 53
Had a 99 and an 00 camry! Still have the 00 Camry with the 3 liter v6. The ac preformace is quite impressive! Will freeze you out. It is definitely much better than my 2013 rav4 I'm afraid! Older toyotas in early 2000s and before as well as other manufacturers were engineered better.
However, the AC preformace in my recently purchased 2011 Tacoma SR5 is also better than the Rav4 I feel like! Smaller cab I suppose because no trunk but still! Quite a bit better overall.
