[96lt4c4]

It got up to 96 degrees here today. My wife and I were out for our Anniversary dinner. We had the AC on in the Malibu and it just seemed like it was not cold enough. With the fan on full blast and the recirculate on it didn't help. I have an 02 Cavalier with 140,000 miles on it, the AC has never been touched and it is way colder then the Malibu.

We hooked the car to set of gages and it seemed to have a full charge. The car just turned over 7000 miles. Anyone else seeing this problem?

 

[Sparks]

I thought the same thing yesterday. It was 92 and humid. I was in stop and go traffic and the AC didn't feel very cold. I clicked it over to recirculate and it didn't seem to make much of a difference until I got out of the traffic. Once I did it got pretty cold.

 

[KURLY]

I think humidity plays a big part on how good the a\c works. If you have any moisture in the system it can also play a part on how cold it gets.

 

[hoahai]

My Bu' AC is the opposite: it is freezing! It was 90-92 degree here couple of days ago and within 5 minutes after turning it on, I could feel the cold. I have to turn it off periodically to avoid freezing.
BTW, I just found that if you hit the recirculate button, the A/C will automatically get turned on. That is cool!

 

[KURLY]

Mine blows ice cold too. I guess we're some of the lucky ones hoahai.

 

[96lt4c4]

Well something is not right. I think I am going to take it in. I think the problem is called PCTO (Product Cost Take Out) Its the same thing I deal with where I work. The bean counters force the engineers to find ways to lower manufacturing cost. So they will do things like make sheet metal thinner, use thinner gage wire, remove noise filters. All this to save penny's. After these changes are made the units are tested to see if they still perform the same as they did prior. If they fail the engineer cant make the change, but most of the time they get there way and changes are made anyway. If you are wondering I am a technician that does this type of testing.

I think GM has done the same thing with the AC system on the Malibu. If you look under the hood you will see the sticker that tells the type of refrigerant in the system and how much it holds in pounds, it should read 1.10 lbs. My Cavalier hold 1.50 lbs (it has cold AC), my truck holds almost 2 lbs (it will blow frost out the vents). You see the pattern!? Trying to save money on manufacturing the Malibu, some engineer decided they could design the AC system to be just as cold while using less refrigerant....WRONG! I will get to the bottom of this. And let you know

 

[Trend1]

Since I purchased my car we haven't had any real hot days so far in June, warm days and the AC seemed find. We'll see.

 

[KURLY]

96 I would like to know what you find out on your A\C. Keep us posted.

 

[Sandhopper]

No problem with my Bu's AC. We have had a few 95+ and one 100+ days so far and no issues. Blows nice and cold. This week the temps are forcast to be in the upper 90's all week. Hopefuly the cold air keeps blowing.

 

[Darren]

Are you at a stand still or in a stop and go traffic or highway? the more airflow the colder it will be

 

[96lt4c4]

Are you at a stand still or in a stop and go traffic or highway? the more airflow the colder it will be

In stop and go traffic the AC warms up. When I get out on the express way it will cool down, but that is no excuse. It should be cold regardless, like my other cars. They will warm up in stop and go traffic but still be putting out cooler air then what my Malibu is. I put a temp gage in one of the vents. With the car sitting still in my driveway, about 95 degrees outside, the car was putting out 65 degree air. It should be in the 50's.

 

[Piggy]

I wonder if there is a difference here between the 2.4 and the 3.6?

 

[Malo83]

No problems with my 08 LTZ, stop and go or freeway she blows cold, take it in and have the dealer check it out, just might have a low charge

 

[Macleod52]

Take it to the dealer.

 

[KURLY]

Take it to the dealer.

+1.. Let THEM fix it.

 

[bballr4567]

I think ours has the same problem. We took a 50+ mile trip today with the temp at 96 and humidity was 90%. Set the auto climate to 69 and it never reached it. Never.

My 00 Formula blows ICE cold and cools the car down within minutes. Malibu not so much.

I think we are going to take it to the dealer this week as well to get it checked.

 

[TMoneyR523]

I've never had any issue with A/C... in fact I never even need to use A/C.. just turning on the recirculation mode makes it blast the exact same temp as when A/C is on!

Of course the highest it's gotten to here yet is the low 80s soo perhaps that's why... my Cobalt was the same too I never needed to turn on A/C.. :-/

 

[ucantcme]

If you're in traffic and the A/C isn't blowing out cold air, try putting your car in neutral and revving it up for a few seconds. Worked for me when I had my PT Cruiser.

 

[96lt4c4]

If you're in traffic and the A/C isn't blowing out cold air, try putting your car in neutral and revving it up for a few seconds. Worked for me when I had my PT Cruiser.

What?....Its a brand new car. I should not have to do that. The people that are saying there Ac is fine....has it been 90+ degrees and 90%+humidity where you are at?

 

[malibudragon]

Just took a weekend trip and we hit 100+ temps with a heat index of 108-110 and She froze me out of the car. The Malibu has the coldest AC Ive ever had in a car