A/C issues

b1empath · 07-12-2010, 05:14 PM

So, I just bought my Insight a few weeks ago and have been loving it. I drove to Kentucky and back from Virginia and no issues. While driving to upstate New York, however, my A/C went into power save mode and would not turn back on. I turned it off and was just running the fan, thinking that it was broken. Then I decided to try it again and it worked beautifully. Drove back from NY and no issues until I got to the store to do some shopping. I came out, put the food in the car and when I turned the car on, the A/C again was not putting out cold air. I again turned it off and then turned it back on and it worked.

Has anyone else experienced anything like this? I called the service center and basically was told that until the problem becomes more severe and it can be recreated, I'm basically out of luck.

Thanks for any insight into this issue (pun intended).

RahTX · 07-13-2010, 06:09 PM

Is the car going into auto-stop? If so, that's going to turn off the A/C anytime it shuts off the engine. As a test, turn off ECON, turn on the A/C and set the temp and fan speed manually...it should stay on. Of course you won't get as good fuel economy when it's not using auto-stop often or for long...but that's the trade off for comfort.

If it's not staying cold while the engine is running, something is wrong and the dealer should fix it. That said, the A/C is pretty weak compared to my last 2 cars, so it may actually be working and maybe you just don't realize it

Be sure to read the section of the manual about the climate controls and read the various posts in the forum about it as people have shared their experiences of settings that work for them...

Cobb · 07-14-2010, 12:04 AM

Thats interesting.... What if you push the buton market auto and turn the knob to 68 and does it keep the car cool or go back into the power save mode?

b1empath · 07-14-2010, 10:29 AM

A/C worked just fine the entire trip to and from KY and Econ was on. I noticed when the A/C would cycle to conserve energy. Not a big issue with this.

While going to NY, A/C kicked into the cycle to use less energy and never cycled back ON to allow for cooler air, even though I turned temp down to Lo, turned fans up, etc. I then turned A/C off and just had fans blowing for a while and then tried A/C again and it worked fine from that point on.

When I got home from NY, A/C was working fine and went to a store. Came out of the store and turned the car on and again the A/C was in the cycle down mode so air was not being cooled. I turned the A/C off and then turned it back on and it worked fine. It has been working fine since but the temps have been a bit milder the past few days.

Cobb · 07-18-2010, 10:51 PM

Thats "normal" Under a heavy load the ac goes out the window. I find at night driving I slowly turn the temp knob down. I start at 73 and about an hour later I am at 69 degrees.