I’m trying to figure out whether I’ve lot my mind or 108 degree heat in TX is messing with my AC. I typically leave my auto climate at 66-68 in the summer and 68-70 in the winter. It’s always on auto, I never touch anything but possibly tweak the temp. However, over the past several weeks, my truck just doesn’t get cold enough. I’ve got it targeting 64, which should feel cold, but it feels like it’s 75. What’s more confusing is the fan speed isn’t all the way up, which seems to suggest it thinks the temperate is 64 and therefore only needs to blow hard enough to maintain the current temperature.

I also tried fiddling with the recirc button, but I didn’t notice a difference. In most cars, when you hit recirc, the fan speed and noise increase. Is that true in an F-150? I’m not seeing anything change when I hit recirc.

Am I losing my mind? Should I wait for temps to cool off and everything will return to normal? Or should I pay the $100 deductible on my extended warranty and go through the hassle of dropping it off at a dealership? Thanks

 

I am also with you somewhere in hell, TX. This may be unpopular opinion or unrelated to your issue but I burped my ac line into a shoprag. I was experiencing high-pressure in ac system.That seemed to help me out.

 

If it worked fine before all of the 100 plus weather, I would leave it alone. I would also ignore the advice in post 2. At this point, I would also stay away from the dealer because I am sure they are slammed and it will be a while before they can see you. If you know of a small shop that has the ac machine, take it there and give them the hundred to evac it and check charge. JMO

 

I'm also in Texas. I keep my auto AC set on about 68-70 (depending if I'm sitting in the sun), after using Max to cool down the cab, and it seems to work fine. I don't know if it would cool the truck to 64 in 105 degree heat but Max seems to work fine and the air is cold. I keep my vista roof shade closed and usually have a sunshield in the windshield to help keep the cab from getting too heat-soaked in the sun. You can definitely tell the difference with my Recirc button - fan noise does increase a little. I find that Auto never runs the fan up as high as Max does... not sure why that is. Plus, it reduces fan speed if I'm on the phone. I've been pretty happy with my AC the last couple summers.

 

This is helpful, thank you. Agree we have to keep our sunroof covers closed this time of year. I can't get anywhere close to 64, I just tried that setting hoping it would get me closer to 68 than the 68 setting. Unfortunately, the cabin feels like the mid-70s whether I have it set at 64 or 68.

The fan will run at max speed if you keep it on auto when you first get into a hot car. However, I don't think auto will use recirc (auto climate in some cars will initially use recirc, then turn it off). I'm actually glad it doesn't b/c I don't like the stale air. If you're experiencing a louder/stronger fan with recirc, that's why it's also louder with max a/c as max a/c uses recirc. To be clear, the max fan speed is the same (I think 7?) regardless of whether recirc is on, it's just that a given fan speed moves more air in recirc than it does fresh air.

Thanks again for the response. It seems to suggest my AC may not be working quite right.

 

mine also seems to be struggling, but it is 102 outside, so ive been giving it the benefit of the doubt.

 

I agree. You may have a slow leak and need to have your coolant and/or blower checked.

 

If your AC is struggling with 102, it's not working at 100%. Modern vehicles are designed for 120+ and road tested in Death Valley in summer. I didn't have any problems with cooling or AC in 115 west Texas temps recently.

 

when i say struggling its been sitting in the sun for 12 hours and i start it in the hottest part of the day and the its been facing the sun and everything in the cabin is hot. and it takes a few minutes to cool everything down and its not instant like it is the morning when everything inside the cabin has cooled over night. i have noticed the fan is on super high when i turn on the ac, which i know is normal but it seems to stay that way all the time now with the ac on. i may need to replace my thermostat.

 

Put a thermometer in the middle vent and see what the actual temp is