A/C blowing lukewarm air

CHRISAUSTIN

MEMBER
2009 HONDA CRV
2.4L
4 CYL
2WD
AUTOMATIC
90,000 MILES

Hello 2CarPros.

Thank you for this service. It's always very helpful.

Our CRV is having trouble with the A/C. The A/C is not working except for on the rare occasion it turns on for a few minutes as if normal. The fan blows. It blows normal room temperature air.

Should we get an A/C service at jiffy Lube?
or
Does this sound like a different problem?

Thanks,
Chris and Megan

5 Replies

KASEKENNY

MECHANIC
18,907 POSTS

Here is a guide that talks about this issue in a little more detail:

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/car-air-conditioner-not-working-or-is-weak

I suspect the fact that it works sometimes, the system is just low on Freon. We can tell this by checking pressures. If you are going to have someone do that part of it then that is a good place to start. However, we could have a compressor issue so we need to check to see if the compressor is even coming on.

If it is not coming on, it could still be a low Freon level (almost empty) or a voltage issue, or just the compressor has failed.

So finding out if the compressor engages or not is an important piece of info.

Let me know if you have questions and what you find with this and we can go from there. Thanks

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Friday, April 24th, 2020 AT 10:32 AM

CHRISAUSTIN

MEMBER
13 POSTS

Okay, thanks.

Megan did say that at the start of last winter, the heater wasn't coming on. Then after a few days of trying it, it kicked on and worked perfectly all winter. Not sure if that's connected to the A/C, but the A/C kicked on (then off).

Rather than fixing several problems, I'd like to just go get Freon boost.

I am pretty handy, not sure if a compressor replacement is in my skill set.

Thanks again.

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Friday, April 24th, 2020 AT 11:12 AM

KASEKENNY

MECHANIC
18,907 POSTS

Okay. If it kicks on and off repeatedly that is called short cycling and is a sign of low Freon. Let us know if you want to try it but it’s not the easiest repairs but if you want to try it we can walk through it with you.

Thanks for the update.

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Friday, April 24th, 2020 AT 5:32 PM

CHRISAUSTIN

MEMBER
13 POSTS

Just a follow up here. We took the car to Jiffy Lube today for a Freon treatment. They didn't put any in and told us that the car does not need Freon. He said that the car's compressor isn't working. Is it possible to tell how much Freon is in a car? Can we trust this?

If it is the compressor, is this a part that can easily be installed in a CRV?

Thanks,
Chris

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Sunday, May 10th, 2020 AT 12:22 PM

KASEKENNY

MECHANIC
18,907 POSTS

I attached the process for your review.

As for knowing if it is full, they can tell this by hooking up a gauge set and seeing what the pressures were in the system. If they did this they should be able to tell you what the pressures were. Some people just push down on one of the valves and see if there is pressure and Freon in the system and think that is sufficient. These people should not be working on cars. So if they gave you a receipt, see if it lists the pressures. If they don't call and ask them what they were. If they don't remember then I would either get a second opinion or make them do it again and give you the numbers.

I attached a chart of proper pressures based on ambient temps. Let me know if you get the pressures and we can figure it out. Thanks

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