A/C Performance

[Jus Cruisin]

I still keep mine on auto 74*. Works fine in the central Florida humidity and 90+* days. This is the same temp I maintained with my 2016 F150, 2014 Ram 2500 and my 2012 F150. My Corvette has the worst a/c of anything I own. It will blow hot air out the vents for a few moments kind of regularly. There is no "fix" for it.

 

[SpeedyV]

I just test drove a 2019 Limited 4X4 with the Hemi. It is 79deg here in Austin Texas, the sales guy put it on max at the lowest temp setting. I was unimpressed with how cold the air got at the vents. This truck is awesome in almost every other way, but here in Texas June, July, August, September are usually pretty hot. This will make me think twice about buying it.

I’ve been running mine at 71-72 in Fort Worth, and it’s cool enough that I have turn the ventilated seat off at times. Seems to a be hit-or-miss issue with these trucks.

 

[go-ram]

I just test drove a 2019 Limited 4X4 with the Hemi. It is 79deg here in Austin Texas, the sales guy put it on max at the lowest temp setting. I was unimpressed with how cold the air got at the vents. This truck is awesome in almost every other way, but here in Texas June, July, August, September are usually pretty hot. This will make me think twice about buying it.

By chance did you note the build date of the vehicle you tested? Without the build date, we're just shooting in the dark in terms of trying to figure out if Ram has licked the AC performance issue yet, or if they continue to roll off the line with this problem.

 

[Golferboy]

By chance did you note the build date of the vehicle you tested? Without the build date, we're just shooting in the dark in terms of trying to figure out if Ram has licked the AC performance issue yet, or if they continue to roll off the line with this problem.

No, sorry, I did not.

 

[DeanKing]

I’m not feeling good they have this figured out. If no one on this thread has said anything about a dealer fixing this so I am not optimistic. I will bring a thermometer when I pick up my truck in October. Not sure what I am going to do if it is bad.

 

[greatrush2112]

My liquid line pressure is 50 psi less than the lower limit allowed and when purging the gauge manifold I noticed some type of debris being discharged. I'm suspecting a restricted evaporator coil which is awesome since the whole dash will have to come out.

Driver measured temp was reading 5* hotter than the allowable temperature and I also have a 8* difference between driver and passenger vents. Additionally I have a rogue recirculation door that will cycle on its own & doesn't seem to seal properly.

Headed to the dealer this week or next.

I just drove 600 miles from the dealer after picking up my 19 limited. Love the truck, however, very disappointed in the A/C performance, as I live in southern Utah where temps hit 110 in the summer. MANY times on my drive, I also heard the recirc door cycling, making a real loud whooshing noise on the passenger side. Did you ever get that fixed or figured out?

 

[I Love Grits]

I just drove 600 miles from the dealer after picking up my 19 limited. Love the truck, however, very disappointed in the A/C performance, as I live in southern Utah where temps hit 110 in the summer. MANY times on my drive, I also heard the recirc door cycling, making a real loud whooshing noise on the passenger side. Did you ever get that fixed or figured out?

No I haven't gotten it sorted out yet. The first dealer I took it to said it was "normal operation" - I'm waiting on some parts to come in for something else before I take it to another dealer for a second/better opinion. I've since figured out that it cycles every 15 minutes.

It seems like the door isn't opening all the way when it cycles, and that's why the wind noise is so bad. If you push the recirc button once after hearing the noise, the door opens the rest of the way and it's not as loud.

 

[DeanKing]

No I haven't gotten it sorted out yet. The first dealer I took it to said it was "normal operation" - I'm waiting on some parts to come in for something else before I take it to another dealer for a second/better opinion. I've since figured out that it cycles every 15 minutes.

It seems like the door isn't opening all the way when it cycles, and that's why the wind noise is so bad. If you push the recirc button once after hearing the noise, the door opens the rest of the way and it's not as loud.

Thank you for bringing some real data and a chance of hope to the solution.

 

[kingkasc]

All,

I wanted to know how you're A/C is working. I feel mine does not get completely cold all the time. My old 14 blew very cold air.

I only feel comfortable if I have the ac on almost max, if I lower the fan speed to 2 or 3 I start to get warm again...

 

[Golferboy]

Hi all,
I feel like this is going to be an issue with these trucks for a while. The temperature at the vent can meet specs, but still feel weak or not cold enough. I found this quote on another website:

"I don't know if you've worked on cars professionally or not, but I can tell you that if you let customers' vehicles go with a 54* vent temp, SOMEONE is going to be working on that car again. Yeah, if I go pull a book out, I'm sure I can find a chart that says 50-60* is 'normal' for an 100* day, but I can tell you flat out that I've stood in a 100* shop, measured vent temps in the 50-60* range, and fixed them. 54*, even when it's a 100 out, doesn't feel cold; probably because the air has dispersed and warmed significantly by the time it even gets to you (keeping in mind temps are usually measured ~6" down into the vent because of the design of most tech's thermometers). "

I live in Central Texas. Ice cold A/C is a must for me. If I were to buy one of these trucks today I think I would buy one off the lot. I would wait for a hot, sunny day, and test drive it while I physically take a thermometer to it and check the temp at the vent.

These trucks are fantastic, but I must have great A/C.

 

[SpeedyV]

Hi all,
I feel like this is going to be an issue with these trucks for a while. The temperature at the vent can meet specs, but still feel weak or not cold enough. I found this quote on another website:

"I don't know if you've worked on cars professionally or not, but I can tell you that if you let customers' vehicles go with a 54* vent temp, SOMEONE is going to be working on that car again. Yeah, if I go pull a book out, I'm sure I can find a chart that says 50-60* is 'normal' for an 100* day, but I can tell you flat out that I've stood in a 100* shop, measured vent temps in the 50-60* range, and fixed them. 54*, even when it's a 100 out, doesn't feel cold; probably because the air has dispersed and warmed significantly by the time it even gets to you (keeping in mind temps are usually measured ~6" down into the vent because of the design of most tech's thermometers). "

I live in Central Texas. Ice cold A/C is a must for me. If I were to buy one of these trucks today I think I would buy one off the lot. I would wait for a hot, sunny day, and test drive it while I physically take a thermometer to it and check the temp at the vent.

These trucks are fantastic, but I must have great A/C.

I may be in the minority, but my A/C is working great in north Texas. I was cruising around on a semi-humid 95 degree day yesterday, and I never took the A/C out of Auto mode. Combining it with the seat ventilation (which I was just running on "Lo"), I had the temp sitting at 70-72. This morning, when temperatures were closer to 80 outside, I had to go to 72 or 73 and/or shut off the seat ventilation in order not to feel a chill. I feel like this is perfectly acceptable system performance—i.e. Auto mode at all times, slight temperature adjustments based on weather conditions, no need to override fan speeds or go to Max A/C.

 

[syddog 2000]

Went through a SW FL. summer , picked mine up July 1st, Mine functions as well as my 2015. I too leave it on auto with the Temp. set at 75

 

[Golferboy]

I may be in the minority, but my A/C is working great in north Texas. I was cruising around on a semi-humid 95 degree day yesterday, and I never took the A/C out of Auto mode. Combining it with the seat ventilation (which I was just running on "Lo"), I had the temp sitting at 70-72. This morning, when temperatures were closer to 80 outside, I had to go to 72 or 73 and/or shut off the seat ventilation in order not to feel a chill. I feel like this is perfectly acceptable system performance—i.e. Auto mode at all times, slight temperature adjustments based on weather conditions, no need to override fan speeds or go to Max A/C.

Great to hear! It appears that it is a bit hit and miss whether you will get a truck that has great A/C performance. It would really bug me if I got one with weak A/C (I have not bought one yet)

 

[392DCGC]

Just to reiterate my experience, my A/C sucks *** when sitting still. I can remote start the truck when it's 90+ outside and have it sit for 10 minutes and it's barely acceptable inside... not hot, but nowhere near cool either. Only after driving around for awhile or letting it sit for god knows how long does the A/C catch up and work well enough to keep me truly comfortable. No issues when the temps are lower or it's not been sitting in direct sunlight for hours on end.

 

[Bacoviah]

No I haven't gotten it sorted out yet. The first dealer I took it to said it was "normal operation" - I'm waiting on some parts to come in for something else before I take it to another dealer for a second/better opinion. I've since figured out that it cycles every 15 minutes.

It seems like the door isn't opening all the way when it cycles, and that's why the wind noise is so bad. If you push the recirc button once after hearing the noise, the door opens the rest of the way and it's not as loud.

Funny you mention this. I’ve noticed my AC blows considerably colder after that noise stops. The noise usually lasts about 20 seconds. I do mean considerably colder to the point I’m freezing.

 

[drs253]

@RamCares add me to the list of non-buyers due to A/C performance. I went and test drove two different trucks today and both could not get colder than 56 while at highway speeds. Sitting at idle, the temps were around 60. It was sunny and 92 outside. That's just simply not cold enough for me. The service manager told me that both of those trucks were within specifications.

 

[robinxlee]

Here is another observation for today. I noticed the AC started to warm again and the cabin not cooling so dropped down to 70 and still no change. Then I bumped it up to 72 and it actually got cooler air coming out. I think it has something to do with the programming and thermostat. Very odd. Note I never drop below 75 on my other cars but for this truck I have to keep it 70-72 to keep cool.

So my solution for now is whenever the cabin is not keeping the temp I play willth all the settings and hope something resets so I get cold air again...

 

[SpeedyV]

Here is another observation for today. I noticed the AC started to warm again and the cabin not cooling so dropped down to 70 and still no change. Then I bumped it up to 72 and it actually got cooler air coming out. I think it has something to do with the programming and thermostat. Very odd. Note I never drop below 75 on my other cars but for this truck I have to keep it 70-72 to keep cool.

So my solution for now is whenever the cabin is not keeping the temp I play willth all the settings and hope something resets so I get cold air again...

My experience has been very inconsistent across vehicles. My Corvette liked 72-73. My MINI needed to be at 68-70. My old GMC is great at 74-75. My wife's Audi needs to be at 69-71. The Ram seems happy here at 71-72 most of the time. All of these are auto A/C units, too...

 

[go-ram]

@RamCares add me to the list of non-buyers due to A/C performance. I went and test drove two different trucks today and both could not get colder than 56 while at highway speeds. Sitting at idle, the temps were around 60. It was sunny and 92 outside. That's just simply not cold enough for me. The service manager told me that both of those trucks were within specifications.

I'm with you on that point.

FWIW, over at TFLtruck.com, TODAY (Sep. 20) at 4 PM Mountain time (6 PM Eastern time) the are having a live interview with Jim Morrison, the FCA VP in charge of Ram. Here is the link to that article:
https://www.tfltruck.com/2018/09/jim-morrison-ram-talkin-trucks/

If you scroll down to the Disqus comments and sort by oldest, mine is the first comment posted, wherein I requested that the guys at TFL Truck ask Mr. Morrison about the air-conditioning performance issues some are having, and I included in my post the links to the two AC performance issue threads here on 5thgenrams.com. I also emailed the same request to "[email protected]", but received no reply

I will be on the road today while that interview is being broadcast, but perhaps some of you 5thgenrams owners who are concerned with your AC issues and will be available at the time of TFL's live interview can find the live link and type in your questions in real time for Mr. Morrison. I don't know if TFL Truck will be comfortable "confronting" Mr. Morrison in a live broadcast, but at least this opportunity to reach the highest-level executive in the Ram division might eventually bubble up some level of visibility to the top ranks. Worth a try, as it would seem from the postings at 5thgenrams.com, the Ram Care rep identifying herself as "Jasmine" is having no effect on being heard at Ram. Here is the last two paragraph of the TFL Truck article advertising today's interview:

"During the show, we’ll talk with Jim Morrison about the 2019 Ram Trucks lineup, the recently debuted Power Wagon Mojave Sand Edition, and how Ram’s looking in the current truck market.
Be sure to join us for [today's] show at 4 PM Mountain Time (6 PM EST) to ask your questions and find out more about what’s in store for Ram Trucks."

 

[Golferboy]

Has there been any word from Ram, anything anyone has heard, that they are working on this problem from an engineering standpoint?