Mitsubishi Outlander Heating Ventilation and A/C

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blackb13

Since it's been subzero here in Chicago lately, I've had a great opportunity to use the heater in the Outlander. There is a major problem.

When idling, the temp coming from the vents drops DRAMATICALLY (luke warm at best). When moving again, the heat comes up to full temp.

I've tried the "auto" setting, full heat setting, different heat locations (floor, defrost,etc...) with no difference.

This is especially annoying since I drive in mostly "stop and go" rush hour traffic. The truck blows hot air, then luke warm air, then hot air, etc... It's very annoying.

Can anyone else please confirm this? I'm going to write an extremely long winded letter to MMNA describing the now 4th major problem in this vehicle.

marrigo13

Yup, I have the same issue. Pretty noticeable when the temps are in single digits the last few days. Not sure if it's by design or not. The user manual is kind of confusing regarding how the heater works. It's really annoying since I have a remote starter and it blows luke warm air while warming up. So much for defrosting the windows with the remote starter. I guess I can add that issue to the the phone call I'll be making tomorrow regarding the radio issue I have.

ginobili_fan

Yeah my new Outlander does the exact same thing. I had the same problem with my 2002 Galant that I had before this car also. It is very annoying, especially when I live in the mid-West and depend on that bad boy for some heat! If I didn't have the seat warmers it would really be a problem.

blackb13

I've made an appointment for the truck to get looked at. In addition, I've made a call to the MMNA's customer service department to inform them about the issue (in addition to the other ones). He said he'll log the problem(s) into his computer for future reference.

I'd encourage everyone else to at least call MMNA to ensure that our problems are being resolved in a quick and orderly fashion.

supersail

Yep, same problem here. Funny thing is, if you shift into park then the heat comes back on. Back to drive it goes away.

rcpax

Here's my experience with my Outlander heating system. I live in NW IN so we pretty much get negative temps here too. In my Outlander, the fan (on auto) doesn't blow hot air UNTIL there is a reading in the water temp gauge. I have an XLS with auto climate control, so I just set my temp to 75-80F, set fan to auto, blower config to auto. So far I've been getting constant temps on this setup, in idle or running.

From what I understand, the hot air actually comes from the heated air in the radiator. So inorder for the air blown to be hot, the engine needed to be sufficiently warmed up.

And in this wintery conditions, the heated seats are a lifesaver. Definitely worth it.

marrigo13

Probably should have specified that I have the LS, so no climate control. Even after the vehicle is heated up fully, cool air is blown out when idled. Doesn't seem to matter if it's in park or drive, but I'll try and remember to check later today.

blackb13

It doesn't matter if it's set to "auto" or manual. It still blows luke warm/cold air when coming to a stop or while parked. In addition, this is when the truck is up to normal operating temp.

blackb13

After calling corporate and making my appointment at my Mitsu dealer, here's the update...

The service tech used a digital thermometer and measured a variance of ~20* difference in heat between moving and staying idle. I informed him that it's probably more then that, but the truck was extremely warmed up from the 45+ min drive. In addition, it hasn't been subzero here in about a week.

He had specific instructions (from corporate) and he told me that he was going to contact corporate and tell him what he found. He's going to let me know if that's within spec or not.

I suggest calling your dealer (and possibly corporate) if you're experiencing the same problem. MMNA has been more then cordial with me and I'm really starting to enjoy the experience that I've received from them.

marrigo13

I talked with MMNA on Friday. According to the customer service rep I talked with, they are aware of the issue and trying to figure out a way to fix it. They asked a few questions regarding whether it only occurred when the defroster was on etc.. They indicated it would be taken care of with a service bulletin, and that the bulletin would likely be out within the next two to three months.

blackb13

Dealer still hasn't got any new information regarding the stupid heat issue. I'm suprised no one else has noticed this. Maybe they live in warmer climates?

Oh well.

dodo2

I know some people posting on this forum live in cold areas.

Growwise,
How is the heating keeping up with the the cold weather in Toronto these days (-20 Celsius)?

rcpax

I live in NW Indiana, and we get negative temps here too. My Outlander's heater does a perfect job. No problems about blowing cold air on idle or when running. I just hit the preset temp, and the auto-climate does it's magic. So the heating problem is not on every Outlander. so for those having that problem, have it checked by the dealer.

marrigo13

FYI, the heater isssue does not seem to be present in the models with climate control. Only the standard heater/AC (no preset temp) appears to have the issue. MMNA told me they were researching the problem. i have not heard from them lately.

blackb13

Well, mine has the problem and it has auto climate control.

My friend has the same model and his does the exact same thing. It's really noticeable before the truck is piping hot.

So when it's early in the morning, temps in the 20's, the truck takes some time to fully warm up. As it's warming up, I have the heat on 78 (for example). I'll start driving and after about 20min, the truck starts blowing nice very warm/warm air out of the vents (doesn't matter which setting), but as I come to a stop, the air gets to be cool/warm. When I start driving, it's back to being hot again.

As I said, after driving the truck for 45min and it's fully warmed up, the heat is not an issue. The dealer did measure a difference of at least 20*f between idling and revving the motor and that's when the truck was fully warmed up (1hr). I can tell the difference between 50* and 70* easier then between 125* and 145*. That's what I'm experiencing for the first 0-20min of my drive. I only work 30min away from home, so you can see why I'm frustrated.

growwise

I leave the temp at 20 celsius and rest of the two dials in auto mode. Auto mode for some strange reason wants outside air which is very cold to begin with. I have to hit the recirculate button to make the warmup go quicker.

Whenever I turn the auto climate control, AC light comes on. Why does it need AC in the middle of winter? Especially when it is trying to heat from subzero temps to room temp..

I click on the middle knob and ac light goes away which is what I want until the summer... It also comes on when I turn the rightmost knob from auto to windshield defrost mode which I got no problem with though as it clears the fogging.

thepassenger

Blame it on the US litigation system. Car manufacturers have been sued because the driver did not know that you are supposed to have the recirc button OFF to defog. Windows fogged (by driver error), accident resulted, car company sued for foggy windows and faulty climate control. That is why many American brands don't even have a recirc option (my Escape for example).

If Mitsu is going to offer an Auto setting they are going to cover their butts by having the AC come on when you select it because, god forbid, you should get in an accident from window fogging. They do give you the option of not having the AC come on in Auto mode. See page 5-31, Personalizing the Air Conditioner switch, in the owners manual. Most answers to these kinds of questions can be found in the OM.

dodo2

I second this. My other recent model (05) Japanese car works the same, except for the fact that the A/C light does not come on when on defog position. However, I know the A/C compressor is working. Also, when the heat is on and I drive in stop-and-go traffic, it blows warm air, but not cold. When I'm driving at the highway speed, it blows hot air. This is with the same heater setting and with the car fully warmed up. It may not help with the issue posted in this thread, but I figured that it may be a common design in today's cars.
I don't know what is the rational behind it, but I'm curious to find out.
Any update from MMNA on this?

stever

AC's condition the air. One thing they do so is remove moisture. If you remove some of the moisture in the cabin, your windows shouldn't fog up as badly.

Back in the day when the AC compressors didn't automatically come on when you hit the defrost button, I'd turn on the AC to clear the windows faster.

I'd think if you were hitting recirculate, you aren't giving that moist air much chance to escape either. (Where's wwest? He'll let me know if I've hit the high points or not ).

Check out Climate Control Problems (Air Conditioning, Heat) - All Cars too. (jason0820, "Climate Control Problems (Air Conditioning, Heat) - All Cars" #426, 2 Apr 2006 1:43 am is one thread).

growwise

I noticed today something different. All of a sudden, scorching heat started coming onto my hand. I checked the settings and
1. fan was in off.
2. temp was set to 21 celsius.
3. Recirc was off so that explains outside air.
4. No ac and direction was set to auto.

I thought the engine was getting way too hot and that hot air is coming in. Is this a normal behavior?

craviotf

Hi, I just bought an Outlander 2007 LS with manual A/C and when the A/C its on the engine vent starts and shutdown in very short time.
When the car is idle you can hear the vents very loud for about 10 seconds, they turno off for about 30 seconds and then again.

This is normal for the car??

goingnowhere

It is normal.
It allows the AC to produce cold air in very little time compared to other vehicles.
You can reduce the frequency and time the fan runs by NOT selecting max air if you have a LS. If you have the premium AC with the temp setting I dont know how you dont select max air. Regardless its not something you need to worry about, its not hurting anything.

craviotf

rcpax

I am about to hit 6000mi with my 07 Outlander, so it means another oil change. I do my oil change at the dealer since I am very confident of their service, and the service manager is a friendly guy. They did both the front-end knock and wind rattle issues done without any problems so far.

I haven't been using the A/C that much until recently when summer got into full swing. I noticed about the A/C fan/clutch cycling often (every 15-30 secs) which is normal as I've read from the previous postings here. So I've no questions about that, just a bit surprised when I started noticing it.

The real issue I have right now is about the cold air being not distributed evenly. Pictures paint a thousand words so please refer to the picture below. Everytime I run the A/C, I only get cold air blowing through the vents on the driver side (shown in GREEN circles). The passenger side vent (in RED circles) does not get cold air at all. Even with blower settings set to blow on the widshield or bottom/foot area, only the driver side gets cold air, not the passenger side. I tried to set set the blower to AUTO, still the same. A/C mode to auto and manual, all the same. And this is with a passenger on the the passenger seat, just in case this vehicle is that smart to figure that out.



Any thoughts or similar experience? Share your experience so at least I can relay to the Service Guy if any other vehicles are experiencing the same problems, and this might actually warrant another TSB if proven to be on most vehicles.

pettroll

I dunno, I havent noticed this, but I cant stand the constant fan clutching. Plus the condensation is ridiculous. There's a puddle under the car within 10 minutes after running the AC. Not sure if this is normal or not for AC, but never noticed it on my last car, a toyota Spyder.

rcpax

rcpax

Turns out the A/C lost most of it's refigerant. The vehicle somehow shuts the passenger side cooling off and diverts all cool air it can make to the driver side, well, that's what the service manager told me anyway. I was afraid they'd start ripping off the dash and fix something in the cooling ducts but it wasn't that bad as I expected. Now I get goosebumps from the cold even when it's 100+ F outside. The Outlander has one of the best A/C I've experienced in a car, so I can really tell when my Outlander started to lose it's cooling power because the cabin temp isn't as cold as it used to be. And to add, despite the frequent A/C cycling, which the Outlander does to save on gas because of the A/C's efficient cooling, I barely noticed a drop in my gas mileage when the A/C is on.

Well, condensation is always good when talking about the A/C. Looks like it's a good sign of a good A/C doing its job.

mitsu2003

On my 2003 Mitsubishi Outlander, I recently noticed that when I turn to the left there is a sound coming from under the dashboard on the passenger side that sounds like I'm driving through a puddle of water. After paying closer attention I saw water dripping from under the dash when turning. When the A/C is off, there is no noise or water leaking. It appears to be coming from the A/C device but I can't tell exactly where. Any idea what might be causing this, the fix and cost?

tcp2

Without knowing exact locations on that year's outlander, here's the problem. The AC condensor under the dash has a drip pan for condensation. There is a hose attached to the drip pan that drains the water out under the vehicle. Your hose is blocked or kinked. You need to find where the hose on the passenger side and clean it out or make sure it is otherwise not kinked. Sometimes looking from under the vehicle, you can find the outlet end and work back from there.

rflynn1

I had this same problem on my old Honda Accord. Once you find the hose you can try squeezing the length of it to unclog it or straighten it if kinked. In my case it was clogged from leaves and debris.

jeng025

My husband and I have noticed that at times when our 03 Outlander is in park the A/C begins blowing air (not cool air), then all of a sudden you can drive and the cold air will start blowing again... any thoughts to what problem we are looking at here?

piast

I would start from coolant, if it hasn't been replaced yet. The other simple one to check/replace is thermostat. The reason computer shoots off AC compressor is too high engine temperature, so additional sources of heat are switched off. As soon as you start driving, cold air from outside help with cooling, and AC can run again.

fushigi

I've something similar on my '99 Galant. Both AC and heat seem to not really be working right when the vehicle is stopped. I notice it more at long stoplights while in Drive v. in Park but then I rarely sit for long periods in Park. What seems to work for me is to not run the fan on the highest setting. On lower settings the problem doesn't seem to come up.

boddoe

I can't beleive this problem has been going on for so long and Mitsubshi will not do anything about this. I have an 07, and the heater is a BIG problem for me. I live in northern Maine, -30 F has been the temp for over 2 weeks now. I get no heat or very little when running idol. while driving, again very little heat comes out of the defrost, which makes my windshield freeze. How have you resolved your problem?

:mad:

carolfry

Did you ever find a fix.? My daughter is beside herself (and cold) At corporate they told her it was a 'characteristic of the car' and they couldn't do anything
Thanks
Car618@hotmail.com

toomanyfumes

We've had some below zero weather here lately and I was driving the '07 Outlander. (my wife usually drives it.) I commented that it took forever to warm up and she said it's always been that way.

Even the engine seems to take longer to warm up than it does on my '05 Lincoln and when it's warmed up it still doesn't give great heat.

I'd call it adequate at best.

carolfry

My daughter is distraught with this problem- and also, when the car idles heat stops working. The top honcho at the dispute center at Mitsubishi told her it was a 'characterisic of the car' and not repairable-- can you believe it????

MEoutdoorsman

I have the same problem with my 07 Outlander which my husband just bought me in June 2008. I live in northern Maine also, took it to the dealer few weeks ago and they made a call to the Mitsubishi hotline. Came back to me saying it was a normal characteristic for the vehicle and to keep switching it from recirculate to defrost which is a pain in the butt and doesn't always work. The thermostat reads correctly, so that isn't the problem. I contacted another Mitsubishi dealer, faxed them my report I got from the 1st dealer and they told me sounds about right and nothing they can do for me either. I am still driving this vehicle but is very frustrating especially when you have a little child in the back seat wrapped in a blanket. I hope someday, someone has a fix for this. My husband stated that if he would have known, he wouldn't have bougth the vehicle.

bobw1

In my 08 ES when I have the blower on the slower speeds I get a rattling type noise from the blower. Anyone else have this or know what it is? Thanks...

toomanyfumes

Should be quiet, have the dealer look at it.

trichic11

Replaced the power steering pump due to the noise that we thought it was making. New pump, same noise. Now, with the stethescope trick someone says it's the AC. Any ideas what it could be? Some people have said water pump. Some have said the AC clutch or the compressor. Car works fine, gas mileage is the same as it has been. AC does work though if it's on the whine is typically a little louder than when it's off. Totally confused and not wanting to waste anymore money (since I evidently didn't need the power steering pump!).