2012 Explorer - No AC at low speed - idle OK?

[arandazz]

I have a 2012 Explorer Limited that is having intermittent AC problems. The problem became apparent when I got stuck in highway traffic for 10 miles where we moved along at 5-15 mph with several complete stops (it was 92 degrees out). Once past the congestion and back to 55 mph the AC was fine.

I made an appointment with the dealer and had them look at it. Initially they could not reproduce the problem, so I spent some time with them and figured out what conditions cause the problem.

Outside temperature needs to be 90+. After driving for several minutes at 15 mph eventually it will start blowing hot air. You can hear the compressor try to cycle on every 10-15 seconds. If you start to drive at 40mph for several minutes the AC starts working. If you sit at idle for several minutes it again starts working.

At the dealer I drove the car a few miles until the AC blew hot; then came back and had the tech observe the issue. Both fans were running and you could hear the compressor short cycling. After several minutes of sitting at idle the AC started working again; and continued to work at idle. I then tried to increase idle to 2500 RPM to mimic slow driving. I was unable to hold it steady as the compressor kept cycling.

After that exercise the dealer reprogramed the computer to solve the problem. I picked the car up the next day and everything seemed OK. Outside temp was 82. The next several days were in the 80s and the AC was fine. Now its back in the 90s and I'm getting the same problem.

It seems to be a cooling problem that is causing the issue. What's strange is the cooling fans are working and the temp gauge is normal.

Any thoughts on how to resolve the problem?

 

[plumbago]

Surely when you had it in the Dealer checked for the proper amount of Freon ? The short cycling of the compressor indicates low Freon may be a cause.....

 

[peterk9]

Welcome to the Forum arandazz.:wavey:
There is a TSB for the 2011 models concerning the 'Blend Door Actuator'.
Not sure if that is the problem you are having. The TSB is shown in the 'Sticky' section in the thread about 2011 - 2012 TSBs.

12-1-8 DUAL AUTOMATIC TEMPERATURE CONTROL (DATC) - BLEND DOOR ACTUATOR INOPERATIVE
ISSUE:
Some 2011 Explorer vehicles equipped with DATC system may experience unresponsive temperature change when requested and/or erratic temperature change.

Also, as plumbago mentioned, I hope they checked the cooling fluid level. Not sure if they still use Freon. My home A/C uses Puron.

Peter

 

[Newells4]

I have a 2014 and I experienced this twice. The first time going slow in traffic, AC on Max Cold, it started blowing warm air. I thought it was a fluke. Yesterday in Boston traffic, the temperature coming out of the vents was really warm on Max Cold. Once I was up to speed it was fine. I will bring it in next week.

Rich

 

[MrQ]

You know, just a thought here, most vehicles on hard acceleration shut off the A/C compressor to free up horsepower and turn it back when at a level rpm.

 

[peterk9]

Doubt that is the issue here as the OP reports it works okay at idle and low speed and sometimes seems temperature dependent.

Peter

 

[FordService]

...After that exercise the dealer reprogramed the computer to solve the problem. I picked the car up the next day and everything seemed OK. Outside temp was 82. The next several days were in the 80s and the AC was fine. Now its back in the 90s and I'm getting the same problem...

What's your Explorer's current mileage, arandazz? I want to check out some ways to help.

I have a 2014 and I experienced this twice. The first time going slow in traffic, AC on Max Cold, it started blowing warm air. I thought it was a fluke. Yesterday in Boston traffic, the temperature coming out of the vents was really warm on Max Cold. Once I was up to speed it was fine. I will bring it in next week.

Rich

That's a great next step, Rich. Additionally, I'd like to loop in your regional customer service manager so they can assist. To make that happen, PM me your full name, best daytime phone number, VIN, current mileage, and servicing dealership. I'll get things moving in the right direction.

Crystal

 

[arandazz]

What's your Explorer's current mileage, arandazz? I want to check out some ways to help.
Crystal

Mileage is 35,200. I have an appointment tomorrow with the dealer to have them look at it again.

This past week its been in the 80s and everything's been OK. Today and tomorrow will be in the 90s so it should happen again.

Thanks for all the suggestions. I'll report back on the status.

 

[arandazz]

So I was able to reproduce the AC problem yesterday. The events were as follows. Temperature outside was 94.

I drove 10 miles home from work, parked and shut off the car for fifteen minutes. I started it up drove around our development at 15mph for few minutes with the AC set to LO and medium fan speed. It was blowing cold air. I then pressed the max AC button and continued to drive at 15mph. Within a minute it was blowing hot air. (total test drive was a little over 1 mile before it stopped working)

I parked in our driveway and it continued to blow hot air at idle for over 5 minutes. While it was not working I observed both cooling fans running and the compressor turning on for 2 seconds then remaining off for 30 seconds. The compressor pattern continued until I turned off the car.

I came back in fifteen minutes, started the car and the AC worked correctly.

 

[FordService]

Mileage is 35,200. I have an appointment tomorrow with the dealer to have them look at it again.

This past week its been in the 80s and everything's been OK. Today and tomorrow will be in the 90s so it should happen again.

Thanks for all the suggestions. I'll report back on the status.

Sounds good, arandazz. I'll keep an eye on this thread in case you need my assistance.

Crystal

 

[xplanfan]

I had a similar sounding problem where the A/C would not stay on at idle/low speeds. My Ford mechanic was able to fix this problem by reprograming the cooling fans. He said that Ford had a TSB out on this. Odd thing was that this problem just started as the summer weather hit St. Louis this year. I wonder if a previous programming update introduced this new bug?