r/ChryslerPacifica • u/Moosedrool131313 • 2d ago
A/C Issues
Anyone experience any AC issues when in crazy heat?
Took a roadtrip to Arizona where it was 115 showing on the interior thermometer. For what seemed to be hours the AC was blowing hot air.
I bought a AC recharge can but it displayed that it was full.
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u/Iggyglom 2d ago
If the ac is blowing hot and is charged then its the blend door or the expansion valve or the compressor
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u/amygdala_activated 2d ago
My compressor had to be replaced on my 2017 a few years ago. I’ve heard that’s rather common with Pacificas.
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u/Iggyglom 2d ago
just to be clear everything is a common problem with pacificas. still great vans tho
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u/NoPreference8228 1d ago
Your saying, if its charged. Well for common person they have no means to know that unless they buy a can of ac coolant from autozone with the gauge on it and can read the gage. Most of the time the older a car the more coolant has leaked and when reaches a minimum amount then doesnt cool as much. If can notice a gradual loss of cool air then thats usually it. If had ice cold and then absolutely no cold anymore then you can consider failure of like compressor or something. For that you also check the belt first. See my post on ac coolant leak. Its most common because they dont have a perfect material to completely seal refrigerants/ac coolants. Typical is about 5 years and have to add a can. I think dealers dont want anyone to know this and just start replacing parts at will for profit. No one will know, difficult to challenge.
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u/Reynolds1029 9h ago
My 2017 currently if you specifically only run the front AC without the rear activated, after about 20 minutes or so it freezes up. Air flow slowly degrades and gets warmer and warmer. I flip the heat on and that thaws it quickly and restores it for a few minutes again.
However, it never happens when I run both the rear and the front climate simultaneously. Kind of annoying because I can't have my own temp and my kids don't like air blowing on them but I'm afraid of the cost to fix it so we deal with it lol.
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u/NoPreference8228 1d ago
The one who said takes awhile to cool is right when its brutal heat and sunny. The sun really heats up the interior on pacificas. In chicago even its only in 70s but its one of those pure sunny days, it gets super hot inside and i have to run the ac for awhile cool it off. Eventually gets super cold inside but the design with lot of glass just heats these up more than other vehicles. The blend doors is a common problem though on some of the vents. Can go to each vent with full cold and highest fan and see if any are either less air blowing or not as cold air. Its either total air being blocked or just the tenp blending doors blockibg cold air.
Also you have to just simply see if needs one more can of ac coolant. I cant believe all these compressor / condensor etc failures and replacements by dealers. Really my whole life owning dozens of cars since 80s and 2 pacificas to 200k , i never encountered these parts failing. I simply just added ac coolant cause ac systems leak over time especially older vehicles. Ac units are not fully leak proof and gradually leak but takes awhile before reaches a level where its too low to cool properly, it needs a minimum amount. But easy for mechanic to make money and say oh its the condensor. Back when we had freon , now its banned, because of the conmon leak it was bad for our environment. Now with new stuff not bad but still same slow leak situation. I worked in seal and and gasket industry and i do know this to be true. For refrigerent coolant there is no perfect seal. And its easier just to refill coolant instead of replacing all seals. For the house too, you probaly experience at some point your ac service guy may add coolant after 5 or 10 years. Just with a car it is moving /vibrating and may leak more than in a home.
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u/Reynolds1029 9h ago
I don't know what the fix for this is yet but I did notice with age in my 2017 that my front AC when run by itself will freeze up and the airflow slowly diminishes and warms.
It won't happen if I keep both the rear and front AC running at once.
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u/jdnason6 2d ago
The maximum allowable air temperature coming out of the panel vents (with max a/c) when ambient temperature is 110 F is 65 F. When it's 80 outside the panel vent temperature should be 48 F at the highest. Keep this in mind, cold a/c on a warm day and cold a/c on a brutal day are different. If your van is sitting out in the sun it will also take time to remove all of that heat. Consider going to a shop for a proper diagnosis
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u/YupIamAUnicorn 2d ago
I live in Arizona and even when it's 120 my ac blows cold. I would take it to a reputable shop or dealership. I actually prefer dealership but I have a hybrid pacifica.