2006 Honda Civic AC not cold

[overst33r]

So my Civic has been giving me the business lately.

About 2 weeks ago I started noticing that it takes longer and longer to cool the car down on my way home from work. Currently I have to drive 45min with the AC on full blast to finally cool down by the time I get home. I checked the weather and it's been roughly the same, so I'm not imagining it. On my other cars, I can hold my hand by the vent and it will be frozen with in a minute. On the Civic, it's just cool air. ~60-65F. It's supposed to be about 45F.

I had the system pressure checked and the shop evacuated and refilled the system with new refrigerant and dye.

The car holds a little over a pound of R134a (VERY small amount IMO), but only .6LB came out. So there's definitely a leak.

Even after they refilled it, the car didn't blow cold like it used to, so that's where I'm confused.

What is odd is that on Recirculate the car blows Cool, while on the outside air setting it basically blows warm.

Ideas as to what the issue could be?

 

[ShawnD1]

Google searching has a few suggestions

http://www.certifiedmastertech.com/wordpress/2010/05/31/car-ac-not-blowing-cold-enough/

Sometimes when people try to recharge their system on their own they will actually overcharge the system which can cause poor cooling performance just as much as low Freon levels.
......

Not as common as the Freon issue mentioned above but one that is common in my area at this time of the year is a radiator or a condenser that has been considerably clogged with bugs, dust and dirt, or road debris and trash

That second one is probably why my parents old cars had terribly bad AC. 20 years of bugs coating the system.

 

[Vic Vega]

Could be a problem with the blend door. The fact that it blows warm on fresh air and cool on recirculate makes me lean this way.

 

[overst33r]

Could be a problem with the blend door. The fact that it blows warm on fresh air and cool on recirculate makes me lean this way.

I don't think that's it. I hear the door moving when I push the recirculate button.

 

[Vic Vega]

I don't think that's it. I hear the door moving when I push the recirculate button.

Are you able to see the position of the door?

 

[overst33r]

Are you able to see the position of the door?

Good point. Probably, I'll check when I get a chance.

 

[vshah]

8th gen civics have always had pretty bad AC performance. it takes my 2007 a good 5 minutes above 3000rpm (i.e. highway driving) to start blowing really cold.

yours sounds worse than that though.

 

[ShawnD1]

8th gen civics have always had pretty bad AC performance. it takes my 2007 a good 5 minutes above 3000rpm (i.e. highway driving) to start blowing really cold.

yours sounds worse than that though.

Your car is broken.

When I test drove a 2006 Civic, what blew me away (lol pun) was how the AC was cold immediately. Probably the best AC I've ever seen. Worked great until the day that car died about 3 year later.

 

[vshah]

If mine is broken then so are many hundreds of other cars over at 8thcivic. It is a well known deficiency.

 

[overst33r]

Are you able to see the position of the door?

Checked it. It works fine.

 

[CraigRT]

If mine is broken then so are many hundreds of other cars over at 8thcivic. It is a well known deficiency.

This.
I think the A/C is adequate in my 8th gen, but it is far from "great".
On a long trip it can freeze out the car, on a short trip the car won't cool down much, it just takes a while.

 

[vshah]

OP, i'm curious. If you drive for 10-15 mins at highway speeds, does it eventually get to that "freezing cold" point?

 

[KK]

OP, i'm curious. If you drive for 10-15 mins at highway speeds, does it eventually get to that "freezing cold" point?

What would that mean? bad compressor not as efficient at low rpms? I have a vehicle that at idle speeds the pressure rises on the low side to over a 100, and when over 2k rpm will drop back down to 60 at which time the cooling ability approves.

 

[JCH13]

Maybe part of the AC system got plugged or restricted up for some silly reason?

Check the AC's radiator for any bent/crimped tubes or many bent fins. I know it's a long shot...

 

[vshah]

What would that mean? bad compressor not as efficient at low rpms? I have a vehicle that at idle speeds the pressure rises on the low side to over a 100, and when over 2k rpm will drop back down to 60 at which time the cooling ability approves.

i'm not sure what it means from a mechanical standpoint, but that's what i've observed in almost 4 years of owning my car. perhaps it is something like what you described.

 

[overst33r]

OP, i'm curious. If you drive for 10-15 mins at highway speeds, does it eventually get to that "freezing cold" point?

Just checked it today. Not really. It stays cool. It does get cooler after a while though, but I'm sure that's just because the whole interior cools down.

 

[SJP]

Mario, I'm having the same problem with my '06 Civic. I drove it 20 minutes into town last month and the AC worked fine on the way there. I turned the car off for 30 minutes while I was in the store, when I started it back up the AC would not get cool unless I had my foot on the gas and it wasn't very cool. After driving in town for less than 5 minutes the AC wasn't cooling at all, so I took it to a mechanic to get charged. They had every technician look at my car when they charged it, they were all stumped. They said it had to have a leak, but they couldn't find it, and it wouldn't charge all the way. It still won't cool all that well, and it will only get cool if I go over 40 mph for at least 15 - 20 minutes. Forget it if it's from 10AM till 4PM, my car won't cool at all, I live in FL and it's way too hot!!!

 

[SJP]

Oh, one other thing. I just found out I have a very small hairline crack in my engine block. I complained to the dealership, two years ago, that my civic sometimes smelt like burning coolant. They denied everything and tried to push everything off. I've been getting my oil changed from them like clockwork, and I just found out that at every oil change I was very low of coolant due to that crack. I don't know if that crack and the lack of coolant has anything to do with the AC. Is it obvious I don't know anything about cars?

 

[overst33r]

Mario, I'm having the same problem with my '06 Civic. I drove it 20 minutes into town last month and the AC worked fine on the way there. I turned the car off for 30 minutes while I was in the store, when I started it back up the AC would not get cool unless I had my foot on the gas and it wasn't very cool. After driving in town for less than 5 minutes the AC wasn't cooling at all, so I took it to a mechanic to get charged. They had every technician look at my car when they charged it, they were all stumped. They said it had to have a leak, but they couldn't find it, and it wouldn't charge all the way. It still won't cool all that well, and it will only get cool if I go over 40 mph for at least 15 - 20 minutes. Forget it if it's from 10AM till 4PM, my car won't cool at all, I live in FL and it's way too hot!!!

You describe my issue perfectly.

Oh, one other thing. I just found out I have a very small hairline crack in my engine block. I complained to the dealership, two years ago, that my civic sometimes smelt like burning coolant. They denied everything and tried to push everything off. I've been getting my oil changed from them like clockwork, and I just found out that at every oil change I was very low of coolant due to that crack. I don't know if that crack and the lack of coolant has anything to do with the AC. Is it obvious I don't know anything about cars?

You need to take your car to the dealer ASAP!

There is a cracked engine block TSB. I believe it's covered for 8 years since the original purchase date and unlimited miles.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/01/automobiles/01TSB.html

Where is the crack located?