Air conditioning performance

[The Critic]

Not in the green on an analog thermometer. Unacceptable for a new car these days. Also a good example of why it drives some of us crazy when members say their AC is fine, but refuse to post temperature pics.

What’s your expectation then? A 40-45 deg drop from ambient temp is fairly normal for an automotive a/c system.

 

[PostPremium]

What’s your expectation then? A 40-45 deg drop from ambient temp is fairly normal for an automotive a/c system.

What's also fairly normal is every vehicle I've tested gets temperatures in the green. Every. Single. One. Well, every single one except Ram. My expectation is Ram should have an AC to match all other vehicles on the road. Unfortunately, Ram does not. And it's such a simple fix. I don't understand what they're doing.

 

[The Critic]

What's also fairly normal is every vehicle I've tested gets temperatures in the green. Every. Single. One. Well, every single one except Ram. My expectation is Ram should have an AC to match all other vehicles on the road. Unfortunately, Ram does not. And it's such a simple fix. I don't understand what they're doing.

What exactly is this green range?

Is it an industry standard measurement?

Vent temps will always depend on the ambient temp.

 

[PostPremium]

What exactly is this green range?

Is it an industry standard measurement?

Vent temps will always depend on the ambient temp.

Most analog car vent thermometers have a green target range. Ram can't hit it. All my other vehicles can.

 

[The Critic]

Most analog car vent thermometers have a green target range. Ram can't hit it. All my other vehicles can.

Those are just generic ranges. Not really accepted as pass/fail by a specific OEM.

With that said, the fact that other vehicles can hit it and the Ram cannot is....annoying.

 

[wallyuwl]

Just found this thread. I am pretty serious about buying a new RAM to replace my problematic 2018 F-150 that has good AC. I am in WI so it doesn't get hot often. That said, a good AC is important to me when it does get warm enough to warrant it.
What signs should I look for? Should I measure the vent Temps? Should I just stop looking at RAM? The problem is that just leaves GM realistically and I don't think I want to spend what they charge.

 

[The Critic]

Just found this thread. I am pretty serious about buying a new RAM to replace my problematic 2018 F-150 that has good AC. I am in WI so it doesn't get hot often. That said, a good AC is important to me when it does get warm enough to warrant it.
What signs should I look for? Should I measure the vent Temps? Should I just stop looking at RAM? The problem is that just leaves GM realistically and I don't think I want to spend what they charge.

Honestly, I do not find the A/C to be an issue, at least not in my climate. My area gets up to 100-105F in the summer, but no humidity.

 

[User_3336]

I'd say 40 degrees F is the minimum, like I posted. If you're not getting that, good luck with the dealer fixing it.
CLAMP the damn hose!

 

[PostPremium]

Those are just generic ranges. Not really accepted as pass/fail by a specific OEM.

With that said, the fact that other vehicles can hit it and the Ram cannot is....annoying.

Of course it's not OEM spec. But you hit the nail on the head. Annoying, to say the least, that Ram can't hit it when all my others can.

 

[ColoradoCub]

Just found this thread. I am pretty serious about buying a new RAM to replace my problematic 2018 F-150 that has good AC. I am in WI so it doesn't get hot often. That said, a good AC is important to me when it does get warm enough to warrant it.
What signs should I look for? Should I measure the vent Temps? Should I just stop looking at RAM? The problem is that just leaves GM realistically and I don't think I want to spend what they charge.

I don’t think the Wisconsin climate will make this much of an issue for you. You can clamp the heater core hose if needed for the limited amount of hot weather you’ll see. To me it’s really not an issue until the temps get into the low to mid 90’s and especially in a heat soaked truck that’s been out in the sun. We had nearly a month of high 90’s and close to 100 and I closed the valve on mine to have some comfort. But now that we’re cooling down into the 80’s and lows in the 50’s-60’s, I can leave the valve open.

 

[RJS]

Just found this thread. I am pretty serious about buying a new RAM to replace my problematic 2018 F-150 that has good AC. I am in WI so it doesn't get hot often. That said, a good AC is important to me when it does get warm enough to warrant it.
What signs should I look for? Should I measure the vent Temps? Should I just stop looking at RAM? The problem is that just leaves GM realistically and I don't think I want to spend what they charge.

I'm not sure why you would exclude Ram as many of us have one's that function decently. My 19 Laramie L-2 will put out 42-45 deg. air on a humid 90 deg day here in Michigan (no clamp). You really need to drive the truck before you buy it and see but that's not that easy this late in the year. If you find one you like on the lot and it's temps like we have now, the best you can do is turn the air on full as soon as you get in and see how fast it cools. I'd also take a thermometer with me on the test drive and if it won't put out 40 deg air now then it sure won't in July.

Other's have commented that it's a major issue because a number of members have problems and most others don't so it probably not as big a problem. I'm not sure where I stand on these comments but if you check before you buy, you should just fine because these are dang fine trucks.

 

[wallyuwl]

I test drove a BH equipment group 2 truck today. Took a thermometer. It was 75 deg outside. Put AC on full blast low recirculate. Took about two min but blew 46 deg at idle. Went for a little ride and it was blowing about 47. Tested my F150, it blows 42 to 43. So not that big of a difference. I think Iwill just have to test the truck I buy before delivery.

 

[ac1dd]

Deleted my post from earlier.

Re-ran the test. 15 min of drive time. Max A/C, recirc.

Thanks for taking the time to post that reading ..automotive ac systens shoukd be able to easily give vent temps of mid to low 40s in your ambient environment....thats not acceptable for a modern vehicle ....

 

[RJS]

I test drove a BH equipment group 2 truck today. Took a thermometer. It was 75 deg outside. Put AC on full blast low recirculate. Took about two min but blew 46 deg at idle. Went for a little ride and it was blowing about 47. Tested my F150, it blows 42 to 43. So not that big of a difference. I think Iwill just have to test the truck I buy before delivery.

Thanks for the data on both trucks. I think you're on your way to finding the truck you want. Good luck.

 

[alamgirian6329]

How come RAM Cares never participates or comments in threads like this ?

 

[Neurobit]

I’ve mentioned this before, and here it goes again.

While I love my RAM, and the AC works fine most of the time, it does lag behind other vehicles.

When the trucks is parked at the garage at work or home, it does fine, but if I happen to leave it parked out in the Texas sun in the summer, then it takes a good while to cool down, as the air coming from the vents is not totally cold.

By contrast, my son’s base model Tacoma delivers an Arctic blast the second you turn it on, and cools you down immediately. There’s not even a comparison on how much better that system is, compared to the RAM, which costs >3x as much.

I have mentioned this to the dealer early on, and they found that it was low on refrigerant from the factory, and they had topped it off. Guess what. Made no diff whatsoever.

Again, it works ok most of the time, but not really impressed by it’s performance at all.

Cheers,

 

[Mr.G]

Deleted my post from earlier.

Re-ran the test. 15 min of drive time. Max A/C, recirc.

Yup, that is the lowest temp my 2020 Limited will go when everything is set to the lowest and recirculation on.

 

[User_3336]

Really? You need to clamp that hose!!!

Yup, that is the lowest temp my 2020 Limited will go when everything is set to the lowest and recirculation on.

 

[Timeless]

How come RAM Cares never participates or comments in threads like this ?

They already have to say they know there is an issue and working on a fix. I suspect till then they will not reply again.

You can always DM @RamCares directly if you wish.

 

[The Critic]

Test was done after the truck was driven for 15 minutes in “Max A/C” mode.

The vent temp will always be relative to the outside temp. In my situation, it is a 48 deg drop from ambient, which is pretty damn good from an academic perspective...and is perfectly within spec for FCA.

However, I think customers always expect more, but how cold is cold enough? What is a reasonable expectation?