Just had air con installed and I just wanted to hear if mine is the only one that is a little bit feeble. The air coming from the vents is cold, but I doubt it would be able to cool the cabin on a really hot day.

 

I don't want to run to the dealer and have him feed me the old "they all do that", excuse.

 

Are Impreza air cons just lousy or what?

I noticed that in the '05 Outbacks...blows cold for a bit, then "not-so-cold", then cold again.

The outlet temperature, with the fan on high, should be maybe 20 degrees colder than the inlet temperature. At least that's what mine is.

Neither of my cars have working A/C right now, and look at my location

My AC is decent for a 96...but it kills my gas mileage and when I go up a hill I have toturn it off because the car lags. Happens in my Outback and Legacy.

 

 

Its cold...but I wish it was colder. Maybe I need it recharged or something.

I noticed that in the '05 Outbacks...blows cold for a bit, then "not-so-cold", then cold again.

My impression, and this is based totally on observation of our '99, is that the system cycles the compressor to keep the evaporator from freezing.

my '98 OBW does the same thing as the '05 Outback mentioned above.

I have a dial thermometer hanging in my vent (Like the ones used for cooking) In the Legacy it will get as low as 40* in weather up into the 80s.

 

 

I just converted the SVX to 134 last night and that will get below 50*.

My 2000 Forester is nice and cold ! I do notice that the compressor does cycle a bit more than other cars I've owned. But as long as it's cold I'm not complaining. I agree that the AC kills your gas mileage. Maybe it's the 4 cyclinder engine. My V6 Camry doesn't seem as bad on gas mileage with the AC on.

 

 

~Howard

:cool:

i just got my a/c in not to long ago and the mech. showed me that it was coming out of the vents at about 48 degrees and its nice and steady like that.and thats in an old 85 brat:grin:

The A/C on my 97OB is what I would call "marginal". I forget the temp drop that the dealer told me they measured, but I think it was only in the 20F or 25F range. Whatever, I was told it was within limits.

 

The OB has a lot of interior volume which doesn't help. I find that I will usually drive for a few minutes with a window or 2 lowered to try to move some of the hot air out, then I'll put on the A/C with recirc on number 3 or 4 fan speed. Even at that, on a hot summer day, it can take about half an hour of driving to get the residual heat out of the car. Then I can drop back to no. 2 fan speed. Without recirc, the system really can't handle more than about an 80F day.

 

It's livable. Better than no A/C (like my 85 Civic). But it can't blast you with cold air for a 5 minute run to the store. In those cases, I usually don't even turn it on.

 

I've never noticed too much of a hit on gas milage to be honest. At least not with highway driving.

 

Commuter

It should be under 55 degrees, rule of thumb.

It's cold as ice

Ours on the 2005 RS is cold, sometimes we have to turn it off cause its really cold, but you can tell when we have it on and the compressor comes on makes a slight lag in the motor... But who cares its cold.... Vicky

The air con. in my 2000 Forester is very cold. In fact I sometimes have to add a little heat to moderate it.

My AC blew -5 F one day in January. BigMig is on the right track. Low blower speed should give about a 20 delta. Faster speeds can't cool as much.

 

Never have been too impressed with my AC. Black Legacy seems to suck in heat faster than the AC can cool it.

Wow, I wasn't sure I get a reply, but it seems I hit a point on the head. Okay, Sube air-cons are a little bit weak, but for sure it beats not having one!

same deal, my a/c cycles on and off more than other cars i've owned. it's also not very cool when cycled "off". had pressure tested and it's ok. mech said "just the way it is".

 

in my old and now gone 81 928 i did a 134a conversion and that thing would freeze the evaporator after about an hour or so. simply turned off the compressor, left the blower fan on, and 5 minutes later she thawed out then turned compressor back on.

 

gotta luv it.

91 legacy after retrofit ro 134a and compressor replacement 4 years after that after that-cold as frozen snot, See recent threads about retrofit/compressor replace from Josh and me and others for details. Here in Texas and in Mid 90's and getting hotter, mine gets COLD-kids even were asking me from backseat to turni down they were freezing tonight.

i have been trained in the field and most manufacturers say that an ac vent temp with the a/c on recirculate full cold position blowing out of the dash (face) vents , on mid-range blower speed is within in specs if the temp. is between 36 and 48 degrees farh.

So-so coldness with Gen 1 Legacy. It cycles cold and luke-cold. Doesn't bother me too much. It also clicks a lot. Which bothers me more.

if yor a/c clicks on on off a lot, it is probally the a/c clutch cycling on and off, which is a good indication that you are low on freon and probally have a leak somewhere in the system.

if yor a/c clicks on on off a lot, it is probally the a/c clutch cycling on and off, which is a good indication that you are low on freon and probally have a leak somewhere in the system.

So far so good...have '99 Outback sedan, AC is perfect; strong and cold.

Now it is mid July in Toronto Canada here, if it's gonna go, it's going to be shortly during one of our disgusting, wet, humid spells.

But heh, so far it's perfect (touch wood....the fake stuff on my dash)