I have only had my truck two weeks and right off the bat, I noticed the AC system is pitiful..... I have been running it on MAX AC and fan speed on HIGH just to stay somewhat comfortable but....I still end up getting out with sweaty back..... Questioning this, i grabbed my trusty digital thermometer that I use for all my AC work and I was shocked to see the vent temps.... This thing struggles to get below 50* at the vents....after running it for 20-25 mins it will eventually touch 48* for a split second, then the compressor cycles off and the temp jumps to 51-52*.... This is HORRIBLE considering the amount of cab volume we have and ofcourse the black leather...

I noticed that as soon as you start the truck and hit the MAX AC, temps go to the bottom 60s, then after 5-8 mins it goes to the mid to high 50s...then the compressor cycles OFF and the temps go back up to low 60s.... All of this in the first 15 mins or so.....Eventually the cycles slow down and the temps drop to low 50s but..... This is beyond pitiful performance...... Even my 40 year old corvette will get 42* vent temps..... My 06 Chev Silverado crew cab I traded in on this F150 would go from 120* in the vents down to 45* in the vents in about 5 mins....it would usually flatten out at 40-42* and stay in that range....

Is there any updated ECU tunes for the AC system? anyone else been to the dealer for this? For a $45k truck, I EXPECT way more cooling then this......I under stand this is a big cabin with hot leather and it takes a while to cool the CABIN but....the VENT TEMPS should get cold quick, and this one never does...

Thoughts?

 

Thats it and yours gets colder than others. The ac systems in the f150 been this way since 2004 and its the same way in my 08 fx4 but the lower the oat gets the colder ac is in truck works well with no load

 

My fiance's 2011 Fusion has the same issue. Gotta run her all the way down to get cold, but once it cools off it stays pretty cool as long as you keep her blasting, I guess that's b/c there's not as much cab space in that little car compared to your truck... Just doesnt seem to work as well as the a/c in my '07 Dodge Ram Hemi quad cab. & Neither does the a/c in my '03 F-150 for that matter, it sucks bad. Thats One thing I miss about that dodge is the A/C!!!

 

i have no problems with mine for over a year with the auto ac system leaving it on auto set at 70 degrees and on recirculate.

 

With max A/C, the compressor should never shut off. At least it doesnt do that in my 98

 

I JUST finished a test run this evening....trying different settings with the AC system, logging vent temps etc etc.... tonight was down to 88* ambient. For the first half of the test, I ran the blower on HIGH and ran the temperature at 60*..... I tried Auto, MAX AC and normal..... no measureable difference in vent temps between the 3.... Running it in recirc was good for a few degrees reduction on any of the 3 settings... I also noticed that as expected, the fan speed really affects the discharge temps....leading me to believe the evaporator is probably under sized..... I could get a 15* swing in temps just by going from fan speed low to fan speed high.. All testing was done after the truck was running with the AC on for about 20 mins...



88* ambient, sun down, system fully ran in and cab cool

MAX AC, RECIRC
Fan on HI -- 48* cycle off, 52* cycle on

Fan on Med -- 45.8* cycle off, 49* cycle on

Fan on Low -- 42.8* cycle off, 48* cycle on



AUTO , RECIRC, temp set at 60*
47.5-48* cycle off, 52* cycle on



These vent temps dont look that bad but....running the fan speed up where you need it to get the volumn to cool the cabin jacks the vent temps up considerably.... Tonight I was completely comfortable after the system was ran in but.....honestly, it wasnt that hot out, the cabin wasnt heat soaked when I started and i ran the truck for an hour.....I would freakin hope it would be cool inside....



My AC activity during the day at 100* is NOTHING like what it did tonight..... I will do some testing tomorrow during the heat of the day. I know the fan speed will have to stay on high or close to it so vent temps aren't going to go below 50*...



I tell you this, the Vintage Air system in my old Vette would DESTROY the ac in this brand new truck.... I can run the system in the Vette with the blower on HI (which has WAY more volumn then the truck fan btw) and it will run 40-42* during a 100* day...

Im pretty disappointed in the F150 AC system...

 

Yea I've had the same issues with the AC. Down here in the SW it just isn't doing well. I've wondered also if they increased the thickness of the air/ac interchange if it wouldn't help since I've noticed the same thing with the fan speed.

 

I can comment that it is the hvac in general, not just the ac. The heater is sub par in my opinion as well. Letting the truck run for 15 mins at 0 degrees and the heat is just barely starting to kick on. In my 08 silverado it would be damn close to roasting me out in the same situation. And my ac is also very poor. This is something the ford engineers really need to address.

 

ya not impressed with the ac in mine. i thought it wasn't working properly.

 

I'm not overly disappointed with the AC, but I'm not overly satisfied either. I live in DFW and there is a *HUGE* difference between using the AC after the truck has been sitting in the sun vs the shade or garage.

And with the air temp hoovering easily at 105* the past couple weeks, I totally understand that it might be struggling a little bit. High temp is supposed to be 111* today. I can't realistically expect the inside of the truck to get cold.

 

Now I will say my fiance's fusion DOES work a LOT better on auto than doing it yourself.... There's a noticeable difference.

Yesterday it was near 100* & the truck had been in the sun & this is as cool as she would get to



So I feel your pain.

 

Damn.... THAT ^^^ really sucks.....

BTW this morning I started it up and went for a run... With the AC on MAX and the fan speed at 90%, the vent temps dropped to 44-45* within about 5-8 mins....this is what I would expect all the time. This was from the first cold start of the day and only about 90* outside. I parked it for an hour, somewhat in the sun, started it up and it was 130* vent temps. Put the AC on MAX and fan at 90% (one bar on the graph not showing) and the temps got down to 55* on the same drive home....about 15-20 mins. It just touched 54* as I pulled in.

Things I have noticed:

*The AC will instantly start to cool down when the truck is moving from stopped...not just from the increased air flow but more from the RPM increase and spinning the compressor faster....as soon as its up to 10 mph its already dropped 2-3* vent temps...It is INSTANT... that tells me the pulley on the compressor is likey undersized...it needs to spin faster at idle.

*Once the cabin/AC system system is super heated (like being parked in the heat for an hour), the AC compressor cycles off way too soon....Today I saw the compressor cycle off with the vent temp at 55*.....no reason it should have cycled off unless the high side pressure was TOO high but...I just cant see the pressure being that high when we only have vent temps of 55* and the evaporator temp was probably 40*

*Fan speed has a MAJOR role in vent temps. This is very common in auto HVAC systems but I notice it WAY more in this new F150 then any other vehicle I have owned. A 10-15* swing in vent temps from Fan HI to Fan LO....that shows the evaporator is undersized for the amount of air volume coming through it....(which isnt much to start with judging by the air pressure coming out of the dash vents)....

Basically I think the whole system is inadequate....not enough air flow and not enough evaporator capacity to shed BTUs from the air flow that is does have.....It is marginal at lower ambient temps and cabin heat but once its really hot, there is not enough reserve cooling to cope with the additional heat and it just over works the system...

Just not something you would expect out of a $45k vehicle....especially a truck that has plenty of room for a big evaporator, big condensor, big ducts, big blower etc etc...

My old 02 F150 AC would anniliate this truck..... Probably not worth taking it to the dealer though because its probably not going to show anything wrong...Especially if they check it in the morning or after its been sitting in the shade... Vent temps and pressures will be in check...

 

Not big on ac knowledge but im sure someone such as your self would know. Is it possible its low on freon even though you just bought it.

 

Yep....its always possible..... Either it could have been undercharged from the factory or ofcourse there is always a chance of a leak..... Usually checking it with a set of gauges to see the low/high pressure will indicate if freon level is way off or not....But no way to tell if the proper amount of freon by weight is in the system without evacuating the system and refilling it by weight....

When I take my truck in to the dealer for the first oil change, I will have them check the AC system performance. But I am sure they will tell me nothing is wrong.

 

Mine is okay. Would be awesome if that could be addressed in a custom tune or even software update. I am sure it's all for MPG. My 06 explorer will freeze me out no matter how hot it is outside and it has black leather interior instead of gray.

For what it's worth it's better than my friends 2009 dodge hemi crew.