A/C doesn't seem very effective

[Ditto]

I've noticed that when it gets pretty hot outside and that the inside of my car is approximately 26 degrees celsius it takes a really long time for the car to reach a comfortable temperature. My wife goes crazy when it's that hot and doesn't understand why she barely feels any air coming out of the vents. When that happenes we reduce the temperature down to 17 degress but there doesn't seem to be any more A/C coming out. I've tried manually putting it at max speed but it changes nothing. Eventually the temperature does reach the target we've set but by then the 20ish minute ride is already over.

In our other car, an Honda CRV, it takes much less time to reach the temperature but the A/C is extremely loud (like in all my cars when it's at max) which is annoying but we let it do its thing until it's at a bearable temperature. In the Tesla, we never hear (from what I remember) the A/C but as mentioned it doesn't provide much cool air. I've had the car for a year now and I figured this was how a Tesla was, until I started finding threads about people having issues with their A/C, but in those situations people say their A/C has completely stopped working, while mine seems to work.

Is this Tesla's A/C? Simply very weak and takes a long time to reach temperature? Or do you guys clearly hear it and feel a lot of cool air coming from the vents?

 

[KyleDay]

I live in Arizona, and while the airflow isn't as powerful as other cars I've owned, my model s does a more than adequate job. Especially with the remote climate control via the phone app, my car is never uncomfortable to get in.

I recommend you pre cool it with the app before driving.

 

[Ditto]

I live in Arizona, and while the airflow isn't as powerful as other cars I've owned, my model s does a more than adequate job. Especially with the remote climate control via the phone app, my car is never uncomfortable to get in.

I recommend you pre cool it with the app before driving.

I do when I think about it, but it sucks when I forget. Does yours ever sound somewhat loud? Typical cars make a very annoying noise when A/C is maxed.

 

[KyleDay]

It can get loud yes. If it takes 20 minutes to get comfortable, you might want to have your ac system checked for leaks. Even though it blows air, if it takes that long to cool you may be low on coolant.

My air coming out of my vents is almost instantly cool, though it can take some time to cool the cabin

 

[BrettS]

If the fan is set to auto, then the car should run the fan pretty high if the temp of the car is much warmer than you have it set. But it’s possible to take the fan out of auto mode and if your fan speed always stays low and quiet then I wonder if you might have the fan manually set to a low speed.

I also had a case once where I had been traveling for several hours on a very hot and humid day and suddenly my AC started to get very weak with little air output no matter what the fan was set to. I believe that the coils had frozen over. It happened around dinner time, so I stopped for dinner and by the time I got out of dinner it seemed that the coils had unfrozen and things were back to normal. I wouldn’t expect that to happen on short trips, though, and it definitely shouldn’t happen immediately... it would take some time for ice to build up on the coils. But if that is happening, then you would see little air coming through the vents no matter what the fan speed is set to.

 

[Ditto]

My tesla had its 1 year annual service not too long ago, so not sure if they verify the coolant levels....

What BrettS describes is kind of how mine feels. I manually put it to max speed and it doesn't seem to blow any more air than before. I'll do some tests tomorrow while my car is in the garage. I'll manually put it at max speed and that should help determine if something is wrong. I've been looking for an excuse to get a P100D loaner, is this it?

 

[futurem3owner]

While the air out of the vents is cool right away while on auto setting, I've noticed that the left vent does not blow out as much air as does the right one. Minor issue but would still prefer both of them to have even flow. Makes me wonder if the next update will carry over the single slit vent HVAC system from Model 3.

 

[KidDoc]

On mine my AC gets VERY loud like a hovercraft when going max. And it cools down VERY quickly. I do have it set to all auto except always to recirculate air which helps significantly in Texas. I think there is something wrong with your AC even when > 100F here it cools down much quicker than any care I have owned.

 

[Snowstorm]

My Model S AC can get very loud, much louder than any AC in cars that I had driven, though the noise may be masked by the engine. It is usually pretty effective though I did had a hot and humid day last summer when it just won't get cold air coming through for maybe 30 minutes. It was 35C outside and it got maybe to 28C inside, despite setting it to 23C. It got better after 30 minutes and eventually cooled inside. Not sure what happened in thouse 30 minutes.

 

[johnster007]

You might check your settings to see if you are in range mode which reduces effectiveness of hvac to preserve battery power.

 

[cybergates]

You migh check your settings to see if you are in range mode which reduces effectiveness of have to preserve battery power.

this ^^ and also get the spring shades from tesla for the sunroof if you have that.

 

[supratachophobia]

I've noticed that when it gets pretty hot outside and that the inside of my car is approximately 26 degrees celsius it takes a really long time for the car to reach a comfortable temperature. My wife goes crazy when it's that hot and doesn't understand why she barely feels any air coming out of the vents. When that happenes we reduce the temperature down to 17 degress but there doesn't seem to be any more A/C coming out. I've tried manually putting it at max speed but it changes nothing. Eventually the temperature does reach the target we've set but by then the 20ish minute ride is already over.

In our other car, an Honda CRV, it takes much less time to reach the temperature but the A/C is extremely loud (like in all my cars when it's at max) which is annoying but we let it do its thing until it's at a bearable temperature. In the Tesla, we never hear (from what I remember) the A/C but as mentioned it doesn't provide much cool air. I've had the car for a year now and I figured this was how a Tesla was, until I started finding threads about people having issues with their A/C, but in those situations people say their A/C has completely stopped working, while mine seems to work.

Is this Tesla's A/C? Simply very weak and takes a long time to reach temperature? Or do you guys clearly hear it and feel a lot of cool air coming from the vents?

Ceramic windows tint will fix this. You shouldnt have to, but it's worth it.

 

[Ditto]

I'll take a look at my options, but from what you guys describe there seems to be an issue with my car. Winter is coming so I'll wait until spring and by then my 2nd check up should be needed and they can do it all at once.

 

[jerry33]

It's often 30-40C here in Texas and it takes hardly any time for the car to cool off. 26C should be no issue whatsoever. I'd suggest having Tesla look at it as it may be low on refrigeration. Also, if the vents are slid all the way to the right or left (I forget which) the vents close and almost no air comes out. Took me a few minutes to figure this out when I first got the car.

 

[Ditto]

It's often 30-40C here in Texas and it takes hardly any time for the car to cool off. 26C should be no issue whatsoever. I'd suggest having Tesla look at it as it may be low on refrigeration. Also, if the vents are slid all the way to the right or left (I forget which) the vents close and almost no air comes out. Took me a few minutes to figure this out when I first got the car.

When I got in my car I noticed my vent was closed (all the way to the left). The A/C today was working really well, but it's only 18c outside. I'd have to test it when it's hotter which may not happen for another 8 months!

 

[KidDoc]

Ceramic windows tint will fix this. You shouldnt have to, but it's worth it.

This is a great point. I have ceramic tint on all windows including front windshield that blocks a ton of UV energy. Well worth it.