Chevy Colorado & GMC Canyon banner

A/C Cutting out?

51K views 75 replies 35 participants last post by  2.8L’s of piss n pabst 
#1 ·
Anyone else seem to notice this? You're driving and the air feels great then for about 30 sec or so it feels as if the compressor cut off and it's not blowing as cold of air... then it eventually comes back.

Is this normal or should I mention this to the service dept?
 
#4 ·
If you feel only 30 seconds, it's gotta be the blend door.

I can shut off Air Conditioning and it is blowing cold are still left in the system for far longer than 30 seconds before I feel it blowing warm air.


Plus I say that considering how many people have come to the conclusion that the heat/cold is far from stable being discharged at the vents.

The blend door is software controlled (maybe even still on the not auto system?) which would require a software flash to make an attempt at a remedy.
 
#5 ·
@James Bell It's the normal "cycling" of the compressor. Even with the manual, the A/C maintains a cabin temp. based on your setting of the control. The compressor is also disengaged under certain load conditions to improve fuel economy. If it ran constantly, it would freeze the system.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 16WhiteColly
#6 ·
I think the OP may be referring to something I have noticed in both auto mode and manual mode. The air doesn't just go from cold to slightly less cold like the compressor cycling. It goes from cold to warm like it's being blended with hot engine air. If the OP is referring to the air being slightly less cold then I stand corrected.

As the temps warm up here in AZ (already had our first 100+ F degree day) I'm obviously using my AC more. I will be taking my truck in and asking that they apply the "hose clamp" fix to the blend door whether or not it is cracked and that they re-learn the blend door. I'm going to bring the truck in next month when I need an oil change to have them look at this.

-Curtiss
 
#7 ·
I have the same problem with my 2016 Colorado. It blows cold and then blows warm air (intermittently) even when my thermostat is set at 70 degrees. I have noticed this whether in "Auto", manual with fan adjustments, and maximum recirculation. This system is software controlled and will require a re-flash. It is noteworthy, that my 2015 Genesis and previous VW GLI both have/had the same type of software-controlled systems and I have never experienced this problem before. It appears to be a known issue and when my first oil change occurs (<49% oil life presently), I will direct the dealer to re-flash my system.


Too dang hot in Florida to put up with this!
 
#8 ·
I do notice that the worst issues seem to be when I am setting my HVAC at a temp close to the outside temp - if Outside temp is 72 deg and I set the HVAC to 71 degrees, it may seem hot, drop to 70 deg and much cooler.
 
#9 ·
I would definitely mention it and ask for them to do a temperature check with a thermometer. With the compressor cycling on and off the temperature of the air being discharged from the vents will vary by a few degrees but not enough to notice by feel. If you are noticing a wide fluctuation, something isn't correct.
 
#10 ·
I can tell when the compressor cycles off by the difference in temperature and moisture content of the air blowing in. In humid Fl. it's easy. The temperature of the air rises slightly but, since outside air is being drawn in and the refrigerant is not circulating, the AC does not remove as much moisture. I do not, however, have a problem with the overall temperature of the cabin.
 
#11 ·
As long as we are guessing here, Does it fail more frequently as the outside temperature rises?

If so you could be slightly over charged. There is a high pressure limit If I remember correctly is it 417 PSI. If you are overcharged you will trigger it more often when the incoming air rises.

I fought this on my Colorado when I first got it. It took me a while with some help from this forum to figure it out. I had to drive it with the gauges attached on a very hot day to see the problem on the gauges. Slightly reducing the amount of R-134 took care of the problem. I had recharged it twice by weight using an AC machine and it did not take care of my problem.
 
#13 ·
Good morning Riptide8,
I apologize for the A/C concerns you are experiencing in your Colorado. Have you been able to bring this to the attention of your dealership since it has started? Private message me with more details and I would be more than happy to assist you in connecting with a dealership to get this diagnosed.
Best,
Julianne M.
GM Customer Care
 
#15 ·
Mine has 5,000 miles on it. I took it to the dealership and he said he has another one there doing the same thing. And they are investigating with their research department or engineering department and they'll call me back when they have an idea whats causing it.

It's weird it'll freeze you out of the car some times (while making that funky AC smell) then within minute or two it's blowing like neutral temp air... not hot but not cold..... then eventually it comes back on but just cool.... not Ice Cold anymore. (This all happens to me during the day in the heat... and at night when there's not much heat)

My dad has a 14' Equinox that NEVER does this. And his blows that ICE COLD temp ALL THE TIME..... It's certainly an issue with the Colorado AC system or compressor (this was like this during 12pm in florida) constant ice cold air
 
#16 ·
My AC is blowing warm air. Compressor is running, blower is blowing. But it isn't cold. Dealer is picking up truck today and dropping off a loaner. Feel bad for the guy that gets to make the 45 mile return trip to the dealer this afternoon, it's going to be in the high 90's,both temp and humidity........
'16 Diesel with 3400 miles.
 
#18 ·
So I'll add that mine is doing the same thing. 2016 Colorado 400 miles with automatic climate. On my drive to work early in the morning with just the fan on low (no a/c) and temp set at 70, but not in auto, the vent temperature would get warm then cold. It kept doing this no matter where I moved the temperature control. Eventually I shut the fan off and set the temp on Lo and it seemed ok.

On the way home, it was hot so I was using the A/C. At first I just left the temp control around 65, not in auto, and the fan speed about mid way. Again, the temperature would fluctuate really cold and then warm (not hot) air. I then tried putting it in auto with a set temperature around 68. It would hold fine for 5-10 minutes and then the fan would kick up to Hi and the air was no longer cold. Moving the temp control to Lo did not change it at all. If I tuned the fan off and back on it would work for a few minutes and then stop again. Eventually I turned the A/C off for a minute, turned it back on and left the temp on Lo and used the fan speed only to control the inside temperature and it seemed to hold until I got home.

It really feels like a control issue and not the a/c kicking out. I'm gonna play around with it some more to try and replicate the issue because if I take it in and it works nothing will happen.

Brian
 
#23 ·
I had the same experience yesterday , the first thing I noticed was the smell of the air and the humidity in thr cab went up, then the cab felt warmer. On my 40 min ride home I had to power cycle the AC at least 4 times. Eventually I just gave up on auto and set it to lo. It was 103F out side so the interior would heat pretty quickly once the cold air stopped.

This has been my first annoying problem in 1300miles on the truck. I hope they get a fix soon.
 
#19 ·
I took my truck in for the my regular oil change yesterday. I also had them inspect the hitch for the recall (mine was the heavy duty hitch), update to android auto and I showed my service advisor the bulletin for the cracked blend door fix. I told him I'd rather have the hose clamp put on regardless to prevent a future issue. He agreed. Turns out the door was cracked so they put the clamp on and did something with the software (not an update). This did not fix the problem.

So, when I got home I let the AC run in the driveway and it turns out it does coincide with the compressor cycling. The compressor cycles off for what is in my opinion far too long allowing things to heat up far too much. Even if set the system to recirculate it still gets too warm. This is all software controlled from what I can tell and hopefully if GM gets enough complaints they'll change the cycle off time.

-Curtiss
 
#20 ·
Got my truckette back yesterday. Some loose, random interior dash fastener was in the A/C and had jammed the mix door. The hose clamp fizx was already on my truck, apparently they are doing them from the factory mow. (Mine was built in June)
 
#21 ·
What level are you guys running your fans at? I know I never even need to run it over half way turned up down here in Mississippi with a black truck and no tint, I wonder if it gets too cold when turned up and it's preventing itself from freezing? I usually have to turn it down to the lowest setting and its still colder than my f150 used to be
 
#22 ·
My 2016 Colorado that I just picked up last week is doing this, too. Oddest thing. It blows nice and cold (have the climate control on auto and set to 68 or 69 degrees), but there are these moments when it blows warm, semi-humid air for about 15 seconds. I guess I'll bring it up with the dealer at my first oil change.
 
#26 ·
I can verify the same thing Brian. I decided to run the same test on my work commute today. I didn't use auto on my way to work tand didn't have any issues with the temp of the air coming from the vents. I think there is definitely something up with how the software of the auto mode works.

I set my fan speed to medium and temp to 67 and it was fine for the 1 hr commute.

The first couple weeks with the truck I never used auto. And it's only since using auto control that I have ran into these issues it seems.
 
#27 ·
Update:

Took mine to the dealer again. "they could not reproduce the issue" the guy drove it for 2 days. I drive it off the lot... it does it. WTF!! I'm so frustrated. Maybe they are just dismissing it as normal operation. It doesn't do it in other Chevy vehicles I've been in. (My dads '14 Equinox). I don't have Auto A/C. It's all manual. I set it mid way on fan... alll the way cold on temp... it makes a funny smell like maybe it's freezing up... the AC cuts out and puts out mid temp air ... not really warm... maybe kinda cool... but not cold. I would accept this as normal if all other cars/ trucks did this. But they don't and this is a brand new truck. IMO this is unacceptable. Like one guy suggested... if it's a cycling thing... it's cycling too long in the off position because you're sitting there driving and you all the sudden are like.... what happened to the air? So you think something is wrong... I can stress the point that you know something is wrong because you've never experienced it before. Like a beating heart that suddenly starts skipping. You feel it because it's not what you're used to.

If anyone else finds more information let me know. I called the 1800 Chevy number with the issue and I'm taking it to another dealer. I refuse to accept this as normal operation.

1) also in Florida here... it's hot as F ... when it cuts out the cabin immediately gets much hotter.
2) my pregnant wife get nauseated by the smell of the AC before it cuts out and has to roll the window down. (it still happens whether you roll the window down or not, just in case someone was going to ask.

Thanks everyone. At least I know I'm not the only one.
 
#28 ·
I had the same problem, dealership had it for a week and couldn't reproduce it. I finally went in and reproduced it within 5 minutes. They ended up replacing the expansion valve and compressor. They said ir was the squash plate inside the compressor. The expansion valve was replaced for good luck I guess. I thought it was the expansion valve the whole time, but while they had it connected to the computer, it showed the compressor at 100% but blowing warm air.

Sent from my HTC 10 using Tapatalk
 
#32 ·
I have not had the issue since the fix. Weird thing about it was they wanted to have it on the computer when it happened and they would just let it sit and idle. Go to a dealer that's willing to work with you and put it on the computer. Put it under some load, around 2000RPM, and it should duplicate pretty quick, if it's the same problem. I was able to duplicate it within a 5 minutes when I went to the dealership.

The test showed the compressor was 100% open but was blowing warm air. The tech foreman said that indicated a bad compressor. I asked them from the beginning to replace the expansion valve to see if that was the problem, and a cheap fix, but they wanted to wait and see what else it could be. I hope someone works on this for you. By the way, I did have to complain to GM to get things rolling.

It took 3 total visits, with the third finally fixing the problem. First time, they said everything was normal. Second time, it was overcharged with refrigerant, which they either added on the first visit, or never actually checked it on the first visit. Then third time with the help of GM they kept it a week. They're a good dealership, I just think their new generation of techs just do what the computer say. Once we got GM and the Foreman involved, I could tell someone was actually working on it.
 
#30 ·
Over the weekend I travelled up north with the family. We were stuck in traffic for a couple of hours. it was 105F which is hot, but not as hot as it can get here. It was absolutely miserable in the cab of the truck. That AC was continually cycling and blowing warm air for far too long. Switching the AC off and back on with a minimal delay would have it blowing cold air again almost immediately. Then, after several minutes back to warm air.

I have taken this truck on long road trips and this hasn't happened to this extreme. The truck was not overheating. However, we were creeping along at very low RPMs, similar to me letting my truck sit in the driveway and watching the compressor cycle. I don't know enough about how the climate control in this truck operates but it seems like maybe the computer is cycling the compressor at low RPMs but doing it for such an extended period things warm up far too much.

Anyone have any insight or opinions on this?

-Curtiss
 
#31 ·
Good Morning Curtis,

We are very sorry to hear about your truck's A/C concerns and we apologize for any frustration this has caused. This is far from the experience we want our customers to have and we would like to assist you in any way that we can. If you wouldn't mind, please send us a private message that includes your VIN, mileage, full contact information, and preferred dealership. From here, we will be able to look at things on our end. Thank you and we look forward to hearing from you.

Philip J.
GM Customer Service
 
#33 ·
Brought my truck in today and the dealership couldn't find anything wrong. I stopped for lunch on the way home. On the way from the restaurant to my house it did it again. I believe that the system is mechanically working properly because it does blow ice cold most of the time. Just can't figure out what is making it cycle off for such an extended period of time when set on the lowest setting.

-Curtiss
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top