Chevy SS Forum banner

Is your A/C satisfactory on 80+ degree times?

1 reading
8.5K views 31 replies 29 participants last post by  Skilter  
#1 ·
I'm curious if others are finding their a/c output marginal, at best at times when the outside temp is 80 plus? Compared to your other rigs?
I find when I push auto and even with both dials set to low I find it doesn't cool the car adequately. The only recourse seems to be increasing fan speed which is annoying. Using recirc. setting doesn't yield any perceptible improvement.
On my Toyota FJ I find I'm turning down the a/c after getting going a ways, but the SS has to be on max to be marginal.
(2015 SS, 3K miles):whatdoyouthink:
 
#2 ·
No issues here in 110 degree Vegas heat. Maybe it's time for a trip into the service department.

You can always use a analog meat thermometer to see how cold your air is blowing and how hot the car is when you can get in.

Also, if you WOT it will turn off the AC. So maybe you are doing that to much? :)
 
#4 ·
Texan here. On hot days, I set the fan to max (12), hit recirculate (would it be better to first roll the windows down and blow fresh air, displacing the hot stale air?). Then, I set the vents to bi-level for two reasons: 1. Hot feet suck. 2. I think it gives the ass-blower fans in the seat colder air with which to fan my jiblets.

But above 90 degrees, I agree, that the A/C system is a little disappointing considering this car was built for Australia.
 
#5 ·
This summer, ambient temps in the Phoenix metro area have been in the low 100s, with occasional excursions north of 110F. The SS's A/C seems about average, taking a couple of minutes before it feels cold at the vent, and maybe up to ten minutes before the cabin is comfortable. Once there, it manages to keep the cabin comfortable irrespective of sun.

I've driven other cars that provided cool air sooner, but failed to keep the cabin comfortable when in direct sun. And I've driven cars that were uncomfortably warm for my entire commute.

It gets so hot in the parked SS that the MyLink display breaks up into rapidly scrolling static for the first handful of minutes after I start the car... and that is after I've parked with the sunroof cracked open, a folding reflective sunshade in the windshield area, and a suction-cup shade mesh for the rear window. I have a separate nylon/neoprene cover for the manual shift knob, whose metal top gets too hot to touch. I'm still trying to find a good way to wrap the seatbelt knuckle so that I don't burn my hand. As the cabin gets more comfortable, the MyLink display seems to gradually restore to normal.

That said, I have not yet tinted my windows, which is practically a requirement in the deserts of the southwest, mostly because there's no good way to preview the final tint and I'm concerned about having good visibility at night. Safety overrides comfort.
 
#7 ·
Here in the northwest we are not accustomed to high temps. The record for 90+ degree days in one year was 9. This year we broke the record and are at 11 and more to come. We have hit 100 only 2 times at SEATAC. I would bet you have AC in your home as I do. Do you work indoors where it is cool? I too feel the AC could be a bit cooler. I need to keep the fan on 8 or higher for short trips. When you live where it is 100+ often, 80 would feel great. For me 72 is happy, 67 is great. Older cars had no limiters on the AC and cold was COLD. I don't remember what year the new regulations were but my 91 was COLD and my 97 was not so cold. Over all the SS HVAC system, heat or cool, works best on long drives. What I really don't like is the hot air that comes out when it is set on low with AC off, fan on or off does not matter.
 
#8 ·
I had issues as well not having it cool as well as my last car until today when I discovered rotating the dial past 60* to LO.

LO, Auto, closing the rear seat vent, and the seat on full cool and it works great. For the first time I got a chill on a 92* afternoon.
 
#10 ·
I have a meat thermometer in my vent all the time and if I am in the car long enough I will see 38* air out of the vents when set to LO and recirculate. Recirculate makes a huge difference. I had the car a week with out tinted windows and if it ever got heat soaked then it would take forever to cool down. I tinted the windows and the windshield and that made a HUGE difference in being able to cool the car down.

I would love to see 80* degree days again.
 
  • Like
Reactions: LAG
#11 ·
I'm outside of Atlanta...I wouldn't call it a problem or concern...average, I do have tint though. I will say it is not as good as when I had my Benz...that was the best heating and cooling I have experienced without question.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Beachrider
#13 ·
Remember you can set the fan speed in the settings to max at low, medium or high when set to Auto. Maybe yours is set low so it would take longer to work on Auto at startup.
 
#14 ·
No issues here either and we hit 90-100 most of the summer. When I park outside I put he A./C to 5 or 6 before shutting down, then when I remote start, the A/C begins cooling down as we go.

35% tint on the windows and I put a UVS sunshade in the windshield when parked.
 
#15 ·
You guys in Vegas and Aridzona have it so rough. 100 and 110 degrees. How can you stand it? We have 95 to 100 degrees, a dew point of 76 degrees and humidity of 72% for a heat index of 110 to 115. All you have to do is stand perfectly still outside and sweat till your clothes are soaked in 15 minutes or less. However, our great SS has never failed to give cooling relief. I put it on LO crack the roof to exhaust the hot air then set the temp to 73. No complaints here with our AC.
 
#16 ·
We have been 95-100 degrees for the past few weeks here, and the car seems to cool just fine to me. I do have to close the inside cover for the sunroof.

I do miss having remote start though, as it was really nice to be able to fire up my '14 and hop in once it was already cool, especially for short little trips where the A.C. doesn't have a chance to really catch up with the heat.
 
#17 ·
mine is great, i do shutdown the rear vent when not in use. and when on recycle, low temp, and 12 I have to put it on dual mode to make it quiet enough to talk ( I love how it auto slows for phone calls).

I have only felt uncomfortable when the car has sat in direct sunlight in the summer (100-110 here) and I haven't remote started the car (use the app if you are far away) that's the only time its every felt warm for me. As long as it runs for a minute or two remotely in that scenario its been fine. The range of the fob is like 3x what my G8's was.


Once it didn't blow cold period, and I stopped the car and restarted it then it was fine. Very odd only happened once.
 
#18 · (Edited)
I do have additionally tinted side windows, and it was the long road trip that surprised me. It feels to me strangely like the vents are blowing cold enough yet somehow lacks the volume (seer rating, as home AC guys say?) to cool the whole enchilada down to where I can turn the temp back from LOW to something in the 70 range. If the thing truly cooled to 60 or less at the dial suggests, on LOW I should need a sweater. I see a mixed bag of reviews so I'm thinking its 'normal' on this vehicle. I don't have home a/c and I work in the open door environ for he who asked :~} Maybe some folks are happy with the fan on +4 speeds blowing like a jet engine? lol To me, it just seems less efficient or sufficient like my Toyota's unit.
 
#19 ·
If you are operating the AC in AUTO make sure the fan setting in the configuration menu is at least Medium or High, otherwise the system will limit the fan output.
 
#20 ·
No issues with ours in bright sun, 95+ temps in AUTO mode. Usually have to adjust temp setting up a degree or two on prolonged drives or highway trips. For us, opening the console vents seems to help keep a steady temp & prompts more even air circulation.
 
#21 ·
I've thought several times the a/c doesn't perform as well as I think it should. under ANY real acceleration; it blows hot until RPMS drop back down. I've experienced this in other cars before but not to the extreme this operates. I'm in southern Utah/Vegas climate so its pretty hot....

I set my 2004 infiniti m45 (had since new, sold to buy SS) auto a/c @ 75 degrees and it was always perfect. I never adjusted it.
 
#22 · (Edited)
I've thought several times the a/c doesn't perform as well as I think it should. under ANY real acceleration; it blows hot until RPMS drop back down. I've experienced this in other cars before but not to the extreme this operates. I'm in southern Utah/Vegas climate so its pretty hot....

I set my 2004 infiniti m45 (had since new, sold to buy SS) auto a/c @ 75 degrees and it was always perfect. I never adjusted it.
I'm getting the impression it is satisfactory to some and not others, yet operating as designed.
My opinion is it isn't broken, just under-designed for the likes of some. I'm aware of wide open throttle a/c cut-out, manufacturers have used this for years on many vehicles, to maximize power by dropping parasitic loads.
 
#24 ·
any AC from the past 10 years sucks in comparison to my 85 pontiac perisian. R-12 you could see your breath.
 
#27 ·
Same complaint, here, with 1500 miles on the clock. I'm suspecting it may be related to to radiator cooling fans on/off or a combination of correct high/low speed between the two. Only seems to cool efficiently at highway cruising speeds. My 2011 Silverado cools without any trouble in the Houston climate.
 
#28 ·
Welcome to the forum MySStic!