dfc101a said:
ccaats,
Bias cuts both ways. Prior to the Enclave, our past three vehicles were Honda/Acura. The "crappy" AC you note is not accurate. There are real problems like the transmission you have stated, but a poor AC system is not one of them in our experience and in any boards I frequent related to the Odyssey, Pilot, and MDX.
On the Enclave AC issue, the AC in the lambda's has been discussed on multiple forums and maybe more problematic than average. I have noticed there is something not-quite-right with the AC, but I have not been able to figure it out well enough to give a service department a solid lead. The clues here have been very helpful - thanks to all.
I will add a potential clue I noticed today. When driving, the temperature of the air coming from the vents varies greatly from very cold to warm even though the blower is on high trying to cool the Enclave. The Enclave would consistently blow warmer air when braking and colder air when accelerating. That's not much of a surprise, the temperature difference is dramatic. Anyone else notice something similar?
OK. Firstly A/C is very subjective! Only a temp probe in the vent, taking actual readings, will rule out "sun in the face" syndrome. Yes, GM is known for GREAT A/C units. Don't know about imports, but excess humidity and 30 minute cool downs is not normal, unless you're in Arizona, with a Vermont, no tinted glass ,auto
My dash vents ,at a moderate 35 MPH drive, reads 48 degrees F, (after 5 minutes running!) fan speed at 2nd notch, using a small, cheap, souvenir thermometer stuck into the dash vent. My other GM ('03 Yukon) reads 49 degrees!
Secondly, I also noticed that being stuck in traffic (low idle for long periods)
definitely causes me to re-set the otherwise cold ,68 degree setting, down to 60 degrees within 2-5 minutes, in order to stay cool. Especially on sunny and hot days. Yes, the air gets
noticeably warmer (about 12 degrees) at this occasion, if I don't react. I should try the "AUTO" mode which should rectify the problem, but don't care for the cold air coming out of the many different vents (floor,defrost,roof) as it tries to achieve the temp I selected. All my "auto mode" GM vehicles worked by this method. But I
do not notice the compressor cycle on/off that you others are mentioning. Either I have the radio too loud or you're LOW on freon! ???
So we just raise it back to 68 degrees after we get moving again, to avoid freezing from the 60 degree setting, and she blows real cold, once more. I think it's the nature of the beast and nothing wrong........ as long as the 60 degree setting chills you good, even at idle, you're OK. ;D
PS...........I observe dash temp guage barely moves up at all, so it's a factor of the compressors RPM, not eng cooling system, I'd imagine.