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How's your AC?

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My AC just doesn't seem to maintain the temp I set it for. Everything is in auto. I set it for 73 and it seems much warmer as evidenced via the app. The fan speed never seems to "kick in" to bring the temp down either. Is this my car or typical?
 
My AC just doesn't seem to maintain the temp I set it for. Everything is in auto. I set it for 73 and it seems much warmer as evidenced via the app. The fan speed never seems to "kick in" to bring the temp down either. Is this my car or typical?
I get the impression that it is typical. It certainly behaves that way with my recent 85D. I've learned to put the fan speed on the right steering wheel selector, set the temperature between LO and 66 depending on conditions, and vary the fan speed as needed. There is a good writeup from another member I'll try to find and post a link to.
 
I don't have a Model S, but I know there are several settings that will affect this. Range mode reduces A/C power usage if selected (and limits maximum fan speed,) and of course setting a fan speed, air distribution, or recycling mode in the climate screen popup will change how effective the car can be.

What do you have the car set to? - I saw the auto everything part, but what about Range mode?
 
Love my car, but, I personally find the AC to be one of the eh factors in my car. Tiny little vents that I think have gerbils behind them breathing on me. Very little air and what air does get to me seems to vary in temp. Should be fun on those super hot CA days this summer.
 
Mine works great in the 67-69 range. Sometimes I get too cold and have to turn it up a bit. My previous car I kept between 70-72, so not much difference here. I did, however, notice that on auto, my a/c fan never goes above 7, even when the app says its above 100 in the car and I have the a/c set for low. So if you aren't getting enough, turn up the fan speed manually. That said, I've found even on the warmest days (in NC), I am within a comfort area within 5 minutes, even when forgetting to precool the car.
 
I get the impression that it is typical. It certainly behaves that way with my recent 85D. I've learned to put the fan speed on the right steering wheel selector, set the temperature between LO and 66 depending on conditions, and vary the fan speed as needed. There is a good writeup from another member I'll try to find and post a link to.
Here is the link I mentioned from the Tesla Forum. I found this very helpful when I was thinking the air was weak-it isn't really, but the controls are really only semi-automatic.

All credit to 'eye.surgeon" who is likely also on these boards under another handle.

climate control tips and tricks | Forums | Tesla Motors
 
Mine works great in the 67-69 range. Sometimes I get too cold and have to turn it up a bit. My previous car I kept between 70-72, so not much difference here. I did, however, notice that on auto, my a/c fan never goes above 7, even when the app says its above 100 in the car and I have the a/c set for low. So if you aren't getting enough, turn up the fan speed manually. That said, I've found even on the warmest days (in NC), I am within a comfort area within 5 minutes, even when forgetting to precool the car.
This is exactly my experience. Without window tint though, I could never get it cool enough. Huge difference once the tint was installed!
 
This is exactly my experience. Without window tint though, I could never get it cool enough. Huge difference once the tint was installed!

While I definitely noticed the different with my ceramic tint, the biggest improvement is the "evenness" of the heat. It would be that my hands or my throat would be cold, but my forehead was sweaty or I could feel the heat on my ears. It's even throughout the car now.
 
While I definitely noticed the different with my ceramic tint, the biggest improvement is the "evenness" of the heat. It would be that my hands or my throat would be cold, but my forehead was sweaty or I could feel the heat on my ears. It's even throughout the car now.

Yes, huge benefit to the ceramic window tint. This was mentioned as one of the mandatory accessories in another thread. Crucial with rear facing seats too. Also, I've found that the car moving had a noticeable impact on AC effectiveness. Car was much cooler and fan speed lower the closer you get to triple digits.
 
It seems the HVAC behaves as expected only when ambient temps are above 100 degrees. In that instance, in auto mode, the car blasts cold air initially and I feel quite cold inside the vehicle. The other day I had to increase the temperature to 74 degrees in order to not feel too cold. And that was with Range Mode ON! Tesla's HVAC logic seems to be putting a little too much weight on the ambient temperature.
 
To me the A/C seems just fine. I just adjust the temperature up or down as required. I don't pay a lot of attention to the actual number as I'm not sitting where the sensor is. As far as I know, the only way to accurately get the level right in all cases would be with multiple thermal imagers, and several additional HVAC ducts. A system like that wouldn't be cheap.