A/C sucks

Anyone sales a/c sucks. It's terrible in the summer time and at idle. I dont know if anyone esle does the same. Some other things I'm unsure of is max a/c doesnt change fan speed. And recycle seems not to work because I can still smell stuff from outside. Sure 100° outside doesnt help but this thing sucks

When set up and working properly the A/C in these cars is very good. Sounds like yours isn't working 100%. There's a sticky here somewhere for A/C diagnosis and fix.

Does your fan speed increase when you go to Max AC even if you already have the fan on high

No. It sounds louder on recirc but it doesn't increase speed. I rarely run the fan above 2 anyway. But it's not 100 here.

Harbor Freight sells a/c gauges for $60 (less 20% w/ coupon) if you can handle it.

Caution: if this is beyond your skill set, seek qualified assistance.

Refrigerant is $10-15/ can.
https://www.harborfreight.com/ac-r134a-manifold-gauge-set-62707.html
Google image 134a temp pressure chart for correct values. Good luck, John

I would have the AC charge checked.

I think some of these cars left the factory under-charged, my 13 AC also sucked and after replacing a cracked refrigerant line they charged the AC and by the invoice they put in 580g of refrigerant and now my AC is good and cold, in fact you can't leave on max for long even in the upper 90's.

I had to change that valve on the compressor last year and put a vac on it and serviced to correct pressures and it's just as bad as it was before that valve took a dump. Checked pressure over the weekend and it was within range for the temp outside. Might throw another can in it. when I'm driving and pull to a light you can feel it get warmer noticable. On high it's hard to keep the car cool I have a daughter in my car so I would like it a bit cooler than it's current state

Are the cooling fans running when the A/C is on? If not the system gets too hot and will blow warm.

If this is on an NMS Passat, your first step is to check the Climate module for DTCs, it is possible the recirc motor (which are made in China) has died. Quite common.

The "max" setting is just another way of turning on the recirculation mode, it does not change the speed of the blower... that is normal for any car.

You also need to make sure BOTH the fan motors are working. You can also monitor the refrigerant pressure sensor with a scan tool in the Climate data.

Thank you I will look into those I just know on my GMC truck and suv the fan speed kicks up when I go to Max AC

No it doesn't. The pitch changes, the airflow changes, but the blower motor SPEED does not change. If it does, that is the very first car I have ever heard of that does that, and we work and service just about everything here.

Max speed is max speed. Period.

Yea fans are running!

Okay makes sense. Thanks for that info

My goal now is to add a wee bit more 134 and pull the glove box to look at the recerc motor. If its inop ima pull the motor open the door and install it in recerc mode for now to see if it helps a little bit and if it is bad get a part

Never add refrigerant. Ever. The level of charge on any modern vehicle, but ESPECIALLY ones with variable compressors (which is quite a few now) is extremely critical for proper operation. The only proper way to have a proper charge level is to pull it all out, pull it to vacuum, and recharge with the full amount.

I cannot count how many times we get cars in here that have been overcharged. Those little cans are like money printing machines for people who service automotive A/C.

As mentioned above, the first step in diagnosing the A/C system in the NMS (as well as many other models) is to avail yourself of the car's own OBD. That is what it is there for. Super simple, quick, easy, you won't even get your hands dirty.

Yup. You can view the system pressures too and get an idea of the charge level. Scan tool is your first step.

The climatronic / air conditioner on your '12 should work really well, even at idle.

-J

I'm going to borrow my friends bidirectional scanner in a few days to see. But I went ahead and pulled glove box pretty simple and view the flapper and sure enough recerc doesnt work. Pulled the motor off and put in recerc mode and my god I hit the jack pot. Cold air!

Yep, and the Climate module could have told you that (although the lack of recirc is generally pretty obvious).

Hopefully that is the only Chinese HVAC motor that dies in your car...because the others are not so easy to get to:







They seem to be WORSE on 2015+ cars though, for some reason.

Yea I hope none of the rest go out. Pulling dashboards are not fun haha. I'm sure you have it down pretty well though!

Actually it is not too bad. The NMS' dash is nicely constructed, very good materials. Worst part is there is no easy way to do it without taking the front seats out, which isn't hard either, but just adds more time to the job.

Still finicky to get in there on the on motor, though. It is behind a bracket on the driver's side of the case, in the middle, and I had to get a 6mm zero offset ratchet wrench (cute little thing!) to make it faster to get one of the screws.... otherwise, you'd have to do even more work.

Dash work on newish cars, so long as the owner/operator is a total pig, is pretty nice. You don't get dirty. And with all the Ford and Toyota evap cores failing left and right lately, we have plenty of opportunity. The Ford Transits are the best, you have to remove the right DOOR to get the dash out! LMAO!!!!