well i took my wifey up to napa valley for our honeymoon several weeks ago, in my stang of course , but realized that my A/C no longer gets cold. if any of you have driven the stretch from san luis obispo to salinas along the 101, then you would know it gets pretty damn warm in the peak of summer. i always drive with windows all down but the hot air was drying me and my wife out so i rolled it up turned the A/C on with no success. i checked to see if the A/C was kicking in at my next gas stop with hood popped and it sounded like it was so i had no solution. i'm hesitant to take it in to the dealership since its no longer under warranty so do any of you know of this problem? is it isolated to my car only or is this a S197/V6 problem? thanks all.

 

have you changed your cabin air filter?

my kia optima ac sounded like the air was blowing alot harder than the air actually coming out of the vents...dropped the glovebox and whala! the evaporator had a blanket of trash on it....shop vac did the trick

 

my air still comes out strong but just not cold anymore. i will check out the filter nonetheless. thanks for the tip!

 

Watch the compressor clutch while someone turns on/off the ac switch and see if the clutch engages, If it doesn't (I suspect it's not) the pressure switches may be tripped because the refrigerant is low. That means it's time for an evac, re-charge and leak check.

 

are those re-charge kits an easy DOY task?

 

The system should be evacuated and then re-charged. The re-charge kit does not evacuate the system. Your just adding refrigerant without pulling the system to a vacuum removing air and moisture.

 

I may be wrong (it happened once before), but I don't think that you can recharge them yourself. Don't you have to hold a certificate or licence of some sorts to buy/own the refrigerant?

 

You can buy refrigerant and recharge kits at any auto parts store or walmart

 

ok, thanks, good to know

 

easy task?