2013 Air Conditioning, is it working as well as it should?

Hi,

I am wondering if my air conditioning is working as well as it should. I've been suspicious that it is not, but today I took a 30 min drive at around 60mph and I had it on max AC. Fan speed max, coldest setting, recirculating air with it being about 90F outside on a sunny day. During that time you would think I would have to dial it back a bit, but no, I never even got close to be uncomfortably cool. I can hold my hand in front of the vent and not have to move it away, ever. In most vehicles if I do that my hand freezes!

So is this normal for a Tacoma or should I have it looked at?

I bought it a few months back, certified pre-owned, from a Toyota dealer and bought a 6yr/72k mile warranty, so I hope it is covered if there is an issue...

Thanks in advance for your opinions!
- Brent

 

You should take it back and have them check the R134a charge. My 2012 freezes my hand when driving.

 

It is common for 2nd gens to come from the factory with insufficient refrigerant. Unfortunately your dealership warranty is worthless. Most dealerships farm out A/C work. Fortunately your repair is not that expensive.

 

It all depends on conditions. If its hot, and there's a high UV index/very sunny, I will make it all the way to work (~50 minutes) without taking it off the max setting. The car cools down and is comfortable, but the sun is still baking the windows and doing its best to heat everything up. You're also getting warm air through the front end. When its cooler (75 or lower), that max setting gets really cold, really fast.

But, by all means, swing by the dealer and have them take a look. If it doesn't feel right, maybe its not.

 

I also have a 2013 and i have been noticing that the "coolness" of the air fluctuates a bit. The air will blow cold, then it will get a little warmer, then a little cooler.

I it just needs to be recharged.

 

I feel the same way about my 07. I think it could blow colder and that the blower could blow harder. I may roll the dice and pick up a new blower to see if it helps. Also gonna go get my tint upgraded; as I get older the AZ summers suck more and more.

 

My 2015 6 cyl blows 38F-40F air at the center vents once underway in high 90s weather. Air temp is good; I've never been overly impressed with air flow.

 

Captain BDSC thank you for posting this question. Reminds me of something I was taught a long time ago. There’s no such thing as a dumb question because there are probably other people wondering the same thing. This time it’s me, I Have a 2015 and the past couple of days I’ve been thinking my AC is not up to par. I wouldn’t say it’s been ice cold since the day I bought it but I do have to turn it down once it’s been running a while and I’m cooled off. KODitten THANK YOU for your reply I appreciate what you wrote. I’m going to give my truck a couple more days then see how it goes. KODitten pardon me if I ask you this. Its been your experience that the Tacomas come off the line not fully charged? That makes me feel good and bad. Good because misery likes company and knowing I’m not the only one having the issue and that its easily fixable, but bad because it’s a bit disappointing that the TOYOTA (my very first one) that all I’ve been hearing for years what great trucks they are let vehicles not fully set up off the line. Thank you guys for all your help I’ll be following this thread.

 

Thanks everyone for your great tips and comments! I will have the refrigerant checked out, and use some of the techniques mentioned here, then I will post back with the results.

 

I find mine to be too cold sometimes, I have to turn the fan speed down.

 

Compressor gets kicked on with a clutch, the speed of the compressor does vary with engine rpm.

 

Pressures change as well.

 

Check your cabin air filter as well. Make sure it is clean.

 

Can I join in on this pissing match? Nope, but I will add this:

Anyone asking about AC on our trucks need to at least get a digital thermometer from Wallyworld or where ever for $10. I'm not expecting them to get a gauge manifold to tell us pressures, especially if they don't know what they are doing. Post the vent temp at an idle, and while driving at speed. It's a start, and no one will get hurt.

Also, ACs in a vehicle use a variable speed compressor, don't they?? They will cool better going down the road than they will idling. This is from compressor rpm and condenser airflow.

 

I don't like the digital gauges that use the laser pointer. I like the good ol adjustable analog thermometer. The laser thermometers measure he surface temperature of whatever the surface is as the stick thermometer will actually measure air temperature. I have both but I prefer the metal stick thermometer

 

I brought my 2010 regular cab 2.7L to the dealer for a recall repair in the summer of 2016 and asked them to check the A/C performance. My truck's A/C was blowing about 41°F at the vents when tested in summer 2016. This year I went to Pep Boys and bought two of those little thermometers you stick in the vents. My A/C has not gotten below 50°F unless the "recirc" is on and/or the engine is revved at a constant 2,000-4,000 RPM. Just 3 days ago, I discovered that my A/C was blowing warm and humid outdoor air out of the far right vent, but still blowing ice cubes out of the far left vent. The inner left vent was blowing cold but not ice cold, and the inner right vent was blowing cool but not cold. At night the A/C works fine out of all but the far right vent. When the truck is in motion, regardless of the time of day, the A/C works fine out of the two left vents even with the recirc off.

I talked to my mechanic and he thinks I more than likely need a recharge. He's going to put the refrigerant into a vacuum and pressure test the system. He's also going to put UV dye in the system so if he can't find a major leak and it leaks again, he'll be able to find it with a UV light.

I'm pretty sure your truck only has a leak too...

 

Make sure you clean the AC condenser in case it is clogged up with debris. I seem to recall a thread about a year ago where a guy complained about weak AC and then realized that his condenser was caked with mud from offroading.

 

I do this at home as well on the HVAC system every spring. Same for the back of an upright freezer that I have in the garage. Clean condenser coils shed heat more easily.

 

Tacoma A/C system sucks worse than my 02 4Runner. Takes significantly longer for the Tacoma to start blowing cold air with same vent setting practices as the 4Runner. In 15 min the 4Runner will be freezing my ass out. Takes twice that for the Tacoma on a same temp day and driving scenario.

Based on some others commentary I might at least get it finally checked out if maybe it just came out with a subpar charge from factory.

 

Mine is the same way. I had a 99 camry before this taco and it could probably freeze my balls to the seat. Since day 1 the taco has been unimpressive with ac performance.