Whats up with 3rd Gen AC

Turn off your seat heater.

 

My AC will blow chilled air almost immediately upon startup, but it doesn't get as cold as I'd like for those 115 degree days when I want to cool the truck more quickly.

 

Mine is blowing nice and cold today but its 76 degrees outside

 

Every summer trip, my wife and kids bring blankets. Even in 100 degree weather the inside of the taco gets frosty. Sounds like an issue for the dealer or if our of warranty and a shop you trust to look into.

 

18 months without even trying the AC? Holy fricken moly

My AC is almost too cold I never have it turned up all the way

 

Wrong! they have a pressure gage on them to keep you from overcharging. The recharge kit is a stopgap measure if, and only if you have a slow leak. I agree if it's under warranty, take it in, but you don't need to worry about using a recharge kit, it's been done thousands of times without issue.

 

Be careful using a recharge kit. Most of the ones you can buy in a local auto parts store are R134a. However, I believe Gen3 Tacomas use R1234yf. Much more expensive, and not readily available.

 

Did you have the interior re-circulator on?

If it was sucking hot air from outside its not going to be cold.

Not using the A/C is a good way to break it early. You want to run the compressor regularly.

 

Yup, 2016 on up uses R1234yf so much more costly to recharge than the R134a home kits ($150+ v. $30).

 

OP is right, the AC is weak in these trucks. I have mine on high or next to high all the time, whereas my work F150 crew cab just having the air on the first setting will run you out within a few mins.

 

If you've had the truck for 18 months and JUST turned it on for the first time I'm not necessarily shocked it isn't working right.

 

Does the recharge kit tell you what the low pressure and high pressure readings are? Does the kit pull the system down to a vacuum to remove moisture. By adding to the system how do you know what the total charge is? Toyota is very specific on how much refrigerant the ac system needs. Does the kit allow you to add oil?

 

Doesn’t defrost mode use the AC most of the time? It doesn’t light up the AC, light but i think it still uses it. If so I’m sure OP has used the defrost at least a few times by now.

 

I've been thinking my AC kinda sucks too for a new vehicle. No better than the Trailblazer I vacuumed and recharged myself using harbor freight stuff. Anybody got a vent temp reading? I'll try to check mine soon.

 

Yup. Double-checked when I got home from work.

 

Im heading out to the garage in a few minutes. I’ll stick a probe in one of my vents and check it.

 

I have to disagree. My A/C will freeze you out if set to LO.
I have NO problem getting the truck nice and chilly even on hot, high humidity days.

Definitely want to get a sub-par system checked out before it becomes a major issue. Just my 2 cents.

 

dude, I live in southern Texas... and this is the first vehicle where I usually turn the blower motor down and the temp up shortly after starting up.

 

Well, my AC seems to be up to snuff. Idling in the garage with the blower on high, all vents closed, I was reading 41-42 degrees. Ambient was 85-86.

I guess in my case either I was overheated from work, or I was expecting too much from the AC system in a double-cab truck.

 

In Louisiana here and about this time its like living in an armpit. It takes a while to cool down and i never really get frozen out. I keep mine on low full blast and rarely every find myself turning it down.