“Is your car AC blowing but not cold?” the problem might be related to a Freon leak, bad compressor, faulty condenser, or blown electric fuses.
When it's summertime, our AC system becomes one of the most important components in our vehicles. The AC system becomes more valuable if we're living in environments where summer is extremely hot.
Have you ever got into a vehicle during the summertime and realized that the AC is blowing, but the air is not very cold? So this is a very common AC problem that many of our readers reach out to us looking for answers to.
This article provides you with all possible reasons behind your AC system blowing but not cold. It also highlights some rough estimates about repair costs and other details that you will need to know when dealing with AC problems during summer.
When they see it blowing but not cold, the problem is most likely related to a couple of known reasons, and these reasons require a different level of repair costs ranging from cheap to very expensive.
Let's look at some of the common causes for your car AC blowing but not cold:
The AC system works the way your refrigerator works. In other words, it relies on a specific type of fluid called freon, and the AC requires a specific amount of freon to work properly.
It's very common for freon to leak inside the car, preventing your AC system from working properly, and that's one of the very common causes for your AC blowing but not cold.
Freon might leak due to a problem with a crack in any of the internal connections. Your mechanic needs to get into the network and check where the leak is coming from. Sometimes it can be a little tricky for regular drivers to determine where the leak is happening, and your mechanic will have certain tools to help him an item to fight the location of the rig so he can fix it and supply your vehicle with the right amount of missing freon.
Unfortunately, for young leaks, problems require some high repair costs in some scenarios depending on the severity of the leak. It can be extremely hard to tell how much it will cost you to fix the freon leak bought in general, mostly young leaks problems require between $200 and $1000.
Another common problem for your vehicle’s AC blowing but not cold is a stuck blend air door. This blend air door is responsible for opening and closing the ventilation system to allow either the warm air or the cold air to get inside your vehicle, depending on your vehicle settings.
If you don't already know, both warm air and cold air coming from the same location, and depending on the user's input, you decide on which system to activate by turning on the heating system or the AC system. Then, inside your vehicle, the blend air door closes the openings of the warm air and allows the openings of the cold air to be active, so you pull down your vehicle.
Like any other internal components in your vehicle, the blend air door might get stuck at a certain location; therefore, if you notice that your car is blowing air but warmer, it might be a problem related to a bad or stuck blend air door.
Luckily, replacing the blend air door doesn't require installing new components, which means that you don't have to worry about expensive parts. However, since the blend air door is located somewhere deep behind the dashboard, you'll have to consult a mechanic to do the job for you, and it's not something that you can do by yourself. Of course, if you have the right level of mechanical skill sets and the right tools, you might do the job yourself but note that automotive experts recommend not experiencing on your vehicle if you're not ready.
As you might already expecting, fixing a stuck blend air door depends heavily on the labor costs. Typically, you might pay somewhere between $200 and $300, but if you want to save on labor costs, you probably want to go to an independent shop versus a dealership.
Of course, if you have good mechanical experience, you might fix the stuck door by yourself without needing to pay a ton on labor costs.
The AC system consists of many complicated internal components that work together to get your vehicle to cool down. One of the core components is the AC compressor. The compressor is responsible for compressing the freon to very high pressure, so when it expands back, it becomes extremely cold.
It's not rare to deal with AC problems related to a bad AC compressor, which means that you got to have your mechanic inspect the compressor and replace it if needed.
Since the AC compressor is a core component in your AC system, it's not surprising to hear that replacing the AC compressor is expensive. Typically, you might expect to pay somewhere between $842 and $1146. This price range depends heavily on your vehicle's type and the location where you get the job done.
Another important component in your AC system is the condenser. This condenser is responsible for converting the freon gas into a liquid to repeat the cycle and help the AC system work and do its job.
Obviously, with a bad condenser, you're very young won't be converted back to a liquid, and therefore, the AC process will be interrupted, causing your car to blow but not cold air.
The condenser can get damaged due to problems with debris and contaminants. When this happens, your mechanic needs to take a closer look at the condenser and determine whether he would need to replace the part or clear out the pathways to allow it to work properly again.
The condenser also is an expensive component if we want to compare it to any other repair costs in your vehicle. Typically, it might cost you between $585 and $773, according to repairpal.com.
Another common cause for your AC blowing but not cold air is the internal connections or the electric fuses. Most of the AC components will lie on some electric supply, which means that if a fuse blows out, it can immediately interrupt the internal AC process and cause your car to blow warm air instead of cold air.
If you were lucky enough, your AC problem would be related to a bad electric fuse. Typically, replacing the field should cost you anywhere between $5 and $60. However, replacing and fixing a fuse is not a complicated job, and many drivers do the job by themselves to eliminate labor costs.
It depends. It all depends on the total repair costs and how important the system is in your vehicle. In other words, if you live in colder areas, you might not need the AC system at all. Still, if you live in hot environments where the AC system is a major component of your daily life, then that's where you must evaluate the situation and consider fixing it.
If you decided to explore whether it's worth fixing an AC system or not, you would need to calculate the total repair cost. This cost must include fixing the AC system and fixing anything, even if that thing is minor, like replacing a windshield wiper once you have a total number for repair costs, compared to your vehicle's overall value.
If you realize that repair costs are approaching 75% or more from your vehicle's value, automotive experts never recommend fixing this car, and you'd better sell it and use the money towards a better vehicle.
Of course, dealing with major problems makes it hard to sell the vehicle to a private buyer here even if he thought about trading it in with the dealership, you wouldn't get as much money as you are looking for. Therefore, your best option dealing with this type of vehicle is to sell it to Cash Cars Buyer.