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I own a 2010 Subaru Forester and my AC isn't cooling very well. Any ideas?

newrivergeorgenewrivergeorge Member Posts: 4
edited July 2014 in Subaru

My AC seems to function quietly and normally. The compressor kicks on and off like it should, the low side pressure is normal and the cores are clean. It all seems to work just fine. But, on a hot day (80+), the air being forced out inside just doesn't feel very cool, unless I'm sitting in a shaded place, when it's noticeably cooler (about like it should -normally- be). I starting noticing this difference about a month ago when the temperature started getting near 90 and seems to have gotten slowly worse. I bought the SUV 20 months ago as a Subaru Certified Used Vehicle and it's now out of warranty with 62K miles on it and is otherwise in overall excellent condition. Does anybody have any ideas why it's not blowing snow, well maybe not snow, but COOL air?

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Answers

  • brian125brian125 Member Posts: 5,244

    There is a leak in the line or it needs a charge.

    23 Telluride SX-P X-Line, 23 Camry XSE

  • newrivergeorgenewrivergeorge Member Posts: 4

    No, I've checked the pressure and it's well within the normal range. The compressor cycles just as it should and all seems well. The air is just not very cool

  • Mr_ShiftrightMr_Shiftright Member Posts: 64,481

    I don't know exactly how your car is set up, but this could be an issue with the secondary cooling fan not kicking in properly. You might do a scan to see if that type of trouble code pops up. I had the exact same problem on my MINI and it was the secondary fan module--if you can't blow air on the condenser then the refrigerant just stays too warm. The fact that your AC works better in the shade makes me think this could be the issue, possibly.

  • newrivergeorgenewrivergeorge Member Posts: 4

    The cabin (inside) fan blows well on both heat and cool. All speeds seem to works fine. I can't figure it out! I'll likely end up having the system drained & recharged. I had to do the same with my last 01 Forester. I recall now it did the same thing several years ago with no answers. I had most wearing parts replaced, a vacuum pulled and a total recharge.

  • sgloonsgloon Member Posts: 323
    My 2010 Forester AC does not work well either. The other thing it does is blows cold air when the AC is not on or visa versa. Drove an hour in 90F without AC on and was fine. Other times it is on and won't get cool enough. Dealership said they couldn't fix as it was intermittent. Any thoughts. I asked if it could be just the LED indicator not working, ie looose connection? They said no.
  • newrivergeorgenewrivergeorge Member Posts: 4
    I recently spoke with an auto parts chain store sales person. he said he'd heard from Several People, that they were having unsolvable problems with a couple of 2010 model Subaru AC systems. I have checked ALL of the "easy to access" possibilities on mine. I DID have an older model Forester (90s) that did the SAME THING. I had the system drained, a vacuum pulled and had it refilled with new coolant. The belt and a thermostat were also replaced as a precaution (they were not bad, yet). After that and $250, it worked well, then I gave it to my son.
  • sgloonsgloon Member Posts: 323
    Yikes, that is a total overhaul. I'm almost wondering if part of my problem is whether the flaps that direct the airflow are part of the problem rather than the AC. At least we are coming into winter and I won't need it for a while, so I'll have some time to think about it.
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