Air Conditioning Performance

[dinodiesel]

So yesterday (and today) it was 104 degrees F in the shade. My white 2012 Genesis 5.0 had sat outside in the parking lot in full sun all day until 3pm when I started my 50 mile drive home. 70 mph, A/C on, temp low, fan high, recirc on...no cooling. Tried Auto, no recirc, the A with arrows around it, different modes: no improvement. Ambient temperature. After about 20 minutes of this I tried cycling on and off the A/C button. Each time it would blow cold for about 10 seconds. After about 3 tries, the air stayed cool. By the time I got home I was turning the fan down and the temp up with very good cooling, despite an increase in ambient temperature to 108.
Any ideas (besides the "take in to the dealer to have it checked under warranty"). The last time I was there it was 80 degrees and working fine.
Today it worked fine, but I had indoor parking.

 

[mtrot]

So yesterday (and today) it was 104 degrees F in the shade. My white 2012 Genesis 5.0 had sat outside in the parking lot in full sun all day until 3pm when I started my 50 mile drive home. 70 mph, A/C on, temp low, fan high, recirc on...no cooling. Tried Auto, no recirc, the A with arrows around it, different modes: no improvement. Ambient temperature. After about 20 minutes of this I tried cycling on and off the A/C button. Each time it would blow cold for about 10 seconds. After about 3 tries, the air stayed cool. By the time I got home I was turning the fan down and the temp up with very good cooling, despite an increase in ambient temperature to 108.
Any ideas (besides the "take in to the dealer to have it checked under warranty"). The last time I was there it was 80 degrees and working fine.
Today it worked fine, but I had indoor parking.

Interesting. I was in Houston last weekend, and it was about 103 degrees. I noticed that the system just would not put out cold air. On the normal setting, the air was barely cool. When I tried recirculate, the air was cooler, but it never blew cold air. The last couple days when it has been in the low 90's, the system seems to work just fine. I wonder if there is some setting in the system that limits the cooling when it is over 100 degrees.

 

[jlindh]

I'm guessing that the over-pressure switch might be preventing operation at very high ambient temps.

 

[landtuna]

Did either of you start the A/C on "max" or "recirculate" setting after the car had been sitting in the sun with the windows closed all day? If so, here are my suggestions:

1. When parking the car during the daytime park it facing east. That way the sunlight will hit the rear of the car late in the afternoon in the hottest part of the day.
2. Set the rear sunshade.
3. Use a front sunshade.
4. Weather permitting, leave all four windows cracked about 1".
5. After starting the car on the way home set the A/C to a setting that draws outside air into the car leaving all the windows cracked for about five minutes. This will exhaust the super-hot inside air quickly rather than send it back through the A/C unit over and over again.
6. When the A/C air has cooled off a little bit reset it to draw from inside the car and close all windows.

If you car has a sunroof you can also open it briefly with your windows open to exhaust the super-hot air quickly. Go ahead and start the A/C and after a minute or so close the sunroof and windows.

 

[Fast55]

The day after I took delivery of the "G", I had to make a trip to the central Ca. valley for a funeral.

The brand new G struggled with the 98+ degree heat.

The capacity of the system is really not adequate for the application, and I know this from my line of work.

My MB, GM or Honda SUV's do not suffer from this issue in the worst of conditions.

Window tinting is a big help.

My .02.

 

[mtrot]

Did either of you start the A/C on "max" or "recirculate" setting after the car had been sitting in the sun with the windows closed all day? If so, here are my suggestions:

1. When parking the car during the daytime park it facing east. That way the sunlight will hit the rear of the car late in the afternoon in the hottest part of the day.
2. Set the rear sunshade.
3. Use a front sunshade.
4. Weather permitting, leave all four windows cracked about 1".
5. After starting the car on the way home set the A/C to a setting that draws outside air into the car leaving all the windows cracked for about five minutes. This will exhaust the super-hot inside air quickly rather than send it back through the A/C unit over and over again.
6. When the A/C air has cooled off a little bit reset it to draw from inside the car and close all windows.

If you car has a sunroof you can also open it briefly with your windows open to exhaust the super-hot air quickly. Go ahead and start the A/C and after a minute or so close the sunroof and windows.

I didn't. I always start out with the system set to the regular setting for a while so as to draw in outside air. I will try the idea of cracking the windows to expel the super hot air.

 

[mtrot]

The day after I took delivery of the "G", I had to make a trip to the central Ca. valley for a funeral.

The brand new G struggled with the 98+ degree heat.

The capacity of the system is really not adequate for the application, and I know this from my line of work.

My MB, GM or Honda SUV's do not suffer from this issue in the worst of conditions.

Window tinting is a big help.

My .02.

Window tinting will be done tomorrow.

 

[Rey]

I am on my 4th Genesis - two were black colored. All had/have windows tinted.
I too noted that sometimes AC was a bit sluggish to get started. What I did was to dial down the temp setting to as low as possible. That has always got it moving cold air.
I often check the rear heat/ac outlet. It is very easy to accidentally open the vent to produce heat even when the front vents are cold.

 

[mtrot]

I am on my 4th Genesis - two were black colored. All had/have windows tinted.
I too noted that sometimes AC was a bit sluggish to get started. What I did was to dial down the temp setting to as low as possible. That has always got it moving cold air.
I often check the rear heat/ac outlet. It is very easy to accidentally open the vent to produce heat even when the front vents are cold.

Yes, I've noticed that somehow even thought the rear vent is set to "cool", it is blowing hot air and is real slow to blow cold air.

 

[landtuna]

The brand new G struggled with the 98+ degree heat.

I live in the Phoenix area and, as you can tell from all the news coverage, it has been a very hot start to the summer season. Even with the extreme temps though the Genny A/C rarely runs above mid-setting. We do have tint on the windows and that helps but comparing the Genny to all the other cars we've owned the A/C doesn't seem to be a problem.

You might have your system checked just to be sure.

Also, for everybody no matter where you live, it is recommended that you operate your A/C compressor for a minimum of five minutes per month even in cold weather to keep the seals from drying out.

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[kev4]

So yesterday (and today) it was 104 degrees F in the shade. My white 2012 Genesis 5.0 had sat outside in the parking lot in full sun all day until 3pm when I started my 50 mile drive home. 70 mph, A/C on, temp low, fan high, recirc on...no cooling. Tried Auto, no recirc, the A with arrows around it, different modes: no improvement. Ambient temperature. After about 20 minutes of this I tried cycling on and off the A/C button. Each time it would blow cold for about 10 seconds. After about 3 tries, the air stayed cool. By the time I got home I was turning the fan down and the temp up with very good cooling, despite an increase in ambient temperature to 108.
Any ideas (besides the "take in to the dealer to have it checked under warranty"). The last time I was there it was 80 degrees and working fine.
Today it worked fine, but I had indoor parking.

Check your backseat air outlet and ensure it is not pumping out hot air. If so you need to select COLD on the rotary dial at that location. Also open your sunroof for a couple of minutes to allow the hotair to escape while having the system operating at high. Other techniques are to open the front doors and then wave (in and out) one of the doors to fan the hot air out the other side. This method is a quick way to expel hot air from the inside of the car. I have actually done this myself and it does work.

 

[WowCool]

Hi All,
A/C is supposed to work in Hot weather - No Excuses..
If your A/C is not performing it's worth a visit to your local dealer or aircon engineer..It may be your "gas" is low!
I usually just open the windows & sunroof for a few minutes whilst I back out of my parking space, within a few hundred yards of forward motion the aircon is blowing COLD on the Auto setting..

 

[Fast55]

I live in the Phoenix area and, as you can tell from all the news coverage, it has been a very hot start to the summer season. Even with the extreme temps though the Genny A/C rarely runs above mid-setting. We do have tint on the windows and that helps but comparing the Genny to all the other cars we've owned the A/C doesn't seem to be a problem.

You might have your system checked just to be sure.

Also, for everybody no matter where you live, it is recommended that you operate your A/C compressor for a minimum of five minutes per month even in cold weather to keep the seals from drying out.

Actually, you're probably running the compressor in the winter and may not know it. There are 2 ways to dehumidify air, heat it or cool it. Many years ago, helpful car engineers decided to take away your choice on running the compressor or not when you set the system to defrost. Pretty much every new car now automatically brings in the compressor when you send air to the windshield.

 

[nb_mike]

I live in Evansville Indiana area and my 2009 3.8 was slow in cooling in the 90+ high humidity days of Summer. We have been cool this Summer so I don't know how my 2013 3.8 will perform yet. Hopefully better than the old one.

I do plan to use the remote start on real hot days (after setting AC to LOW earlier) so I hope that will work. I wish it the start would also do the seats but it won't

 

[EXBMWGUY]

Living in MN, we get into the high 80s and low 90s with a lot of humidity - so I have to qualify my comments here - it is not Arizona or Texas or Nevada, etc.

There have been times when I found the AC slow to cool the car. But I've found that the less I manhandle the thing and simply leave it in auto mode with a 70 degree the faster it cools and less confused it gets. It goes into recirculate mode when it needs to. I never touch the AC button. I also crack the rear windows for a few minutes and then close them. My $.02.

 

[mtrot]

I live in Evansville Indiana area and my 2009 3.8 was slow in cooling in the 90+ high humidity days of Summer. We have been cool this Summer so I don't know how my 2013 3.8 will perform yet. Hopefully better than the old one.

I do plan to use the remote start on real hot days (after setting AC to LOW earlier) so I hope that will work. I wish it the start would also do the seats but it won't

Do all Genesis sedan models have remote start? The salesman I bought my car from indicated it did not have remote start.

 

[landtuna]

Actually, you're probably running the compressor in the winter and may not know it. There are 2 ways to dehumidify air, heat it or cool it. Many years ago, helpful car engineers decided to take away your choice on running the compressor or not when you set the system to defrost. Pretty much every new car now automatically brings in the compressor when you send air to the windshield.

I should have mentioned that but living in the desert SW we have very limited need for the defrost so running A/C ensures the system seals don't dry out over the very dry winter.

 

[landtuna]

UPDATE:

I took the Genny out for a 30+ mile jaunt down the freeway yesterday. Air temp was 113 (indicated by dash temp gauge). A/C performed normally although the car was initially garaged and, although hot, was not as hot as it would have been sitting in the sun.

Previous vehicles were 2000 Avalon and 2011 Santa Fe and both those were equivalent to the Genny in A/C performance.

Recommendation would be to have the OP see the service department and have them measure the temp of cold air exiting one of the dash openings. IIRC, the temp should be in the lower 30's.

 

[Glashub]

I sold my Genesis last weekend primarily because of the air conditioning problem. We had several 100 + days. The car would not cool off after being left in the sun for even a couple of hours. I tried all kinds of different control combos, etc. It would not do any better than blow lukewarm air even after 5 mins. Then it would cool off nicely until I came to a stop -- back to warm air. It reminded me of the 4cyl. Honda I had in the 70's. Totally unacceptable. If it was parked in the shade -- the air worked -- but it's tough to find shade everywhere.

 

[ockevin]

My ac blows cold all day long. I live in California and its pretty hot now...ac blows cold from the minute I turn on the car.