The AC system is designed to blow cold air when the car is moving. When the car is stationary, the AC system will blow warm air instead. This is normal. There are exceptions to this rule, but there are also some situations where your car AC gets warm when it shouldn’t.
Situations where you might have a problem:
- The AC system isn’t blowing cold air at all
- The AC system doesn’t function at all
The low-pressure switch is to blame.
When the low-pressure switch fails, your car’s air conditioning system will start working again as soon as the engine is restarted. If your air conditioning does not work after restarting it, the switch may have failed, and you should have it replaced. Once your switch has been replaced, take a shop vac to your condenser and evaporator to remove debris or buy an AC flush kit to clean out any residue that has built up inside.
Your cabin air filter is dirty.
A cabin air filter is an important part of your vehicle’s AC system. It’s located just behind the glove box and is used to filter out pollen, dust, and other particles that get into your car when you operate the HVAC system. If this filter gets dirty or clogged, it can restrict air flow to the passenger compartment, resulting in reduced airflow from the vents.
We recommend having a auto technician check your cabin air filter at each service visit if you use your vehicle daily. That way, any problems with the HVAC system can be addressed before they cause more expensive damage to the AC compressor or blower motor. If you don’t drive on a daily basis (or very often), we recommend checking it about once every 3 months for signs of debris and grime buildup.
Your hose or tube is leaking or clogged.
If your system has a leak or clog, you may have reduced airflow into the cabin when the car is stopped. If this is the case, one of two things probably happened: your condenser’s hoses or tubes are leaking, or something is blocking them. Your technician will double-check for leaks and clear any debris from your system.
There are several other reasons why your car’s AC may not be working properly, but these are some of the most common issues we see. If you’re experiencing any of these symptoms, we highly recommend having one of our auto service professionals look at it as soon as possible before a small problem becomes a big problem!
Your AC compressor may not be working properly.
Your car’s air conditioning (AC) has one job: to keep you cool and comfortable. When your AC stops working entirely, it can make driving during hot weather unpleasant, if not impossible. You may think that running or restarting the engine after stopping will help restore your AC to its former glory, but unfortunately this is often not the case.
To better understand why this is the case, we should look at how your car’s AC system works. Your vehicle’s AC system consists of a few key parts: a compressor, condenser, evaporator, and expansion valve or an orifice tube. All these parts contribute to creating cold air that flows into your vehicle’s cabin when you turn on the AC.
Here are some common reasons as to why your car’s AC may fail while at a stoplight:*Your compressor isn’t working properly.*Your AC turns on and off while accelerating.*You hear unusual noises coming from under the hood.*The airflow from the vents is not as strong or steady as it used to be.*You smell something strange when turning on the air conditioning.
Check the coolant level in your AC system.
Your car AC compressor is a pump that moves the refrigerant throughout the system. It puts pressure on the coolant, forcing it to be compressed into a hot gas and then sent through the other two components of your air conditioning system, called an evaporator and condenser. The evaporator cools the air by heat soaking it away from it. The condenser uses an expansion valve to expand the gas back into a liquid which turns back into a cold liquid again.
When these parts aren’t maintained properly or when they have deteriorated due to not being used, they can lead to warm air blowing out of your vents instead of cold air—and that’s no good!
So before you head over to your local repair shop with cash in hand, check your coolant level first. Look at the low-pressure side of your car’s AC hoses and see if there is any freon escaping from them. If there isn’t any leaking refrigerant present, then you likely just need a recharge on your system so that it can start pushing cold air again!
There are a few reasons why this might happen, but you can always bring it in for a free inspection.
You might notice that your car’s air conditioning is only getting warm when you’re sitting at a stoplight, or when you’re stuck in traffic. There are a few reasons why this might happen:
- The AC is cycling on and off
- It’s low on refrigerant
- The fan speed is low
- Your evaporator temp sensor isn’t working properly
- Your compressor clutch isn’t engaging properly